Bridging the Gap: How Revolut is Merging Digital and Physical Banking

Let's check in on headlines from Europe and the Middle East with Polly Jean, Harrison, features editor of the FinTech Times.

Hi, Polly, thank you so much for joining us on this Friday.

So first and foremost, I do want to start out with a look at Revolut.

So even though Revolut was born in the digital age, the The Financial app now has over 55 million users worldwide and also officially announced plans to launch its own branded ATMs in Spain.

So what are the company's goals here and why is the company actually choosing to focus on physical experiences?

Hello Remy.

Happy Friday.

Great to be back with you.

And yeah, this is some really exciting but interesting news from Revolut.

So the pilot market of Spain will host the 1st 50 Revolut ATMs and they'll be distributed between Madrid and Barcelona, and then an additional 150 units are going to be deployed across Spain as well in this first pilot wave.

So the machines are going to be placed, you know, in prominent high footfall locations, and Revolut users will always be able to check where the nearest. is in the app and you'll find out about opening hours addresses and things like that.

So this is really interesting and this move has come as Spain is remaining one of the most cash reliant economies in Europe, with cash representing over 60% of point of sale payments according to the Bank of Spain.

So I think it's crazy that, you know, that Revolut has been such a digital company and they're opening these physical locations, but really it's kind of this next step in this vision that Revolut has to bring it closer to their customers are.

A global seamless financial experience.

So not only are they launching these ATMs, they have reimagined the ATM experience entirely, making them essential physical touch points in banking, you know, giving them a sleek digital first experience, allowing users to withdraw cash, collect physical cards, and check their bank balances with ease.

So I think it's really interesting and by modernizing ATMs and still offering it alongside their digital service, they're really bringing that physical digital gap and just.

Bridging that gap and extending it to their customers so they can have more real world experiences.

So you know they're really trying to open up these physical touch points to deepen trust, drive acquisition, and really meet users where they are, especially in trouble hubs and in big urban centers.

So this is really exciting news, something that I cannot wait to see the Revolut ATMs, and I'm really hoping that they spread out across Europe and the UK and around the world as well, because I think they're going to be absolutely brilliant.

So yeah, really exciting but interesting news from Revolut this morning.

And Polly, while we're on the topic of cash and also gaps, I want to ask you about the gender pay gap here.

So despite ongoing efforts to close that gender pay gap in the UK, new research suggests that the gap may actually be widening.

So tell us what's happening across the Atlantic.

Yeah, absolutely.

So according to the new salary benchmark report from spend management and procurement platform Spendesk, they have found that men earn 35% more than women, which is up from 24% in 2024.

So the gender gap is actually widening in the UK, and Spendes found that women working in finance in the UK earn on average 90,000 pounds compared to their male account. who earn around 128,000 pounds a year on average.

So this is like a massive absolute gap in the in the industry, and this growing disparity is placing the UK as the second worst performing country for gender pay equality among those surveyed behind only Germany.

And I think this is a really sad statistic to see, and I think it's really frustrating that we're still having a gender gap problem, in an industry like finance, you know, we have so much, you know, innovation happening, and yet we're still falling behind in that gender pay gap.

And I think there's a lot of people that maybe think that the technology adoption is having an impact.

So while, you know, 52% of finance professionals are really enthusiastic about AI as an example and the impact on their work, you know, some people may believe that maybe it An issue moving forward and you know having that new technological advancement brings with it the need to have those new skills and the new software and the new technological skills which are for job advancements in the future.

So actually 28% of women in finance are actively seeking new roles specifically in order to be able to secure fair compensation.

So yeah, really disappointing, really frustrating, and hopefully this survey will give the industry something to work on and that we can move forward and close that gender pay gap once and for all.

Well, Polly, we will have to leave it there, but as always, thank you so much for keeping us up to date with the latest headlines from Europe and the Middle East.

Have a great weekend.

Thanks, Remy.

See you soon.