Want to work for Revolut? Then you’ll probably encounter their problem‑solving interview: a significant and demanding part of the hiring process.
In this article, Coach Mariana will walk you through exactly how the interview works, what skills it tests, and how you can prepare to stand out. Whether you're new to case-style interviews or just want to sharpen your skills, her goal is to help you approach Revolut’s process with confidence and clarity.
Revolut is a UK-based fintech company founded in 2015. It offers digital banking services such as current accounts, international transfers, cards, and investment options, and is now active in more than 35 countries.
At Revolut, the problem-solving interview is a core step in the hiring process. You’ll be asked to tackle a real or realistic business situation in 30–40 minutes, working through it live with your interviewer.
The purpose isn’t to see whether you know the “right answer.” In most cases, there isn’t one. Instead, the focus is on how you think: can you bring structure to an ambiguous question, work with data, do the math, make reasonable assumptions, brainstorm solutions, and communicate clearly?
I know this sounds a bit conceptual right now, but don’t worry! I’ll break it down for you in a moment! 🙂
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What Will Revolut’s Problem-Solving Interview Assess?
The Revolut problem-solving interview usually covers six main areas:
Structuring – Breaking down a broad problem into clear, logical components while being MECE.
Chart Reading – Interpreting data exhibits to extract relevant insights connected to the case objective.
Case Math – Performing calculations to support arguments. Don’t worry about mental math; so far 100% of my clients were allowed to use calculators or Excel, just confirm this with your HR point of contact. 😉
Brainstorming – Generating creative yet practical ideas within a structured MECE framework.
Communication – Explaining your thought process in a clear, confident, top-down way.
Breaking Down Each Component of Revolut’s Problem-Solving Interview
Let us now take a look at each component of Revolut’s problem-solving interview:
Structuring
What it means: Turning a broad question into an organized, step-by-step plan (MECE).
MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive. It means your breakdown should have no overlaps and should cover all relevant points.
A basic example could be: Internal factors vs. External factors. (Just to illustrate the concept, don’t use it blindly without context!)
Typical questions include:
“Why might Revolut’s card transactions be declining in one market?”
“How could Revolut grow its revenues next year?”
“How could we improve the onboarding process of new clients?”
Step-by-step method
Repeat the prompt to confirm you understood it correctly, even if it’s simple.
Clarify the scope and success criteria, as you would in a real project. Think like an executive who needs clear boundaries and high-level context.
Draft 3–4 broad categories that are MECE.
Add sub-categories under each to guide your analysis.
Explain your structure out loud, linking your rationale back to the case objective.
State explicitly what your next step will be, that’s what makes it a candidate-led interview.
Use your structure as the roadmap for the rest of the case.
Why it makes sense
Imagine you lost your wallet at home. A MECE approach would be to search room by room until you’ve covered the entire house. That way, you know the wallet must be found within that scope.
Prioritization then comes into play: if you just walked in, the most likely places are the entryway or living room. If you have a playful baby (like I do), you might check unusual spots, like the washing machine! 😉
Applied to a business case related to profitability in a tech company:
If profits are down, breaking the problem into revenues and costs guarantees you’ll find the answer, because the issue must lie within that scope.
Chart Reading
What it means: Extracting insights from data exhibits like tables, bar charts, or line graphs.
Typical questions:
“Here’s a breakdown of revenues by product line. What stands out?”
“This chart shows churn by age group. What do you observe?”
Step-by-step method
Take 15–20 seconds to read silently, then confirm your understanding with the interviewer.
Look for trends, outliers, and comparisons. Don’t narrate line by line.
Identify key insights connected to the case objective. (Remember: you’re solving for the “wallet,” not random objects.)
State the findings clearly, avoiding a full narration of every number.
Link insights back to your structure, then say what your next step will be.
To exercise this skill, I recommend you to take a look into McKinsey and Bainarticles in their official websites. There are plenty of exhibits for you to interpret. Make sure to not take a peek into their main insights described in the article before trying to figure them out by yourself.
Case Math
What it means: Doing calculations to size a problem, test scenarios, or evaluate options.
Typical questions:
“If Revolut launches a premium product, how would you calculate annual revenue?”
“How many customers would Revolut need for this feature to break even?”
“What’s the market size for fintechs in Germany?”
Step-by-step method
Repeat the prompt and given numbers.
Write out the formula before plugging in numbers, confirm your logic first.
Perform the math step by step. Use a calculator/Excel if allowed and share your screen.
Round where it makes sense (say it explicitly).
Check if the result seems realistic.
Always ask: “So what?” → link the number back to the case objective.
Brainstorming
What it means: Coming up with a structured list of ideas to solve a challenge, often after analyzing data.
Typical questions:
“What strategies could Revolut use to increase user engagement?”
“What options could Revolut explore to reduce fraud?”
Step-by-step method
Pause and set a structure before listing ideas.
You can use contrasts (internal vs. external), processes (customer journey), or frameworks (Ansoff, 4Ps, BCG) depending on the case.
Generate ideas within each category. Cover obvious options first, then push for creative ones.
Explain why each idea could matter.
Prioritize based on rationale (context, feasibility, impact).
Example:
“You’re advising a restaurant that wants to increase revenue without changing its business model. What ideas do you have?”
Communication
Even the best analysis fails without clear communication.
Tips to keep in mind:
Speak in short, structured points.
Use signposting (“There are three reasons. Reason 1…”).
Summarize frequently.
End with a confident recommendation.
Example – Non Top-Down:
“So, the company has been facing revenue issues. Region A dropped by 15% and we don't know why, Region B actually grew, but its impact is irrelevant. Marketing spend increased $10M but unclear ROI so far, definitely need to check further. Retention also fell by 5%. So overall, there are a lot of moving parts.”
Example – Top-Down:
“The company’s profitability problem stems from 3 main factors:
Sales dropped 15% in Region A.
Marketing spend increased $10M with no clear ROI.
Customer retention fell 5%.
Since Region A’s decline represents 40% of the impact, I suggest we focus there first. As a next step, I’d like to understand…”
In short: stay structured, stay top-down, and remember: your interviewer wants to follow your thinking, not solve a riddle. 🙂
Revolut’s Candidate-Led Interviews: Taking the Driver’s Seat
Revolut uses a candidate-led format. The interviewer won’t guide you step by step (though they may nudge you in a direction).
How to handle it:
Start strong with a clear structure.
Be proactive in asking for data.
Always connect findings back to the case objective.
Drive the discussion forward, don’t wait for hints.
Summarize progress regularly so the interviewer can follow your logic.
👉 Practice candidate-led interviews with our wide selection of practice cases in our Case Library. You can easily filter between candidate-led and interviewer-led formats!
Your client tk Commodity Trade (tk ComT) is a global materials trader - they buy and sell raw materials. tk ComT had stable EBITDA margins in recent years. They consider expanding their target market and entering the Lithium (electric vehicle battery grade) trade, due to the current high demand for electric cars and Lithium-ion batteries. The client is concerned about minimizing the cash spending and about improving the payback period for this market-entry campaign, due to corporate cash policy.As a consultant, you are expected to calculate the size of the Lithium market and to assess the payback periods for an organic market entry (with own resources) as well as for the acquisition of an established company. Finally, the client expects a proposal about the best market entry strategy and potential opportunities and risks.
CoffeeWorks is one of the leading coffee retail chains in the UK. The client is planning to introduce reusable cups with an aim to decrease the consumption of single-use disposable cups. The main goal of the client is to enhance their brand image as a sustainable retailer without harming current profitability levels. Thus, they approached us to check whether they should go ahead with their plan.
A manufacturer of tires in Laos has had a monopoly in the market for years due to high tariff on imports. If foreign producers wanted to import tires, they would have to pay a high import tariff which makes up 40% of the total cost to produce and ship to Laos. The Laotian government has now decided to lower the tariffs by 4% each year for the next ten years to open up the market to foreign companies and achieve lower consumer prices. Our client is concerned this move will affect their market position and hired us to investigate the effects and help them decide what to do.
Your client is Madhouse Studios, one of the largest anime producers in Japan. The anime-industry is flourishing. Originally revenue was generated mainly in Japan but the trend is that revenues outside of Japan are growing at a steady rate of 15% a year as more and more non-Japanese people enjoy anime. Despite this rapidly growing new segment, Madhouse lost $6m in profits at the end of 2017 even though profits were growing steadily the years before.Madhouse has given you the objective to find the root cause of the loss in profitability and to advise them on how to proceed from here.
The client, VacuLuxe Innovations, is a manufacturer for vacuum pumps, e.g. rotary vane pumps, cryogenic pumps located in Germany. The company has grown from a start-up to a major corporation over the last 50 years. However, after benchmarking the economics of their business, the client discovered that their direct spend (i.e., COGS supplier spend) represented a higher percentage of their revenue than their closest competitors.The client's top management has engaged the SCM and procurement specialized consultancy Inverto to advise the company in this critical situation.An initial meeting with the CPO of VacuLuxe Innovations will be conducted tomorrow. VacuLuxe Innovations aims to discuss optimization potentials in the current collaboration with suppliers as well as levers to improve the supply chain resilience & carbon footprint. Unfortunately, VacuLuxe Innovations has only submitted the following high level data for their direct spend yet.
We are a profitable American provider of fire and water remediation services. We are generally hired by insurance companies to provide cleaning services in the wake of burning and flooding damages. We we would like your counsel on whether to enter the growing USA traditional residential cleaning market or not. Traditional housecleaning usually takes place 2-3 times per month.
Sensorio Hightech GmbH is a leading manufacturer of technically advanced consumer electronics sensors based in Germany with EUR 500 m in revenues. It is a successfully growing affiliate with technically advanced consumer electronics sensors as its main business. Sensorio Hightech GmbH is looking at the smart home market for further growth. In addition, the company is aiming to tap into new regional markets. You are a member of a consulting team mandated by Sensorio Hightech GmbH to:assess possible new target segments in the smart home market(optional – if there’s time left: recommend go-to-market measures)The company is looking for a recommendation answering the following questions, taking into account Sensorio’s capabilities and current situation in various regions, the overall market environment, and smart home ecosystem:Smart home market segmentation & attractiveness analysis (qualitative & quantitative)What are relevant market segments of the smart home market?What are potential factors that determine the market segment's attractiveness for Sensorio Hightech GmbH?Which market segment(s) is/are most attractive for Sensorio Hightech GmbH to enter, and why?(Optional: Entry strategy (qualitative))How does the strategy to successfully entering the target segment(s) look like?What are the crucial factors Sensorio Hightech GmbH needs to get right?What parts of the value chain does Sensorio Hightech GmbH want to cover?
The client is an Indonesian producer of paper boards which can be further processed into paper boxes, shopping bags, etc. They sell in both their domestic market i.e. Indonesia, and in the export market i.e. the US. Revenue last year was $5 billion, with 80% from Indonesia and 20% from the US. Overall they have been growing at 3% annually. The client wants to achieve a 5% growth rate in the next 1-2 years. With the resource constraint they have, they want to focus on one of the two markets. They want to know which market they should go after to achieve that increase in growth rate, and how.
Your client is a D2C (direct to customer) online fashion business in a developing country. It is a new brand, launched about 2 years ago and founded by ex-investment bankers. Their brand focuses on trendy, edgy design that is less main-stream (versus big brands like H&M, Uniqlo, Zara etc) for adult men. While they have been growing fast, they want to understand how they can further improve their sales.
As a consultant at Mercedes-Benz Management Consulting (MBMC), you are actively shaping the future of automotive mobility. While you are contributing to decisive projects that design the future of the world’s No.1 premium carmaker, you also develop your own career path, and you have the unique possibility to build your personal brand and cultivate relationships with the top management.Your client on your current project is the head of product strategy who reports directly to the CEO. She asks you to explore new profit pools and business opportunities regarding innovations and monetarization strategies.Initially, you shall structure and explore potential business models, and discuss necessary conditions and implications of these business models. In a next step, you shall quantitatively analyze possible options and prepare them for decision. And of course, the client is interested in your recommendation.
Sie sind Abschlussprüfer der CarVermietungen GmbH, einem deutschen Unternehmen, das geleaste Fahrzeuge europaweit an Privat- und Geschäftskunden weitervermietet.Im Rahmen der Prüfung führen Sie Interviews mit dem Management des Unternehmens durch. Dabei wecken insbesondere die langfristigen ökologischen und digitalen Herausforderungen der Firma Ihr Interesse. Sie erfahren unter anderem, dass die Hauptunterschiede zum üblichen Geschäft in einem Transformationsplan liegen und lassen sich vom CFO den Plan vorstellen.Die Finanzdirektorin teilt Ihnen stolz mit, dass die CarVermietungen GmbH in die Elektrifizierung der Fahrzeugflotte investiert. Die Anzahl der Elektroautos wird im Lagebericht veröffentlicht. Die CarVermietungen GmbH bietet ihren Kunden seit dem vierten Quartal eine Erweiterung zum bestehenden Bonusprogramm an. Die Kunden können ihre gesammelten Bonuspunkte am Jahresende auf ein Umweltprogramm übertragen, das vorwiegend in den Anbau von Bäumen und Wasseralgen investiert, um die klimafreundliche CO2-Bindung zu fördern. In diesem Zusammenhang hat das Unternehmen auch eine weitere Zielgruppe definiert und eine entsprechende Kundenliste erstellt. Darüber hinaus wurden im laufenden Geschäftsjahr durch den Zukauf von Daten über ein soziales Netzwerk zusätzlich neue Kunden hinzugewonnen.Die CarVermietungen GmbH hat im letzten Quartal außerdem in P2P-Carsharing investiert, da sich dieses neue Geschäftsmodell im Ausland bereits als vielversprechend erwiesen hat. Private Autobesitzer haben die Möglichkeit, ihr Fahrzeug über die Carsharing-Plattform anzubieten und die Vermietung gänzlich über eine App abzuwickeln. Die Mietwagengebühren betragen ein Drittel des Mietwertes und die CarVermietungen GmbH zahlt eine Versicherung, die jeden Kunden abdeckt. Die Versicherungsprämien für das Folgejahr wurden bereits ausgezahlt.
Your client is the Government of Indonesia, specifically a joint committee formed between a few key ministries including the Ministry of Marine Affairs & Fisheries, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Environment & Forestry. Indonesia is one of the largest developing countries in the world, with a population of about 285M people and an average monthly income of only USD 500. Located in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is actually a vast archipelago comprised of 17,000 islands, giving it one of the longest and most complex coastlines in the world. It is also part of the Coral Triangle, an area demarcated by scientists as the global epicenter of marine diversity. Your client tells you that Indonesia's once pristine coral reefs have seen a rapid decline over the past decade. They have come to you for help and want to figure out what is causing the problem.
You are part of the Strategy & Operations team at Revolut.Revolut has had significant growth over the past couple of years, with customer base growing 20-30% per year. Our apps have also been highly rated in the various app stores - be it GooglePlay or on the Apple store.Revolut's current customer strategy is to segment customers based on their subscription tiers/plans. Standard: FreePlus: $3.99/mthPremium: $7.99/mthMetal: $14.99/mthUltra: Ultra $55/mthKey differentiation between the plans are in the pricing and features. Namely, the more expensive tiers like Metal and Ultra have additional features such as personalized and premium card design, free access to lifestyle apps (e.g. Financial Times, Class Pass etc), better FX rates and priority customer support.It's great that Revolut has been expanding rapidly, but we are starting to see some stresses on our existing operations and processes. One key area of concern is in customer service, our satisfaction scores have started to trend down and call center headcounts and costs have been increasing in recent years, but we are struggling to handle the load of incoming requests and tickets.You have been tasked to lead a project to solve this problem without ballooning costs.
Your client is a chewing gum manufacturer.The CEO of the manufacturing company wants you to find out why his company is experiencing a declining profit margin. He then wants you to suggest ways to improve his company’s profit margin.
Our client is a French holding company with annual revenues of about €1 billion. Their portfolio consists of different companies that are mostly in manufacturing industries such as the oil & gas industry and the automotive industry.They do not have a specific investment focus. They prefer to buy the best companies available that are also related to their existing businesses.They are thinking about acquiring an auto parts dealer, OTOpart, and want to know whether you think it is a good idea.
A printing company is planning to take over another printing company with similar technology and printing machines. The candidate is supposed to evaluate the acquisition by answering a line of questions that are presented in the “suggested approach” section.
Our client is a Chinese publisher called AnimeCo who is looking to publish a new book based on the popular Anime series Little Panda. This series has been highly popular in China with millions of viewers every day and the publisher is looking to capitalize on this potentially.They have asked us to provide advice on whether this will be a good investment and if they should move forward with it. They want to know the total market size, potential revenue & potential profit.
Incos is a global manufacturer of writing products with divisions in North America, Europe and South-East Asia. Their global sales are $60 m and their profits amounted to around $30 m. Their European division who manufactures and sells disposable pens is experiencing flattening sales and a decreasing profit. The client hired you to help him come up with suggestions to get profits back on track.
The Revolut problem-solving interview is demanding but highly learnable. By practicing each of the 5 components, structuring, chart reading, math, brainstorming, and communication, you’ll be ready to handle ambiguity and pressure.
Approach each question step by step, stay MECE in your thinking, and keep your communication top-down and crisp. That’s how you show Revolut you can think and act like one of their strategists from day one.
If you have come this far, congratulations!
👉 Want to put these methods into practice? Book a case session with me and let’s work through real Revolut-style problems together.
#1 coach for Revolut | ex Mckinsey ex Nubank | Consulting & Fintech | Clients hired by Revolut, McKinsey, Kearney & more
Case coach with over 200+ sessions experience
Personal Storytelling and Behavioral Interview/PEI Prep
Languages: English, Portuguese
Mariana is a case interview coach on PrepLounge and a former McKinsey consultant. She supports candidates throughout the consulting recruiting process – from crafting impactful CVs to mastering fit and case interviews – with a strong focus on structure, communication, and confidence.
