Revolut has secured a full French banking licence, strengthening its Western European presence, accelerating localisation, and supporting its ambition to become one of Europe’s largest and most trusted banks.
Revolut has reached a major milestone in its European expansion after Revolut Bank S.A. (RBSA) received a full banking licence in France.
The licence follows a joint assessment by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) and the European Central Bank (ECB), with the decision formally adopted by the ECB Governing Council.
For Revolut, the development strengthens its position in a region that has become central to its growth ambitions. The global fintech now serves more than 75 million customers worldwide, including approximately 30 million across Western Europe, with close to eight million customers joining the region over the past year alone.
Revolut’s French licence arrives as the company deepens its investment across Western Europe. Over the last year, the fintech has committed more than €1 billion to the region and is hiring over 600 people across its Western European markets.
The company has also confirmed plans to open its new Western European headquarters in Paris in 2027, reinforcing France’s role within its regional strategy.
The market is overseen by a senior leadership team that includes Frédéric Oudéa, Chair of RBSA’s Board, and Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, CEO Western Europe for Revolut.
Alongside its retail customer base, Revolut Business serves hundreds of thousands of companies across the continent, ranging from freelancers to large enterprises. The French licence is intended to strengthen the foundations from which Revolut can serve both customer groups while maintaining high regulatory and operational standards.
“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,” says Nik Storonsky, Founder and CEO of Revolut.
Revolut Bank S.A. will progressively begin serving customers across Europe, starting with France, before expanding into Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain in subsequent phases.
The company’s Lithuanian entity, Revolut Bank UAB, will remain a cornerstone of operations across the rest of the European Economic Area (EEA).
Together, the two entities form a dual-hub model designed to support Revolut’s continental scale, with both supervised by their respective local competent authority and the ECB.
The structure will also enable the fintech to accelerate product localisation, while strengthening relationships with customers, talent, and local ecosystems.
“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,” says Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Revolut Western Europe.
With banking licences on both sides of the Atlantic and operations spanning 40 markets, Revolut is positioning its European foundations as a platform for global growth.
For Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, the immediate priority is execution, beginning with France before progressively expanding across Western Europe.
“This is the beginning of a new chapter for Revolut,” she says, as the company looks to combine technology-driven agility with robust banking standards while continuing to localise its products and services for customers across the region.
