Revolut Seeks Finland Branch Approval as European Expansion Accelerates

Revolut has served European customers mainly through Lithuania-based Revolut Bank UAB, using the EU passporting regime to operate across the bloc since 2018. A French charter was not required to keep serving those markets, but it gives the fintech a second EU banking hub closer to its largest Western European customer base and local regulators. The dual-hub structure is intended to speed product localisation and support Revolut’s shift from a cross-border finance app into a major retail bank.

On Aug. 10, 2026, Revolut said Revolut Bank S.A. had won a full banking licence after a joint review by France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution and the European Central Bank; the ECB Governing Council formally adopted the decision. The bank will start with France before expanding in phases to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Revolut serves about 30 million Western European customers, including nearly 8 million added in 2025, and has committed more than €1 billion to the region, more than 600 hires and a Paris headquarters opening in 2027.

London-based Revolut, founded in 2015, serves more than 75 million customers worldwide, including about 1 million in the United States. Its U.S. services currently rely on partner banks. A national bank charter would give Revolut direct access to Federal Reserve payment networks including Fedwire and ACH, while allowing it to offer deposits, credit cards and loans itself and reduce intermediary costs.

Revolut applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national bank charter on March 5, 2026, and sought deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. U.S. CEO Cetin Duransoy said on June 3 that the company aimed to begin operations in 2027, offering checking and high-yield accounts insured for up to $250,000 per account, as well as stablecoins, multicurrency deposits, stocks and cryptocurrency trading.