Why Revolut’s presence at Yachtmaster Group events paid off — and what businesses can learn from it
When new ideas meet the right opportunities, great things happen. We spoke with Albin Deplanck from Revolut about how joining Yachtmaster Group events helped them gain new clients — and why strong business connections happen when top industry players come together.
1. Can you present yourself and the company you represent?
My name is Albin. I represent Revolut Business, that I call Revolut Business for Yachting since I’m working specifically if not only on the yachting industry.
2. How does Revolut help brokers and fleet operators manage their money more easily in the yaching industry?
For fleet operators and yacht management, we offer the ability for one company to open up to 500 sub-accounts in over 35 currencies. These sub-accounts are often used for things like APA or daily yacht operations. Each account has its own unique bank details (like an IBAN), and you can give access only to specific crew members, such as the captain, chef, or stewardess so they only see and use the account for their yacht. Crew can also have a card linked only to that specific account, making things more secure and organized. For charters, you can create a sub-account for each trip, link a card, and delete it once the charter is over, then create a new one for the next booking. There are no limits on incoming transfers, and no fees to receive funds in key currencies like euros, dollars, pounds, and Swiss francs. The only limit is €100,000 for euro instant transfers. These features are designed to simplify yacht operations and reduce everyday banking costs.
3. What are main problems that brokers and fleet operators face and how has Revolut helped solve them those problems through connections made at International Charter Expo (ICE) and Croatia Yacht Show (CYS)?
Many brokers and fleet operators currently use traditional banks or services likewise, but these often don’t meet all their needs. They use several apps just to manage accounts, make transfers, or handle currency exchange. That can be complicated and costly. (Revolut helps by offering everything in one easy-to-use platform, from creating multiple sub-accounts to managing crew access and linking cards to specific accounts. It’s faster, more flexible, and much more cost-effective.)
A big issue in yachting is high fees for international transfers and currency exchange, especially when receiving payments from outside the EU. For example, some of my clients in Croatia used to pay high fees to receive euros from the US. With Revolut, they now pay no fees to receive euros, no matter where the money is coming from.
Also, unlike many banks, Revolut doesn’t limit how much you can receive, which is key for large payments in the yachting industry. Through events like ICE and CYS, we’ve been able to connect directly with industry professionals, understand their specific needs, and show them how Revolut can solve these everyday problems — all while offering dedicated support and personal contact.
4. And what makes CYS and ICE special for your business compared to other industry events, other yacht shows, other expos etc?
CYS and ICE are both unique and really valuable for our business, but in different ways.
CYS feels exclusive and very focused. Only serious industry professionals attend, which means every meeting is relevant. I loved that the event is niche and targeted, and the match-making app for arranging B2B meetings made a huge difference. Before the show, I already had 20–25 meetings scheduled, which gave me confidence, especially as someone new to the yachting world. The app and the team behind the event really stood out — everything felt well-organized and personal.
ICE, on the other hand, has a more open and dynamic vibe. It’s great for focusing more on bareboat and charter operators. Again, the match-making app helped me connect with the right people and set up quality meetings in advance.
Both events were game-changers for building real connections in the industry.
5. Can you share any examples of how these events help you introduce Revolut to the yacting industry? Did you make any important business deals there? Can you give us some statistics or example how many meetings, how many deals were made out of it?
At CYS, I had around 30 meetings booked through the app, plus more on-site. At ICE, it was even busier, over 50 meetings in just three days, and my schedule was full even before arriving. The speed meetings and networking events also helped a lot.
Since then, I’ve gained a solid number of new clients, not just among fleet operators and brokers, but across different areas of the yachting industry. I’m still getting follow-up requests months later, especially now as the new season starts. It’s clear these events really helped build strong, lasting connections.
6. What was the hardest part about bringing Revolut into the yacting industry and how did our events helped you solve this? So from the very beginning of your journey?
At the beginning, the hardest part was that many people in the yachting industry didn’t really know what Revolut was — or that we’re now a licensed bank in the EU with the same protections as traditional banks. Some were unsure or didn’t fully trust it yet.
Meeting people face-to-face at your events really helped change that. Once we had the chance to explain things in person and build real connections, it became much easier.
Also, after Brexit, Revolut opened operations in Lithuania to keep our EU banking license, and now we’re going even further by offering local IBANs — like French or Spanish ones — which makes opening accounts much smoother for companies in different countries.
So, overall, your events helped us break through those trust and knowledge barriers and grow much faster in the yachting world.
7. If you had to describe the value of Revolut for brokers and fleet operators in one sentence, what would you say?
Revolut business is like the go-to bank or app to navigate within your finances on the daily operation.
