Revolut has announced its first Revolut Bank product in Ireland following full backing from the European Central Bank.
The company, which has more than 1.7 million customers in Ireland, has opened a waiting list for its personal loan product, marking the fintech's first steps to launch its Revolut Bank services to Irish customers.
According to Revolut, customers can apply for a loan "instantly" and will receive an answer on their application within seconds.
The company has said other lending products such as credit cards will follow later this year.
Darragh Cassidy, of bonkers.ie, said the announcement is good news for consumers.
"With the imminent exits of both Ulster Bank and KBC, and EBS rumoured to be pulling back on some of its services, the Irish banking sector was looking fairly bleak," Mr Cassidy said.
"Revolut has literally revolutionised the banking sector since it started operating less than a decade ago. However, until now, many people still only used their accounts for sending money or when travelling abroad.
"Revolut’s lack of credit products and its lack of a banking licence in Ireland meant people were probably reluctant to consider the fintech for their full banking needs.
"This is borne out by the fact most people still kept their original bank account when signing up to Revolut.
"But this is likely to start to change, and it will be interesting to see how the main Irish retail banks AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB react.
"Pricing details have yet to be released for either loans or credit cards, but I would expect rates to be extremely competitive. And the application process is likely to be flawless."
'Disappointing'
Mr Cassidy also flagged that it was disappointing that no information on offering an overdraft has been announced by the company.
He said his would be a key requirement for many people when looking for a new current account provider.
"I would hope this is something the bank will offer over the coming years," he added.
"As an actual bank now, customers with savings now have more certainty and security over their money too.
"Until now, Revolut has operated in Ireland under an e-money licence from Lithuania (previously a British licence before Brexit). This means customers have a Lithuanian Iban.
"Despite being illegal under SEPA, customers can sometimes have problems getting paid or paying bills from their account as the non-Irish Iban is sometimes not recognised.
"However, it’s still possible for Revolut to offer an Irish Iban while operating here under its Lithuanian banking licence.
"If and when it does this, another barrier to using Revolut will fall.
"Up until now, the Irish banks have been slow to react to the advances of Revolut in the market.
"But as both these banks continue to offer more day-to-day 'traditional' banking services that will have to change."
