Salt Bank
started offering securities trading to its Romanian customers through a tie-up
with German-based Upvest, bringing international market access to users of the
year-old digital bank.

The bank’s
500,000 customers can now buy and sell securities through their existing mobile
banking app. Salt Bank, which launched in October 2024, has become one of
Romania’s faster-growing financial apps since its debut.

Banca
Transilvania, Southeast Europe’s largest financial group, backs the digital
bank. The investment feature represents Salt Bank’s first move beyond standard
banking products like accounts and payments .

As for
Upvest itself, this month it also expanded its partnership with the UK branch
of the broker Webull, which added
access to London-listed shares after introducing fractional stock trading in
June, also enabled by the Berlin-based fintech.

Salt Bank Targets Wealth
Management Market

Salt Bank
plans to add features and expand the investment offering after the initial
launch. The bank reached its current customer base in twelve months, though it
hasn’t disclosed revenue figures or profitability metrics.

“At
Salt, banking has always been about people — about giving them the freedom to
move at their own pace, in a way that feels right for them,” said Gabriela
Nistor, Salt Bank’s CEO. “With Salt Investments and our partnership with
Upvest, we wanted to take that freedom even further: for people to be able to
invest globally.”

The move
puts Salt Bank in competition with other Romanian financial apps adding
investment features. Traditional Romanian banks have offered brokerage services
for years, though typically through separate platforms rather than integrated
banking apps.

The
investment product is currently limited to Romanian customers. Salt Bank hasn’t
announced timing for potential expansion to other markets where Banca
Transilvania operates.

Upvest Trading
Infrastructure to Handle Growing Volume

Upvest’s
Investment API powers the new service, connecting Salt Bank’s app to global
securities markets. The Berlin company, founded in 2017, processes more than
100 million trades each year for clients including Revolut and
Openbank. Among the partners is also the
challenger bank N26.

Martin
Kassing, Upvest’s CEO, pointed to Salt Bank’s growth rate as evidence of demand
for modern financial products. “We are proud to partner with them on their
journey into investments and to provide the investment infrastructure that
enables their end users to access securities effortlessly and at a low
cost,” he said.

The
platform handles trading execution , custody, and back-office operations. Salt
Bank customers pay transparent fees for trades conducted within the mobile
interface they already use for banking.

Upvest
employs 250 people and counts Earlybird and Bessemer Venture Partners among its
investors. The company remains independently managed by founders Martin
Kassing, Til Rochow, and Tobias Auferoth.