This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
Ebury, the fintech whose majority shareholder since 2020 is Spain’s Banco Santander – currently scaling back its operations in Poland – has no intention of retreating from the Vistula. On the contrary, it has a plan for double-digit growth and serving ever-larger enterprises. The company also aims to launch multi-currency business cards and a platform providing real-time visibility of currency positions.
The challenge remains convincing entrepreneurs that foreign exchange risk can be managed consciously, rather than relying on gut feelings – a reliance that could cost them millions of zlotys.
The world was in the grip of a global financial crisis. Major international banks were scaling back their operations – a move that hit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) particularly hard. In traditional banking risk models, they were considered far less reliable than large corporations. As a result, companies operating internationally faced growing difficulties in accessing local-currency payment services, significantly increasing their exposure to foreign exchange risk.
It was this market gap that Juan Lobato and Salvador García – respectively a trader and a digital marketing specialist – identified. In 2009, they founded a company in London with the goal of facilitating international payments for SMEs operating across borders. Thus, Ebury was born: a fintech that from the outset focused on the needs of businesses overlooked by traditional banks. Today, the company serves over 25,000 enterprises worldwide, including around 4,000 in Poland alone.
Ebury has offices in 30 countries and handles 140 currencies
Ebury’s story began in 2009, at a time when specialized currency platforms such as Revolut or Wise (then TransferWise) did not yet exist – platforms now widely associated with serving retail clients. From the outset, however, the company founded by Juan Lobato and Salvador García charted a different course.
Ebury focused exclusively on the needs of businesses operating internationally. This set it apart from later competitors, who initially scaled in the retail segment – serving, for example, employees and travelers handling multiple currencies. Only after reaching critical mass in this area did these fintechs begin expanding their offerings to corporate clients.
International expansion was part of Ebury’s strategy from day one. A year after its launch in London, the company entered Spain in 2010, and the Netherlands in 2014. In 2015, Ebury debuted in Poland, making the country its fourth market. It quickly gained traction, benefiting from growing trade flows and a nascent awareness of foreign exchange risk management. After its first five years, the fintech was serving 2,500 businesses in Poland.
Its main shareholder is Santander
For its first decade, the company relied on growth financed by its founders and a handful of private investors. In 2019, it gained a major backer: Banco Santander, at the time owner of the third-largest banking group in Poland (on January 9, 2026, Santander sold the Erste Group bank for EUR 6.8 billion). The Spanish group spent GBP 350 million to acquire a 50.01% stake in Ebury, completing the transaction in March 2020. The capital injection allowed the company to accelerate its international expansion. Thanks to this funding, Ebury now has a total of 40 offices across 30 countries.
“Although the fintech’s majority investor is a banking group, we enjoy considerable autonomy in shaping our strategy. Because of the industry we operate in, we apply higher standards of internal control than many corporate rules and requirements in day-to-day work. Yet the startup culture still predominates, and wherever possible, we maintain a personalized approach to clients,” says Jakub Makurat, Ebury’s CEO in Poland.
Its clients generate a combined revenue of PLN 100 billion (EUR 23.8bn)
Ebury targets companies conducting international business. It specializes in cross-border payments, foreign exchange risk management, and trade finance. Its most popular product is spot currency exchange and related hedging transactions that protect revenues from export and import activities (forex forwards). Collections for export receivables – where the bank intermediates in releasing trade documents only after payment – is also growing rapidly, up 140% year on year.
“We provide transaction banking, but in a fintech format. We collaborate with more than 20 banks and financial institutions worldwide. They supply the settlement infrastructure that allows us to build offerings for corporate clients. For example, in Poland, our partner is Citi; in Western Europe and South America, Santander; and in the U.K., Barclays. None of these banks have sufficient geographic coverage to operate fully in all markets. We aggregate the best solutions from each country, providing clients with unique and convenient services,” explains Jakub Makurat.
Ebury’s financial results are expected in a few days. In the last fiscal year, 2023/2024, the company posted revenues of GBP 221 million, up 8% from the previous year. Business growth has also driven headcount: Ebury now employs 1,700 people, including 60 in Poland across two offices in Warsaw and Katowice (the latter opened in 2022).
The combined revenues of the companies served by Ebury’s Polish offices now total PLN 100 billion (EUR 23.8bn). By comparison, just five years ago, this figure was below PLN 30 billion (EUR 7.1bn). This demonstrates not only that Ebury is serving increasingly larger companies, but also that its clients’ businesses are expanding, driving greater demand for additional services. Currently, for instance, 40% of clients regularly hedge their currency risk.
Poland remains the dominant market in the region
Ebury’s business in Poland has been so successful that in 2016 the company used it as a springboard to expand across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Jakub Makurat led this effort. Today, the firm operates in Poland, Czechia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. It also serves clients in Slovakia, though it has no local office there. Poland remains the dominant market in the region in terms of both business volume and client numbers, followed by Romania.
“Warsaw serves as a regional competency hub. Beyond our sales teams, we have credit risk specialists, market analysts, and compliance professionals – all focused on CEE countries. We are currently recruiting in Warsaw for roles related to digital platform development and AI,” Mr. Makurat explains.
Ebury works to educate entrepreneurs
A significant portion – around 10% - of clients at Ebury’s Polish office are e-commerce businesses. This was helped by the fact that in 2022 Ebury became a payment provider for Amazon, enabling incoming payments from the platform to be processed directly in local currencies. The company also serves clients such as Germany’s Kaufland, which operates in Poland as well. Mr. Makurat notes that the key challenge remains educating entrepreneurs on the need to hedge currency risk.
“The propensity for speculation in Poland is enormous, much greater than in Western Europe. If a company engaged in international trade does not hedge currency risk, it leaves its financial flows and profitability entirely to chance. We make firms aware that the foreign exchange market is the most liquid in the world, dominated by investment banks and hedge funds. Their interests are completely different from those of exporters or importers. While financial institutions benefit from high volatility, exporters and importers need predictability and stability. These interests cannot be reconciled,” says Jakub Makurat.
He cites an example of a company operating in Sweden that, due to exchange rate fluctuations over three years, turned what could have been a 10% profit on a contract into a loss of several percent. The company’s management ignored currency risk, assuming “it would work out somehow.” Ebury educates entrepreneurs through initiatives such as economic breakfasts and webinars.
“This is changing, but very slowly, because businesses still hope the exchange rate will move in their favor. It’s a highly wishful approach to a critically important topic. Exporters, instead of hedging, hope for a weaker zloty to provide extra profit. It’s like reading tea leaves,” Mr. Makurat adds.
Plans to boost volumes by 50% year on year
In November 2025, Bloomberg reported that Ebury might consider a debut on the London Stock Exchange. Mr. Makurat declined to comment on these moves or disclose the company’s financial results. He did, however, point to substantial growth in transaction volumes: in 2025, the company expanded by 50% year on year.
Mr. Makurat acknowledges that his goal is further dynamic growth in Poland, keeping pace with rising international trade. The aim is to repeat the previous year’s 50% increase in volume. At the same time, the client base is growing by 20%, a trend expected to continue this year.
“We are focused on strong but stable growth and on increasingly larger clients. We started with small companies, but over time we began targeting medium-sized firms as well. Today, our average client has annual turnover of EUR 8–10 million. We still concentrate primarily on SMEs, but if larger firms have needs we can meet, we are happy to do so,” explains Jakub Makurat, Ebury’s CEO in Poland.
Aims to double the number of clients served
Mr. Makurat acknowledges that the target market in Poland comprises roughly 100,000–110,000 companies, a portion of which engage in international trade. He believes that the right scale for Ebury’s operations currently encompasses about half of that number, leaving considerable room for growth. He indicates that his goal is to double the number of firms the company serves over the next five years. Ebury intends to tackle increasingly complex challenges for its clients, particularly Polish corporate groups operating abroad. The fintech currently has several dozen such clients and plans to multiply that number.
“It is clear, however, that we will not replace banks. We are an addition, an alternative, a complement. There are areas where banks are already doing well – domestic payments, loans, guarantees. But when it comes to currency exchange and managing funds internationally, that is where we have a lot to offer,” Mr. Makurat explains.
Plans to launch a new platform and product
Ebury intends to continue expanding its offerings. The company currently provides 14 multi-currency accounts with local IBANs, most recently adding an account in Swedish kronor. Romania is next on the list.
Another upcoming innovation is the Hedge platform, which is already available in beta in English for all Ebury clients. Ultimately, it will also be offered in Polish and will allow clients to visualize their currency exposure, showing what portion is hedged and how. The platform will also enable monitoring of hedges, as well as generating reports and analyses.
“ERP systems in Polish companies are relatively underdeveloped when it comes to currency services. We want to address this and eventually allow our platform to connect directly to these systems,” Mr. Makurat notes.
Ebury also plans to launch multi-currency business cards. In January, the company began offering them in the U.K., and in the coming weeks they will be rolled out to new markets, including Poland. Clients will be able to link subscription payments in foreign currencies to a card and settle them at a convenient exchange rate.
Expert's perspective
Importers and exporters face constant risk
Although most entrepreneurs are aware of currency risk, only a small proportion understand the solutions available to hedge against it. One in five Polish business owners actively participates in managing currency risk, using various instruments. One of the simplest and most effective – particularly for smaller companies – is a forward contract. In short, these allow firms to fix an exchange rate for a specified future date. This enables businesses to protect themselves against currency fluctuations, removing uncertainty from future cash flows.
For larger companies or those with dedicated financial teams, currency options can be an attractive solution. Options grant the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a currency at a predetermined rate in the future. They are more expensive, dependent on market volatility and the length of the protection period, and require specialized knowledge to understand – often a barrier for smaller organizations.
Key Takeaways
- The company anticipates further dynamic growth in transaction volumes in Poland, targeting around 50% year-on-year, while steadily expanding the scale of its clients’ businesses. The Polish client base is growing by roughly 20% annually, with the goal of doubling over the next five years. Ebury aims to attract larger SMEs as well as Polish corporate groups operating abroad. Growth will be supported by new products, including the Hedge platform and multi-currency business cards.
- Founded in 2009 in London, Ebury emerged as a response to the restricted access of SMEs to banking services following the global financial crisis. The founders identified a gap in serving international payment needs for businesses overlooked by large banks. From the outset, the company prioritized international expansion and focused exclusively on corporate clients. Today, it operates in 30 markets. A key milestone in its development was the entry of Spain’s Banco Santander as the majority shareholder.
- Ebury provides transaction banking for companies engaged in international trade, including payments, currency exchange, and foreign exchange risk management. Its operating model relies on collaboration with global banks and aggregating their infrastructure on a single platform. In Poland, Ebury partners with Citi Handlowy, among others. An increasing share of clients now regularly uses hedging tools. A continuing challenge is educating clients about the need to hedge risk rather than relying on gut instinct.