Liberis and Qred complete merger following regulatory approval to create global SMB financial platform
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. 42% 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.”