UNICRE

What UNICRE does

UNICRE - Instituição Financeira de Crédito, S.A. is a Portuguese payment institution founded in 1974 and headquartered in Lisbon. It operates two core commercial brands: REDUNIQ, under which it runs the largest payment acceptance (acquiring) network in Portugal, and UNIBANCO, its card-issuing brand. The company is owned by a consortium of major Portuguese banks — Millennium BCP (31.16%), Santander Totta (21.86%), BPI (21.01%), Novo Banco (17.5%), and Caixa Económica Montepio Geral (3.84%) — and is supervised by Banco de Portugal and ASF as an IFIC. With a workforce of 251-500, UNICRE processed approximately €28.8 billion across nearly 600 million transactions in 2023 through its REDUNIQ network.

The company's product portfolio spans physical and digital payment acceptance: REDUNIQ Smart (Android-based payment terminals), REDUNIQ Soft (SoftPOS application converting smartphones into payment devices), REDUNIQ e-Commerce (online gateway), REDUNIQ Pay by Link (email/SMS/WhatsApp payment links), and Parcela Já (interest-free BNPL at terminal in 2-6 installments). Card issuing under UNIBANCO covers credit, debit, and prepaid products, including a 100% digital account. Employee benefit cards operate under the Ticket brand (Restaurant, Ensino, Educação) and gift cards under Cartões Oferta (Alegria, Shopping Lovers, Alegro). Infrastructure is hosted through a Kyndryl cloud partnership, and the company has integrated Open Banking via SIBS API Market for PSD2-compliant services.

UNICRE's revenue model combines transaction fees on acquired merchant volume, interchange and credit interest income from issued cards, subscription fees on terminal and value-added services (including REDUNIQ Easy fixed monthly pricing), and issuance/processing fees on Ticket benefit and gift cards. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales, digital self-service onboarding, channel partnerships (notably with UACS covering thousands of trade and service association members), and vertical integrations such as Owllyo for tourism and the Mass Transit project with Metro de Lisboa. The company generates incremental data assets through REDUNIQ Insights, publishing periodic analytics on Portuguese retail performance.

Name

UNICRE

Legal name

UNICRE - Instituição Financeira de Crédito, S.A.

Website

https://unicre.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

UNICRE is Portugal's largest payment acquirer, processing €28.8 billion annually through its REDUNIQ network. It issues cards under UNIBANCO and serves SMBs, corporate employers, and e-commerce merchants with terminals, SoftPOS, e-commerce, BNPL, and benefit cards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Acquiring Services

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (522210)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Merchant Acquiring Banks & ISO/MSP Acquirers (FSAMABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Card-Present Acquirers (Retail & POS Focus) (FSAMABAC), Card-Not-Present / eCommerce Acquirers (FSAMABAD), Merchant Acquiring & Card Processing (PSPs) (CRAFALAB), Commercial & Corporate Card Schemes (FSAMAAAF)

Keywords

• Payment acquiring services
• Card issuing services
• Merchant payment solutions
• Point-of-sale terminals
• Employee benefit cards

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisboa

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Payment Acquiring and Transaction Processing: UNICRE generates primary revenue through transaction processing fees charged to merchants for accepting card payments via REDUNIQ terminals and e-commerce solutions. The company processes billions in annual transaction volume (28.8 billion euros transacted in 2023), with fees typically calculated as a percentage of transaction value or per-transaction basis.
2. Card Issuing (UNIBANCO Brand): UNICRE issues co-branded and proprietary payment cards under the UNIBANCO brand, including credit cards, prepaid cards, and benefit cards (Ticket Restaurant, Ticket Ensino, Ticket Educação). Revenue derives from interchange fees, annual/card fees, and credit interest.
3. Employee Benefit Cards (Ticket): UNICRE issues Ticket benefit cards (Restaurant, Ensino, Educação) to employers for employee benefits. Companies receive TSU (Social Security) exemptions and 100% IRC deductibility, while UNICRE earns issuance and processing fees.
4. Gift Cards (Cartões Oferta): UNICRE issues gift cards (Alegria, Shopping Lovers, Alegro) that can be used at partner merchants, generating issuance fees and maintaining float on unredeemed balances.
5. Terminal and Technology Services: Revenue from terminal rental/sales (REDUNIQ Smart, SoftPOS), monthly service fees, and value-added services such as analytics and BNPL functionality. REDUNIQ Easy offers fixed monthly pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UNICRE provides payment acquiring and card issuing services through two main brands: REDUNIQ (the largest payment acquirer in Portugal, processing card transactions for merchants via physical terminals, SoftPOS, e-commerce gateways, and BNPL) and UNIBANCO (issuer of credit, debit, and prepaid cards). The company also issues Ticket benefit cards for employers (meal, education subsidies) and gift cards for consumers and businesses.

Product overview

UNICRE operates as a Portuguese financial institution and payment specialist with 50 years of experience, offering a comprehensive payment ecosystem through two primary brands: REDUNIQ (payment acceptance/acquiring) and UNIBANCO (card issuing). The REDUNIQ portfolio includes physical payment terminals (REDUNIQ Smart Android-based devices), mobile/softPOS acceptance (REDUNIQ Soft), e-commerce solutions, Pay by Link, and the BNPL offering Parcela Já. UNIBANCO provides credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, and digital accounts. UNICRE also offers employee benefit cards under the Ticket brand (meal, education subsidies) and gift cards. The company serves as the largest payment acquirer in Portugal through its REDUNIQ network, processing €28.8 billion in transactions in 2023.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• REDUNIQ: Main brand for payment acceptance solutions (physical stores and online commerce). Largest acquirer in Portugal.
• REDUNIQ Soft
• REDUNIQ Smart
• REDUNIQ Insights
• REDUNIQ e-Commerce
• REDUNIQ Pay by Link
• Parcela Já com UNICRE
• Ticket Restaurant
• Ticket Ensino
• Ticket Educação
• Cartão Alegria
• Cartão Shopping Lovers
• Cartão Alegro

Products and services

• REDUNIQ Payment Acceptance Network Primary brand for payment acceptance solutions covering physical stores (point-of-sale terminals) and e-commerce. The largest acceptance network operating in Portugal, processing nearly €28.8 billion in transactions in 2023.
• UNIBANCO Card Issuing Card issuing brand offering credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards under the UNIBANCO name. Includes UNIBANCO Life and UNIBANCO Atitude (eco-friendly) card variants, and UNIBANCO digital account (100% digital prepaid account).
• Cartões Ticket (Ticket Restaurant, Ticket Ensino, Ticket Educação)

Quantifiable outcome

• €28.8 billion transacted in 2023 — new all-time high
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• VisacoreTechnology or Integration · 18 March 2026UNICRE is one of five initial European launch partners for Visa's Intelligent Authorisation (VIA) platform. The solution offers 99.999% uptime and 96.3% average approval rate, using machine learning for real-time transaction analysis and optimized routing decisions via a single API connection.
• OwllyocoreTechnology or Integration · 22 January 2026Reduniq (UNICRE brand) and Owllyo (tourism property management software) formalized a strategic technology partnership integrating REDUNIQ payment solutions into the Owllyo platform. The collaboration simplifies operations and invoicing for small tourism units and local accommodations (up to 30 rooms), supporting Portugal's tourism digitalization.
• UACS (União de Associações do Comércio e Serviços)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 January 2026UNICRE and UACS signed a strategic collaboration agreement to modernize payments in commerce and services. Thousands of UACS member businesses gain preferential access to REDUNIQ solutions including payment terminals, online digital solutions, and differentiated payment methods. Signed by Carla Salsinha (UACS President) and João Baptista Leite (UNICRE President).
• KyndrylcoreTechnology or Integration · 15 December 2025Kyndryl extended its partnership with UNICRE to support migration of UNICRE's workloads to the cloud as part of its digital transformation. The agreement involves Kyndryl managing UNICRE's information systems and developing new services to enhance efficiency, automation, innovation, and security.
• SIBS FPS (SIBS API Market)coreTechnology or IntegrationUNICRE joined the Open Banking platform developed by SIBS FPS for the national banking community. Through SIBS API Market, UNICRE provides PSD2-compliant interfaces for Account Information Services (AISP), Payment Initiation (PISP), and Card-Based Payment Instrument Issuer (CBPII) services.
• Braza BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationIn partnership with Braza Bank, REDUNIQ became the first Portuguese acquirer to offer PIX, Brazil's primary digital payment method, enabling cross-border payment acceptance for merchants.
• Visa (Mass Transit)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICRE partnered with Visa and transport operators on the Mass Transit project, enabling public transport access (Metro de Lisboa) using contactless payment cards, smartphones, or smartwatches without purchasing separate tickets.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Stripe: Global online payment processor with strong SMB and platform penetration in Portugal. Competes directly with REDUNIQ e-Commerce and Pay by Link for digital-native merchants.
• Adyen: Global payments platform providing unified online, mobile and in-store acquiring with advanced APIs. Directly competes with REDUNIQ e-Commerce for Portuguese enterprise and digital merchants, and is a structural threat in cross-border card acceptance.
• Redsys: Spanish card payment processor and acquirer serving the Iberian market. Closely comparable to UNICRE as a national acquirer/processor with a dominant domestic share, similar SMB focus, and proximity to Portugal via the Iberian payments ecosystem.
• EVO Payments: Specialised merchant acquirer with European and Latin American operations offering integrated POS and ecommerce solutions. Comparable in scope and SMB-to-mid-market merchant focus to UNICRE's REDUNIQ business.
• SIBS: Portuguese payment processor and operator of Multibanco/MB WAY; UNICRE integrates with SIBS FPS for Open Banking and depends on the SIBS rails. Most directly comparable domestic peer given overlapping national scope and technology partnership.

Broad incumbents

• Worldline: Largest European payment processor, providing acquiring, POS, and digital services across multiple countries. UNICRE is a co-launch partner with Worldline on Visa Intelligent Authorisation, and the two compete in the European acquiring market.
• Fiserv: Large US-headquartered payment processor with European acquiring footprint and Visa Acceptance Platform partnership. Co-launch partner with UNICRE on Visa Intelligent Authorisation; competes in European acquiring and merchant services.
• Nexi: Major European PayTech offering acquiring, card issuing and payment infrastructure across multiple countries. Comparable to UNICRE on the merchant acquiring and card issuing side at a European multi-market level.

Emerging players

• SumUp: European SMB-focused payment acceptance provider with SoftPOS products directly comparable to REDUNIQ Soft. Targets the same micro-merchant and independent retailer segment that is core to UNICRE's REDUNIQ customer base.

Regional players

• PagSeguro / PagBank: Brazilian acquirer and digital payments platform connected to UNICRE via the Braza Bank/PIX partnership. Comparable acquirer model in a different geography and a logical regional peer given UNICRE's growing Brazil cross-border ambitions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unicre

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries2 records

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 UNICRE