Revolut has secured a full French banking licence, a milestone that turns the fintech from a payments app into a proper bank across Western Europe’s biggest markets.
The approval, granted by France’s ACPR and the European Central Bank, covers a new entity, Revolut Bank S.A.
Crucially, this is Revolut’s second full banking licence in the EU. Until now the company ran its European banking through a single Lithuanian entity, so adding France gives it a genuine dual-hub structure and reduces its reliance on one small member state for the whole bloc.
France was chosen for reasons of both prestige and pragmatism. Revolut is planting its Western European headquarters in Paris from 2027, casting the country’s deep financial ecosystem and sturdy regulation as the right foundation for the next phase of its growth.
The commitment comes with real money attached. Revolut has pledged to invest more than €1bn in Western Europe and to hire over 600 people across the region, a statement of intent that goes well beyond a regulatory box-ticking exercise.
