Revolut en France: The Neobank Gets Its Banking Licence

Revolut has received a full French banking licence, giving the neobank its second authorised bank within the European Union. The European Central Bank's Governing Council adopted the decision on Monday following a joint assessment with France's ACPR regulator, the company confirmed.

Revolut Bank S.A. will start serving customers in France, with later rollouts planned for Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The existing Lithuanian entity, Revolut Bank UAB, will continue to cover the rest of the European Economic Area under the dual-hub model Revolut outlined in 2025.

The new French entity sits under the supervision of both the ECB and the French regulator. Frederic Oudea, who led Societe Generale for 15 years, chairs the Revolut France board, while Beatrice Cossa-Dumurgier serves as CEO for Western Europe. "Our focus now turns to execution," Cossa-Dumurgier said in the announcement. The company said the French base will let it adapt products to individual markets.

Regulatory backdrop

The approval comes after the ECB imposed curbs on Revolut's Lithuanian bank in July 2025, directing its European board to halt launches of new products across the EEA. According to Financial Times reporting at the time, the restrictions also covered acquisitions and onboarding of customers outside Europe, and regulators asked for an independent review of the company's risk, compliance and legal functions. Bloomberg later reported that the French entity could open under similar limitations. Monday's statement did not say whether those measures have been lifted; Revolut said it remains in "continuous and constructive dialogue" with its regulators.

Dual EU banking licences are uncommon among digital challengers, which typically passport services from a single home regulator. Trade Republic and N26 both operate from German licences, while bunq holds a Dutch licence. Revolut, which runs CFD trading in 29 countries as well as stocks, ETFs and crypto, claims more than 75 million customers globally.

Revolut said it has committed more than EUR 1 billion (about $1.16 billion) across Western Europe, is hiring over 600 staff in the region and plans to open its Paris headquarters in 2027. The figures are broader than the pledges made at the Choose France summit in May 2025, when Revolut promised EUR 1 billion in French investment and at least 200 French hires within three years. Around 30 million Western European customers use the app, close to 8 million of them added in the past year. Revolut filed its French application in July 2025 and has ruled out a public listing before 2028. "The licence reflects the constructive engagement we've built with the French and European authorities," Oudea said.