Revolut has secured a full banking license in France, marking a pivotal expansion that establishes a second regulated banking entity within the European Union and sets the stage for the fintech giant to deepen its footprint across Western Europe.
The approval, announced on Monday, follows a joint assessment by the European Central Bank (ECB) and France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR). The new license, granted to Revolut Bank S.A., allows the company to operate a Paris-based banking hub alongside its existing Lithuanian entity, Revolut Bank UAB, which will continue to serve the rest of the European Economic Area.
This dual-hub model is designed to bring Revolut closer to its customers in key Western European markets, enabling the company to localize products and build stronger banking relationships. Revolut plans to roll out services in stages, beginning in France before progressively expanding to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
“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,” said Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, CEO of Western Europe at Revolut.
Revolut founder and CEO Nik Storonsky framed the license as a cornerstone for the company’s ambitions. “This licence gives us the foundation to build the next generation of banking for more than 30 million customers across Western Europe,” he said. “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.”
Building a French Banking Operation
The French license represents a significant operational shift. Until now, Revolut served its French customers through its Lithuanian banking operation, which allowed it to passport services across the European Economic Area. The new permit enables Revolut to build out locally regulated banking products, including loans, mortgages and regulated savings accounts. Products similar to France’s Livret A savings accounts could also become part of its local offering.
France has become Revolut’s largest Western European market. The company had more than seven million customers in the country by early 2026, an increase of about 2.5 million from the previous year, and has set a target of reaching 10 million customers by 2027. Across Western Europe, Revolut now counts roughly 30 million customers, with nearly 8 million added in 2025 alone.
The company has committed more than €1 billion ($1.15 billion) to its French operations and is hiring over 600 employees across Western European markets. A new Western European headquarters is scheduled to open in Paris in 2027, overseen by senior executives including Frédéric Oudéa, the former Société Générale CEO who now chairs Revolut Western Europe’s board, and Cossa-Dumurgier.
“Our focus now turns to execution,” Cossa-Dumurgier added. “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.”
While the license clears the way for Revolut to add lending and savings products, regulatory conditions could influence the pace at which some services become available. Bloomberg reported in July that the French banking operation was expected to face restrictions similar to measures previously placed on Revolut’s Lithuanian entity. The company has not disclosed the conditions attached to the French approval.
Any restrictions on new products could affect the timing of services such as mortgages and regulated savings accounts. Revolut has historically generated a large share of its earnings from payments, fees, wealth products and crypto trading rather than conventional lending. Its 2025 results showed $6 billion in group revenue, up 46% from a year earlier, while profit before tax increased 57% to $2.3 billion. Net profit reached $1.7 billion, with a 38% pre-tax profit margin.
The French license adds to a string of regulatory approvals Revolut has secured during 2026. In March, the company received its full UK banking license after spending about three years working through the regulatory process. In July, it obtained an independent authorised deposit-taking institution license from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, marking its official debut as a licensed bank in Australia.
Revolut has also applied to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national bank charter, with plans to launch a US bank in 2027 if approved. The proposed operation would be based in Stamford, Connecticut, and would offer FDIC-insured checking accounts alongside investment accounts, multi-currency deposits, stock and crypto trading, and stablecoin services.
Valuation and Market Position
The regulatory momentum has coincided with a sharp increase in Revolut’s private-market valuation. A secondary share sale reported by The Wall Street Journal in July priced Revolut stock at $2,017 per share, valuing the company at $115 billion. That represents a roughly 53% increase from the $75 billion valuation established through a 2025 share sale and more than double its $45 billion valuation in 2024.
Revolut now serves more than 75 million customers worldwide and operates across 40 markets. Storonsky has previously indicated the company does not plan to pursue an initial public offering before 2028.
Alongside its banking licenses, Revolut has continued to seek separate regulatory approvals for its digital asset business. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority granted the company in-principle approval in July to move toward offering regulated virtual asset services in the United Arab Emirates. Within Europe, it secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets license in Cyprus in October 2025, providing a regulatory route for crypto services across eligible EU jurisdictions.
Both the French and Lithuanian banking entities will remain under the supervision of their respective local authorities and the European Central Bank. The revised structure is meant to help the company adapt products more closely to local markets while building banking links through greater proximity to customers, employees and local business environments.