Sells banks and credit unions a platform that sits on top of their existing cores to run digital channels, employee workspaces and, since 2026, governed AI agents, and bought Kasisto in June 2026 to add banking-specific conversational and agentic AI.
What is Backbase, and which banks use it?
Backbase is a private Amsterdam banking-software company, founded 2003 by CEO Jouk Pleiter and valued at €2.5 billion when Motive Partners invested €120 million in 2022. In April 2026 it relaunched its platform as an 'AI-native Banking OS' for agents, and in June 2026 it bought Kasisto, whose conversational-AI customers include JPMorgan Chase and TD Bank. It reports more than $350 million of 2025 revenue and over 120 institutions. Pricing is not published.
Category
Founded
2003
Headquarters
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ownership
Private and founder-led (Jouk Pleiter, CEO); bootstrapped until June 2022, when Motive Partners invested €120 million of growth equity at a €2.5 billion valuation, its first external capital.[6][1]
Deployment
Platform layer above the bank's existing core, payments, cards, risk and CRM systems; delivered directly and through partners
Pricing
Sales-led enterprise platform contracts; not published. · not published
Banks among the 100
1
- Backbase says it passed $350 million of revenue in 2025 and serves more than 120 financial institutions in 50 countries; in 2022 it cited more than 2,000 employees and 150 customers.
- The AI-native Banking OS (April 22, 2026) adds Intelligence, Semantic (Nexus) and Authority (Sentinel) layers so customers, employees and AI agents share one customer record and every agent action is authorized and logged.
- Backbase bought Kasisto on June 23, 2026 for an undisclosed amount; Kasisto's agentic platform and New York team joined the Banking OS, and Kasisto CEO Lance Berks transitioned out after the deal closed.
- Through Kasisto, Backbase inherits conversational-AI customers that American Banker lists as including JPMorgan Chase and TD Bank, plus community institutions such as First Financial Bank (Indiana) and Meriwest Credit Union.
- Backbase names TD Bank and KeyBank among its major platform deployments and Navy Federal Credit Union as a seven-year partner (renewed April 2024); these are platform relationships, not described as AI deployments.
- Backbase estimates, from more than 120 deployments, that about 80% of frontline banking work happens between systems — its argument for putting agents on a shared platform layer (vendor estimate).
- Pricing is not published; Backbase sells through sales-led enterprise contracts and has disclosed no price for the Banking OS or the Kasisto agentic suite.
What does Backbase sell to banks?
| Product | What it does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AI-native Banking OS[1] | Operating layer above a bank's systems of record with Intelligence, Semantic (Nexus) and Authority (Sentinel) layers for coordinating customers, employees and AI agents. | Generally available |
| Agentic Banking suite (with Kasisto)[2][3] | Kasisto's conversational and agentic AI embedded in the Banking OS for chat, messaging and voice, aimed at resolving customer requests end to end rather than only answering them; available to all Banking OS customers from June 2026. | Generally available |
| Sentinel (Authority Layer)[1] | Policy engine that decides what each customer, employee or AI agent may do, checks every action against bank policy before it executes, logs it, and lets trust be revoked by domain. | Generally available |
| Nexus (Semantic Layer)[1] | Shared, continuously updated record of every customer, account, product and case, read and written by employees and AI agents. | Generally available |
How much does Backbase cost?
How it is charged: Sales-led enterprise platform contracts; not published..
Backbase does not publish a price list.
Pricing is not published. Backbase lists no plans or prices for the Banking OS or the Kasisto agentic suite, and as a private company it files no disclosures describing its pricing model.
Which banks use Backbase?
| Bank | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase | Kasisto conversational AI (Kasisto acquired by Backbase June 2026); the deployment is not described in the source[3] | In production |
Among the 100 largest US banks on this site, from sources that name the bank: the bank, Backbase or the press. Status is the furthest stage a source confirms.
What is AI-native Banking OS?
Launched April 22, 2026: Backbase's existing channel and workflow architecture plus three new layers — an Intelligence Layer for risk, revenue and churn signals, a Semantic Layer (Nexus) giving employees and AI agents one customer record, and an Authority Layer (Sentinel) that checks every action against bank policy and logs it. Kasisto's agentic platform was added in June 2026.[1][2]
What has Backbase done, and when?
- Jul 17, 2026
Kasisto customers moved onto the Banking OS[4]
Backbase tells Kasisto customers that 'nothing breaks' and that Kasisto's platform, team and roadmap now sit inside the Banking OS rather than as a standalone layer.
- Jun 23, 2026
- Jun 1, 2026
Agentic fraud-review use case[5]
Backbase describes agentic AI for fraud review that plans and executes multi-step investigations and resolves or escalates cases on the Banking OS.
- Apr 22, 2026
AI-native Banking OS launched[1]
Backbase relaunches its platform as the AI-native Banking OS with Intelligence, Nexus and Sentinel layers, calling it the most significant change in its 22-year history, and reports more than $350 million of 2025 revenue.
- Apr 11, 2024
Navy Federal renews for seven years[8]
Navy Federal Credit Union renews and expands its partnership, standardizing on Backbase for member- and employee-facing applications.
- Jun 9, 2022
- Jan 1, 2003
Backbase founded[1]
Jouk Pleiter founds Backbase, now headquartered in Amsterdam (exact date not disclosed).
What do banks use Backbase for?
| Use | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversational assistants (Kasisto)[3][2] | Customer-facing chat, messaging and voice assistants built on Kasisto's banking-trained conversational AI, now inside the Banking OS. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| Governed AI agents across the frontline[1] | Agents that act on a shared customer record (Nexus) with every action authorized and logged by Sentinel, for servicing, onboarding and operations. | Announced | Generative & agentic AI |
| Agentic fraud review[5] | Agents that assemble evidence on a suspicious transaction, investigate and resolve or escalate with a case file; described by Backbase as a use case, with no named bank. | Announced | Fraud detection |
| Platform layer above the core[1] | The Banking OS sits above cores, payments, cards, risk and CRM from other vendors, making Backbase an additional critical third party for the bank. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
What has Backbase disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 revenue (company-reported) | more than $350 million[1] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Institutions served (company-reported) | over 120 financial institutions in 50 countries[1] | Apr 22, 2026 |
| Valuation at Motive Partners investment | €2.5 billion (€120 million raised)[6] | Jun 9, 2022 |
| Customers and staff (company-reported, 2022) | 150 customers; more than 2,000 employees[6] | Jun 9, 2022 |
| Frontline work between systems (vendor estimate) | roughly 80%, based on more than 120 deployments[1] | Apr 22, 2026 |
| Kasisto acquisition price | Not disclosed[3] | Jun 23, 2026 |
“AI agents need shared context, clear authority, and a unified execution layer. Without it, adding more AI accelerates the fragmentation it was meant to solve.”[1]
Jouk Pleiter · Founder and CEO, Backbase · Apr 22, 2026
“This acquisition sharpens our position as the strategic partner for banks serious about AI transformation.”[2]
Jouk Pleiter · Founder and CEO, Backbase · Jun 23, 2026
Who runs Backbase?
Which rules apply to a bank using Backbase?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| OCC | The Banking OS sits over a bank's customer channels and, with Kasisto, runs customer-facing AI assistants; OCC Bulletin 2023-17 governs that third-party relationship, including Backbase's own subcontractors. | OCC Bulletin 2023-17 |
| Federal Reserve | Fed-supervised banks manage Backbase as a critical third party under SR 23-4; SR 26-2 excludes generative and agentic AI, so the agents coordinated by Sentinel fall to the bank's broader risk management rather than model-risk validation. | SR 23-4 SR 26-2 |
| CFPB | Customer-facing assistants from Kasisto inside the Banking OS raise the accuracy, escalation and consumer-protection issues the CFPB described for chatbots in consumer finance. | CFPB Chatbots in Consumer Finance (issue spotlight, 2023) |
| EU AI Act | Backbase is based in Amsterdam and many of its bank customers are in the EU, where AI systems used in banking, including customer-facing chatbots with transparency duties, fall under the AI Act. | Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 |
Linked authorities have a page in the AI Regulation Tracker; the others are named for completeness.
What should a bank note before buying Backbase?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice or a recommendation.
01
The agentic layer is new
The AI-native Banking OS launched in April 2026 and the Kasisto suite joined in June 2026; Backbase's public material describes agentic use cases (fraud review, onboarding) without naming banks running them in production.
02
Named AI customers come from Kasisto
The large US banks tied to Backbase's AI (JPMorgan Chase, TD Bank) are Kasisto customers per American Banker; neither source describes what those banks run. TD Bank and KeyBank are also named Backbase platform deployments, which Backbase does not describe as AI.
03
Pricing is not published
No plans, prices or pricing model are disclosed for the Banking OS or the Agentic Banking suite.
04
Post-acquisition continuity
Kasisto's CEO left after the deal and Kasisto is now sold only inside the Banking OS; Backbase says existing Kasisto customers see no break, a claim buyers can confirm in contract terms.
05
Customer count moved
Backbase cited 150 customers in 2022 and 'over 120' financial institutions in 2026; the sources do not explain the difference.
What are the alternatives to Backbase?
Q2
Digital banking, fraud (Centrix) and relationship-pricing platform for US banks, with an AI agent layer (Q2 Assistant) and ML fraud models.
Alkami
Digital banking, account opening (MANTL) and data-marketing platform for US banks and credit unions, with predictive AI models.
Temenos
Swiss core, digital, payments and wealth banking software with embedded AI copilots, a sanctions-screening AI agent and explainable AI.
Fiserv
Core, card and payments provider adding AI to its platforms: agentOS agents for bank workflows, AI card-fraud decisioning.
FIS
Core, digital and card-processing provider adding AI agents (an Anthropic-built AML agent), AI card-fraud tools and AI lending tools.
Jack Henry
Core, digital (Banno), payments and fraud platforms for community banks and credit unions, adding AI via Google Cloud's Gemini.
nCino
Cloud lending and onboarding platform for banks with gen-AI (Banking Advisor), role-based AI agents (Digital Partners) and credit analytics.
How much does Backbase cost?
Backbase does not publish pricing. It sells its AI-native Banking OS and the Kasisto-based Agentic Banking suite through sales-led enterprise contracts, and as a private company it files no disclosures describing its pricing model. No plan names or prices are public.
Which banks use Backbase's AI?
Among the 100 largest US banks tracked here, JPMorgan Chase is named by American Banker as a customer of Kasisto, the conversational-AI company Backbase bought in June 2026; the deployment is not described. American Banker also names 'TD Bank' without saying whether that is TD's US bank or its Canadian parent, so it is not listed as a customer here. TD Bank and KeyBank are also named Backbase platform deployments, and Navy Federal Credit Union is a seven-year platform partner.
Who owns Backbase?
Backbase is privately held and led by its founder and CEO, Jouk Pleiter, who started it in Amsterdam in 2003. It was bootstrapped until June 2022, when Motive Partners invested €120 million at a €2.5 billion valuation. No later valuation has been published in an allowed source.
Did Backbase buy Kasisto?
Yes. Backbase announced on June 23, 2026 that it had acquired Kasisto, a New York conversational and agentic AI provider for banks, for an undisclosed amount. Kasisto's platform and team became part of the Backbase Banking OS, the combined Agentic Banking suite was made available to all Banking OS customers, and Kasisto CEO Lance Berks transitioned out.
What is the AI-native Banking OS?
Launched April 22, 2026, it is Backbase's platform relaunched for AI agents. It sits above a bank's cores, payments, cards, risk and CRM systems and adds an Intelligence Layer for risk and churn signals, a Semantic Layer (Nexus) with one shared customer record, and an Authority Layer (Sentinel) that checks and logs every action by customers, staff or agents.
Backbase vs Q2: how do they differ?
Both sell digital-banking platforms. Backbase positions its Banking OS as a layer over any core for customers, staff and AI agents, with conversational AI from Kasisto, and serves over 120 institutions worldwide. Q2 sells mainly to US banks and credit unions, prices by registered users per its 10-K, and launched Q2 Assistant agents for bank staff in June 2026. Neither publishes prices.
- Backbase launches the AI-Native Banking OS - defining a new category for agentic banking
- Backbase acquires Kasisto, leading the industry shift to Agentic Banking
- Bank chatbot platform Kasisto acquired by Backbase
- Kasisto alternatives: Kasisto is now part of Backbase
- Agentic AI for fraud review and resolution in banking
- Engagement Banking Leader Backbase Raises €120M From Motive Partners
- Motive Partners invests €120m in digital banking tech vendor Backbase
- Navy Federal Credit Union announces 7-year strategic partnership with Backbase
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