What KSV1870 does

KSV1870 is Austria's oldest credit protection association, founded in 1870 as Kreditschutzverband von 1870 and operated today through KSV1870 Holding AG (a stock corporation wholly owned by the parent association since December 2007). Headquartered in Vienna with seven regional offices across Austrian states, the company employs 51-100 staff and serves 35,000 member companies, financial institutions, municipalities, and individual consumers. Its core asset is Austria's largest proprietary credit database, covering 640,000 businesses, 7.5 million personal records, and over 4 million consumer credit relationships, refreshed daily with payment behaviour, insolvency records, and company register data.

The company operates a modular platform spanning credit standing assessment (Bonitätsprüfung) for companies and individuals, ongoing monitoring, domestic and international debt collection (Inkasso), and legal representation of creditors in insolvency proceedings. Adjacent products include the CreditBadge QR-coded trust certificate, CyberRisk Rating, ESG scoring, Open-Banking solutions, ComplianceCheck, LEI services, and analytics/visualization tools. Distribution combines a digital self-service layer (My KSV member portal, Business Search, digitalerantrag.ksv.at) with regional field-sales offices and dedicated insolvency representatives in each Austrian federal state.

Revenue is generated through six streams: recurring membership subscriptions (variable by company size), transactional credit reports (EUR 48 InfoPass for individuals, variable for businesses), debt collection fees (success-based for international), insolvency representation fees (court-schedule based), CreditBadge annual subscriptions (EUR 420/year), and marketing data sales. The business serves Austrian businesses of all sizes as the primary segment, with banks, leasing companies, tax advisors, municipalities, and individual consumers as secondary segments. Geographic expansion has extended Business Search coverage to nine Central European markets (Austria, Germany, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Hungary), though the operating base remains overwhelmingly Austrian.

Name

KSV1870

Legal name

KSV1870 Holding AG

Website

https://ksv.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1870

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KSV1870 is Austria's oldest credit protection association (founded 1870), operating a proprietary database of 640,000 businesses and 7.5 million personal records to deliver credit reports, debt collection, insolvency representation, and risk-scoring services to 35,000 member companies across Austria and Central Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Credit Information and Risk Management Services

NAICS

Credit Bureaus (56145), Collection Agencies (561440), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223)

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative / Non-Traditional Credit Data Providers (FSAKAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Compliance, Audit & Regulatory Services for Collections (FSAKAJAL), Risk, Compliance & Controls for Embedded Finance (KYB/KYC/AML, Fraud, Disputes) (FSAGALAK)

Keywords

• Business credit reports
• Debt collection services
• Credit risk management
• Insolvency representation
• Consumer credit information

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership subscriptions for businesses (companies, young entrepreneurs, tax advisors, municipalities) providing access to credit reports, the KSV1870 business database, insolvency information, and preferential pricing on services. Membership fees scale with company size and employee count. Young entrepreneurs receive 3 years free membership.
2. Credit Reports & Business Information: One-time fees for credit standing reports on companies and individuals, sold both to members (at preferential rates with voucher system) and non-members via Business Search (credit card, PayPal, eps, Paysafecard). The database covers 640,000 companies with daily updates.
3. Debt Collection (Inkasso): Domestic and international debt collection services for creditors. Out-of-court collection costs are claimed from the debtor. Judicial/legal enforcement involves attorney fees, court fees. International collection operates on a success-fee basis.
4. Insolvency Representation: Legal representation of creditors in insolvency proceedings, including filing claims, negotiating with administrators, and monitoring dividend payments. Fees are governed by court schedules and are typically recovered from the insolvency estate.
5. InfoPass Products: Purpose-specific credit statements for tenants, applicants, financers, and authorities sold to private individuals at EUR 48.00 per document. GDPR Article 15 data subject access reports are provided free of charge.
6. CreditBadge (BonitätsLabel): Annual subscription at EUR 420 (excl. VAT) for an interactive QR code displaying company creditworthiness. Includes 12-month validity, automatic renewal, and monitoring services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

KSV1870 provides business and consumer credit information, debt collection, and insolvency representation services in Austria. Its core products are credit standing reports (Bonitätsprüfung) on 640,000 Austrian companies and millions of individuals, an ongoing monitoring service for member companies, out-of-court and judicial debt recovery (Inkasso), and creditor representation in insolvency proceedings. For private individuals, the company sells purpose-specific InfoPass credit statements (for tenants, applicants, financiers, authorities) and provides free GDPR Article 15 data access reports.

Product overview

KSV1870 operates as a comprehensive credit protection and risk management platform with a modular portfolio of interconnected services. The core offering centers on credit standing assessment (Bonitätsprüfung) for both companies and individuals, supported by real-time monitoring and a database of 640,000 Austrian businesses. Debt collection (Inkasso) and insolvency representation (Insolvenzvertretung) form the recovery services layer. For individuals, the InfoPass product family provides purpose-specific credit statements for tenants, authorities, financers, and job applicants. Specialized modules include CyberRisk Rating for cybersecurity assessment, ComplianceCheck for regulatory compliance, ESG-Lösungen for sustainability scoring, Open-Banking Lösungen, and analytics/visualization tools. The My KSV member portal serves as the central access point, with membership providing database access, preferential pricing, and supplementary services like legal advice and webinars. The portfolio spans business-to-business credit services, consumer credit products, and debt recovery/insolvency representation, covering Austria, Germany, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Hungary.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bonitätsprüfung Unternehmen (Credit Check - Companies) Credit standing reports on Austrian and selected Central European companies (640,000 businesses in the Business Database), covering payment behaviour, insolvency history, company register data, and balance sheet information updated daily. Sold to businesses for counterparty and supplier credit risk assessment.
• Bonitätsprüfung Personen (Credit Check - People) Credit standing reports on private individuals (7.5 million personal records) covering financial reliability and payment behaviour. Used by businesses for applicant and customer screening.
• Monitoring Continuous surveillance service that alerts members to changes in the credit standing, insolvency status, and other relevant events of their business partners. Available to member companies through the My KSV portal.
• Inkasso (Debt Collection) Out-of-court and judicial debt collection for businesses experiencing payment delays, including international collection and bad debt recovery. Operated by KSV1870 Forderungsmanagement GmbH and available to member companies.
• Insolvenzvertretung (Insolvency Representation) Legal representation of creditors in Austrian insolvency proceedings, including claim filing, administrator negotiations, and dividend payment monitoring. Fees are governed by court schedules and typically recovered from the insolvency estate. Available to members and non-members.
• Marketingdaten (Marketing Data) Business contact and company data from the 640,000-company database sold to members for B2B marketing campaigns and outreach purposes.
• BonitätsLabel / CreditBadge
• KSV-Auszug / InfoPass Credit record statements for private individuals, available in purpose-specific variants (for tenants, employers, financers, and authorities) at EUR 48.00 per document, delivered as PDF within 3 working days. Free GDPR Article 15 data subject access reports available separately.
• Schuldnerservice (Debtor Services) Service offering for private debtors that includes handling debt recovery reminders, payment plan guidance, and insolvency assistance for individuals.
• Mitgliedschaft (Membership) Annual subscription membership program for Austrian companies, young entrepreneurs, tax advisors, and municipalities, providing access to the KSV1870 business and consumer credit databases, preferential pricing on credit reports, debt collection services, legal services, webinars, and expert advice. Young entrepreneurs receive 3 years free after admission.
• CyberRisk Rating Cybersecurity risk assessment service evaluating companies' digital security posture, offered as a standalone add-on product to business customers.
• ComplianceCheck Compliance verification service for regulatory requirements including AML/KYC checks, sold as a standalone offering to business customers.
• SmartRiskService Specialized risk assessment service providing comprehensive risk scoring and analysis, integrating open-banking data to enhance credit risk evaluation. Sold as a standalone specialized solution.
• Open-Banking Lösungen Solutions enabling access to banking transaction data for financial analysis and credit assessment purposes, sold as a standalone specialized solution to lenders and financial institutions.
• ESG-Lösungen Environmental, Social, and Governance assessment solutions for evaluating corporate sustainability criteria, sold as a standalone specialized offering.
• LEI - Legal Entity Identifier Service Service for obtaining and managing Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) required for financial transactions under the ISO 17442 standard. Sold as a standalone offering to legal entities.
• Service für Vermieter (Services for Landlords) Tenant screening and credit check service package for property owners, leveraging the InfoPass for tenants product to assess applicant creditworthiness.
• Digitales Debitorenmanagement / SmartServices Digital tools for managing accounts receivable and streamlining debtor management workflows for businesses, sold as a standalone product.

Quantifiable outcome

• Experience shows that in most cases, out-of-court settlement takes no longer than 7 weeks, and every third debt recovery takes no more than 14 days.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Die PressecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1998Co-organizer of Austria's Leading Companies (ALC), Austria's most significant annual business competition. Die Presse provides media partnership and editorial coverage of the competition. ALC has been held annually since 1998 (28th edition in 2026).
• PwC ÖsterreichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1998Co-organizer of Austria's Leading Companies (ALC) competition. PwC provides expertise in balance sheet analysis and economic performance assessment using a proprietary objective key figures model to determine winners across federal states and size categories.
• ACCIS (Association of Consumer Credit Information Suppliers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean association of consumer credit information suppliers. KSV1870 is a member. ACCIS holds conferences (e.g., ACCIS conference in Vienna, May 2026) where members present experiences with AI in credit analysis, risk assessment, and financial inclusion.
• Coface Central Europe Holding AGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational credit insurance company operating in Central Europe. Based at Marxergasse 4c, 1030 Vienna. KSV1870 cooperates with Coface on credit information and risk management services.
• FEBIS (Federation of Business Information Services)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean federation of business information service providers. KSV1870 is a member. Based in Hamburg, Germany.
• Austrian Retail Association (Handelsverband)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational trade association for Austrian retailers. KSV1870 cooperates on credit protection and risk management topics relevant to the retail sector.
• IHD Organisation for Credit Protection for Industry, Trade and ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman credit protection organization serving industry, trade, and services sectors. KSV1870 cooperates on cross-border credit information and debtor data.
• TÜV AUSTRIAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian certification and testing organization. Partners with KSV1870 in the Austria's Leading Companies competition, offering participants the TÜV AUSTRIA-Sicherheits-Check bonus points for quality and safety assessments in the ALC evaluation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Schufa Holding AG: Germany's dominant consumer credit bureau, providing credit reports, scoring, and identity verification to banks, retailers, and consumers. Directly comparable to KSV1870's ConsumerCreditRecords and Bonitätsprüfung offerings — both operate as national credit bureaus with statutory access to insolvency data and similar membership/reporting models.
• Creditreform: Germany's leading business credit bureau with a member-based cooperative structure, providing business credit reports, debt collection (Inkasso), and economic research. Highly analogous to KSV1870's integrated credit reporting + Inkasso + Insolvenzvertretung model, including similar member-driven network effects across DACH.
• CRIF: Italy-headquartered pan-European credit bureau and business information provider operating across multiple European markets including Austria-adjacent countries. Comparable as a multi-country credit bureau with integrated decisioning, debt collection, and open-banking credit analytics.
• Coface: Global credit insurance and business information provider with a Central European hub in Vienna. KSV1870 already cooperates with Coface Central Europe on credit information. Directly comparable on commercial credit information, risk scoring, and trade-credit decisioning.
• Bürgel Wirtschaftsinformationen: German business credit bureau providing commercial credit reports, debtor data, and risk assessments. Directly comparable to KSV1870's Bonitätsprüfung Unternehmen product and to its membership-based access model for B2B credit information.
• Creditsafe: Global business credit reporting and decisioning provider operating across European markets including Austria/Germany-adjacent regions. Comparable as a transaction-based credit-report competitor serving similar SMEs and enterprise underwriting customers.
• Bisnode (now Dun & Bradstreet): Pre-acquisition Bisnode was a leading Nordic/DACH business information provider with strong presence in Austria. Now part of Dun & Bradstreet, it remains a comparable competitor offering marketing data, credit reports, and risk services in Austria/Central Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Dun & Bradstreet: Global leader in business data and analytics, providing commercial credit reports, supplier risk assessment, and master data. Comparable as a broader international incumbent operating in the same business-information category as KSV1870, though at much larger global scale.
• Euler Hermes (Allianz Trade): Global trade credit insurer and business information provider. Comparable as a broader incumbent in trade credit decisioning and risk management, partially overlapping with KSV1870's commercial credit information services for Austrian exporters and importers.

Emerging players

• FINcredible GmbH: Vienna-based fintech spin-off from Vienna University of Economics, focused on innovative credit and financial services technology. KSV1870 holds a 25.1% strategic stake (since Oct 2019). Comparable as an emerging Austrian credit-tech player with overlapping analytics and risk-assessment ambitions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KSV1870
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ksv1870

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 KSV1870