Revolut wins full French banking licence as EU push continues
Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, CEO of Western Europe at Revolut. Image: RevolutThe fintech’s French entity becomes its second full EU banking hub, with Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain to follow, it. . .
Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, CEO of Western Europe at Revolut. Image: RevolutThe fintech’s French entity becomes its second full EU banking hub, with Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain to follow, it says. Revolut has received a full banking licence in France, giving the fintech giant a second European hub as it presses ahead with its ambition to become “the world’s first truly global bank”. Revolut Bank SA (RBSA) was granted the licence following a joint assessment by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (part of France’s Central Bank) and the European Central Bank, with the decision formally adopted by the ECB Governing Council. The company, which claims more than 75m customers worldwide, said the move marks a historic milestone in its European journey. The licence lands as Revolut deepens its roots across Western Europe, its largest and fastest-growing region with about 30m customers, including close to 8m who joined in the past year alone. Ireland accounts for more than 3. 4m of those customers. Over the last year, the company has committed more than €1bn in regional investment, hired over 600 people and confirmed a 2027 opening for its new Western European HQ in Paris. RBSA will progressively begin serving customers across Europe, starting with France, before Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain follow in later phases. Revolut’s Lithuanian entity, Revolut Bank UAB, which currently serves its Irish customers, remains the cornerstone of operations for the rest of the EEA under a dual-hub model, with both entities supervised by their local regulator and the ECB. “This licence gives us the foundation to build the next generation of banking for more than 30 million customers across Western Europe,” said Nik Storonsky, founder and CEO of Revolut. “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. ”“This achievement reflects months of close collaboration with the ACPR and the European Central Bank, whose rigorous standards have helped us build the right foundations for long-term growth in the region,” said Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, CEO of Western Europe at Revolut. “We are grateful for the constructive dialogue we’ve had throughout this process. Our focus now turns to execution. “We’ll begin by serving customers in France before progressively expanding across Western Europe, while accelerating the localisation of our products and services to better meet the needs of retail and business customers in each market. This is the beginning of a new chapter for Revolut. ”The French approval is the latest in a run of regulatory wins for Revolut this year. Itfinally secured its full UK banking licencein March after a five-year wait,applied for a US banking licencearound the same time, and in Julylaunched its first Asia-Pacific banking entity in Australiaafter receiving regulatory approval there. Revolut now operates across 40 markets. The company reported its fifth consecutive year of profitability in March, with group revenues up 46pc in 2025 to $6bn, and is reportedly gearing up for a public listing around 2028 at a valuation of between $150bn and $200bn. Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for theDaily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.