Fresha Achieves NF525 Certification, Reinforcing Its Commitment to France's Beauty and Selfcare Industry

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 10, 2026--

Fresha, the world’s leading beauty and wellness booking platform, has achieved NF525 certification for its Point of Sale (POS) software. This important milestone strengthens Fresha’s offering in France and enables more beauty, wellness and selfcare businesses across the country to use the platform.

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France is one of Fresha’s fastest-growing markets. Achieving NF525 certification reflects the company’s commitment to meeting the needs of French businesses and making its platform accessible to partners of all sizes, from independent professionals and single-location salons to clinics, spas and enterprise companies.

NF525 is an independent certification issued by AFNOR Certification, with the certification process managed by INFOCERT. This certification confirms that Fresha’s POS software complies with French anti-fraud regulations introduced under Law No. 2015-1785. These rules are designed to ensure that transaction records are securely stored and cannot be altered or deleted without a record.

Dane Carmody, Head of Product at Fresha, who led the certification project, said: “Achieving NF525 certification was an important undertaking for our team and required us to meet a rigorous set of requirements. Throughout the project, our focus was on making sure Fresha met the needs of the French market while remaining simple and intuitive for our partners to use. We’re proud to have reached this milestone. French businesses can now use Fresha’s POS software with the added confidence that the way their transaction records are stored and protected has been independently assessed.”

Baptiste Donnedieu, General Manager of France at Fresha, said: “France is an incredibly important market for Fresha, and achieving NF525 certification is a major step forward in what we can offer businesses here. We are not simply bringing a global platform to France; we are continuing to develop Fresha around the specific needs of the French market. This certification gives our partners greater confidence in how their transaction records are managed. It also means that more businesses across France can use Fresha to manage their bookings, clients, payments and daily operations in one connected place, whether they are an ambitious independent or a larger business with multiple locations.”

With its NF525-certified POS software, Fresha partners in France can manage sales alongside bookings, payments, client relationships, marketing and reporting through one platform. This makes everyday operations simpler while giving businesses confidence that their transaction records meet French requirements.

Fresha’s NF525 certification will continue to be reviewed through regular checks by INFOCERT, including an annual audit. This provides partners with ongoing independent assurance as Fresha continues to invest in its product, team and presence in France.

About Fresha

Fresha is the world's leading AI-powered booking platform for beauty and wellness, trusted by over 140,000 partner businesses across more than 120 countries. Its fully integrated ecosystem spans scheduling, payments, marketing, team management, and a global consumer marketplace, giving beauty and wellness businesses everything they need to operate, grow, and scale. The Fresha Marketplace connects millions of consumers with salons, spas, barbershops, and wellness studios worldwide, with over one million monthly downloads and more than $1.4 billion in monthly transaction value. To learn more, visit fresha.com.

Fresha Achieves NF525 Certification

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has again been refused permission to compete internationally following a second round of checks after her status as a neutral athlete was revoked.

The International Skating Union on Thursday said Valieva was one of four Russian skaters, all 2022 Olympians, who were deemed not to “satisfy the requirements to participate as Individual Neutral Athletes.”

The others are men's skater Mark Kondratiuk and the ice dance team of Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. No specific reasons were given in the four cases.

“The ISU will not comment further on individual cases while any applicable appeal rights remain available,” it said.

The latest obstacle to Valieva's career comes more than four years after disputes about her positive doping test overshadowed the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Valieva and the other skaters can appeal within three weeks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. There was no immediate comment from Valieva or the Russian figure skating federation.

The ISU is allowing more Russians to compete as neutral athletes this season, after most had been barred from its events following the invasion of Ukraine. It states they are “presumed eligible unless they fall within the disqualifying criteria.”

That has meant skaters such as Valieva have been considered eligible briefly after filing the paperwork for neutral status, only to have that status revoked soon after.

The ISU barred skaters from Russia and its ally Belarus in 2022. It allowed a limited number to return for the Milan Cortina Olympics and a qualifying event last season. Two Russian figure skaters, Adeliia Petrosian and Petr Gumennik, competed at the Olympics as neutrals without national flags and symbols but neither won a medal.

The ISU rules say skaters may be refused neutral status if they are serving with military or security forces, have previously participated in military operations against Ukraine or have “actively and publicly supported that war” since 2022.

In a separate matter, Valieva is also pursuing legal action over the process around her doping ban, which ended late last year.

A document published by the European Court of Human Rights on Monday showed Valieva filed a claim against Switzerland over a Swiss supreme court decision against her last year. At that time, she was attempting to have the suspension overturned.

Valieva’s claim to the European court alleges that the Swiss court infringed her rights by refusing to consider alleged new evidence in her favor, the ECHR document says. At the Swiss supreme court, Valieva’s lawyers presented an Associated Press news article from September 2024 to claim the World Anti-Doping Agency suppressed evidence.

See full AP coverage of European sports here

FILE - Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, reacts in the women's team free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

FILE - Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva competes at the Russian Jumping Championships in Moscow on Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, File)