Brex has secured a payment institution (PI) licence in the European Union (EU), facilitated through the Netherlands, to serve businesses across the region.

The authorisation enables Brex to expand its financial services, including the issuance of commercial credit cards and the facilitation of payment transactions such as direct debits and credit transfers, across the EU.

Previously, Brex’s services were accessible primarily to companies with a US base or headquarters.

The new licence allows Brex to directly cater to the needs of European enterprises, offering them financial tools, including corporate cards, expense management, and treasury services.

Brex has a customer base of 1,500 EU-operating businesses, with nearly half of them conducting operations in multiple countries.

The finance platform may also seek an additional licence to assist customers in the UK.

Brex CEO and co-founder Pedro Franceschi said: “Over the last seven years, we’ve built the global payments infrastructure to support customers in more than 200 countries and 60+ currencies.

“This licence takes us one step further, enabling Brex to directly serve EU-based businesses and their subsidiaries with locally accepted cards, less friction, and best-in-class payment capabilities.”

The company will initiate a gradual onboarding process for select customers in the near term, with the objective of reaching full operational capacity in the EU by the year 2026.

To support this expansion, Brex has established a local presence in the Netherlands, including a dedicated team and office infrastructure to manage sales, operations, and customer service.

With a current on-the-ground team of 12 members, Brex is prepared to scale up its European operations in alignment with the growth of its customer base in the region.