Salt Bank

What Salt Bank does

Salt Bank is a Romanian digital-only neobank and a subsidiary of Banca Transilvania Group, the country's largest banking group by assets. The bank was legally incorporated in 1998 and relaunched in April 2024 as a 100% cloud-native, mobile-first retail and SMB bank positioned as Romania's first fully digital neobank. Within its first 12 months it acquired more than 500,000 customers and is targeting over 700,000, while keeping headcount at 51–100 employees — evidence of a structurally low cost-to-serve relative to incumbents.

The product surface is delivered exclusively through the Salt Bank iOS and Android applications and centers on a zero-administration-fee account, a multicurrency debit card supporting 19 currencies, instant RoPay QR payments, term deposits in RON at 5.3–5.9%, personal loans (Credit de nevoi personale), automated savings via Spaces and Round Up, securities trading integrated through Upvest (starting from €1), and Bancassurance products including Easy Travel, Pet Insurance and Roadside Assistance. The Salt Business package extends the same platform to SMBs, complemented by Salt POS (softPOS) for merchant acquiring, and the bank added Salt Premium and Salt Everyday subscription tiers in late 2025.

Salt Bank monetizes through net interest income on deposits and personal loans, interchange on card transactions, commissions from securities trading and bill/tax payments, and Bancassurance revenue. Operations are domestic (Romania only), supported by a regulated credit institution license, FGDB deposit guarantee coverage up to €100,000, GDPR compliance, and partnerships with Mastercard, Visa, SWIFT and Transfond. Differentiation rests on cloud-native architecture, a human-only 24/7 Care Center, competitive FX rates, and recent international recognition as the 2025 Celent Model Bank for Digital Bank Launch.

Name

Salt Bank

Legal name

SALT Bank S.A.

Website

https://salt.bank

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Salt Bank is a Romanian cloud-native neobank and Banca Transilvania subsidiary offering zero-fee mobile banking, multicurrency cards, deposits, loans, securities trading, and insurance to consumers and SMBs, with 500,000+ customers acquired since its April 2024 launch.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Retail Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (52211)

SIC

National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail-focused Neobanks (Mass Market) (FSABAFAA)

Keywords

• Digital banking services
• Mobile banking platform
• Neobank accounts
• Multicurrency debit cards
• Personal loan products

Headquarters

HQ city

Bucharest

HQ country

Romania

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Interest Income: Interest earned on personal loans and credit products, including personal credit (credit de nevoi personale) with competitive rates
2. Deposit Interest: Interest paid to customers on deposits (Lei and foreign currency) with rates up to 5.9% annually
3. Securities Trading: Commission revenue from integrated securities trading service launched with Upvest partnership, with trades starting from 1 euro
4. Payment Processing: Fees from payment processing services including utility bills, tax payments (Pay Tax), and international transfers
5. Card Services: Interchange revenue and fees from multicurrency card transactions
6. Bancassurance: Revenue from insurance products including Easy Travel, Pet Insurance, and Roadside Assistance

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Salt Bank operates a fully digital, mobile-only Romanian neobank offering current accounts, a 19-currency debit card, personal loans, term deposits with rates up to 5.9%, automated savings tools (Spaces, Automatic Saver, Round Up), securities trading (via Upvest), insurance products (Easy Travel, Pet Insurance, Roadside Assistance), and a zero-fee SMB package (Salt Business). All services are delivered exclusively through the Salt Bank mobile app built on cloud-native architecture with no physical branches.

Product overview

Salt Bank is a fully digital Romanian neobank and a subsidiary of Banca Transilvania Group, launched in April 2024 with cloud-native architecture. The company positions itself as the first 100% Romanian neobank and operates exclusively through its mobile application. The core product is the Salt Bank Mobile Application offering personal and business banking services. The product portfolio includes core banking (accounts, cards, personal loans, multicurrency card supporting 19 currencies), savings products (Spaces with automated transfers and Round Up, term Deposits, Automatic Saver), investment services (securities trading via Upvest partnership), insurance products (Easy Travel, Pet Insurance, Roadside Assistance, Bancassurance), and business services (Salt Business with zero fees, Salt POS softPOS). Customer support is provided through the 24/7 Care Center featuring human-only assistance. The bank has grown to over 500,000 customers and aims to surpass 700,000.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Salt Premium: Premium subscription plan offering a personalized banking experience.
• Salt Everyday
• Salt Metal
• Salt POS
• Spaces

Products and services

• Salt Bank Mobile Application Primary mobile banking application for iOS and Android providing personal and business banking services including accounts, cards, loans, savings, deposits, investments, and insurance through a cloud-native platform with video-based remote onboarding.
• Salt Business Business banking package for Romanian SMBs, entrepreneurs, and freelancers offering zero-cost account administration, free domestic collections, and integrated digital onboarding through the Salt app.
• Multicurrency Card Debit card supporting 19 different currencies with dynamic exchange rates that allows payments abroad without conversion fees when using the matching currency account.
• Credit de Nevoi Personale (Personal Loan) Unsecured personal loan product for individual financing needs with competitive interest rates and fully digital application through the Salt Bank mobile app.
• Depozite (Term Deposits) Term deposit products in Romanian Lei with maturities of 3, 6, and 12 months and annual interest rates ranging from 5.3% to 5.9%, with a minimum deposit of 500 lei.
• Spaces Automated savings feature allowing users to set savings goals, configure automatic transfers, and activate Round Up to round up card transactions to the nearest currency unit.
• Automatic Saver Automated savings tool that schedules recurring transfers of user-defined amounts into savings goals on a configurable cadence.
• Securities Trading (Investiții) Investment service enabling customers to trade securities starting from 1 euro per transaction, enabled through the Upvest partnership and accessible directly in the Salt Bank mobile app.
• Salt POS (SoftPOS) SoftPOS solution that turns a merchant's smartphone or tablet into a card payment terminal, requiring no dedicated hardware for accepting card payments from customers.
• Pay Bill In-app bill payment service that allows customers to pay utility bills and other recurring payments directly from their Salt Bank account.
• PayTax Tax payment service enabling users to settle Romanian taxes and fiscal obligations through the Salt Bank mobile application.
• RoPay QR-code-based instant payment service for both individuals and businesses supporting instant collections and payments up to 5,000 RON with immediate processing and settlement.
• Easy Travel Travel insurance product that provides coverage for trip-related risks and assistance services for customers while traveling.
• Pet Insurance Pet insurance product that covers veterinary expenses and provides related protection for pet owners.
• Asigurare Asistență Rutieră (Roadside Assistance Insurance) Insurance product that covers vehicle breakdown and emergency road services for drivers.
• Care Center 24/7 customer support service offering direct human-only assistance via phone (*SALT/07258), in-app chat, direct app call, and offline messaging without IVR menus or chatbots.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500,000+ customers acquired within first year of launch
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UpvestcoreTechnology or Integration · 19 October 2025Salt Bank partnered with Berlin-based Upvest to launch integrated securities trading service for its customers. The service allows users to trade securities starting from just 1 euro, broadening the bank's service offerings beyond traditional banking into investment products.
• MastercardcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSalt Bank conducts joint promotional campaigns with Mastercard including the Salt x Mastercard Christmas campaign with weekly lotteries and various cashback promotions.
• Edenred/BenefitminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegular annual campaigns where Salt Bank partners with Edenred/Benefit for employee benefits cross-promotion.
• TransfondcoreTechnology or IntegrationTransfond provides the SENT payment system infrastructure and the Service for Displaying Beneficiary Name (SANB) for processing domestic payments. Salt Bank and Transfond operate as associated data controllers for these operations.
• SWIFTcoreTechnology or IntegrationSWIFT network infrastructure for international wire transfers enabling global payment capabilities.
• VisacoreTechnology or IntegrationVisa card network for debit/credit card processing. Salt Bank became the first Romanian bank to join the Visa Agentic Ready program for AI agent-based autonomous trading solutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Revolut: Global neobank operating extensively in Romania with multicurrency cards, instant payments, and trading. Direct competitor for Salt Bank's mobile-first retail and SMB customer base.
• Wise: Multi-currency digital account and low-cost cross-border transfer provider widely used in Romania. Competes with Salt Bank's multicurrency card and FX positioning.
• Orange Money Romania: Telco-led digital financial services proposition in Romania. Adjacent competitor for younger, mobile-first consumers considering Salt Bank.

Broad incumbents

• Banca Transilvania: Parent company and Romania's largest bank by assets. Offers full retail and SMB banking with its own digital channels; comparable in customer base and product breadth though not in pure digital-native architecture.
• BRD – Groupe Société Générale: Top-three Romanian retail bank with a sizeable digital offering (YouBRD app). Direct incumbent competitor in retail current accounts, cards, and deposits.
• ING Bank Romania: Major retail bank in Romania with Home'Bank digital platform. Competes directly with Salt Bank in digital onboarding, deposits, and consumer credit.
• Raiffeisen Bank Romania: Universal bank serving retail and SMB customers in Romania with a mobile banking app. Overlaps with Salt Bank in current accounts, cards, and personal loans.
• UniCredit Bank Romania: Large incumbent with Mobile Banking app offering accounts, cards, and lending. Competitor for both consumer and SMB banking customers.
• Alpha Bank Romania: Universal bank with retail and SMB focus in Romania; competes on deposits, cards, and consumer lending products.

Regional players

• TBI Bank: Bulgaria-rooted digital bank expanding in Romania with consumer credit and merchant acquiring (including SoftPOS). Comparable digital-first credit and POS approach to Salt Bank's Salt Business and personal loans.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/saltbankro
• Xx.com/SaltBankRo
• Facebookfacebook.com/SaltBankRO

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Salt Bank