In brief: Defacto takes a key step towards the European banking license

French Fintech specialized in financing professionals, Defacto formalise a new stage in its development by applying for a European banking licence, with the stated ambition to establish itself as a benchmark infrastructure for financing the working capital of SMEs on the continent.

By applying for a European banking licence from the Supervisory and Resolution Authority and the European Central Bank, Defacto confirms its ambitions to finance the working capital of small and medium-sized enterprises. The company aims to impose itself as a benchmark infrastructure in this segment, in a market estimated at several thousand billion euros, where a large part of SMEs remain underserved by traditional players.

Five years after its launch, Defacto claims €1.5 billion deployed, more than 20,000 funded SMEs and a team of about 30 people. The company also claims to be close to the profit threshold, thanks to full control of its value chain and its artificial intelligence-enhanced credit subscription technology.

Already licensed as a financing company by the CPRA, Defacto presents this application for a credit institution licence as the logical continuity of its strategy. According to the Commission, its risk management framework, distribution capacity and direct access to securitisation markets since 2023 are already operational foundations.

After demonstrating its model in France, Defacto is now preparing its entry into Germany and Belgium, with a European scale extension announced in 2027.

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