Qred and Liberis merge following regulatory approval to create a global financial platform for small businesses

Öppna dokumentet

Christian Billing

Marketing
Qred Bank AB

In short: 

  • The merger is complete following regulatory approval.
  • The combined group supports more than 60,000 small businesses across 17 countries, with access to approximately 11.5 million potential merchants.
  • Emil Sunvisson becomes CEO of the group and Rob Fairfield becomes Deputy CEO. Both brands, products, partner integrations, and customer relationships will continue as they are today.

Stockholm and London, 2 November 2026 – Liberis, a leading global embedded finance platform, and Qred, one of Europe’s premier digital banks for small businesses, announced today that their merger, first announced in June 2026, has been completed following approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen).

The merger combines Qred’s regulated banking operations and direct relationships with small businesses with Liberis’s embedded finance technology and distribution via more than 40 partners, including eBay, Deliveroo, Vagaro, and Nexi. The group supports more than 60,000 small businesses in 17 countries and has access to approximately 11.5 million potential merchants.

Qred’s deposit-funded banking model and direct customer relationships complement Liberis’s partner-led distribution. Together, the companies offer two paths to financing for small businesses: via a regulated bank and via the platforms that businesses already use.

The group’s ambition is to gradually broaden the range of financial services for small businesses and their partners.

Emil Sunvisson, founder and CEO of Qred, becomes CEO of the combined group, and Rob Fairfield, CEO of Liberis, becomes Deputy CEO. Both businesses will continue to operate under their existing brands for the time being. Existing partner integrations, products, and customer relationships will continue as they are today. Further information regarding the group’s product development and long-term brand plans will be shared once they have been determined.

Supporting the businesses that drive local economies

Small businesses account for approximately 90 percent of the world’s businesses and more than two-thirds of global employment, yet they face a financing gap estimated at several trillion dollars as traditional banks continue to withdraw from the smallest enterprises.

Liberis’s impact report from December 2025, based on a survey of more than 1,700 funded merchants in the UK and the US, showed that 76 percent of respondents had previously been rejected by traditional lenders at least once before turning to Liberis. Forty-two percent stated that the financing from Liberis had helped them create or retain at least one job.

Emil Sunvisson, Group CEO, says: “We are not challenging the banks. We are challenging how the system finances small businesses. Too often, credit decisions are based on backward-looking credit scores and paperwork that takes weeks—time that a business does not have. We use the data that a business generates every day to understand its needs. Advances in AI help us do this faster and at scale, so that more small businesses receive a fair and quick financing decision. By bringing together a regulated bank with an embedded finance network, we can reach more businesses and go beyond just lending. Our ambition is to become the financial operating system that small businesses never need to leave. We power the small businesses that power everything else.”

Support for the next growth phase

Emil Anderson, Partner, Nordic Capital Advisors, “Small businesses are the engine of the global economy, yet they remain systematically underserved by legacy financial institutions. Bringing together Qred and Liberis creates an unparalleled category leader in fintech for small businesses. Nordic Capital is proud to support the combined team as it scales its technology, expands into new markets, and drives financial inclusion for entrepreneurs globally.”