Revolut's French Banking License: A Second EU Hub, €100M Investment, and $115B Valuation—But ECB Restrictions Linger

Key developments from the French banking license

Second EU banking hub. Revolut now has two full EU banking licenses—one in Lithuania (covering Central/Eastern Europe) and one in France (covering Western Europe). This dual-hub model gives the company direct regulatory access to the EU single market from two independent bases .

Product and lending capability. The license enables Revolut to offer regulated lending, deposit products, and savings accounts directly to customers in Western Europe, moving beyond its previous payments-app model . The license unlocks the ability to offer credit, deposits, and over time, products like mortgages and regulated savings accounts . French customers gain access to mortgage credit, regulated savings accounts, and deposit guarantees up to €100,000 .

Phased rollout. Revolut Bank S.A. will start serving customers in France first, then progressively expand to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain—covering approximately 30 million customers across the region . The company has hired more than 600 people across its Western European markets and confirmed the opening of a Western European HQ in Paris .

Dual-hub model explained

The Lithuanian hub (Revolut's first EU bank, licensed in 2018) serves as the base for Central and Eastern European markets. The Paris hub now anchors Western Europe, giving Revolut geographic regulatory diversification, operational redundancy, and the ability to tailor products under two different supervisory frameworks . CEO Nik Storonsky described the French license as a "significant step" in Revolut's European expansion, providing a stronger local regulatory presence in one of the EU's largest markets .

Revolut's Lithuanian entity, Revolut Bank UAB, continues to serve the rest of the European Economic Area under the dual-hub structure the company set out in 2025 . Both entities remain supervised by their respective local regulators as well as the ECB .

Investments and expansion plans

Paris headquarters. Revolut is establishing a major Paris-based operations hub for Western Europe, with a significant local workforce planned . The company is opening its Western European HQ in Paris .

€100 million investment. The company committed roughly €100 million to set up and scale the French entity, covering regulatory compliance, staffing, and technology infrastructure . A year earlier, Revolut had announced plans to invest over €1 billion in France over the next three years, though the specific figure associated with the license setup is €100 million .

Product expansion. With the license, Revolut plans to roll out lending products (personal loans, overdrafts), regulated savings accounts, and potentially mortgages to Western European customers—products it could not fully offer under a payments-only framework .

Regulatory challenges

ECB product launch restrictions (July 2025). The ECB temporarily restricted Revolut's Lithuanian banking subsidiary from launching new products across the European Economic Area after finding "shortcomings" in how the company approved new financial products . The restrictions also covered acquisitions and customer onboarding . The ECB ordered Revolut to conduct a third-party review of its risk, compliance, and legal functions governing new product launches SS.

Unresolved compliance status. As of the license announcement, it remains unclear whether the ECB's restrictions have been fully lifted. TechTimes noted that "ECB clearance for new products remains uncertain" even after the French license was granted . Revolut also holds the highest Pillar 2 capital requirement of any ECB-supervised bank in Europe .

Audit delays. Revolut has faced repeated delays in publishing its annual audited accounts, which has been a recurring point of tension with UK and EU regulators .

Current valuation and IPO timeline

Latest valuation. Revolut launched a secondary share sale in July 2026 at a $115 billion valuation, with shares priced at $2,017 each . This is a massive jump from its ~$45 billion valuation in 2024 and more than double its $75 billion valuation from November 2025 .

IPO target. The company has internally discussed a target valuation of $150–200 billion in its eventual stock market listing, according to investors briefed by the company . CEO Nik Storonsky has discussed a potential share incentive that would activate at a $500 billion valuation .

IPO timing. CEO Nik Storonsky said in April 2026 that an IPO is "at least two years away," pointing to a likely timeline of 2027–2028 . No IPO prospectus has been filed, and no listing venue has been chosen . Some reports indicate the earliest realistic window is 2028, as Revolut continues to prioritize building regulatory infrastructure and scaling profitability before going public .