Revolut has obtained a full banking licence in France, granted by the European Central Bank following a joint review with the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution.
The licence allows Revolut to operate as a bank in France, with the entity set to serve customers across Western Europe. The approval follows a joint assessment by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), France's banking and insurance supervisor.
Regional scale and investment plans
According to the company, around 30 million people already use Revolut across Western Europe, a region it has identified as its fastest-growing market. In addition, to support the French banking operation, Revolut said it plans to invest over EUR one billion across the region and hire more than 600 people. The company also intends to establish a Western European headquarters in Paris by 2027.
The French entity will operate alongside Revolut Bank UAB, the group's existing banking subsidiary licensed in Lithuania, under what the company describes as a dual-hub structure. Both banking entities will fall under the direct supervision of the ECB.
France's regulatory framework for banking is overseen jointly by the ACPR and the ECB, the latter of which supervises significant credit institutions across the eurozone under the Single Supervisory Mechanism. The granting of a full banking licence, rather than an e-money or payment institution licence, allows Revolut to offer a broader range of regulated banking services directly to customers in France under domestic and EU banking rules.
Part of a wider international expansion
According to the official press release, the French licence follows a series of regulatory approvals secured by Revolut during 2026, including in Mexico, Peru, the UAE, the UK, and Australia. The company has framed these approvals collectively as part of a broader strategy to expand its banking licence footprint across multiple regions and support its ambition to grow into a bank operating on a global scale.
Moreover, the French licence specifically extends Revolut's ability to serve its existing Western European customer base directly through a locally regulated banking entity, rather than through cross-border passporting arrangements alone. The investment and hiring commitments tied to the Paris headquarters suggest the market is being positioned as a hub for the company's operations in the wider Western European region.
Further details on the rollout of banking products under the new French licence, including timelines for customer migration or new product launches, have not been disclosed.
