Bertelsmann fintech Riverty has received regulatory approval for a Luxembourg banking licence, with operations scheduled to begin in July 2026.
Germany-based Riverty, the fintech arm of Bertelsmann, has announced it has received regulatory approval for a banking licence in Luxembourg. The bank is intended to support merchants across Europe through embedded payment, credit, and liquidity services integrated into the customer journey. Operations are scheduled to begin in July 2026.
Riverty's existing payment and credit unit currently serves more than 1,800 merchants and approximately 25 million customers, processing more than 235 million transactions annually across Europe.
Strategic rationale and product scope
The banking licence enables Riverty to take direct responsibility for risk, compliance, and financial product execution, moving beyond its existing role as a payments and credit provider to operate as a regulated financial institution. Luxembourg's status as an EU financial hub allows Riverty to passport services across European markets from a single regulatory base, which is relevant given the company's multi-market merchant client base.
Riverty frames the licence as central to a strategy it describes as the verticalisation of payments — embedding financing, banking, and payment services directly into merchant commerce infrastructure rather than offering them as separate products. For merchants, the intended benefits include improved conversion rates, cash flow support, and the ability to offer consumer finance options within their own customer journeys without relying on third-party financial providers.
The announcement reflects a broader structural shift in European commerce, where the boundaries between payments, credit, and banking are converging within merchant platforms. Buy now, pay later and embedded lending have accelerated this trend, and a banking licence positions Riverty to offer a broader and more regulated product set than would be available to an unlicensed fintech.
Riverty notes that the licence was obtained in under a year, which the company characterises as a significant outcome given the regulatory complexity typically associated with bank authorisation processes.
No details on the initial product range at launch or the specific markets to be served first have been disclosed.
