US customers can trade fractional or full shares of over 1,100 securities, as well as more than 200 exchange-traded funds
Revolut, the London-based digital banking app, unveiled share trading without commission in the US today.
Britain’s second most valuable fintech company intends to become a ‘superapp’, which allows customers to manage their financial facets in one place, it said.
“This to us was just the next logical step,” said Gabe Vallejo, Revolut US head of wealth and trading.
The unicorn company, which already offered payment services, crypto trading, and savings accounts in the US, introduced zero-commission in the UK and Europe in 2019.
This launch comes amid a broader surge in retail trading, which escalated last year as investors caught onto ‘meme stocks’ including GameStop and AMC, Reuters said, which will allow Revolut to compete with the likes of Robinhood.
US customers can trade fractional or full shares of over 1,100 securities, as well as more than 200 exchange-traded funds.
Revolut, which was valued at US$33bn in an investment round in July, launched as a US banking app in March 2020 and secured a US broker-dealer license in September.
Like Robinhood, Revolut relies on payment for order flow to generate revenue on commission-free trades, which is when brokers route trades to market makers in return for a fee.
US financial regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission is worried this form of trading entices investors to trade more, even when it’s not in their best interest.
Shares in Robinhood have tumbled since their listing at US$38 in July on a drop-off in crypto trades, regulatory probes, and a string of lawsuits and now trade at US$14.40.
Revolut finance chief Mikko Salavaara said last year the company planned to “eventually” become a public company, “but there are no immediate plans to list”.
Read More: Revolut takes aim at Robinhood with zero-commission trading in US