LONDON, July 25 Reuters Financial technology firm Revolut has received a UK banking licence with some restrictions, it said on Thursday, ending a threeyear wait for the authorisation that will enable it to compete more directly against Britain39;s biggest banks.

It is a major victory for Revolut, one of a handful of financial services apps commonly known as fintechs to emerge in Britain over the last decade, offering services without physical branches.

The licence brings Londonbased Revolut, which operates globally and has more than nine million UK customers, closer to the same UK permissions as the traditional banks it is seeking to challenge.

Revolut said in a statement it had now entered a mobilisation stage of its UK efforts, which will allow the firm to complete building its UK banking operations ahead of launching in the market.

The status allows new banks to secure investment, recruit staff and bolster IT systems, while limiting the amount of total deposits the new bank can accept, according to the website of Britain39;s banking regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority.

During the 12 month mobilisation stage, new banks must demonstrate they will be fully operational and address additional issues identified by the regulator before they can trade fully.

The banking licence is a step forward in Revolut39;s journey towards eventually listing on the stock market, which executives have said they want to pursue.

Founded in 2015 by Nik Storonsky, Revolut has…