The licence represents the culmination of a two-year regulatory process. Revolut announced its French expansion plans and banking licence application in May 2025, committing over €1 billion in investment and establishing a Western Europe headquarters in Paris. By April 2026, Reuters reported that licence negotiations with the ACPR had reached an advanced stage. The approval now gives Revolut a second full EU banking licence, the first being in Lithuania.
For practitioners, the licence matters because it substantially expands Revolut's competitive footprint in Western Europe's largest markets. The company already operates with millions of customers across the region; the French licence removes regulatory constraints on deposit-taking and lending that previously limited its offerings. Attorneys tracking fintech regulation should note the precedent: this is a significant regulatory win for a non-traditional player seeking parity with incumbent banks in a major EU jurisdiction.