Digital banking giant Revolut is launching phone plans for travelers in the UK
Revolut is launching a travel eSIM plan in the U.K., in a rare move for a financial services firm.
Revolut
British financial technology company Revolut is launching phone plans in the U.K., the company has told CNBC exclusively, making it the first financial services firm in the country to offer telecom plans — and among the first globally.
The digital banking and payments unicorn said it will start offering eSIMs — SIM cards that can be stored virtually rather than in physical form in the device — this week. The plans will begin rolling out for users in the coming days.
Customers on Revolut’s basic app experience without any subscription can get a standard eSIM plan that allows them to access their Revolut app so that they can top up their phone as and when needed. For instance, if a Revolut user arrives at an airport and runs out of data on their current SIM provider, they can still access features on their Revolut app free of charge and top up their data as usual.
Revolut customers on the company’s £55 ($69.47) a month, premium Ultra package will get 3GB of data to use globally, with a rolling refresh every month. That means that they will not have to worry about unexpected roaming charges when entering another country.
The cost of using mobile data overseas has increased for Brits in recent years. Several mobile carriers, including BT, Vodafone and Three, have reintroduced roaming charges since the U.K. left the European Union. Brits were previously able to travel across the EU without incurring roaming fees. Meanwhile, most mobile carriers don’t include free data in non-EU countries as part of their standard plans.
Revolut users without an Ultra subscription can get an introductory offer of 100MB of free data if they apply before May 1. The offer is valid for seven days, after which they’ll have to upgrade to Ultra if they want to keep using the eSIM.
Revolut has partnered with U.K. mobile network operator 1Global, formerly known as Truphone, to launch its eSIM.
Tara Massoudi, general manager of premium products at Revolut, said the decision for Revolut to launch eSIMs was to turn the company into more of an all-encompassing “super app” with services spanning bank accounts, currency exchange, insurance, travel bookings and airport lounge passes.
“Our ambition is very much to be the financial super app,” Massoudi told CNBC. “This is really in that direction.”
“Travel is a huge value prop that we’ve always had, and it’s still remained super important for our users,” Massoudi added. “So it’s important that we continue to innovate in that space.”
Launching phone plans is a rare step from a financial services firm. Plenty of challenger banks have bundled new services into their apps to give consumers more of a reason to use them over alternatives. The aim is to pull in a stickier customer base long term.
That’s pretty key in Revolut’s case. The company, which notched a $33 billion valuation in 2022, has been trying to get more of a loyal user base and grow its line of paid subscriptions to diversify revenue.
For that, it needs customers who use it as more of a permanent banking provider for all their financial needs, rather than just an optional low-fee travel account for when they go abroad.
Hermann Frank, CEO of tech startup Gigs, which helps businesses set up and sell their own branded eSIM phone and data plans, said Revolut’s move could prove lucrative for the firm in the long term.
“This move presents an easy avenue for Revolut to unlock a lucrative new revenue stream and could play a vital part in the company’s long-term profitability,” Frank told CNBC via email.
“By enriching their offering with branded phone plans, neobanks like Revolut can fuse two essential services in one single app, easing the user experience and further compounding stickiness.”
Retail spending on travel connectivity services, including roaming packages and travel SIMs, is expected to rise to over $30 billion by 2028, according to roaming and connectivity market intelligence and consulting firm Kaleido Intelligence.
“We foresee many other banks launching phone plans and travel offers in the coming 18 months,” Frank added.
Revolut isn’t the first fintech ever to launch an eSIM offering. Indian credit card startup Zolve, which helps immigrants set up banking before arriving in the U.S., started offering phone plans attached to physical SIMs and eSIMs in August.
An attendee wearing a Super Mario costume uses a Nintendo Switch 2 game console while playing a video game during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention centre in London, Britain, April 11, 2025.
Isabel Infantes | Reuters
Nintendo on Friday announced that retail preorder for its Nintendo Switch 2 gaming system will begin on April 24 starting at $449.99.
Preorders for the hotly anticipated console were initially slated for April 9, but Nintendo delayed the date to assess the impact of the far-reaching, aggressive “reciprocal” tariffs that President Donald Trump announced earlier this month.
Most electronics companies, including Nintendo, manufacture their products in Asia. Nintendo’s Switch 1 consoles were made in China and Vietnam, Reuters reported in 2019. Trump has imposed a 145% tariff rate on China and a 10% rate on Vietnam. The latter is down from 46%, after he instituted a 90-day pause to allow for negotiations.
Nintendo said Friday that the Switch 2 will cost $449.99 in the U.S., which is the same price the company first announced on April 2.
“We apologize for the retail pre-order delay, and hope this reduces some of the uncertainty our consumers may be experiencing,” Nintendo said in a statement. “We thank our customers for their patience, and we share their excitement to experience Nintendo Switch 2 starting June 5, 2025.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 and “Mario Kart World“ bundle will cost $499.99, the digital version “Mario Kart World” will cost $79.99 and the digital version of “Donkey Kong Bananza” will cost $69.99, Nintendo said. All of those prices remain unchanged from the company’s initial announcement.
However, accessories for the Nintendo Switch 2 will “experience price adjustments,” the company said, and other future changes in costs are possible for “any Nintendo product.”
It will cost gamers $10 more to by the dock set, $1 more to buy the controller strap and $5 more to buy most other accessories, for instance.
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An employee walks past a quilt displaying Etsy Inc. signage at the company’s headquarters in the Brooklyn.
Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Etsy is trying to make it easier for shoppers to purchase products from local merchants and avoid the extra cost of imports as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs raise concerns about soaring prices.
In a post to Etsy’s website on Thursday, CEO Josh Silverman said the company is “surfacing new ways for buyers to discover businesses in their countries” via shopping pages and by featuring local sellers on its website and app.
“While we continue to nurture and enable cross-border trade on Etsy, we understand that people are increasingly interested in shopping domestically,” Silverman said.
Etsy operates an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers with mostly artisanal and handcrafted goods. The site, which had 5.6 million active sellers as of the end of December, competes with e-commerce juggernaut Amazon, as well as newer entrants that have ties to China like Temu, Shein and TikTok Shop.
By highlighting local sellers, Etsy could relieve some shoppers from having to pay higher prices induced by President Trump’s widespread tariffs on trade partners. Trump has imposed tariffs on most foreign countries, with China facing a rate of 145%, and other nations facing 10% rates after he instituted a 90-day pause to allow for negotiations. Trump also signed an executive order that will end the de minimis provision, a loophole for low-value shipments often used by online businesses, on May 2.
Temu and Shein have already announced they plan to raise prices late next week in response to the tariffs. Sellers on Amazon’s third-party marketplace, many of whom source their products from China, have said they’re considering raising prices.
Silverman said Etsy has provided guidance for its sellers to help them “run their businesses with as little disruption as possible” in the wake of tariffs and changes to the de minimis exemption.
Before Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs took effect, Silverman said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in late February that he expects Etsy to benefit from the tariffs and de minimis restrictions because it “has much less dependence on products coming in from China.”
“We’re doing whatever work we can do to anticipate and prepare for come what may,” Silverman said at the time. “In general, though, I think Etsy will be more resilient than many of our competitors in these situations.”
Still, American shoppers may face higher prices on Etsy as U.S. businesses that source their products or components from China pass some of those costs on to consumers.
Etsy shares are down 17% this year, slightly more than the Nasdaq.
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