Revolut plans to invest €1 billion in France, apply for license

Revolut Ltd., Europe’s largest digital bank, plans to invest more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in France and apply for a local banking license as the fintech eyes an expansion across Europe. 

At the Choose France business summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday, the London-based firm said it was setting up its new western European headquarters in the city, pledged to bring the investment over three years and hire at least 200 workers in the period. 

It also said it’s in the process of submitting an application to French banking regulator Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority, known as ACPR. The watchdog has been pushing the company to get a license to enable better supervision because a large proportion of its European retail customers are located in the country, a person with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information. A representative for ACPR declined to comment.

Revolut roughly has 300 workers in France and 5 million customers, making it the firm’s largest market in the European Union. It is eying 10 million users by the end of 2026, with a goal of doubling that by 2030. It already offers loans, crypto and trading in its French market.

Founded in 2015 and recently valued at about $45 billion, Revolut is one of the largest and fastest-growing businesses in the world, with 55 million customers worldwide. It reported £3.1 billion ($4.1 billion) in total revenue for last year and about 10,000 employees at the end of 2024. Most of that growth has come despite the lack of bank licenses, which Chief Executive Officer Nik Storonsky has said was a mistake.

Having won a restricted license last year in the UK, where it has 11 million customers, the company is now aggressively pursuing new permits across geographies, with 10 other applications underway around the world. It most recently got a Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) license from India’s central bank. Revolut will launch its Mexican bank in the coming months.

In Europe, a French license would come in addition to Revolut’s existing continent-wide banking permit from Lithuania’s central bank. The firm confirmed Vilnius will remain a key base for Revolut’s European expansion, with growth plans and product pipelines still anchored in its Baltic hub.

The firm’s global headquarters will remain in London. Yet executives, including Storonsky, have repeatedly warned how regulations have made the City uncompetitive and that they would prefer New York for a listing.

Revolut has been picking up more users across southern Europe and the Nordics and outside the continent, it’s been eying Asia-Pacific and the Middle East as well. 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com