The Swedish credit scoring and lender platform Qred will start conducting banking operations after being granted a full license by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.

The company, which operates in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Brazil, Belgium, and Norway, has served over 25,000 companies, and issued over 100,000 loans with its AI-enabled platform since it launched in 2015.

“The bank license marks another major milestone as we are getting closer to the dream we had when Qred was started eight years ago. I am very satisfied that the application process has been so efficient and smooth. As a bank we can further accelerate a European rollout of our services, as markets that require a bank license are now unlocked,” said Emil Sunvisson, CEO at Qred. 

“Our goal is to become number one in Europe in financing for small businesses online and help them create 100,000 jobs, which we hope we can reach in a few years.”

Emil Sunvisson, CEO

The company is the market leader in the Nordic region and has Sweden’s most satisfied customers, according to Trustpilot,.

German-speaking markets

The bank license means Qred can now roll out its services across the EU, and provide savings accounts with “competitive interest rates”.

“Becoming a bank is a part of the plan shaped together with Nordic Capital. We will now continue our fast and profitable growth as we challenge the traditional banks with easier and smarter products to power small businesses across Europe,” Sunvisson said, adding: “We find that the German speaking markets are attractive, offering significant potential with relatively limited competition in the micro segment.”

Over 30,000 new jobs have been created by Qred’s customers, and Sunvinsson is set to take Qred further.

“Our short-term focus is to activate our bank license. Our long-term ambition is to help more small businesses and with the bank license we are able to do so. Our goal is to become number one in Europe in financing for small businesses online and help them create 100,000 jobs, which we hope we can reach in a few years.”

Fastest-growing fintech company

Qred, which is financially backed by Nordic Capital, was recently listed as one of the fastest growing fintech companies in Sweden, and ranked 10th among Swedish companies across all industries.

This is the fourth time the company has made the Financial Times’ list of the 1,000 fastest growing companies in Europe, something no other Swedish company has accomplished before.

“We find that the German-speaking markets are attractive, offering significant potential with relatively limited competition in the micro segment.”

Emil Sunvisson

Last year, the company raised €10m ($10.7m) to support the launch of a new B2B payments service which would allow businesses more flexibility paying invoices with their Qred Visa card. “Tens of billions of dollars worth of invoices are issued each year and for most businesses the only way to pay them is to use cash directly from their account since most suppliers or vendors don’t accept card payments,” Sunvisson said then. “This frees up much needed, short-term cash which is the life blood of most entrepreneurs.”