UniCredit

Universal bank · Milan, Italy

UniCredit is a Milan-based commercial bank operating in 13 core markets: Italy, Germany through HypoVereinsbank, Austria through Bank Austria, and nine Central and Eastern European countries. It serves companies with current accounts, lending, cash management, trade finance and capital markets services, and is supervised directly by the European Central Bank. Outside Europe it runs branches and representative offices for corporate clients rather than retail banking. The bank reported net profit of 6.37 billion euros for the first half of 2026 with a CET1 ratio of 14.3 percent. It still owns a Russian subsidiary that the ECB has ordered it to shrink.

Legal name: UniCredit S.p.A.
Regulated by: European Central Bank (SSM), Banca d'Italia, CONSOB, BaFin (UniCredit Bank GmbH), FMA Austria (UniCredit Bank Austria)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 1998
Website: www.unicreditgroup.eu

Scores, 0 to 10

9.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Full banking licences in Italy, Germany, Austria and nine CEE countries, all under ECB supervision. · source

8.5Financial strength & stability

Rated A3 (Moody's), A- (S&P) and BBB+ (Fitch) with CET1 of 14.3 percent at Q2 2026. · source

8.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export

Trade finance and international payments across 13 markets and 175 correspondent countries won Global Finance CEE awards in 2024. · source

7.5Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Correspondent network covers 175 countries through about 4,000 bank relationships, but FX margins are not published. Named Best Bank for Transaction Banking in CEE 2024 with cash management across 13 markets. · source

7.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

UniCreditCard Business credit cards run on Mastercard or Visa with limits up to 25,000 euros, the Always international debit card costs 21 euros a year and the Business Easy prepaid card gives employees a budget; no instant virtual cards are offered. · source

5.0Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Global Finance noted heavy investment in fintech partnerships for payments in 2023, but no safeguarding or EMI programme is published. · source

5.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Business accounts cover SEPA and international payments; acquiring is not part of the Imprendo product pages. The micro-enterprise account can be held in euro or a foreign currency with 0.22 percent commission on currency transfers, but UniCredit publishes no API, Stripe or accounting integration and no USD receiving account for non-Italian firms. · source

4.5Fast digital onboarding

Imprendo accounts are opened through the branch network or app for Italian companies; no remote non-resident onboarding is offered. · source

4.5Startups & VC-backed companies

Offers Imprendo Start for new businesses but treats them as standard SMEs with the same fee structure. · source

4.5On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

A June 2026 test sent SEPA transfers from a UniCredit account to MiCA-licensed exchanges without blocks, though the first transfer over EUR 10,000 drew a call from the branch; the group has historically barred relationships with exchanges, and in January 2022 staff warned a client that exchange payments could close the account. The evidence covers retail accounts only. · source

4.5Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

UniCredit publishes no source-of-funds process for exchange proceeds, and its historical group policy against exchange relationships suggests case-by-case reviews; evidence is thin, checked September 2026. · source

4.0United Kingdom

London is a corporate branch in the international network, not a UK business-account bank. · source

4.0United States

UniCredit Bank GmbH runs an uninsured state branch in New York serving corporates only. · source

4.0Lowest fees

Imprendo Easy costs 37 euros per month plus a 10 euro joining fee; Imprendo One costs 16 euros per month. · source

4.0Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot score for UniCredit Italia is 2.2 out of 5. · source

4.0Bitcoin

UniCredit sells bitcoin price exposure only: a bitcoin and ether certificate for professional clients since May 2026, a capital-protected bitcoin certificate sold by HypoVereinsbank in March 2026, and bitcoin futures mini futures on gettex; no spot bitcoin or custody. · source

4.0Ethereum

Ether exposure comes only through UniCredit's May 2026 bitcoin and ether certificate for professional clients and onemarkets mini futures on ether futures; no spot ether, custody or staking. · source

3.5Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

Branches and representative offices in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Hanoi serve corporate clients only. · source

3.5Latin America, Africa & South Asia

Owns AO UniCredit Bank in Russia, which the ECB has ordered to shrink, and a Johannesburg representative office. · source

3.5Best interest on business balances

Imprendo business accounts are priced by monthly fee and the product page lists no credit interest on balances. · source

3.5Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

Imprendo Easy at 37 euros a month is sold to Italian companies through the branch, phone and online channels, and no remote path for foreign-incorporated companies or non-resident owners is published. · source

3.5High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

UniCredit's published sector policies cover coal, oil and gas, mining, civil nuclear, defence and large dams; there is no policy for gambling, adult, cannabis or forex clients, so acceptance is unstated. · source

3.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

UniCredit is a founding member of Qivalis, the bank consortium seeking Dutch central bank authorisation to issue a MiCA euro stablecoin with launch planned for the second half of 2026; the token is not live and UniCredit offers no stablecoin service to clients yet. · source

2.5Middle East & Gulf

Abu Dhabi is a representative office with no local business accounts. · source

2.5Crypto-friendly bank

Clients cannot buy or hold crypto directly; access is only via structured products for wealthier clients. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

UniCredit holds no crypto for personal or business clients; its crypto exposure comes only as certificates, such as the bitcoin and ether certificate for professional clients in Italy and Germany launched on 29 May 2026. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

UniCredit offers no crypto or stablecoin acceptance to merchants or corporate clients, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.