Liberis, a leading global embedded finance platform, and Qred, one of Europe's foremost digital small business banks, have completed their merger following approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA), the regulator that cleared the way for the combination first announced in June 2026. The deal creates a financial services group focused on small and medium-sized businesses.

The combined group serves more than 60,000 small businesses across 17 countries and has access to approximately 11.5 million addressable merchants. Emil Sunvisson, founder and chief executive of Qred, becomes Group CEO of the combined business, while Rob Fairfield, chief executive of Liberis, becomes Deputy CEO — a leadership team drawn from both sides of the merger.

Both companies will continue to operate under their existing brands for the time being, leaving customer-facing operations unchanged while longer-term plans are settled. Existing partner integrations, products and customer relationships will continue as they do today, and further details on the group's product development and longer-term brand plans will be shared as they are finalised.

Two routes to small business finance

The merger combines Qred's regulated banking capability and its direct relationships with small businesses with Liberis's embedded finance technology — financial services delivered inside the platforms businesses already use — distributed through a network of more than 30 partners, including Deliveroo, Vagaro and Nexi, a roster spanning delivery, booking and payments services.

Qred's deposit-funded banking model and direct customer relationships complement Liberis's partner-led distribution. Together, the businesses provide two routes to small business finance: through a regulated bank and through the platforms that businesses already use. The group's ambition is to broaden the range of financial services available to small businesses and their partners over time.

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 they face a financing gap estimated in the trillions of dollars as traditional bank lending continues to retreat from the smallest firms. That gap is the backdrop against which the combined group is positioning its two-channel model.

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 percent said Liberis funding had helped them create or save at least one job.

Sunvisson, who now leads the combined group, 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 at Nordic Capital Advisors, said: "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."

With the merger complete, the group is positioned to offer small businesses finance both directly, through Qred's regulated, deposit-funded bank, and indirectly, through Liberis's embedded finance integrations with more than 30 platforms. The companies said they will continue serving customers under both brands while longer-term plans take shape. In the near term, the points to watch are the product development details and brand decisions the companies have said will be shared as they are finalised — until then, customers and partners should see no change to existing integrations or products.