Selected Practices:
Case Study
Revolut Revolutionizes Procurement with Acquis and Coupa
In an industry dominated by centuries-old institutions, Revolut is rewriting the rules of banking. With over 50 million customers across 140+ countries, Revolut has fundamentally changed expectations of banking in the digital age through its innovative, tech-forward approach.
The bank’s rapid growth – expanding from a startup in 2015 to $2.2 billion in revenue and $23 billion in customer deposits in 2024 – brought new operational challenges. As transaction volumes soared and the employee base expanded to over 12,000 people, Revolut needed to transform its internal processes to match the innovation it brings to the banking sector.
The Challenge
Disconnected Systems, Disrupted Growth
Revolut was ready to enhance and streamline procurement management across its rapidly expanding global operations. Before implementing Coupa, the bank relied on a disconnected ecosystem of systems including NetSuite, Slack, Jira, and proprietary software that resulted in limited visibility and disrupted processes across multiple countries.
Revolut had requisitions initiating in its proprietary software, then moving through various systems for approval. Without a unified connected workflow, tracking and managing spend became increasingly difficult as it scaled. As a regulated financial institution, Revolut needed robust compliance controls, but its manual workflows and lack of standardized data management made compliance increasingly challenging.
The combination of rapid geographic expansion and complex regulatory requirements demanded a more sophisticated approach to spend management. Revolut’s existing tools were not designed to handle the complexity of its current operations or support its ambitious growth plans. The team knew they needed to set themselves up for both present and future success.
Forging a Partnership
Given the timeline, complexity, and growth demands, the Revolut team elected to collaborate with an external partner. After evaluating multiple options, Revolut selected Coupa for its comprehensive functionality and proven track record in the financial sector. “What stood out about Coupa was its unified platform approach,” explains Lauren Richards, Revolut’s Global Head of Procurement. “While other vendors offered siloed solutions, Coupa’s integrated ecosystem provided the financial controls and spend visibility that we needed while ensuring continued compliance.”
Based on the project’s complexity and global scope, Coupa recommended Acquis Consulting Group to lead the implementation. “Acquis has been a trusted implementation partner for over 10 years,” shares Joe Catling, Enterprise Account Director at Coupa. “I immediately knew Acquis would be the ideal fit for this project due to the team’s deep experience in fintech and connecting NetSuite, Jira, and Coupa.”
Revolut realized that partnering with Coupa and Acquis would enable its teams to better allocate internal resources while implementing top-tier procurement processes, noting their combined expertise in financial services and digital procurement offered the fastest path to operational excellence.
The Solution
Building a Global Procurement Ecosystem
Acquis developed a comprehensive technical architecture that would serve as the foundation for Revolut’s procurement transformation. “We needed to create a solution that could handle Revolut’s complex requirements while maintaining the agility of a fast-moving fintech,” explains Tyson Moore, Senior Vice President and Coupa Practice Lead at Acquis. “This meant designing an architecture that could seamlessly integrate multiple systems while supporting rapid global expansion.”
The technical design centered on creating a connected ecosystem with Coupa at the core, integrating with Revolut’s existing NetSuite ERP, Slack communications, Jira ticketing system, and proprietary software. Acquis supported the integration of Workato as a middleware solution, collaborating with the Revolut and Workato teams to architect a scalable system design. Acquis focused on three key areas: endpoint configuration, API architecture, and cross-system field mapping. By establishing standardized processes and ensuring seamless data flow, Acquis created a robust framework that Revolut could replicate across multiple markets.
“What impressed us most was Acquis’ ability to understand the requirements across the entire ecosystem and translate our unique workflows into the Coupa platform. They didn’t just implement a standard solution; they adapted Coupa to match our specific processes while maintaining best practices for financial controls and compliance.”
To ensure successful adoption across Revolut’s global operations, Acquis developed a phased implementation strategy. The initial rollout focused on four core countries, allowing the team to validate the solution, address any challenges early, and refine processes before broader deployment. More importantly, it provided a repeatable model for expansion.
Following the successful core market implementation, Acquis guided the rollout to 10 additional markets, which together represent 80% of Revolut’s spend. This expansion phase proved critical in validating the scalability of the solution and its ability to handle diverse regional requirements. Coupa’s partnership with Acquis enabled Revolut to launch successfully in just eight months from project kickoff.
Knowledge Transfer
A cornerstone of Acquis’ approach was its comprehensive knowledge transfer program. Understanding the importance of user experience, Acquis designed a structured 12-week transition plan that methodically built Revolut’s internal capabilities.
At the outset, Acquis provided comprehensive training and hands-on support while documenting key processes. As the program progressed, responsibility gradually shifted to Revolut, which began taking the lead on day-to-day operations while Acquis provided guidance and oversight. In the final phase, Revolut’s team operated independently with Acquis serving as backup support to ensure a smooth transition.
This phased approach gave team members the confidence to manage the system independently and continue the global rollout to additional markets.
Revolut’s Revolution
The partnership with Coupa and Acquis delivered immediate and substantial impact across Revolut’s operations. Since its go-live in September 2024, the Revolut team successfully deployed Coupa across more than 22 countries, introducing an integrated procurement workflow that replaced previously siloed processes. With over 1,000 active users and an additional 500 scheduled to go live in 2025, this comprehensive implementation established a strong foundation for future scaling while developing a robust technology landscape to support Revolut’s continued growth – even in an increasingly complex global regulatory environment. Revolut is focused on expanding its user base across the organization and increasing the range of use cases for its platform to maximize efficiency opportunities across its source-to-pay (S2P) processes.
The Path to Global Expansion
With Coupa’s robust software and Acquis’ implementation expertise, Revolut has established a foundation for continued global expansion. The scalable procurement process supports the company’s global growth plans while maintaining the operational excellence expected of a leading digital bank.
“This transformation positions us to scale efficiently while maintaining the innovation and agility that defines Revolut,” concludes Lauren. “Acquis and Coupa continue to be true partners in our journey to revolutionize financial services.”