Brex Secures EU License, Plans Strategic Move into UK Market

Brex secures EU license to offer corporate cards and spend management tools across 30 countries, marking a major expansion beyond the US.

On Thursday, financial services company Brex declared that it had reached a significant milestone: it now had a license in the EU. In a blog post, CEO and co-founder Pedro Franceschi stated that Brex is now able to provide its spend management solutions and issue credit and debit cards to businesses in all 30 EU countries directly, without the need for any temporary fixes, thanks to the new license.

Previously, the corporate expenditure management startup was only able to sell its goods to businesses based in the United States, although it supported 60 currencies across 200 countries. According to a representative who talked to TechCrunch, the extension gives Brex permission to offer spend management (including issuing cards) and other capabilities, such as embedded payments, to startups and businesses in the EU. There is a catch, though: bill payment and banking won't be accessible at first.

The company plans to introduce those services at a later stage. Brex is happy about this, but European startups might also benefit. Brex is renowned for providing startup employees with cost management cards, even if they are not yet eligible for standard bank cards. The youngest businesses in the EU will still need to consider their choices in the absence of a bank account offering.

Franceschi went on to say that he plans to expand Brex in the UK, although he gave no explicit information. Franceschi said in December that Brex is expected to break even in 2025, a significant milestone on the road to its planned IPO.