Fintech startup Revolut launches stock trading service

Revolut card in front of Android Revolut mobile app launched on the smartphone is seen in Gdansk, Poland on 9 July 2019  Revolut reached over 400.000 users in Poland this year. The number of Polish clients increased by 100% in 9 months period. Revolut Ltd is a UK financial technology company that offers banking services  (Photo by Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Revolut on Thursday said it was launching a stock trading service for premium members. Photo: Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Revolut, the British “unicorn” fintech startup, on Thursday said it was launching a commission-free stock trading service in the UK and Europe.

The company, one of the hottest digital challenger banks, said the service would be first rolled out to select customers on its premium “Metal” subscription, which costs £13 a month.

The service will allow customers to make up to 100 instant free trades in over 300 stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, Revolut said, noting that it expects the list of stocks to grow “on a continuous basis”.

Customers on its free and premium plans will get access to the service in the coming weeks, but will be limited in the number of free trades they can make each month.

Trades made outside of monthly allowances will cost just £1, while Revolut will charge an annual custody fee of only 0.01%.

The mobile apps that customers use to access their Revolut accounts will also now provide information on the stocks, including real-time price updates and market performance data.

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Revolut said there would be no minimum investment, and that the service would allow customers to buy fractions of shares for as little as $1 as part of its goal of “opening up and demystifying the notoriously closed-off, pricey and complex stock market”.

“This is another huge step in our mission to make financial services more inclusive, innovative and affordable,” said CEO Nik Storonsky in a statement.

“Investing in the stock market has been closed off to ordinary people for far too long, which has led to real problems for people as they search for effective ways to make the most out of their savings.”

The bank said on Thursday that it planned to include UK and European stocks in the future, as well as more complex investment products like exchange traded funds (ETFs).

It also said that it hoped to launch the service outside of the UK and Europe in the future.

The announcement comes after the bank on Monday confirmed that Metro Bank (MTRO.L) executive David MacLean would join the company as its new chief financial officer.

The bank has been hiring executives with more traditional retail banking experience in the wake of criticism of its work culture and the systems it uses for flagging suspect payments.