European Merchant Bank

EMBank European Merchant Bank

Company type	Private company
Industry	Financial services
Founded	December 14, 2018;6 years ago (2018-12-14) in Vilnius
Headquarters	Vilnius , Lithuania
Key people	Sarp Demiray (CEO) Ekmel Cilingir (Chairman of Supervisory Board)
Products	Commercial banking, fintech
Website	em.bank

The European Merchant Bank (trading as EMBank) is a Lithuanian digital neo bank established in 2018. ^[1] The bank focuses on Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the fintech space. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

History

EMBank was founded in 2018 in Lithuania. On 14 December 2018, the bank received a banking license from the European Central Bank. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}

By the end of 2021, Bank’s business loans reached €29.7 billion. ^[9] That same year EMBank managed to break even. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

In 2022, the bank was involved in a trademark dispute with the mBank and the European Union Intellectual Property Office regarding the bank's name. ^{[13] [14]}

Features

The bank offers a number of financial products and services:

• Direct access to banking services for both fintech and SMEs business. ^[15]
• The bank offers Banking as a Service (BaaS) and has a single Embedded Finance API to Fintechs. Safeguarding Accounts are another key product that the bank provides to Fintechs. ^{[16] [17] [18]}
• Lending facilities for SMEs. ^[19]
• SEPA payment services, via SEPA Instant Credit Transfers or SCT Inst which lets transfers in euros and SEPA Direct Debits which allows merchants to collect Euro-denominated payments from accounts in SEPA countries and associated territories. ^{[20] [21]}

Membership and activities

The bank has been a member of Lithuanian Banking Association since establishment, and a member of FinTech Hub LT and Fintech LT associations. ^[22]

EMBank has also partnered with Mastercard. ^[23]

The company is a regular participant of specialized conferences and meetings as Money2020 (Amsterdam, Las Vegas), Finovate (London, New York) ^[24] , (Amsterdam) etc. ^[25]

References

1. "„EMBank" grynasis pelnas pernai trigubėjo - Verslo žinios". vz.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2025-02-20.
2. "European Merchant Bank - Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations". www.cbinsights.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
3. "Former Swedbank Head of Risk for the Baltic States to take the position of Head of Risk at European Merchant Bank". en.15min.lt. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
4. "„European Merchant Bank" su valstybės garantija verslui skolins per 6 mln. eurų". lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
5. Content, Sponsored (2022-01-14). "Why do we need banking as a service?". London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
6. "European Merchant Bank ended the third quarter of 2021 with a 48% increase in the total loan portfolio". en.15min.lt. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
7. "European Merchant UAB granted a specialised bank licence". lb.lt. 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
8. "European Merchant Bank prepares for launch in Lithuania". Delfi EN (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-09-01.
9. "NetSol Technologies, Inc. (NTWK) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo Finance". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
10. "EMBank (European Merchant Bank) Reports Record Growth in 2021: 13x Revenue Growth & €27.7M Growth in Loan Portfolio". EIN News. 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
11. Shishmanov, Lazar (2022-05-04). "EMBank 2021 results: 13x revenue growth and EUR 27.7 million growth in loan portfolio!". European Merchant Bank UAB. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
12. "„EMBank" rezultatai: paskolų portfelis augo 27,7 mln. eurų, banko pajamos – trylika kartų". klaipeda.diena.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2025-02-20.
13. "ECLI:EU:T:2023:396 — JUDGMENT OF THE GENERAL COURT". curia.europa.eu. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
14. "„European Merchant Bank" šiemet patyrė 654 tūkst. eurų nuostolių". 15min.lt/verslas (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2025-02-20.
15. "News Archives". FLCC (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-09-01.
16. "European Merchant Bank Offering Banking as a Service API » FINCHANNEL". 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
17. benwilliams (2021-12-16). "How Does Banking as a Service Work?". About Manchester. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
18. Williams, Ben (2022-01-04). "Why Do You Need A Safeguarding Account?" . Retrieved 2023-09-01.
19. "EMBank launched a loan campaign to support small business owners". SCCL. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
20. "SEPA". European Merchant Bank UAB. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
21. "Banking payments reimagined: upcoming challenges for the European industry". Infinite Intelligence. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
22. "Experienced risk management professional E. Preikša appointed as Chief Risk Officer at EMBank | NLCC" . Retrieved 2025-02-20.
23. "European Merchant Bank Offering Banking as a Service API". FINCHANNEL. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
24. "Money20/20 | Fintech Events and Conferences 2025". www.money2020.com. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
25. Pugh, Alex (2022-10-10). "Sibos 2022: No bank is an island – joining up digital currencies". www.fintechfutures.com. Retrieved 2025-02-20.