Revolut secures French banking licence, plans Paris HQ and €1bn investment

Licence and entity

Revolut has been granted a full French banking licence by the ACPR (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution) and the European Central Bank, the company announced on Monday 10 August 2026. The approval covers a new entity, Revolut Bank S.A., and represents Revolut's second full EU banking licence after the one secured from Lithuanian authorities in 2018. The London-headquartered fintech also obtained a UK banking licence in March 2026 after a multiyear regulatory process. Revolut operates in 40 countries with various licences and has no physical branches.

The French entity will begin serving customers in France before expanding to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The existing Lithuanian entity, Revolut Bank UAB, will continue to serve the rest of the European Economic Area. Revolut described the structure as a dual-hub model designed to support its scale across the continent, with both entities supervised by their respective local authorities and the ECB. The company said the new structure would allow it to accelerate product localisation and deepen banking relationships through closer proximity to customers, talent and local ecosystems.

Investment and expansion plans

Revolut has pledged to invest more than €1bn over three years and to hire over 600 people across Western Europe, with 400 of those positions in France. The company plans to open its Western Europe headquarters in Paris in 2027 and has signed a 10-year lease in the city. It has also hired former Societe Generale CEO Frederic Oudea as its Western Europe chairman.

The company counts 30 million customers across Western Europe, including nearly 8 million who joined in 2025, out of 75 million worldwide. It aims to reach 100 million customers. In France specifically, Revolut has 7 million customers, according to the Financial Times. Revolut Business serves hundreds of thousands of business customers across the region, making it one of the fastest-growing business banking platforms in Europe.

France7

Western Europe30

Worldwide75

New WE customers 20258

France

7 million

Western Europe

30 million

Worldwide

75 million

New WE customers 2025

8 million

Data from the article text

What the licence unlocks

As a fully licensed bank, Revolut can now offer credit, deposits, regulated savings products and, over time, mortgages in France, moving beyond the payment-institution limits under which it previously operated. Its profit has so far been driven by fee income and cryptocurrency trading rather than lending, and the licence gives it a path to build interest-based income. Revolut initially attracted customers with flexible checking and savings accounts and international money transfers, then expanded into cryptocurrency and stock trading.

In France, Revolut competes with the digital arms of established banks, including Societe Generale's BoursoBank. The company's net profit rose 65% in 2025 to £1.3bn (€1.5bn). A secondary share sale in late July valued Revolut at $115bn (approximately €100bn), making it worth more than banks such as Societe Generale and Britain's Barclays.

Regulatory conditions and scrutiny

The ECB has attached conditions to the licence that mirror restrictions previously imposed on Revolut's Lithuanian entity. The Financial Times reported that the ECB hit Revolut with growth restrictions around product releases, citing "deficiencies" in processes such as launching too quickly and without proper risk controls. Revolut declined to comment on a Bloomberg report that its French hub would likely face restrictions on new products, including mortgages.

“The licence enables us to operate as a bank across the EU. We do not comment on our regulatory arrangements.”

French regulators had previously pushed for the group to secure a licence to allow better oversight and supervision of its operations. Revolut said in May that its French recruitment would strengthen compliance and anti-money-laundering teams.

“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.”