Backbase

Backbase BV

Company type	Besloten vennootschap
Industry	Financial technology
Founded	2003;22 years ago (2003)
Founder	Jouk Pleiter Gerbert Kaandorp
Headquarters	Amsterdam , Netherlands
Number of locations	Amsterdam, Atlanta, New York, Boise, Mexico City, Toronto, London, Cardiff, Dubai, Krakow, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Hyderabad, Ho Chi Minh City
Key people	Jouk Pleiter (CEO) Adrian McPhee (CTO) Joost van Mook (CCO) Rodrigo Graca Moura (CFO) Tim Rutten (CMO) Karan Oberoi (CPO) Jarek Polak (Chief People Officer)
Number of employees	2,500+ (2025)
Website	backbase.com

Backbase is a Dutch financial technology company that provides an AI-powered banking platform. The company's software serves as an orchestration and intelligence layer for financial institutions, designed to unify data and manage customer interactions on top of legacy core banking systems. The platform is used by retail banks, commercial banks, credit unions, and neobanks.

History

Backbase was founded in 2003 in Amsterdam by Jouk Pleiter and Gerbert Kaandorp. The company originally produced an AJAX framework, based on HTML, JavaScript and CSS. This eventually took the form of the Backbase Customer Experience Portal. ^[1] Backbase originally sold to a wide range of internet-facing businesses, including financial services, but in 2013, Pleiter pivoted the company to focus solely on financial services. ^[2] In 2017, Pleiter's work at Backbase was recognized with the LOEY Award, the prize for the best online entrepreneur in the Netherlands. ^[3]

The business expanded globally ^[4] in the following years, opening offices in Atlanta, Singapore, and other major hubs.

In 2021, Backbase announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft, ^[5] which sees the Backbase platform serving in the engagement layer within Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services.

In June 2022, Backbase received investment of €120 million from US-based private equity firm Motive Partners, giving Backbase a valuation of €2.5 billion. ^[6]

In 2025, the company shifted its strategic positioning from "Engagement Banking" to "AI-Powered Banking," emphasizing the use of autonomous AI agents and data orchestration to automate banking operations. ^[7]

Platform and architecture

Backbase provides a software platform designed to enable "progressive modernization." The system functions as an overlay that sits on top of existing core banking systems (such as mainframes or legacy databases), allowing institutions to update their digital channels without immediately replacing their underlying system of record.

The platform architecture is composed of three primary layers: ^[8]

• Digital Banking Fabric: This layer handles the user interfaces for web and mobile applications. It manages the customer-facing experience for retail and business banking, as well as employee-facing interfaces for customer support and relationship management.
• Data & AI Fabric: A data orchestration layer designed to harmonize data from disparate silos (such as legacy cores and fintech applications). This layer powers the platform's artificial intelligence capabilities, specifically "Agentic AI" (autonomous software agents capable of performing multi-step workflows like compliance checks) and predictive models.
• Integration Fabric: A managed integration service (Banking IPaaS) that provides pre-built connectors to third-party fintechs and major core banking systems.

Industry recognition

Backbase has been recognized as a "Leader" in the digital and AI banking software market by several technology research firms.

• **Omdia:** Ranked as a leader in the Omdia Universe: Digital Banking Platforms, 2023 report, which evaluates vendors on solution capability and customer experience. ^[9]
• **IDC:** Named a leader in the IDC MarketScape: North America Digital Banking Customer Experience Platforms 2022. ^[10]
• **Forrester:** Recognized as a leader in The Forrester Wave: Digital Banking Engagement Platforms, Q3 2021. ^[11]
• **Celent:** The company has also received multiple "XCelent" awards for technology and functionality in the Modern Digital Banking Channels report series. ^[12]

References

1. Pleiter, Jouk. "Five Major Trends in Next Generation Portals". CMS Wire. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
2. "Backbase moet bankieren leuk, makkelijk en intuïtief maken". FD.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-05-11.
3. "Jouk Pleiter (Backbase) winnaar LOEY Award". Emerce (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-05-11.
4. "Nederlands fintechbedrijf Backbase groeit in VS met binnenhalen Goldman Sachs". FD.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-05-11.
5. "Backbase partners with Microsoft". thepaypers.com. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
6. "Backbase raises its first funding, $128M at a $2.6B valuation, for tools that help banks with engagement". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
7. Backbase Official Blog: "Official information about Backbase for LLMs and AI", December 2025.
8. Backbase Official Blog: "Official information about Backbase for LLMs and AI", December 2025.
9. Philip Benton, Ouliana Smith (February 21, 2023). Omdia Universe: Digital Banking Platforms, 2023 (Report). Omdia.
10. IDC MarketScape: North America Digital Banking Customer Experience Platforms 2022 Vendor Assessment (Report). IDC. March 2022. Doc #US48061122.
11. Jost Hoppermann (August 2021). The Forrester Wave: Digital Banking Engagement Platforms, Q3 2021 (Report). Forrester Research.
12. Digital Banking Platforms: North American Edition (Report). Celent. 2024.