lemon.markets
lemon.markets is a Berlin-based FinTech providing a BaFin-licensed Brokerage-as-a-Service API that enables brokers, banks, neobanks, and software companies across Europe to embed stocks, ETFs, and funds trading with full custody, KYC, and tax infrastructure.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What lemon.markets does
lemon.markets is a Berlin-based FinTech founded in 2020 that operates a Brokerage-as-a-Service API platform enabling businesses to embed investment and trading functionality into their own products. The company serves three primary B2B customer segments — brokers and wealth managers, banks and electronic money institutions (EMIs), and software companies — with named commercial partners including Holvi, Vivid, and Optio Incentives. Under a horizontal go-to-market, it targets any European organization that wants to offer stocks, ETFs, and funds without building the underlying infrastructure in-house.
The platform covers the full investment value chain through modular APIs: account opening and KYC/PEP/sanction screening, account funding and withdrawal, order management and execution (3,000+ stocks and 1,000+ ETFs), custody and asset servicing (including corporate actions), tax calculation and reporting, and a self-service customer portal. A BaFin-licensed subsidiary (lemon.markets brokerage GmbH, regulated under the German Investment Firms Act / WpIG) provides regulatory coverage that partners can either rely on or pair with their own licenses. The platform is offered in two operating models — bundled (lemon.markets provides securities and cash accounts end-to-end) and unbundled (partners bring their own cash accounts) — and integrates with established financial institutions including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Tradegate Exchange, and allfunds for settlement, custody, and fund distribution.
The revenue model is B2B enterprise SaaS-style, with quote-based pricing per partnership and no publicly disclosed tiers. lemon.markets monetizes via API licensing and managed infrastructure services, including custody and asset servicing as recurring managed-services revenue. The company raised approximately €28 million in total across a €15M seed round (April 2022, Lakestar and Lightspeed co-led) and a €12M round (July 2024, CommerzVentures led). In August 2025, lemon.markets was acquired by dwpbank (Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG) and now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within the dwpbank group, with stated intent to scale pan-European digital brokerage infrastructure and pursue a stated ambition of enabling 100 million brokerage accounts across Europe.
lemon.markets firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- lemon.markets
- Legal name
- lemon.markets GmbH
- Website
- https://lemon.markets
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- lemon.markets is a Berlin-based FinTech providing a BaFin-licensed Brokerage-as-a-Service API that enables brokers, banks, neobanks, and software companies across Europe to embed stocks, ETFs, and funds trading with full custody, KYC, and tax infrastructure.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where lemon.markets is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
lemon.markets business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- API Infrastructure Services: lemon.markets provides brokerage-as-a-service infrastructure to B2B partners (brokers, banks, software companies). Revenue is generated through API licensing and service fees for the infrastructure that enables investment products. The platform handles the technical, operational, and regulatory complexities for partners.
- Custody and Asset Servicing: Custody services for safekeeping and administration of customer securities accounts, including handling corporate actions. This is part of the bundled infrastructure offering.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Other | B2B Partnership - Quote-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
lemon.markets product offering
Product offeringCore offering
lemon.markets provides a Brokerage-as-a-Service API platform that enables companies such as brokers, wealth managers, banks, EMIs and software companies to launch investment products with regulatory coverage through a BaFin licence. The platform covers the full investment value chain including digital onboarding with KYC, account funding, order management and execution for ETFs, Funds and Stocks, custody and asset servicing, automated tax and reporting, and a self-service customer portal.
Product overview
lemon.markets is a Berlin-based FinTech company offering a modular Brokerage-as-a-Service platform. The core offering is the lemon.markets API infrastructure enabling companies to launch investment products. The platform operates in two models: Bundled (lemon.markets provides end-to-end services including securities and cash accounts) and Unbundled (partners bring their own cash accounts). The product portfolio includes Account Opening & Management, Order Management & Execution, Custody & Asset Servicing, Taxes/Reporting & Receipts, and Self-Service Customer Portal modules. lemon.markets supports three use cases: Vertical Brokerage (investing as core product), Embedded Brokerage (investing as feature), and Contextual Brokerage (investing in new contexts). The platform offers access to Stocks, ETFs, and Funds with market hours from 8am to 10pm. The company was acquired by dwpbank in August 2025.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- lemon.markets Brokerage-as-a-Service Platform API-first Brokerage-as-a-Service infrastructure for B2B partners (brokers, wealth managers, banks, EMIs and software companies) to launch and operate investment products, with regulatory coverage via a BaFin licence under WpIG.
Quantifiable outcome
- Build time reduced from months to weeks using developer-friendly API and sandbox environment
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use lemon.markets
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
lemon.markets technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
lemon.markets partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- VividcoreVivid and lemon.markets partnered to launch a pan-European multi-asset offering. The partnership enables Vivid's customers across Europe to access multi-asset investing capabilities powered by lemon.markets' brokerage infrastructure.
- dwpbankcoredwpbank acquired lemon.markets in August 2025. This represents a major strategic partnership where lemon.markets becomes part of the dwpbank group, combining lemon.markets' digital brokerage API expertise with dwpbank's established banking infrastructure to expand digital brokerage services across Europe.
- HolvicoreHolvi partnered with lemon.markets to launch business accounts with depot/investment features for SMEs in Germany. Holvi, a business banking platform, uses lemon.markets infrastructure to enable its customers to invest in stocks and ETFs directly from their business accounts.
- BNP ParibascoreBNP Paribas is listed as a cooperation partner, indicating a partnership for trusted financial infrastructure connections within the European market.
- Deutsche BankcoreDeutsche Bank is listed as a cooperation partner, representing a strategic relationship with a major global bank for infrastructure and market access.
- Tradegate ExchangecoreTradegate Exchange is listed as a cooperation partner. Orders are routed to Tradegate and other regulated exchanges for best execution.
- allfundscoreallfunds is listed as a cooperation partner, providing access to fund distribution and servicing capabilities within the lemon.markets ecosystem.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
lemon.markets competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Upvest: Berlin-based investment API platform offering brokerage-as-a-service to banks, fintechs, and platforms. Upvest is the most direct European competitor to lemon.markets, serving a similar client base (neobanks, wealth managers) with a comparable API-first infrastructure.
- Alpaca: US-based brokerage API platform providing equities, options, and crypto trading infrastructure to developers and fintechs. Competes directly with lemon.markets in the embedded brokerage category, though focused on the US market.
- DriveWealth: US-based brokerage-as-a-service provider offering fractional share trading and custody infrastructure to global fintechs and banks. Direct peer in the BaaS category, with comparable B2B2X model and partner ecosystem.
- Solaris SE: Berlin-based Banking-as-a-Service platform providing banking infrastructure (accounts, payments, lending) to fintechs and corporates. Comparable B2B2X business model targeting European banks and fintechs, with similar API-first approach.
Broad incumbents
- Plaid: US-based financial data connectivity platform enabling apps to connect with bank accounts. While not a brokerage, Plaid represents a broader incumbent in the financial API infrastructure space and a potential adjacent competitor as it expands into investments.
- Interactive Brokers: Global incumbent broker-dealer with extensive API offering for institutional and retail clients. A scaled incumbent competitor with broader product range; competes with lemon.markets' underlying brokerage capability but as part of a much larger platform.
- Bitpanda: Vienna-based digital investment platform offering stocks, ETFs, crypto, and commodities. Bitpanda has a B2B offering (Bitpanda Technology Solutions) that overlaps with lemon.markets' embedded brokerage proposition.
- Saxo Bank: Danish incumbent broker with a strong API/open banking platform (Saxo OpenAPI) for B2B partners. Comparable to lemon.markets in offering white-label brokerage infrastructure to banks and fintechs, but as a much larger established player.
Regional players
- Trade Republic: Berlin-based neobroker offering commission-free stock and ETF trading. While not a B2B platform, Trade Republic represents a successful German broker that lemon.markets' partners compete against, shaping the addressable market dynamics.
Emerging players
- ClearBank: UK-based Banking-as-a-Service provider offering embedded banking infrastructure to fintechs and corporates. Comparable B2B2X business model with API-first delivery, though focused on banking rather than investment services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
lemon.markets social profiles
Digital presencelemon.markets compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
lemon.markets financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
lemon.markets leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
lemon.markets subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
lemon.markets funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
lemon.markets M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about lemon.markets
What does lemon.markets do?
lemon.markets provides a Brokerage-as-a-Service API platform that enables companies such as brokers, wealth managers, banks, EMIs and software companies to launch investment products with regulatory coverage through a BaFin licence. The platform covers the full investment value chain including digital onboarding with KYC, account funding, order management and execution for ETFs, Funds and Stocks, custody and asset servicing, automated tax and reporting, and a self-service customer portal.
Is lemon.markets a public or private company?
lemon.markets is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was lemon.markets founded?
lemon.markets was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is lemon.markets based?
lemon.markets is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does lemon.markets make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. API Infrastructure Services are the primary driver. The others are custody and Asset Servicing.
Who are lemon.markets's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Upvest, Alpaca, DriveWealth and Solaris SE. Broad incumbents are Plaid, Interactive Brokers, Bitpanda and Saxo Bank. Trade Republic is listed as a regional player. ClearBank is listed as an emerging player.
Does lemon.markets have an API?
Yes. lemon.markets provides an API for securities trading that enables businesses to embed trading services and develop custom brokerage applications. The API-first infrastructure offers comprehensive documentation, a ready-to-test sandbox environment, and covers the full value chain of investing including account opening, order management, custody, and tax reporting. Developer documentation is at developer.lemon.markets.