TBI Bank

What TBI Bank does

TBI Bank EAD is a fully licensed Bulgarian digital challenger bank founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sofia, serving over 2.7 million retail and SME clients across Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Germany as of March 2026. Its core product stack is built around the proprietary tbi mobile super app and the neon Mastercard-based payment card, with fully digital onboarding via selfie and ID photo, fee-free daily banking, and a fee-free Shopping Limit revolving line of up to €2,500 that splits purchases into 3, 6 or 12 installments. Consumer credit products (cash loans up to €15,000, auto loans, point-of-sale goods loans), savings deposits at up to 6.5% annual interest, and the BNPL product TBI Pay (0% on purchases up to €200 in 3 installments, larger installment plans up to €15,000 over 60 months) round out the retail proposition, while a tiered Business Packages (L €9 / XL €12.50 / XXL €20 monthly), business loans, and online banking for legal entities serve SMEs.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix: net interest margin on consumer and SME lending, deposit funding spread, transaction fees and interchange on card issuing (powered by Mastercard rails and BPC's card-processing platform), merchant BNPL spreads across a 5,000+ partner network routed through the bnkl.tbibank.bg merchant portal, and distribution commissions on bundled Cardif credit-protection insurance. Distribution is digital-first via the mobile app and online banking portals, supplemented by a Sofia headquarters, regional branches, an in-house contact centre, an EasyPay cash-disbursement network, and a partner ecosystem including Mastercard, Cardif (BNP Paribas), BPC, and GombaShop. In March 2026, Advent International (via Bago (Luxembourg) S.à r.l.) completed the acquisition of a >50% controlling stake following European Commission clearance in August 2025 and ECB preliminary authorisation on 13 February 2026, marking a shift to private-equity-backed growth and an explicit intent to invest in digital infrastructure and customer proposition expansion.

Name

TBI Bank

Legal name

TBI Bank EAD

Website

https://tbibank.bg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

TBI Bank is a Sofia-headquartered, ECB-supervised digital challenger bank serving 2.7 million retail and SME clients across Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Germany through a proprietary mobile super app, neon card, consumer and SME lending, savings products, and a 5,000+ merchant BNPL network; acquired by Advent International in March 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail and SME Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (52211), Credit Card Issuing (522210), Commercial Banking (522110), Sales Financing (52222)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

Core Banking & Ledger Systems (Cloud Core, Deposits, Accounts) (FSAGAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

BNPL Consumer Apps & Wallets (Discovery, Management) (FSAGAIAG), B2B / Invoice-Based BNPL (Trade Credit at Checkout) (FSAGAIAC), A2A Checkout & Merchant Acceptance Solutions (FSAMAFAF)

Keywords

• Retail banking services
• Consumer lending
• Buy now pay later
• Small business banking
• Digital banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Sofia

HQ country

Bulgaria

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consumer lending interest: Interest income from unsecured personal consumer loans (cash loans up to 15,000 BGN / ~€15,000), auto loans, and goods/consumer credit (stokov kredit), distributed via app, web, branches and call center.
2. Business lending & transaction fees: Interest and fee income from SME and corporate banking: business loans (бизнес кредити), overdrafts, business packages (XXL/XL/L) with monthly service fees (€9–€20), cash and cashless transfers, FX and international payments.
3. Merchant BNPL / installment commissions: Revenue from BNPL / TBI Pay transactions with over 5,000 merchant partners: merchants receive 100% of purchase amount within 72 hours, with tbi earning spread/commission on the installment financing.
4. Credit protection insurance commissions: Distribution commissions from bundled credit-protection insurance products underwritten by Cardif (life, disability, unemployment, hospitalization, purchase protection, second medical opinion), offered to credit customers through bank channels.
5. Card issuing and payment services: Revenue from issuing Mastercard debit/credit cards (neon), payment processing, FX conversion, ATM withdrawals, and 3D Secure / fraud-prevention services; supported by BPC technology-as-a-service platform.
6. Deposit funding spread: Funding sourced from retail savings/deposits (office and mobile-app deposits up to 6.5% annual interest) and corporate term deposits (срочни депозити), used to fund the loan book and generate net interest margin.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Core offering

TBI Bank is a fully licensed Bulgarian bank delivering retail and SME banking products across Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Germany. Its core offering combines a mobile-first super app with the neon Mastercard card for fee-free daily banking, unsecured consumer loans (cash, auto and point-of-sale goods credit) of up to €15,000, business loans and tiered Business Packages (XXL/XL/L) for SMEs, deposits offering up to 6.5% annual interest, and the TBI Pay buy-now-pay-later service distributed through a network of more than 5,000 merchants.

Product overview

TBI Bank operates a unified digital-first banking platform centered on the tbi app mobile super-app and the neon card, complemented by a modular suite of personal and business financial products. The core personal offering combines the tbi app (used for remote selfie/ID onboarding, account management, and credit product access) and the neon card (the default payment instrument tied to a fee-free daily banking package) with consumer credit products (Cash Loan up to €15,000, Auto Loan, Consumer Goods Loan), savings products (term Deposits with up to 6.5% annual interest and a Piggy Bank micro-savings feature), and the Shopping Limit revolving credit line accessible via the neon card. The buy-now-pay-later proposition is delivered through TBI Pay, enabling 3 to 60 installment payments at over 5,000 partner merchants, supported by the dedicated Merchant Portal for partner onboarding and easy e-commerce integration (including the GombaShop integration). The business offering includes Business Loans, three tiers of Business Packages (XXL, XL, L) bundling accounts, Mastercard Business cards and preferential transfer fees, plus Online Banking for Legal Entities and Wholesale Deposits for corporates. Supporting modules include the Credit Holiday in-app installment-skipping feature, Credit Protection Insurance distributed with Cardif (BNP Paribas), and a 3D Security Code service for online transactions. The platform also maintains a Bug Bounty Program and PSD2-compliant Open Banking capabilities for third-party providers. Card processing infrastructure is delivered via BPC, which managed the 2026 migration of the entire card ecosystem from BGN to EUR across more than 300,000 accounts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• neon: tbi bank neon card — a contactless debit/credit card offering free issuance and maintenance, free ATM withdrawals (two per month), and free delivery, serving as the bank's flagship card product linked to its free daily banking package.
• TBI Pay

Products and services

• tbi app
• neon card
• Cash Loan
• Auto Loan
• Consumer Goods Loan
• Business Loan
• Business Package XXL
• Business Package XL
• Business Package L
• Deposits
• TBI Pay (BNPL)
• Online Banking for Legal Entities
• Wholesale Deposits for Legal Entities
• Merchant Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 merchants signed up to BNPL/installment platform
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• BPC (Banking Products and Consultancy)flagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2026Long-standing technology partner for card issuing, BNPL management, and omnichannel fraud prevention. BPC delivered tbi's full migration of its card payments ecosystem from BGN to EUR as a managed service, converting 200,000+ debit and 100,000 credit accounts (balances, credit limits, transaction histories, ledger records) and recalibrating fraud-prevention systems for the EUR baseline.
• European Central Bank (ECB) & European CommissioncoreOthers · 1 August 2025Regulatory counterparts for the change-of-control approval of tbi bank: European Commission cleared the transaction under the EU Merger Regulation in August 2025, and the European Central Bank adopted a preliminary authorisation decision on 13 February 2026 granting Bago (Luxembourg) S.à r.l. permission to acquire a qualifying holding exceeding 50% in TBI Bank EAD.
• Cardif Assurance Vie / Cardif Assurance Risques Diverses (via Cardif Bulgaria branches)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExclusive credit-protection insurance partner offering life, disability, unemployment, hospitalization, purchase-protection and second medical opinion coverage bundled with tbi consumer loans. Underwritten by Cardif Assurance Vie SA, France and Cardif Assurance Risques Diverses SA, France through their Bulgarian branches 'Кардиф Животозастраховане, Клон България' (BULSTAT 175190059) and 'Кардиф Общо Застраховане, Клон България' (BULSTAT 175190073).
• MastercardcoreTechnology or IntegrationCard network partner powering the neon Mastercard Contactless debit card for individuals and the Mastercard Business debit card issued under the Business Packages. Card issuance, processing and acceptance routed through Mastercard rails across SEE.
• EasyPayminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCash disbursement partner for online-originated consumer loans — customers can opt to pick up approved credit funds at EasyPay agent locations instead of receiving them via bank transfer.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Revolut: Global digital bank with consumer accounts, payments and BNPL operating across Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Germany. Directly comparable mobile-first, multi-country retail proposition competing for the same fee-sensitive customers.
• KBC Bank Bulgaria: Belgian-owned universal bank in Bulgaria with retail and SME focus. Comparable on retail/SME banking mix in the home market; differs on being part of a large EU banking group rather than a digital challenger.
• ProCredit Bank Bulgaria: SME-focused European development bank group with Bulgarian subsidiary. Comparable SME banking proposition including business loans, payment accounts and online banking for legal entities.
• N26: Pan-European mobile-first digital bank operating in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Germany. Comparable fee-free digital accounts, app-led onboarding and multi-country retail proposition.

Broad incumbents

• UniCredit Bulbank: Largest Bulgarian bank by assets with full retail, SME and corporate franchise. Overlaps on SME and consumer banking in Bulgaria, but is a broad incumbent with branch-led distribution rather than a digital specialist.
• DSK Bank: Major Bulgarian retail and SME bank (part of OTP Group). Competes directly in retail deposits, consumer credit and SME packages but with a broader branch-based model.
• Klarna: Global BNPL leader with European footprint. Comparable BNPL mechanics, merchant integration and consumer credit dynamics, though not a licensed bank and less embedded in SEE deposits/SME.
• Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria: Austrian-owned Bulgarian universal bank with retail and SME franchise. Comparable consumer loans, deposits and SME packages but as a broad incumbent rather than digital challenger.

Regional players

• Alpha Bank Romania: Greek-owned universal bank in Romania with retail and SME focus. Comparable in product mix (consumer loans, SME banking, cards) in the Romanian market, though branch-led rather than digital-led.
• Piraeus Bank: Greek universal bank with retail and SME focus. Comparable product set (consumer credit, cards, deposits, SME lending) in the Greek market, which is one of tbi's four active jurisdictions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubtbibank.bg/bug-bounty-program
• YouTubetbibank.bg/bug-bounty-program
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tbibank
• Facebookfacebook.com/tbi-bank-334989619857769

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TBI Bank