Federation of Business Information Services

What Federation of Business Information Services does

FEBIS (Federation of Business Information Services) is a Hamburg-based, registered non-profit association (eingetragener Verein, e.V.) founded in 1973 that serves as the representative trade body for business information services providers. The federation's membership comprises more than 150 companies operating across 60+ countries, including major data and credit information providers such as Creditsafe, INFORMA, CRIF, Creditreform, CreditDevice, Worldbox, Iberinform, Ellisphere, and FirstLink. Its functional role is industry representation and coordination rather than product delivery.

The federation's substantive activities are channelled through committees, most prominently a Regulatory Committee that has produced 25+ position papers, contributed to 40+ EU consultations, and conducted 100+ policy meetings. This advocacy work targets European policy frameworks affecting the business information services industry, including data protection, credit reporting, and emerging digital regulation. Governance is provided by a board drawn from senior executives of member companies, with the secretariat operating with approximately five staff members — a footprint consistent with a focused representational body rather than a service-delivery organisation.

FEBIS derives revenue from annual membership fees structured as a percentage of each member company's turnover, aligning contributions with the commercial scale of participants. As a non-profit, surpluses are reinvested into advocacy initiatives, member services, and operational continuity rather than distributed to stakeholders. The federation does not operate technology platforms, data products, or APIs; its outputs are policy positions, member coordination, and industry representation.

Name

Federation of Business Information Services

Legal name

Federation of European Business Information Services e.V.

Website

https://febis.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

FEBIS is a Hamburg-based non-profit trade association founded in 1973 that represents 150+ business information services companies across 60+ countries. It funds operations through turnover-linked membership fees and focuses on EU regulatory advocacy for the business information industry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees charged to business information providers and related service providers. Fees are calculated based on the turnover of the (prospective) member, covering the period January to December. Membership runs until duly notified cancellation becomes effective.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FEBIS is a non-profit trade federation that represents business information providers worldwide, delivering membership benefits including networking events, webinars, EU regulatory advocacy through its Regulatory Committee, access to a members-only Knowledge Hub, brand recognition on the FEBIS website and social channels, and use of the FEBISApp member directory. The federation's funding comes from annual membership fees calculated as a percentage of each member's turnover, with membership reviewed and approved by the Executive Board.

Product overview

FEBIS is a trade association and industry federation, not a product company. It does not offer a commercial product or service platform. Its offering consists of membership benefits including access to the FEBISApp member directory, Members Area, Knowledge Hub, Regulatory Committee participation, event invitations, brand recognition, and social media promotion. The services described on the website (Trade Credit Risk, KYC/Compliance, Fraud Risk Detection, ESG Insights) represent business categories that its member Business Information Providers (BIPs) offer to their own customers, not a product portfolio of FEBIS itself.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FEBIS Membership Annual membership in the global trade federation for business information providers, conferring access to FEBISApp, members-only Knowledge Hub, Regulatory Committee participation, networking events, webinars, brand recognition, and social media promotion under the FEBIS banner. Membership fees are calculated based on member turnover and applications are reviewed by the Executive Board.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 150 member companies across 60+ countries benefiting from industry representation and networking

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Creditsafe Nederland B.V.coreOthersCreditsafe Nederland B.V., represented by President Gertjan Kaart, is a member company participating in the FEBIS Executive Board. Gertjan Kaart has served as President of FEBIS since May 2012 and Managing Director Creditsafe Nederland since January 2017.
• INFORMA, S.A.coreOthersINFORMA S.A., represented by Luis Carmona, is a member company serving as Vice President of FEBIS since 2013. Luis Carmona has been International Manager at INFORMA since 2006.
• CRIF S.p.A.coreOthersCRIF S.p.A., represented by Fabio Lazzarini, is a Board Member of FEBIS since 2021. Fabio Lazzarini serves as International Development B2B Services Director at CRIF.
• CreditDevice GmbHcoreOthersCreditDevice GmbH, represented by Sven G. Buckenberger, serves as Treasurer of FEBIS since September 2003. Buckenberger has been Managing Director of CreditDevice GmbH since September 2017.
• Worldbox AGcoreOthersWorldbox AG, represented by Adrian Ashurst, is a Board Member of FEBIS. Adrian Ashurst has been President of Worldbox Business Intelligence since 1997, providing global business information services.
• Iberinform Internacional S.A.coreOthersIberinform Internacional S.A., represented by Kike Fernandez, is a Board Member of FEBIS since 2017. Kike Fernandez serves as Iberian International Sales Manager.
• Verband der Vereine Creditreform e.V.coreOthersVerband der Vereine Creditreform e.V., represented by Bernd Bütow, is a Board Member of FEBIS since 2025. Bernd Bütow has been CEO at Creditreform Group since 2022.
• FirstLink Solutions LtdcoreOthersFirstLink Solutions Ltd, represented by Mark Hargreaves, is a Deputy Board Member of FEBIS. Mark Hargreaves became CEO of FirstLink.world in 2025 after nearly two decades in the business information industry.
• Ellisphere S.A.S.coreOthersEllisphere S.A.S., represented by Nicolas da Costa, is a Deputy Board Member of FEBIS since 2025. Nicolas da Costa serves as Chairman of Ellisphere, a leading provider of risk management and business intelligence services with 320+ employees.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• UK Finance: Trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector. Comparable as a membership-funded federation with strong regulatory advocacy, but operating in a different geography (UK, not pan-European/global) and at significantly larger scale.
• Insurance Europe: European insurance industry federation representing insurers at EU level. Comparable as an EMEA trade body funded by member contributions and providing EU-level advocacy, but focused on insurance rather than business information — partially overlaps with FEBIS's credit-insurer members.

Emerging players

• DigitalEurope: European trade association representing the digital technology industry, advocating on data, AI, and digital regulation. Comparable as a Brussels-based federation engaging on overlapping EU regulatory topics (GDPR, AI Act, Data Act) that materially affect FEBIS members.

Broad incumbents

• AFME – Association for Financial Markets in Europe: Broader European trade association for capital markets, banking, and wholesale financial services. Comparable as a large-scale EU-focused financial services federation advocating on regulation, but covers a wider portfolio that includes B2B information providers only indirectly.
• ICC – International Chamber of Commerce: Global business federation representing millions of companies across all sectors, including commercial information and trade finance. Comparable as an international membership-based advocacy body with established policy influence, but is far broader in scope than FEBIS.

Direct peers

• Credit Services Association (CSA): UK trade association for the credit services industry representing credit reference agencies, debt purchasers, and collection firms. Operates an analogous membership-and-advocacy model focused on regulatory engagement with UK/EU authorities — directly comparable to FEBIS's remit.
• Consumer Data Industry Association: US trade association that represents the consumer credit reporting and data industry (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and other CRAs). It is the closest functional analogue to FEBIS in North America, mirroring its advocacy, code-of-conduct, and member-service model for business information providers.
• Eurofinas – European Federation of Finance & Leasing Associations: European federation of national consumer credit, factoring, and leasing associations. Comparable to FEBIS as a pan-European industry federation funded by member dues and engaged in EU regulatory advocacy for credit-adjacent services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FebisOf
• Facebookfacebook.com/federation.of.business.information.services
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/federation-febis

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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