Revolut

European fintech company founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky (former Credit Suisse derivatives trader) and Vlad Yatsenko after Storonsky was charged £55 in hidden FX fees on a ski trip. Started with a narrow value proposition: fair FX rates via mobile app and prepaid card.

The chapter uses Revolut as a convergent evolution example with Asian super-apps (WeChat, Paytm, Grab), showing how all independently evolved toward integrated financial ecosystems despite different starting points (FX card, messaging, payments, ride-hailing) and regulatory environments. The convergence occurred because the same selection pressures applied: margin compression on core product, mobile-first behavior, and data advantages from multiple services.