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Revolut has started to pay out cash bonuses to staff as part of an overhaul of the $45bn fintech’s remuneration policy, moving away from a previous system that only granted bonuses in equity.
The London-based fintech, which handed out nearly £180mn in share-based payments to staff in 2024, amended its annual performance bonus programme last year to include cash awards for the first time, according to a disclosure in its annual report and people familiar with the matter.
The change means that eligible Revolut employees will receive performance bonuses as a mix of cash and equity, entirely in equity, or entirely in cash, depending on their roles and levels of seniority, the people said. Historically, all staff bonuses were paid as share awards.
The policy change comes ahead of a potential bumper initial public offering for Revolut in the coming years. Despite overtures from UK officials, the company continues to favour a potential listing on the Nasdaq market in the US instead of London, the Financial Times previously reported.
Revolut last year secured a $45bn valuation in a secondary share sale, cementing its position as Europe’s most valuable start-up. The share sale netted a windfall of about $500mn for more than 2,200 employees who offloaded stock.
The company said the new bonus scheme “reflected employee feedback”, with staff requesting greater flexibility in the fintech’s variable compensation structure.
Senior employees are expected to receive a higher proportion of equity as part of their bonus award, while junior employees will receive a higher cash component, said a person briefed on the new policy.
The introduction of the new cash bonuses helped push the amount Revolut spent on wages, salaries and bonuses last year to £485mn, a jump of nearly 40 per cent on the previous 12 months, according to its annual report.
Meanwhile, the company distributed £179mn in share-based payments to employees during the same period, a threefold increase on the previous year.
“One-off year-on-year increases in staff costs were recorded to account for the timing impact of the cash bonus we extended for the first time to a broader population of Revoluters in lieu of equity, and for the increase in our share-based payments charge driven by the higher company valuation,” Revolut said in its annual report.
This week, Revolut reported record pre-tax profits of £1bn, after it was boosted by rising customer numbers and a surge in cryptocurrency trading.
After a protracted — and sometimes fraught — three-year process with regulators, the fintech secured a UK banking licence with restrictions in July last year, which was regarded as a milestone for the company.
Revolut said: “All roles previously eligible for equity will continue to receive it, as we believe that employees should own equity in the company and act like owners. The cash component aims to provide greater liquidity, particularly for our more junior colleagues, in response to their feedback.”
