Freedom Holding Corp (Nasdaq: FRHC) is positioning itself to expand deeper into Europe’s financial services market with plans to launch a digital bank in France, backed by a €500mn ($572mn) investment over five years. Strikingly, the Kazakhstan-based fintech is seeking to build a business model comparable to that of Revolut.

The Nasdaq-listed financial services group has applied for the requisite banking licence in France. Such a licence granted by French regulators would grant the group access to the bloc’s “European passport”, giving Freedom the opportunity to offer services across all EU member states.

Establishing a bank in Europe would move the company beyond its existing brokerage-focused model on the continent, which has to date been used for the Freedom24 brand – a broker that provides clients with access to international stock markets. 

Freedom’s strategy undoubtedly draws comparisons with UK-based Revolut, which established its EU banking operations in Lithuania after Brexit to secure continued access to the bloc’s financial market. Like Revolut, Freedom aims to offer an integrated proprietary digital ecosystem combining banking, investments, insurance and payments.

“Similar trajectory, broader portfolio”

In a June 18 statement, Freedom said: “Revolut offered a revolutionary idea to the conservative European financial market of the time: simplifying banking and investing for both retail and corporate clients.

“Its advanced digital platform quickly outperformed many traditional credit institutions. Furthermore, Revolut didn't limit itself to the usual range of services; it offered the ability to manage dozens of currencies simultaneously, send payments worldwide, and exchange money at a more favourable rate than conventional banks.

“Freedom Holding Corp is following a similar trajectory, but with an even broader initial service portfolio. In addition to financial services, Freedom’s clients can access a travel platform featuring over 3.5 million bookable properties worldwide, grocery and restaurant meal delivery, and event ticketing. At the core of this ecosystem is the Freedom SuperApp, a unified platform integrating all services.”

Freedom has already successfully built such an ecosystem in Kazakhstan, a market of 20mn people. Now, the company aims to scale this proven model internationally.

Added Freedom: “The key challenge ahead will be proving that Freedom’s ecosystem model – successfully implemented in Kazakhstan – can compete in Europe’s mature and highly regulated financial environment. The French banking project and the continued development of Freedom24 within the EU will serve as a critical test of the strategy’s scalability and universal appeal.”

Revolut, founded in 2015, serves over 75 million users. Today, it is Europe's largest fintech, valued at $75bn. It has demonstrated profitability growth for a fifth consecutive year. In 2025, Revolut doubled its revenue to $6bn and recorded a pre-tax profit of $2.3bn. Transaction volume through the platform reached approximately $1.7 trillion.

Revolut has secured a full banking licence in the UK and is actively pursuing growth in the US, UAE, India, Argentina, Mexico and Peru.

Freedom reported record revenue of $2.19bn in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, up from $2bn a year earlier. Net profit more than doubled to $153.3mn from $76.2mn, while pre-tax profit reached $226mn.

14mn customers across ecosystem

The company currently serves around 14mn customers across its ecosystem, including partnerships. Freedom Holding CEO Timur Turlov has said Freedom aims to attract 50mn new customers in Europe within three years of launching its banking business in France.

Freedom’s European operations have shown strong growth under the Freedom24 brokerage brand. The company said its European client base in 2024 exceeded 440,000, with assets under management of $11bn. Net fee and commission income in Europe rose from $190.4mn in 2023 to $368.9mn in 2025, while profit after tax increased from $120.7mn to $252.7mn.

Beyond Europe, Freedom is also pursuing expansion in Turkey, a country with a population of more than 86mn, and Georgia, while evaluating whether to apply for a banking licence in the US.

Freedom notes that Turkey’s financial sector is highly digitalized, with Turkish Banking Association data showing 129mn registered digital bank accounts and the country’s electronic payments volume exceeding GDP by 20 times. The holding company plans to invest another $300mn in creating an ecosystem in Turkey.