Revolut Wins French Banking Licence, Sets Up Western Europe Hub in Paris

Revolut has been granted a full banking licence for its French entity, Revolut Bank S.A. (RBSA), following a joint evaluation by France's Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution and the European Central Bank. The ECB Governing Council formally adopted the decision on 10 August 2026.

The authorisation creates a second regulated banking centre for the company in continental Europe, complementing its existing Lithuanian operation, Revolut Bank UAB, which is overseen by the Bank of Lithuania and the ECB. RBSA will serve as the main operating vehicle for customers in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, with rollout planned in stages.

The decision to establish a French hub reflects both the size of Revolut's local customer base and a calculated regulatory positioning. France's ACPR is regarded as one of Europe's stricter prudential authorities, and winning approval from both it and the ECB Governing Council carries institutional credibility that smaller jurisdictions might not deliver.

Frédéric Oudéa, former chief executive of Société Générale and now chair of RBSA's board, described the licence as evidence of the company's focus on rigorous standards. "This approval reflects our long-term commitment to building a bank that meets the highest governance, regulatory and compliance standards," he said.

Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky positioned the licence as enabling infrastructure for expansion. "This licence gives us the foundation to build the next generation of banking for more than 30 million customers across Western Europe," he stated. "France has become a leading financial hub, supported by a dynamic financial ecosystem and a robust regulatory framework."

Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, CEO for Western Europe, noted that implementation will begin in France before expanding progressively across the region.

Revolut plans to deploy over €1 billion in Western Europe and recruit more than 600 staff across its target markets. A new Western European headquarters in Paris is scheduled to open in 2027.

The firm's corporate banking division, Revolut Business, already supports hundreds of thousands of companies across the continent, ranging from sole traders to large enterprises.

The French licence carries broader implications for how digital banks operate within the eurozone. Under the EU's single passport mechanism, a banking authorisation in one member state allows the holder to offer deposit and lending services throughout the European Economic Area, subject to notification procedures.

By maintaining licences in both France and Lithuania, Revolut can spread regulatory exposure and operational resilience across two supervised entities, reducing reliance on any single supervisory authority.

The approval intensifies competition for traditional retail banks in France, where digital banking adoption has accelerated but full-service neobank penetration lags behind the UK. Revolut's Western European customer base of roughly 30 million — including nearly eight million added in 2025 — places it on par with or ahead of several mid-tier retail banks by customer volume, though deposit and loan figures were not disclosed.

For the wider neobank sector, the decision signals that European regulators are prepared to grant full licences to scaled digital operators that can demonstrate robust governance. Revolut's UK banking licence, finally secured in 2024 after a lengthy process with the Prudential Regulation Authority, was closely observed as a test case. The swifter French approval suggests the regulatory relationship has evolved on both sides.

Key indicators to monitor include the speed of customer migration onto RBSA, the product range offered under the French licence, and whether the Lithuanian entity's role contracts as RBSA scales up.