Revolut Counts 2.3 Million Portuguese Clients and Claims Third-Largest-Bank Status While Record Deposits Draw the State's New Treasury Certificates Into the Fight for Savers
The British fintech now says it is the country's third-largest bank, and it is arriving at the exact moment Portuguese households have parked more money than ever in low-yielding deposits.
Revolut told the Portuguese market this week that it has crossed 2.3 million clients in Portugal and now considers itself the country's third-largest bank by customer count — a claim that would have sounded absurd when the app arrived as a travel-money card a few years ago. “We are now really well positioned to compete directly with traditional banks,” a company spokesperson said, adding that the group is “on the right track” to pass 2.5 million clients before the end of the year.
The numbers behind the boast are real. Revolut added roughly 580,000 clients in Portugal during 2025 alone and reported a record group profit of about €1.5 billion for the year. In Portugal it now issues national IBANs with the local “PT50” prefix, has plugged into the domestic MB WAY payments system through an agreement with SIBS (the bank-owned payments operator), and has joined the Associação Portuguesa de Bancos (Portuguese Banking Association). It is also converting its Lisbon operation into a full branch (sucursal) this summer. Domestic transfers and payments already account for a majority of what its Portuguese users do in the app — a sign the card is becoming a primary account rather than a holiday wallet.
A record pile of idle cash
Revolut is chasing that ambition at a revealing moment. Household bank deposits have just hit another record high. Figures from the Banco de Portugal (Bank of Portugal) showed deposits by private individuals rising by about €2.3 billion in June, a 7.2% annual growth rate that was the fastest since May 2021. Yet a large share of that money sits in current and overnight accounts earning next to nothing, and the average rate on new term deposits has only crept up to a little over 1.4%.
That gap — huge balances, tiny returns — is precisely the opening that both a fintech and the State are trying to exploit.
The State counters with new certificates
On 6 July the government launched a new savings product aimed squarely at those idle balances: the Certificados do Tesouro (Treasury Certificates) Série 5. The 10-year instrument pays a fixed, rising coupon that starts at 2.35% in the first year and climbs to 3.35% in the tenth, for an average of roughly 2.71% if held to maturity. It requires a minimum €1,000, can be redeemed after the first year (with loss of interest for early exits), and replaces the older Certificados do Tesouro Poupança Valor. Savers can subscribe through Aforronet, the Espaços Cidadão citizen desks, CTT post offices and Banco BIG.
For residents deciding where to keep their euros, the contest is now three-cornered. Traditional banks still hold the overwhelming majority of deposits but pay little for them. Revolut offers slick digital banking, instant transfers and, increasingly, interest-bearing savings vaults — while operating under a Lithuanian-issued European banking licence rather than direct Portuguese supervision. The Treasury offers a state-backed, higher fixed return in exchange for locking money away for years.
None of the three has an obvious knockout. But the direction of travel is clear: after a decade in which Portuguese savers were largely ignored because rates were on the floor, their cash has suddenly become worth fighting over.
