Prime Minister Joseph Muscat sent a strong message to traditional banks this morning – fintech banks like Revolut are the future and he will welcome them to Malta with open arms.

“Revolut is a fintech bank and fintech is the future so yes, I welcome anything that disrupts the market and the traditional players,” he told Lovin Malta. “Yes, the government is a shareholder of Bank of Valletta but at the end of the day we represent the people. While I understand the concerns of traditional banks, if the people aren’t satisfied with their services then we should welcome competition. God willing there will be more competition in our market.”

The Prime Minister added that traditional banks have already started acting to these new players, opening up their own fintech branches to keep up with the competition.

Revolut has surged in popularity since launching in July 2015, attracting over 2.5 million users across Europe, including over 25,000 Maltese customers, some 6% of the population.

Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky

Its CEO Nikolay Storonsky raised eyebrows recently when he pledged to “end the party” for traditional Maltese banks, who he accused of fleecing their customers with their “crappy technology”.

Revolut will officially launch in Malta at next month’s DELTA summit, Malta’s official blockchain and fintech summit, and has set itself an ambitious target to reach 60,000 Maltese customers by the end of the year.

In his comments to the press this afternoon, Muscat also confirmed he will postpone the publication of the Egrant inquiry pending the outcome of a constitutional case instituted by Opposition leader Adrian Delia.

“As has been reported, several legal experts have advised me not to publish the full report as it could create a dangerous precedent,” he said. “I remain committed to publishing it, but the rule of law dictates I shouldn’t do so until I hear what direction the Constitutional Court gives.”

What do you make of the Prime Minister’s comments?

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]