Revolut French Licence Opens Dual Hub Against Local Banks

Revolut Bank S.A. received a full banking licence from ACPR and ECB on 10 August 2026 after a joint assessment, with the decision adopted by the ECB Governing Council. The approval covers its new French entity and lets the group start migrating Western European customers onto a second EU banking hub while its Lithuanian licence stays active.

Western Europe already holds about 30 million of Revolut’s customers, nearly 8 million of them added in 2025. The company calls the region its largest and fastest-growing market and will open a Paris headquarters in early 2027 as part of more than €1 billion in planned investment and more than 600 hires.

The Second Licence Breaks the Passporting Ceiling

Revolut has operated across the EEA for years under Revolut Bank UAB, licensed by the Bank of Lithuania in 2018 and supervised jointly with the ECB. That passport let it offer accounts and some credit products in France, Germany, Spain and elsewhere. The new French entity, Revolut Bank S.A., creates a dual structure both under ECB oversight.

Lithuania remains the cornerstone for the rest of the EEA. France becomes the base for a progressive switch that begins at home and then moves to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The official statement frames the pair as built for scale and local relevance rather than a replacement of one licence by another.

The dual-hub design mirrors earlier moves that turned a single passporting vehicle into parallel regulated banks. It also answers earlier supervisory pressure over how quickly new products were approved.

Customers Stay Put While the Legal Entity Moves

French customers will transfer from the French branch of the Lithuanian bank to the new local bank. The company says the change requires no action from most users. Account numbers, cards and history stay the same.

• Migration starts in France, then rolls to the five named Western European markets in phases.
• Users receive at least two months’ notice plus updated terms before any switch.
• Anyone who objects can close the account free of charge before the move.
• IBAN, cards and transaction history remain fully usable with no interruption planned.

A dedicated help page confirms that account migration leaves IBAN unchanged and that payments continue without a break. The same page states that silence after notice counts as acceptance of the new French bank terms.

What we know

• Full French banking licence granted 10 August 2026 after joint ACPR-ECB review.
• Switch order: France first, then Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain.
• Lithuanian entity stays active for other EEA markets under the dual model.

What’s unconfirmed

• Exact start date of the first French customer migrations.
• Whether residual 2025 ECB product-launch restrictions fully lift with the new entity.
• Timeline for French-specific products such as regulated savings or mortgages.

Why Paris Became the Western Europe Platform

Revolut signed a ten-year lease for Western Europe HQ in the Bourse-Sentier area earlier in 2026. The building covers more than 2,400 square metres across six floors in a refurbished late-19th-century structure. Opening is set for early 2027.

Frédéric Oudéa chairs the board of the Western Europe entity. Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier serves as CEO Western Europe. Both appear in the licence announcement alongside founder and group CEO Nik Storonsky. The company has already begun recruiting heavily into risk, compliance and product roles that will sit under the French bank.

Earlier public figures put France at more than 7 million customers, Spain around 6 million, Italy 4.5 million, Germany and Ireland near 3 million each and Portugal near 2 million. Those splits sit inside the current 30 million Western Europe total. The HQ and licence together turn that density into a local operating base rather than a remote passport.

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.

Nik Storonsky said that in the official release. Oudéa called the licence a milestone that reflects constructive engagement with French and European authorities and the highest governance standards. Cossa-Dumurgier stressed months of close work with the ACPR and ECB and said execution now turns to serving France first before wider Western Europe rollout and product localisation.

The 2025 Curbs That Made a Second Hub Logical

In July 2025 the ECB temporarily limited Revolut Bank UAB’s ability to launch new products across the EEA. Supervisors cited deficiencies in governance, risk, compliance and legal controls around the product-approval process. An independent review was required. People familiar with the measures told the Financial Times that the curbs also blocked certain acquisitions and onboarding of customers outside Europe while they remained in force.

1. 2018, Revolut Bank UAB receives its European banking licence from the Bank of Lithuania.
2. July 2025, ECB communicates temporary product-launch restrictions to the European board.
3. March 2026, Revolut Bank UK Ltd receives its full unrestricted UK banking licence after a multi-year process.
4. April 2026, Paris Western Europe HQ lease confirmed, licence application already under way.
5. 10 August 2026, French banking licence granted to Revolut Bank S.A.

The French approval does not itself announce the end of every prior restriction. It does create a second fully licensed vehicle supervised under the same ECB framework, which management presents as the foundation for higher regulatory and operational standards. The company already holds a full UK licence and has applied for a US banking charter. It also secured Australian ADI status earlier in 2026.

What Changes for French Banks and Depositors

Until now most French Revolut users sat under a passported Lithuanian entity. A local bank can hold deposits directly under French deposit-guarantee arrangements and pursue credit products, regulated savings and other offerings that passporting made harder or slower. On X and in fintech commentary the clearest reading is that the licence moves Revolut from a popular secondary account toward a primary-bank contender on the home market of large French groups.

That shift matters because Western Europe already supplies the bulk of Revolut’s European customer base. The group reported more than 75 million customers globally at the time of the announcement and described itself as one of the continent’s largest digital banks by customer count, with nearly 60 million across Europe. Localisation of loans and other products was listed among the explicit reasons for seeking the second licence.

Incumbents face a competitor that already holds tens of millions of relationships and can now deepen them with onshore credit and deposit products. The competitive pressure is not theoretical. Revolut’s UK full licence earlier in 2026 prompted similar discussion of deposit competition with British high-street banks. The French parallel is now open.

Money and People Follow the Licence

Revolut has committed more than €1 billion to Western Europe alongside the hiring of more than 600 people. Earlier announcements spoke of 400-plus new roles plus the progressive transition of roughly 600 existing staff in customer support, credit and product into the French entity. Risk and compliance roles feature heavily in the recruitment push.

The investment and headcount sit alongside a secondary share sale at 115 billion dollars that began in July 2026. Shares were priced at $2,017 in that process, lifting the valuation more than 50 percent from the $75 billion level reached in a similar sale the previous November. Europe’s most valuable private tech firm is therefore pairing regulatory expansion with liquidity for early employees and investors.

The Paris HQ and French bank also complete a multi-year pivot that placed a major operating centre on the continent while London remained the global base. The dual-hub banking structure now matches that physical footprint. Readers tracking the wider European build-out can see how the dual-hub banking structure across Europe fits the same pattern of parallel regulated entities rather than pure passporting.

Execution Begins in France

Revolut says it will begin switching customers under the new licence starting with France. Subsequent phases cover the five named markets. Product localisation for retail and business customers is the stated next focus. The Lithuanian entity continues to serve the rest of the EEA under the same ECB umbrella.

The company already operates as a licensed bank in the UK, Mexico, the EEA and Australia, with further licences secured or in progress in other markets. The French step is presented as the foundation for serving the Western European base at the highest regulatory standard while the group pursues its goal of becoming one of Europe’s largest and most trusted banks.

Official X posts from the company on the day of the announcement drew millions of views and thousands of likes, with the French-language greeting “Bonjour la France, nous avons obtenu notre agrément bancaire français” leading the message. Replies ranged from puns on the company name to pointed notes that a local charter finally lets the fintech hold deposits and compete for primary relationships rather than secondary ones.

The licence is granted. The dual hub is live on paper. Customer migration and local product rollout will show how far the disruption reaches inside French and Western European banking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the French banking licence change for existing Revolut customers?

Accounts move from the French branch of Revolut Bank UAB to Revolut Bank S.A. Users keep the same IBAN, cards and history. The company provides at least two months’ notice and free exit before migration; most customers need take no action.

Why does Revolut need a second EU banking licence when it already has one in Lithuania?

The Lithuanian licence enabled passporting across the EEA. The French licence creates a dual-hub model that supports deeper localisation of products such as loans, places a regulated entity closer to the densest Western European customer base, and operates under ACPR as well as ECB supervision.

Which countries will switch to the French banking entity first?

France is first. Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain follow in later phases. The Lithuanian entity continues to cover remaining EEA markets.

When does the Paris Western Europe headquarters open?

Early 2027. Revolut signed a ten-year lease on more than 2,400 square metres in the Bourse-Sentier district and will use the site for regional leadership, collaboration and growth support.

Does the new French licence automatically end the 2025 ECB product restrictions?

The public announcements do not state that every prior supervisory measure is lifted. They present the French entity and dual structure as the foundation for higher standards after the earlier curbs on new-product launches under the Lithuanian bank.