The European Central Bank's Governing Council has approved Revolut's full banking licence in France, creating the fintech's second EU banking entity and marking a significant regulatory milestone. According to reports from Revolut, the approval follows a joint review with France's Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, allowing Revolut Bank S.A. to operate alongside the company's existing Lithuanian banking entity. This dual banking hub structure enables greater localization of financial products while giving Revolut closer access to customers, employees and local business ecosystems across Europe. The new approval comes after Revolut faced significant regulatory challenges, with Europe's most valuable fintech company having its permission to release new products across the 27 countries covered in the European Economic Area temporarily suspended last summer. As per Revolut, the French banking licence strengthens the group's position as one of Europe's largest retail banks, with the company stating that "France has become a leading financial hub, supported by a dynamic financial ecosystem and a robust regulatory framework."
The French licence enables Revolut to build out locally regulated banking products including loans, mortgages and regulated savings accounts, as reported by Revolut. Products similar to France's Livret A savings accounts could also become part of its local offering. The company had more than seven million customers in France by early 2026, representing an increase of about 2.5 million from 2025, and has set a target of reaching 10 million customers by 2027. Revolut has committed more than €1 billion to its French operations and hired over 600 employees in the region, with a new Western European headquarters scheduled to open in Paris in 2027. Western Europe has become Revolut's largest and fastest-growing region, with approximately 30 million customers and nearly 8 million joining in the past year. Nik Storonsky, Revolut's founder and CEO, stated that "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."
The switch to the new French entity will be implemented gradually, beginning with customers in France before progressively moving to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. According to Revolut, customers in France will be transferred to the French entity first, followed by Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, with no specific timeline provided for individual countries. Lithuania's Revolut Bank UAB will remain in place and continue to serve customers across Central and Eastern Europe, including Austria which is not among the five markets named for the Paris move. The company describes this setup as a "dual-hub model" where both banks remain answerable to their respective national supervisors as well as the ECB. A Revolut spokesperson explained that "The creation of our second European bank in France is a direct response to our strong growth in Western Europe over the past few years. It brings us even closer to our customers in the region. Our customers can already use instant-access savings accounts and personal loans through Revolut, and we will keep expanding that offering across Europe and globally."
The new French licence represents Revolut's recovery from significant regulatory challenges that began last year. The European Central Bank had placed restrictions on Revolut's operations after the bank was instructed to rectify "deficiencies" in its approval process, with the central bank ordering a third party review of its risk, compliance and legal functions for new launches in Europe. The restrictions also blocked Revolut from making acquisitions or accepting new customers beyond the continent. According to Revolut, the bank has conducted numerous improvements to its internal product launch process over the last year, including beefing up the review process with internal experts and bank governing bodies. A Revolut spokesperson responded to the news, stating "We are in continuous and constructive dialogue with our regulators, including the European Central Bank, as part of our normal course of operations as a fully licensed bank." The digital bank secured its European specialised banking licence from the Bank of Lithuania in 2018 and later upgraded to a full European banking licence in 2021.
According to Revolut's 2025 results, the company 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, with the company reporting 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. The company's valuation has climbed to $115 billion following a secondary share sale that priced stock at $2,017 per share in July, with a source close to the deal confirming the valuation jump. Revolut currently operates across 40 markets and serves more than 75 million customers worldwide, with the stated goal of reaching 100 million customers by mid-2027. An IPO is expected by observers for late 2026 or 2027, while the company continues its expansion efforts with banking licences "on both sides of the Atlantic," including the ongoing US application process. Storonsky said in April that an initial public offering of its shares was at least two years away, while the fintech is also seeking to secure a US banking licence.
