Salv is one of the leading regtech startups in the Baltic region, enabling collaborative crime-fighting for financial institutions. Born from a team of ex-Wise and Skype engineers, Salv helps banks, fintechs, and EMIs enhance their AML and transaction monitoring capabilities while complying with EU regulations.
We spoke with Ragnar Sass, Co-Founder and entrepreneur-in-residence, about Salv’s mission, technology, challenges, and vision for regtech’s role in Europe’s rapidly evolving financial landscape.
Who is Ragnar Sass?
Ragnar Sass is an Estonian serial entrepreneur best known as co-founder of Pipedrive and now Salv. He is also a startup mentor and investor, involved in tech ecosystems from Estonia to Ukraine. With Salv, he’s tackling one of the fintech industry’s toughest challenges: financial crime.
Interview
What is Salv and what problem are you solving?
Salv is a regtech company offering AML and fraud prevention tools. We help financial institutions comply with regulations and collaborate across borders to detect crime faster.
How did Salv get started?
Our founding team worked at Wise and Skype. We saw the gap between compliance demands and available tech. That’s when we realized a modern, real-time solution was needed to replace spreadsheets and siloed alerts.
What are your core products?
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AML transaction monitoring
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Sanctions screening
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Customer risk scoring
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Salv Bridge — real-time cross-institution crime-fighting platform
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Case management dashboards
Who are your clients?
Fintechs, EMIs, crypto firms, and banks — mostly in the Baltics, Nordics, and increasingly in Central Europe.
What makes Salv different from other regtech providers?
We built Salv to be fast, collaborative, and adaptive. We let institutions work together to stop fraud, not just tick compliance boxes. Salv Bridge is our standout feature.
What is Salv Bridge?
It’s a secure communication layer that allows regulated institutions to share fraud signals and patterns in real-time — like a GDPR-compliant Slack for AML teams.
Is this legal under GDPR?
Yes. Everything is encrypted and shared only when there’s a legitimate purpose. We worked with regulators to design the framework within legal limits.
How many institutions are using Salv Bridge today?
Over 30 across 7 countries, including major Baltic and Nordic banks and top-tier EMIs.
What outcomes has it achieved so far?
We’ve reduced fraud losses by up to 80% in partner institutions, and helped detect cross-platform laundering schemes within hours instead of weeks.
How do you integrate with legacy banking systems?
Via APIs and middleware layers. We also offer on-premise and cloud-hosted options for flexibility.
Do you replace internal compliance systems?
We complement them. We plug into existing systems to enhance what’s already there with better detection, automation, and collaboration.
What are your expansion plans in 2025?
We’re expanding into Germany, Czech Republic, and Spain. We’re also piloting cross-border regulatory sandboxes with national regulators.
Is Salv only focused on Europe?
Currently, yes — due to GDPR and EU AMLD frameworks. But we’re getting interest from APAC and LATAM too.
What is your revenue model?
SaaS with modular pricing — clients pay per feature and scale. Salv Bridge is priced per institution or fraud network cluster.
How do you handle sensitive data and security?
End-to-end encryption, zero knowledge architecture, and data minimization. We’re ISO 27001 certified and GDPR by design.
Is Salv VC-backed?
Yes, we’ve raised over €5 million from institutional VCs and fintech angels. We’re profitable on some of our product lines already.
How do you approach competition from providers like ComplyAdvantage or Sift?
They’re great, but Salv focuses on collaboration, not just compliance. Most others operate in silos. We believe financial crime is a collective issue.
What KPIs matter most to Salv?
Time-to-detection, false positive rate reduction, number of fraud cases solved via Bridge, and client satisfaction scores.
What is your biggest challenge today?
Scaling collaboration while respecting privacy. It’s a delicate legal and technical balance.
What’s your long-term vision?
We want to become the Waze of financial crime — enabling real-time, collaborative intelligence that stops threats before they hit the customer.
Related Searches
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AML software for fintech
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GDPR-compliant fraud detection
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Salv Bridge regtech
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Collaborative AML platforms
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Best EU AML transaction monitoring
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Regtech startups in Estonia
FAQ
Is Salv suitable for crypto companies?
Yes, Salv is used by crypto exchanges and custodians who need robust AML and sanctions screening.
Can we integrate Salv with our core banking provider?
Absolutely. We offer APIs and work with core providers like Mambu, Thought Machine, and Temenos.
Is Salv cloud-based?
Yes. Clients can choose between EU-hosted cloud or private on-premise deployments.
Does Salv support small fintechs?
Yes. Our pricing is modular so startups can start small and scale.
How fast can Salv be deployed?
In 1–3 weeks, depending on integration complexity.
Company Services
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Transaction monitoring
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Customer risk scoring
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Real-time AML collaboration
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Sanctions screening
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SAR reporting dashboards
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Fraud pattern alerts
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Regulatory reporting support
Competitors
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ComplyAdvantage – Global reach but less collaborative tools
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Sumsub – Strong on onboarding KYC, weaker on post-onboarding AML
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Sift – Focus on e-commerce, not banking
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Lucinity – UX-heavy, less proven on collaboration
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Actico / Acuris – Strong rules engines, but complex setups
Product Positioning
Salv positions itself as:
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A collaborative AML platform
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Ideal for fintechs, EMIs, and crypto firms in Europe
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Focused on real-time fraud detection and information sharing
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Legally compliant under GDPR and AMLD frameworks
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Enabler of collective defense in financial crime
