Qwist
Qwist is a Berlin-based BaFin-regulated Open Finance platform serving European banks, fintechs, lenders, and enterprises with API-based financial data, PSD2/PSD3 compliance, account switching, risk insights, and payment initiation across 3,600+ institutions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Qwist does
Qwist GmbH, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Berlin, is a BaFin-regulated Payment Institution operating a B2B Open Finance platform across European markets. The company provides API-based infrastructure that connects financial institutions, fintechs, lenders, and other enterprises to more than 3,600 banks across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Serbia, Spain, and Portugal. Its product architecture spans three integrated pillars — Connect (Financial Data, Open Finance Compliance/PS-Star, PSD2 API, Consent Management Security, Qwist Link), Assess (Data Enrichment, Income Verification, Risk Insights), and Activate (Account Switch, Portfolio Switch, Account Verification, Pay by Bank) — plus an AI assistant called Qlarc built on MCP and LLM. The platform is built on the Berlin Group openFinance API standard, supports PSD2/PSD3/PSR/IPR compliance, and operates in ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and ISAE 3402 Type II certified data centres in Germany and Switzerland.
The business operates on a B2B SaaS model with multiple monetization streams: subscription-based platform fees, per-transaction pricing for Pay by Bank, fixed-price compliance licensing (PS-Star claims up to 70% cost savings versus in-house implementations), professional services for integration, and data enrichment/insights monetization. Go-to-market is API-first with developer self-service via sandbox and documentation, complemented by enterprise field sales for tier-1 bank relationships. The platform processes approximately 1 million transactions daily, has facilitated more than 2.1 million account switches, and serves customers including DKB, Deutsche Bank, N26, Volksbank Wien, Trade Republic, Solaris, Berenberg, Banco BNI Europa, and 7Assets, spanning banking, lending, payments, eCommerce, insurance, and PropTech verticals.
Revenue traction is evidenced by an operational scale of 1M daily transactions, 3,600+ institution connectivity, and a customer base spanning multiple verticals, though no revenue figure is publicly disclosed. The company has raised approximately $26.2 million in disclosed venture funding, most recently in a 2021 Series 2 led by SBI Investment, and completed the acquisition of MyValue Solutions in 2021. Recent strategic priorities include the June 2026 launch of Qlarc AI assistant and Qwist Link integration alternative, alongside positioning as the standard SIX bLink connector for Swiss multibanking. Customer concentration risk appears moderate given a mix of tier-1 banks and fintechs, while competitive moat rests on regulatory authorization (BaFin PSD2 license), certification stack, Berlin Group standards membership, and accumulated data and switching volume across the European Open Finance ecosystem.
Qwist firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Qwist
- Legal name
- Qwist GmbH
- Website
- https://qwist.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Qwist is a Berlin-based BaFin-regulated Open Finance platform serving European banks, fintechs, lenders, and enterprises with API-based financial data, PSD2/PSD3 compliance, account switching, risk insights, and payment initiation across 3,600+ institutions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Qwist industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Banking and Open Finance Platform
- NAICS
- Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223), Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (522390)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Payment Initiation & Account-to-Account (A2A) Payments (PIS, RTP initiation) (FSAGACAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Alternative Data & Credit Scoring (Cashflow, Telco, Utility, Open Banking) (FSAGAHAC), SME Credit Risk, Underwriting & Financial Data (B2B Fintech Data/Decisioning) (FSAGAJAM)
Keywords
Where Qwist is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Qwist business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- API/SaaS Platform Subscriptions and Usage Fees: Qwist operates as a B2B SaaS platform offering API-based services. Financial institutions, banks, and fintechs pay for access to the Open Finance platform, including Financial Data, Open Finance Compliance (PS-Star), PSD2 API, Account Switch, Portfolio Switch, Income Verification, Risk Insights, and Pay by Bank. Pricing is largely subscription and usage-based, with a fixed-price model for Open Finance Compliance that claims 70% cost savings vs. in-house solutions.
- Pay by Bank / Payment Initiation Fees: Payment initiation services enabling SEPA transfers via Open Banking. The company generates revenue per transaction with a fixed pricing model. Qwist states Pay by Bank is 80% cheaper than conventional payment methods, suggesting a cost-efficient alternative revenue stream.
- PSD2/Open Finance Compliance Licensing: Open Finance Compliance solution (PS-Star) provides compliance APIs to financial institutions. Operated as SaaS with optional full banking-compliant hosting in Qwist's multi-certified data centres. Revenue from licensing, hosting fees, and support contracts.
- Professional Services and Implementation: Implementation and integration services for financial institutions, including sandbox setup, API integration with backend systems, and first-level TPP support. Deployment timelines of approximately 4 weeks for full integration.
- B2B Data and Insights Licensing: Data enrichment, categorization, income verification, and risk insights products monetize financial transaction data by providing structured, enriched data and analytical outputs to B2B customers in lending, payments, insurance, and other regulated sectors.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Open Finance Compliance (PS-Star) at fixed price |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free sandbox and demo access |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Pay by Bank / Payment Initiation at fixed rate |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels10 records
Qwist product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Qwist is a BaFin-regulated Open Finance platform that provides API-based financial data access, risk analytics, and payment initiation services to banks, fintechs, lenders, and other financial institutions across Europe. Its three product suites—Connect (data access and compliance infrastructure), Assess (data enrichment, income verification, risk insights), and Activate (account/portfolio switching, account verification, pay-by-bank)—enable clients to access harmonized financial data from 3,600+ institutions, comply with PSD2/PSD3/PSR/IPR regulations, and embed financial actions into their products.
Product overview
Qwist is an Open Finance platform provider offering three integrated product suites: Connect (data access infrastructure), Assess (financial intelligence), and Activate (embedded financial actions). The Connect suite provides Financial Data, Open Finance Compliance (PS-Star), PSD2 API, and Consent Management Security for Swiss markets. The Assess suite delivers Data Enrichment (transaction categorization), Income Verification (disposable income calculation), and Risk Insights (real-time risk indicators). The Activate suite enables Account Switch, Portfolio Switch, Account Verification, and Pay by Bank payment initiation. Add-on modules include Switch Insights (customer intelligence from switching data), Qwist Link (48-hour integration alternative), and Qlarc (AI assistant for data querying). The platform connects to 3,600+ financial institutions across 18 active regions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Financial Data Provides harmonized, real-time access to financial data from over 3,000 institutions across Germany, Austria, Spain, and Portugal. Offers account balances, transaction history (up to 365 days), automatic synchronization up to 4x per day, and a 360-degree view of retail and business accounts for banks, fintechs, and lenders.
- Open Finance Compliance (PS-Star) Ensures compliance with PSD3, PSR, and IPR regulations. Provides configurable APIs based on Berlin Group standards, integrated consent management, TPP certificate management, and regulatory reporting. Delivered as SaaS in multi-certified banking data centres with 99.95% availability SLA and 24/7 first-level TPP support.
- PSD2 API Enables banks and EMIs to achieve PSD2 Open Banking compliance through a dedicated interface for Third-Party Providers. Configurable with 100+ options based on Berlin Group standards, with consent management, TPP management, sandbox environment, and developer documentation.
- Consent Management Security (Switzerland) Provides a secure connectivity layer for SIX bLink to enable Swiss multibanking. Includes configurable consent management, TPP management, and supports SFTI common APIs (AIS and PSS). Operates on-premises or as SaaS in a Swiss data centre for Swiss banks.
- Data Enrichment Transforms raw transaction data into structured insights through automatic categorization into approximately 21 main categories with 100+ subcategories. Includes Payment Partner Recognition covering 100,000+ partners and Contract Recognition Service for identifying recurring payment patterns.
- Income Verification Calculates an end-user's disposable income (income after fixed costs) and discretionary income (income after variable costs) via one-time access to enriched financial transaction data. Used for creditworthiness and affordability assessment by lenders.
- Risk Insights Provides real-time risk assessments using up-to-date information on applicants' risk behavior, income, and spending. Delivers risk KPIs including gambling, loans, overdrafts, debt collection, and affordability checks for up to 180 days on a single consent.
- Account Switch Enables fully digital account switching in under 10 minutes. Automatically detects and redirects direct debits, sets up standing orders, notifies payment partners, closes old accounts, and transfers remaining funds. Operates under Qwist's own PSD2 license.
- Portfolio Switch Enables fully digital portfolio transfer (stocks, ETFs, funds, pending orders, fractional shares) from one financial institution to another in under 10 minutes. Supports partial or full transfers, automatic depot closure, and notification management.
- Account Verification Verifies account ownership in real time by cross-checking the end-user's name and IBAN against bank records. Provides four tiers of affinity matching (Very High, High, Medium, Low) to prevent fraud and unauthorized transactions.
- Pay by Bank Enables SEPA Credit Transfer initiation directly from the end-user's bank account via Open Banking. Available for both licensed and non-licensed businesses at a fixed pricing model stated as 80% cheaper than conventional payment methods.
Quantifiable outcome
- 1,000,000 transactions retrieved per day
- +18 more outcomes
Companies that use Qwist
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Qwist technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability7 records
Feature15 records
Qwist partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- SIX Group (bLink)coreQwist's Consent Management Security product integrates with SIX bLink, the Swiss Open Finance platform operated by SIX Group. The integration enables Swiss multibanking for banks through a standard connector. SIX bLink is a key infrastructure component for Switzerland's Open Finance ecosystem.
- Swiss Bankers AssociationcoreThe Swiss Bankers Association committed to enabling multibanking for natural persons in Switzerland. Qwist's Consent Management Security product is designed to support banks in meeting this commitment. Hypothekarbank Lenzburg is one of 40 Swiss banks that signed the associated Memorandum of Understanding.
- Berlin GroupcoreQwist is a member of the Berlin Group Advisory Board and actively contributes to shaping the future open finance landscape in Europe. Qwist's APIs are developed according to the Berlin Group's openFinance API standard. This membership provides Qwist with early visibility into regulatory developments and standards evolution.
Scale indicators18 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Qwist competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Plaid: Plaid is a leading global open banking/data aggregation platform serving banks, lenders, and fintechs with account connectivity, identity verification, and risk insights. Directly comparable to Qwist's Connect and Assess suites, with a much larger US-centric footprint.
- Finicity (Mastercard): Finicity, a Mastercard company, offers open banking connectivity, financial data aggregation, and cash flow underwriting for lenders and fintechs. Comparable to Qwist's Assess suite (income verification, risk insights).
Direct peers
- TrueLayer: TrueLayer is a European open banking platform providing account information and payment initiation APIs to banks, fintechs, and merchants. Most direct comparable to Qwist on Pay by Bank, financial data, and PSD2/PSD3 compliance across Europe.
- Tink (Visa): Tink, owned by Visa, is a European open banking platform offering account aggregation, payment initiation, and risk insights. Highly comparable product overlap with Qwist across Connect, Assess, and Activate suites.
- Yapily: Yapily is a European open banking API provider enabling account information and payment initiation services. Direct competitor to Qwist's Connect suite with similar PSD2 aggregation and Pay by Bank offerings.
- Salt Edge: Salt Edge provides open banking API solutions including account aggregation, payment initiation, and PSD2 compliance tools. Comparable to Qwist in PSD2/PSD3 compliance, financial data aggregation, and bank connectivity.
- Token.io: Token.io provides open banking-based account-to-account payment infrastructure and data connectivity across Europe. Closely comparable to Qwist's Pay by Bank and Connect offerings.
- ndgit: ndgit is a Munich-based Open Banking platform offering PSD2/PSD3 compliance APIs and bank connectivity to financial institutions. Direct European competitor to Qwist's PS-Star compliance product.
Emerging players
- Bud Financial: Bud Financial is a UK-based open banking data enrichment and analytics platform for banks and lenders. Comparable to Qwist's Assess suite (data enrichment, income verification, transaction categorization).
Regional players
- Belvo: Belvo is a Latin American open banking API platform offering financial data aggregation and payment initiation. Comparable platform architecture to Qwist but focused on Latin America rather than Europe.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Qwist social profiles
Digital presenceQwist compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Qwist financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Qwist leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Qwist funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Qwist M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Qwist
What does Qwist do?
Qwist is a BaFin-regulated Open Finance platform that provides API-based financial data access, risk analytics, and payment initiation services to banks, fintechs, lenders, and other financial institutions across Europe. Its three product suites—Connect (data access and compliance infrastructure), Assess (data enrichment, income verification, risk insights), and Activate (account/portfolio switching, account verification, pay-by-bank)—enable clients to access harmonized financial data from 3,600+ institutions, comply with PSD2/PSD3/PSR/IPR regulations, and embed financial actions into their products.
Is Qwist a public or private company?
Qwist is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Qwist founded?
Qwist was founded in 2012. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Qwist based?
Qwist is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Qwist make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. API/SaaS Platform Subscriptions and Usage Fees are the primary driver. The others are pay by Bank / Payment Initiation Fees, PSD2/Open Finance Compliance Licensing, professional Services and Implementation and B2B Data and Insights Licensing.
Who are Qwist's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Plaid and Finicity (Mastercard). Direct peers are TrueLayer, Tink (Visa), Yapily, Salt Edge, Token.io and ndgit. Bud Financial is listed as an emerging player. Belvo is listed as a regional player.
Does Qwist have an API?
Yes. Qwist provides a public API for Open Finance data access and services. The API enables developers to integrate financial data access, account verification, income verification, risk insights, payment initiation, and account/portfolio switching functionality. The platform supports connectivity via the finX API and is built on Berlin Group standards. Developers can access technical documentation including overviews, step-by-step descriptions, prerequisites, OpenAPI specifications, FAQs, and a status page at docs.qwist.com. A sandbox environment is available for testing. Developer documentation is at docs.qwist.com.
What industry is Qwist in?
Qwist's product category is Open Banking and Open Finance Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGACAI, Payment Initiation & Account-to-Account (A2A) Payments (PIS, RTP initiation), with a secondary code of FSAGAHAC, Alternative Data & Credit Scoring (Cashflow, Telco, Utility, Open Banking). Its NAICS code is 5223 and its SIC code is 6199.