Revolut has secured a full banking licence in France, giving the digital banking group a second major regulatory base in the European Union as it expands across Western Europe. The licence for Revolut Bank S.A. follows a joint assessment by France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) and the European Central Bank (ECB), with the decision formally adopted by the ECB Governing Council. Revolut plans to begin operating through the new entity in France before progressively extending it to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, creating a dual-hub European banking structure alongside its established Lithuanian operation.
France Becomes Revolut’s Second European Banking Hub
The approval represents an important step in Revolut’s transition from a fast-growing fintech platform into a larger regulated European banking group.
Revolut Bank S.A. will progressively begin serving customers in France before expanding into other major Western European markets. Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain are expected to follow in subsequent phases.
Its existing Lithuanian banking entity, Revolut Bank UAB, will remain central to the group’s operations across the rest of the European Economic Area. Both entities will operate under local competent authorities and European Central Bank supervision.
The structure effectively gives Revolut two regulated banking hubs within Europe, allowing the company to support continued growth while bringing parts of its operations closer to individual markets.
For Revolut, the French licence is therefore about more than gaining permission to offer banking services in another country. It creates an additional regulatory and operational foundation from which the company can localise products, develop deeper customer relationships and expand its European banking infrastructure.
Western Europe Drives Revolut’s Expansion
Western Europe has become Revolut’s largest and fastest-growing region, with around 30 million customers. Close to eight million customers joined during 2025 alone, according to the company.
That growth comes as Revolut continues to expand beyond consumer payments and digital accounts into a broader range of financial services.
Its Revolut Business platform now serves hundreds of thousands of businesses across Europe, ranging from freelancers and smaller companies to larger enterprises. The expansion of its banking infrastructure could give Revolut greater scope to deepen these relationships as it develops more locally tailored retail and business banking products.
The company has also committed more than €1 billion of investment across Western Europe and plans to hire more than 600 people across its regional markets.
Paris will play a central role in that strategy. Revolut has confirmed plans to open its new Western European headquarters in the French capital in 2027.
The regional operation includes Frédéric Oudéa, former Société Générale chief executive, as Chairman of the Board of Revolut Bank S.A., while Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier serves as CEO Western Europe.
A Banking Model Designed for Localisation
One of the strategic benefits of the new structure is the ability to bring more banking operations closer to individual European markets.
Digital banks have traditionally benefited from centralised technology platforms that allow products to be deployed across multiple countries relatively quickly. But as they become larger and offer more complex banking services, local regulatory requirements, customer expectations and market conditions become increasingly important.
Revolut said the French structure will allow it to accelerate product localisation while strengthening relationships with customers, regulators, talent and local financial ecosystems.
The company is effectively attempting to combine the scalability of a common digital banking platform with a more locally embedded operating model.
That approach could become increasingly important as digital banking providers compete more directly with established European banks across deposits, lending, payments, wealth services and business banking.
Regulatory Infrastructure Catches Up With Customer Scale
Revolut now has more than 75 million customers globally and operates across 40 markets. Its expanding regulatory footprint reflects the growing complexity that comes with operating a financial institution at that scale.
The French licence also comes as Revolut continues to strengthen its position as a fully regulated banking group rather than operating primarily as a fintech challenger.
Nik Storonsky, Founder and CEO of Revolut, described France as an important platform for the company’s next phase of growth, pointing to the country’s financial ecosystem and regulatory framework.
“This licence gives us the foundation to build the next generation of banking for more than 30 million customers across Western Europe,” Storonsky said.
Frédéric Oudéa said the approval reflected Revolut’s longer-term focus on governance, regulation and compliance as the company develops its European banking operations.
Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier said the immediate priority would now shift from the licensing process to execution, beginning with France before progressively expanding the model across Western Europe.
Europe Remains Central to Revolut’s Global Strategy
While Revolut has expanded internationally, Europe remains at the centre of its banking strategy.
The combination of the French and Lithuanian banking entities gives the group a broader regulatory structure from which to manage its European customer base while continuing its international expansion.
The company describes the model as one designed for scale, but its success will depend on whether Revolut can preserve the speed and technology-led experience that helped drive its growth while meeting the governance, risk management and regulatory expectations associated with becoming a much larger banking institution.
For incumbent European banks, Revolut’s French licence also reinforces a wider competitive shift. Digital challengers are increasingly moving beyond payments and lightweight financial products and building the regulatory infrastructure required to compete across a much broader part of the banking relationship.
What it means for the industry
- Revolut is becoming more structurally similar to a multinational bank. Establishing regulated banking hubs in France and Lithuania gives the group a stronger foundation for operating at European scale.
- Localisation is becoming more important for digital banks. A single technology platform can support international expansion, but local regulation, products and customer expectations increasingly require market-specific capabilities.
- Competition with incumbent banks is broadening. Revolut’s expansion across consumer and business banking means established European banks are increasingly competing with digital challengers across the wider customer relationship, not just payments.
- Regulation is becoming part of fintech growth strategy. As digital financial platforms reach tens of millions of customers, licences, governance and regulatory relationships become strategic infrastructure rather than simply compliance requirements.
- France is strengthening its role in European financial technology. Revolut’s decision to establish its Western European headquarters and banking entity in Paris adds to the city’s growing importance as a financial and technology centre.
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