Riverty establishes bank to expand merchant finance services

By Parth Prabhudesai

Riverty, the FinTech arm of Bertelsmann’s services provider Arvato Group, has established a bank in Luxembourg to expand its embedded payment, credit and liquidity services for merchants across Europe.

The move comes as Europe’s payments market increasingly shifts toward integrated commerce and financial services, with merchants seeking scalable and trusted financial infrastructure across multiple markets.

Carsten Coesfeld, member of the Bertelsmann Executive Board and responsible for Riverty, said receiving regulatory approval for the banking license in less than a year marks a major milestone for the company.

“The license is of great strategic importance for Riverty. With regulatory approval in Luxembourg, Riverty is ideally positioned to expand its consumer finance business with new, innovative products and drive the verticalization of payments,” Coesfeld said.

The bank is scheduled to begin operations in July 2026.

Andreas Barth, chief executive officer of Riverty, said merchants increasingly require seamless payment, financing and banking services integrated into the customer journey.

“With the banking license, Riverty is building the European gateway for merchants — co-creating financial products that drive loyalty and customer lifetime value,” Barth said.

Oliver Kuhaupt, chief risk officer at Riverty and designated chief executive officer of the bank, said the license allows the company to directly manage risk, compliance and execution at scale while continuing to focus on merchant growth.

Riverty’s payment and credit business currently serves more than 1,800 merchants and around 25 million customers, processing over 235 million transactions annually across Europe. The company plans to further expand its embedded finance capabilities in the coming years.