Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky says advertising can build trust and plans airport advertising
Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky said in a podcast interview that advertising can build trust. He explained that as a digital bank with no branches, people cannot physically see it, so it is less trusted than HSBC, Lloyds, or JPMorgan Chase.
Storonsky said that there are many spaces in the physical world that can also create impressions, but they are much cheaper than the digital world. He mentioned that he once had the idea of buying the entire airport, and currently Revolut has advertising in half of Europe’s airports, with travelers feeling as if they are surrounded by Revolut ads as they walk.
He further explained that by calculating how many times people travel each year, the number of impressions generated and the cost, he found that paying for impressions in the physical world is cheaper than in the digital world, creating an arbitrage opportunity in performance marketing while also building trust. The relevant statements are Storonsky’s personal views. Public reports show that Revolut has deployed advertising such as jet bridges at multiple European airports, including Berlin, Hamburg, and Madrid, but the proportion of “half of airports” is his own statement.
Original source:
Title: Competition, Intensity & Building a $115 Billion Global Bank | Nik Storonsky, Revolut
Publisher: David Senra podcast (interview with Nik Storonsky)
Publication date: 2026-10-25
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT_MAAwFLIc
Source type: podcast interview transcript
Verification status: Relevant transcript and secondary reports were read; the scale of advertising is the speaker’s own account, and public examples support the existence of advertising at some airports
Supported content: trust issues for digital banks, physical-world impressions being cheaper, airport advertising layout, view on performance-marketing arbitrage
ABAB AI Insight
Storonsky frames digital banks’ lack of physical presence as the source of a trust disadvantage, and believes that buying impressions in physical spaces can both lower costs and build trust. This logic shifts airport advertising from simple brand exposure to a cost calculation that can be compared with digital performance marketing.
His mention of “buying the entire airport” actually refers to purchasing advertising space rather than ownership. Public examples show that Revolut has placed advertising in and around jet bridges, corridors, and other locations at multiple European airports, creating continuous touchpoints. No independent statistics have confirmed the specific coverage ratio of “half of Europe’s airports.”
In terms of capital allocation, digital banks have traditionally relied on in-app or online customer acquisition. If the cost of physical impressions is lower than digital channels and can influence affluent travelers’ choice of primary accounts, it could change the structure of acquisition spending. Current observations are mainly based on the interview remarks and some airport cases.
Structurally, this is a public explanation that places trust building, impression costs, and physical-space arbitrage side by side. It emphasizes that digital banks can make up for a lack of visibility through offline presence, but it does not provide specific return data or a direct comparison with traditional bank branch costs.
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Digital banks are described as having lower trust because they lack physical branches, and physical advertising is used as a remedy.
Physical-world impressions are positioned as a cheaper acquisition method than digital channels, leaving room for cost arbitrage.
“Buying the entire airport” refers to purchasing advertising space, not transferring ownership of the airport.