Revolut has secured a full banking licence in France, marking a significant milestone in the fintech’s European expansion and strengthening its position across Western Europe.
Source: Supplied.
The licence, granted following a joint assessment by French regulator ACPR and the European Central Bank, comes as Revolut accelerates investment and recruitment across the region.
With more than 75 million customers globally, the company has committed over €1bn to Western Europe, plans to hire more than 600 employees and will open a new regional headquarters in Paris in 2027.
Western Europe is Revolut's largest and fastest-growing region, with about 30 million customers, including close to 8 million who joined over the past year alone. The region is also home to one of Europe's fastest-growing business banking platforms, with Revolut Business serving hundreds of thousands of companies, from freelancers to large enterprises, across the continent.
The French licence cements the foundation for Revolut to serve this base at the highest regulatory and operational standard, while accelerating its ambition to become Europe's largest and most trusted bank - built on local relevance, regulatory trust, and continuous product innovation.
Operationalisation and next steps
Revolut Bank SA will progressively begin serving customers across Europe, starting with France, with other European markets including Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain to follow in subsequent phases.
Revolut's Lithuanian entity, Revolut Bank UAB, remains a cornerstone of operations for the rest of EEA. This dual-hub model in Europe is designed to support Revolut's scale across the continent with both entities supervised by their local competent authority and the European Central Bank.
The new structure will enable Revolut to accelerate the localisation of its products while deepening banking relationships through closer proximity to customers, talent, and local ecosystems.
European foundations, global ambitions
By combining tech-driven agility with robust banking standards, Revolut demonstrates how modern institutions can drive international growth. With banking licences on both sides of the Atlantic and a footprint spanning 40 markets, Revolut is building the blueprint for what a truly global banking champion - born in Europe - looks like.
Nik Storonsky, founder and chief executive officer of Revolut, commented: “This licence gives us the foundation to build the next generation of banking for more than 30 million customers across Western Europe. France has become a leading financial hub, supported by a dynamic financial ecosystem and a robust regulatory framework.
"It is the ideal platform to accelerate Revolut's next phase of growth - bringing us one step closer to our ambition of becoming one of Europe's largest and most trusted banks."
Frédéric Oudéa, chairman of the Board of Directors of Revolut Western Europe, said: "Receiving this licence is a significant milestone in Revolut's evolution as a banking group. It reflects our long-term commitment to building a bank that meets the highest governance, regulatory and compliance standards, and the constructive engagement we've built with the French and European authorities.
"These foundations will support us as we continue to build trust with customers, regulators and partners across the region."
Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, chief executive officer of Western Europe at Revolut, explained: "This achievement reflects months of close collaboration with the ACPR and the European Central Bank, whose rigorous standards have helped us build the right foundations for long-term growth in the region.
"We are grateful for the constructive dialogue we've had throughout this process. Our focus now turns to execution. We'll begin by serving customers in France before progressively expanding across Western Europe, while accelerating the localisation of our products and services to better meet the needs of retail and business customers in each market. This is the beginning of a new chapter for Revolut."
