Liberis and Qred Complete Merger Following Regulatory Approval to Create Global SMB Financial Platform

Key points The merger is complete following regulatory approval. The combined group serves more than 60,000 small businesses across 17 countries, with access to approximately 11.5 million addressable merchants. Emil Sunvisson becomes Group CEO and Rob Fairfield becomes Deputy CEO. Both brands, products, partner integrations and customer relationships continue as they do today.

Liberis, a leading global embedded finance platform, and Qred, one of Europe’s foremost digital small business banks, today announced the completion of their merger, first announced in June 2026, following approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA).

The merger combines Qred’s regulated banking capability and direct relationships with small businesses with Liberis’s embedded finance technology and distribution through more than 30 partners, including Deliveroo, Vagaro and Nexi. The group serves more than 60,000 small businesses across 17 countries and has access to approximately 11.5 million addressable merchants.

Qred’s deposit-funded banking model and direct customer relationships complement Liberis’s partner-led distribution. Together, the businesses bring two routes to small business finance: through a regulated bank and through platforms that businesses already use.

The group’s ambition is to broaden the financial services available to small businesses and its partners over time.

Emil Sunvisson, Founder and CEO of Qred, becomes Group CEO of the combined business, with Rob Fairfield, CEO of Liberis, becoming Deputy CEO. Both businesses will continue to operate under their existing brands for now. Existing partner integrations, products and customer relationships will continue as they do today. Further details on the group’s product development and longer-term brand plans will be shared as they are finalised.

Supporting the businesses that drive local economies

Small businesses account for around 90% of companies worldwide and generate more than two-thirds of global employment, yet face a financing gap estimated in the trillions of dollars as traditional bank lending continues to retreat from the smallest firms.

Liberis’s December 2025 Impact Report, based on a survey of more than 1,700 funded merchants across the UK and US, found that 76% of respondents had previously been rejected by traditional lenders at least once before coming to Liberis. Forty-two per cent said Liberis funding had helped them create or save at least one job.

Emil Sunvisson, Group CEO, said: “We’re not challenging banks. We’re challenging the way the system finances small businesses. Too often, lending decisions rely on backwards-looking credit scores and paperwork that takes weeks a business doesn’t have. We use the data a business generates every day to understand its needs. Advances in AI are helping us do this faster and at greater scale, giving more small businesses a fair and timely funding decision. Bringing a regulated bank together with an embedded finance network lets us reach more businesses and go further than lending alone. Our ambition is to become the financial operating system small businesses never have to leave. We power small businesses that power everything else.”

Backing the next phase of growth

Emil Anderson, Partner, Nordic Capital Advisors, "SMBs are the economic engine of global commerce, yet they remain systematically underserved by legacy financial institutions. Bringing Qred and Liberis together establishes an unrivalled category leader in SMB fintech. Nordic Capital is proud to support this combined team as they scale their technology, expand into new markets, and drive financial inclusion for entrepreneurs globally."

About Qred

Qred is a tech-enabled bank built for small businesses. Founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, Qred pioneered automated, data-driven lending for the segment of small businesses that traditional banks have historically underserved. The company holds a full banking licence granted by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and operates across Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. To date, Qred has served more than 80,000 businesses and has appeared on the Financial Times' list of Europe's fastest-growing companies six times. Its fully automated, proprietary credit scoring system allows it to provide fast, competitive financing to entrepreneurs who need it. Qred is headquartered in Stockholm. For more information, see www.qred.com or connect via LinkedIn.

About Liberis

Liberis is an embedded finance provider that works with platforms, including vertical SaaS companies, marketplaces, payment processors, and payment companies, to enable access to finance for their business customers. The company partners with platforms to embed financing and related financial tools directly into existing workflows, using platform and business data to inform eligibility, pricing, and delivery. Liberis has operated for more than a decade and provides funding solutions across multiple economic cycles. Liberis offers an API-based platform that allows partners to configure and deploy embedded finance solutions across 15 markets, with the ability to introduce additional financial products over time without requiring further platform integration. For platforms, Liberis provides infrastructure to support merchant financing as part of its product offering. For businesses, Liberis offers access to funding from $500 to $1M+, with transparent pricing and payment structures aligned to business performance. For more information, visit their website: https://www.liberis.com/ or connect via LinkedIn.

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading international private equity investor and sub-sector specialist dedicated to building stronger, more sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative long-term growth in partnership with management teams. With over 35 years of experience, a global reach, and the local presence of dedicated sector investment advisory teams in Sweden, UK, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the US, Nordic Capital brings deep expertise across its core investment sectors: Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and Services & Industrial Tech. Leveraging tailored playbooks, a dedicated operations advisory team and a global network of industrial and functional experts, Nordic Capital seeks to help companies to scale, innovate and become sustainable leaders. Nordic Capital currently manages around EUR 34 billion in assets and since its founding in 1989, has invested approximately EUR 30 billion in more than 155 middle-market companies in Northern Europe and North America. The committed capital is principally provided by global institutional investors such as pension funds. For more information, see www.nordiccapital.com or connect via LinkedIn.

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