Revolut has officially begun operating a bank in Ireland.

For the first time the payments company is launching protected deposit accounts – with up to €100,000 protected under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

Revolut Bank is now operating in 29 countries – with the company offering customers who sign up the opportunity to be first in line when it starts offering banking products, including loans and credit cards.

The company said the personal loans will have rates starting from 5.99% APR.

The UK-headquartered company has 1.7 million Irish customers who now have the option to upgrade from ‘Revolut Payments’ to ‘Revolut Bank.’

The company said the switch can be done in minutes via the mobile app.

It said the launch of Revolut Banking in Ireland will offer a “greater level of security and confidence” to customers while enabling it to launch future banking products.

Founded in 2015, Revolut was last year valued at €30bn.