Revolut wins French banking licence, creates second EU banking hub

Revolut has secured a full banking licence in France, creating its second banking entity in the European Union as the fintech prepares to move more than 30 million Western European customers onto a Paris-based operation.

The European Central Bank’s Governing Council approved the licence following a joint review with France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, according to Revolut, allowing Revolut Bank S.A. to operate alongside the company’s existing Lithuanian banking entity.

The French operation will initially serve customers in France before Revolut progressively moves Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain onto the new entity. Lithuania will continue serving customers across the remaining European Economic Area markets.

Revolut founder and CEO Nik Storonsky said the licence gives the company a base from which to serve more than 30 million customers across Western Europe. He described France as an important financial hub for the company’s next stage of banking expansion.

Revolut banking licence opens access to lending in France

Until now, Revolut served its French customers through its Lithuanian banking operation, which allowed the company to provide services across the European Economic Area.

Under the French licence, Revolut can 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.

The change comes after several years of customer growth in what has become Revolut’s largest Western European market. The company had more than seven million customers in France by early 2026, an increase of about 2.5 million from 2025, and has set a target of reaching 10 million customers by 2027.

Revolut has also committed more than €1 billion to its French operations and hired over 600 employees in the region. A new Western European headquarters is scheduled to open in Paris in 2027 as the company transfers more of its regional operations to the French entity.

Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, Revolut’s CEO for Western Europe, said the company will begin with French customers before moving into other Western European markets. Product localisation for retail and business customers will form part of the rollout, she added.

The licence follows a lengthy regulatory process. In October 2025, Cossa-Dumurgier told Euronews that Revolut was not rushing the application because it could already serve customers in France through Lithuania. By April, she said the company expected a decision during 2026.

Frédéric Oudéa, the former Société Générale CEO who now chairs Revolut Western Europe’s board, said the approval followed work on the company’s governance, regulatory and compliance standards and engagement with French and European regulators.

ECB conditions could limit the initial product rollout

While the licence creates room for Revolut to add lending and savings products, regulatory conditions could determine how quickly 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 report, citing people familiar with the matter, said some of the conditions imposed by the ECB on the Lithuanian business last year were likely to apply to the French unit as well.

Revolut 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. The company 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 how that business has developed before the French banking expansion. Revolut reported $6 billion in group revenue, up 46% from $4 billion a year earlier, while profit before tax increased 57% to $2.3 billion.

Net profit reached $1.7 billion, and the company reported a 38% pre-tax profit margin. Revolut ended the year with 68.3 million retail customers after adding 16 million during 2025, while customer balances reached $67.5 billion and transaction volume climbed 65% to $1.7 trillion.

Wealth revenue, which includes investment and crypto-related activity, increased 31% to $876 million during the year.

Banking approvals extend beyond the European Union

The French licence adds to several regulatory approvals Revolut has secured or pursued during 2026.

In March, the company received its full U.K. banking licence after spending about three years working through the regulatory process. The approval expanded Revolut’s ability to provide deposits, credit and lending products in its home market.

Around the same period, Revolut applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a U.S. national bank charter after abandoning an earlier plan to acquire an American lender.

Reuters reported in June, citing Revolut U.S. CEO Cetin Duransoy, that the company plans to launch a U.S. bank in 2027 if it receives regulatory approval. The proposed operation would be based in Stamford, Connecticut, with an additional office in New York.

Under the plan described to Reuters, Revolut would offer FDIC-insured checking accounts alongside high-yield investment accounts, multi-currency deposits, stock trading, crypto trading and stablecoin services. Rather than operating physical branches, the company plans to give customers access through existing ATM networks.

Revolut had about one million U.S. customers when Reuters reported on the plans, many of whom had previously used its services while travelling or living outside the country.

The fintech also received a full Australian banking licence in July, extending its regulated banking operations into the Asia-Pacific region.

Crypto licences remain part of Revolut’s regulatory expansion

Alongside its banking licences, Revolut has continued seeking 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. Final authorization would allow eligible customers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies through Revolut’s main app and Revolut X, its dedicated crypto trading platform.

The proposed UAE licence covers virtual asset broker-dealer, exchange, management and investment services. Revolut had previously received approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for its payments business.

Within Europe, the company secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets licence in Cyprus in October 2025, providing a regulatory route for crypto services across eligible EU jurisdictions.

Revolut has also changed parts of its digital asset offering as MiCA requirements have taken effect. In July, it said notified customers in eligible European markets would have until Aug. 31 to sell or transfer Tether’s USDT before the stablecoin was removed from their supported accounts.

Tether has not received authorization under MiCA, while CEO Paolo Ardoino has publicly criticized parts of the framework governing stablecoin reserves.

Revolut’s valuation has climbed to $115 billion

The regulatory approvals have come during another 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. Existing employees and shareholders were able to sell shares through the transaction, meaning the deal did not provide fresh capital to Revolut.

The valuation was about 53% above the $75 billion level established through a 2025 share sale and more than twice its $45 billion valuation in 2024.

Revolut has said it now serves more than 75 million customers worldwide and operates across 40 markets. Storonsky has previously said the company does not plan to pursue an initial public offering before 2028.

The company is also preparing its physical operations for the new European structure. France will become the first market transferred to Revolut Bank S.A., with Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain scheduled to follow, while the Lithuanian entity will continue covering the rest of the EEA under supervision from the ECB and Lithuania’s national authorities.