Revolut

Fintech · Banking

Expansion

Revolut wins full French banking licence, plans Western Europe expansion

The move lets it sell loans and mortgages directly to millions of customers it previously served only through Lithuanian passporting.

• Revolut Bank S.A. received a full French banking licence after a joint review by France's ACPR and the European Central Bank, with final approval from the ECB Governing Council.
• Revolut is a London-based digital bank serving more than 75 million customers across 40 countries, with about 30 million of them in Western Europe.
• The licence lets Revolut offer loans, mortgages and regulated savings products directly in France, rather than only via its Lithuanian passporting rights, before rolling out to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
• Revolut plans to invest more than €1 billion and hire over 600 staff across Western Europe, with 400 of those roles based in France.
• The approval follows a period of friction with EU regulators, who restricted new product launches at Revolut's Lithuanian bank last year after flagging deficiencies in its risk controls.
• Revolut will open a Western Europe headquarters in Paris by 2027 under board chair Frédéric Oudéa and regional CEO Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, part of a wider 2026 licensing run that has already included the UK, Australia, Mexico, Peru and the UAE.
• A domestic EU banking licence strengthens Revolut's case as a genuine pan-European bank rather than a passported fintech, adding regulatory credibility as it eyes a future public listing.