Revolut obtains full banking license in France to consolidate all Western European markets where it operates

BarcelonaThe British-origin neobank Revolut obtained a full banking license in France this Monday, after a joint evaluation by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the French supervisory body, the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR, for its French acronym).

The objective behind this move is twofold: on the one hand, to group - through France - all the Western European markets where it operates. Thus, Revolut's French subsidiary will now progressively begin to provide services to customers throughout Europe, starting with France, while in later phases it intends to incorporate other markets such as Spain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, or Portugal.

On the other hand, Revolut manages to "add an extra layer of security and protection" to its model, according to sources from the company who point out to ARA. "This achievement seeks to go a step further to strengthen our relationship with local and European regulators," state the same sources, who also point out that obtaining the full banking license represents "a historic milestone" in the platform's trajectory on the Old Continent.

Timeline

Revolut was born in the United Kingdom in 2015, but it wasn't until 2018 that it could start operating within the European Economic Area (EEA) under the regulatory umbrella of the Bank of Lithuania and the European Central Bank, the first bodies to grant it a banking license. From that moment on, Revolut customers in Europe – all registered with the group's Lithuanian subsidiary, Revolut Bank UAB – began to enjoy deposit protection similar to that of all EU banks, i.e., a guarantee of up to 100,000 euros provided by the Lithuanian Deposit Guarantee System.

For five years, all Spanish customers of the neobank had an account with a Lithuanian IBAN, but in 2023 the company obtained a Spanish IBAN after registering with the Registry of Credit Institutions of the Bank of Spain. In this way, all accounts began to be managed from the Spanish branch of Revolut Bank UAB and supervised by the Bank of Spain. With the acquisition of the French license, Revolut's intention is to transfer all management of Western European customers to its Gallic subsidiary, and to maintain the Lithuanian branch for the rest of the group's operations within the EEA.

Revolut's main objective involves continuing to strengthen its presence in Europe – the company has committed an investment of more than 1,000 million euros in the region over the last year – and, with a portfolio of nearly 30 million customers, it aims to consolidate itself as "one of the largest retail banks in Europe".