Solaris
Solaris is a German-licensed banking-as-a-service provider that supplies embedded banking, payments and lending infrastructure to digital businesses.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Solaris is a Berlin-headquartered financial technology company and German-licensed credit institution serving businesses that want to embed banking and financial services into their own products. Rather than operating primarily as a conventional consumer-facing bank, Solaris provides a modular, white-label banking platform. Its customers can use the platform to offer services such as bank accounts, payment transactions, debit and credit cards, electronic money products and consumer lending, including buy-now-pay-later facilities. The company was established in 2015 within Finleap, a Berlin-based fintech company builder. Its founders were Andreas Bittner and Marko Wenthin. Solaris was formally launched in March 2016 after obtaining a banking licence, giving it a regulated foundation for supplying banking infrastructure to technology companies and financial-services startups. This licensing model became central to its positioning: partners could integrate regulated financial capabilities into websites, applications and business processes without building a complete bank themselves. Solaris expanded its commercial and technology ecosystem early. In October 2016, it entered a strategic partnership with Mastercard to develop new banking modules. In 2017, the company reported that more than 20 businesses had joined its platform and that it had extended its banking permissions to six European countries through passporting arrangements. That same year, Solaris raised a €26.3 million Series A round and appointed Roland Folz as chief executive officer. The company subsequently attracted institutional and strategic investors, including Arvato Financial Solutions, SBI Group, UniCredit, BBVA, Visa, Lakestar, ABN AMRO's Digital Impact Fund, HV Capital, Vulcan Capital, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Storm Ventures. The business model combines regulated banking capabilities with software and application programming interfaces. Solaris's modules are intended to be integrated into partner products, allowing non-bank brands and fintech companies to provide accounts, cards, payments and lending under their own customer experiences while relying on Solaris for relevant infrastructure and regulated operations. Its international footprint has included branches or offices in London, Paris, Milan, Madrid and Vilnius, alongside its German headquarters. The company has also faced regulatory scrutiny. In January 2022, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, ordered a special audit following organizational deficiencies identified during an earlier supervisory review. The audit focused on whether Solaris had implemented agreed corrective measures. Later in 2022, BaFin required the company to improve the organization of its business, risk management and anti-money-laundering controls and to limit associated risks. These developments underscored the operational and compliance demands of scaling a regulated banking platform across multiple markets. Solaris was known as Solarisbank AG until November 2022, when it adopted the name Solaris SE. In March 2025, SBI Group became its majority shareholder following a €140 million Series G financing round. Solaris therefore remains an active business focused on regulated embedded finance and banking infrastructure, with its principal differentiation coming from the combination of a banking licence, modular technology and access to European financial markets.
History
Solaris was founded in Berlin in 2015 as a venture created within Finleap, a fintech company builder. Andreas Bittner and Marko Wenthin established the business around the idea that technology companies could access regulated banking capabilities through a common infrastructure platform rather than obtaining every capability independently. The company was initially known as Solarisbank AG. Solaris received its banking licence and officially launched in March 2016. This licence enabled it to move beyond being a software vendor and operate as a regulated credit institution serving partner businesses. Its proposition was based on modular, white-label banking services that could be embedded into applications, websites and internal business processes. Early modules included accounts, cards, payments and other financial services. In October 2016, Solaris announced a strategic partnership with Mastercard intended to support the creation of additional banking modules. The relationship reflected Solaris's focus on combining regulated banking infrastructure with established payment networks. In 2017, the company raised €26.3 million in Series A financing from Yabeo Capital, Arvato Financial Solutions, Finleap, UniCredit and SBI Group. Roland Folz joined as chief executive during this period. Solaris also reported that more than 20 companies were using its platform and that it had passported its licence into six European countries. The company continued to raise capital as the banking-as-a-service market developed. A $70 million Series B round in 2018 included strategic and financial investors such as Arvato Financial Solutions, SBI Group, BBVA, Visa, Lakestar and ABN AMRO's Digital Impact Fund. In 2020, HV Capital led a €60 million Series C round joined by Vulcan Capital, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Storm Ventures. These financings supported the expansion of Solaris's product modules and European operating footprint. Solaris's platform developed around several related categories of service. Partners could use its infrastructure for bank accounts, debit and credit cards, electronic money, payment transactions and consumer lending. The company also supported buy-now-pay-later products and other embedded-finance use cases. The underlying model allowed digital brands and financial-services startups to present financial products through their own interfaces while using Solaris for regulated banking operations and technology. Growth brought regulatory and organizational challenges. In January 2022, BaFin ordered a special audit after deficiencies had been identified during a 2020 supervisory audit. The external review was intended to determine whether Solaris had implemented measures agreed with the regulator under the German Banking Act's supervisory examination framework. Roland Folz publicly welcomed the audit. Later in 2022, BaFin required Solaris to take measures to ensure proper business organization, improve risk management and strengthen money-laundering prevention while limiting associated risks. In November 2022, the company ceased using Solarisbank AG as its name and became Solaris SE. Its operations were headquartered in Berlin, with branches in London, Paris, Milan, Madrid and Vilnius. In March 2025, SBI Group became the majority shareholder after leading or participating in a €140 million Series G financing round. Solaris remains an active German-licensed credit institution focused on banking-as-a-service, embedded payments, cards, accounts and lending for business partners.
- 2025
SBI Group becomes majority shareholder
[1]SBI Group becomes the majority shareholder after a €140 million Series G financing round.
- 2022
Regulatory special audit
[1]BaFin orders a special audit concerning organizational deficiencies and implementation of agreed corrective measures.
- 2022
Rebranding to Solaris SE
[1]The company changes its name from Solarisbank AG to Solaris SE.
- 2020
Series C financing
[1]HV Capital leads a €60 million Series C round.
- 2018
Series B financing
[1]The company raises $70 million in Series B financing from strategic and venture investors.
- 2017
Series A and chief-executive appointment
[1]Solaris raises €26.3 million in Series A financing and appoints Roland Folz as CEO.
- 2016
Official launch after banking-licence approval
[1]Solaris formally launches in March after receiving a German banking licence.
- 2016
Mastercard partnership
[1]Solaris and Mastercard agree to collaborate on new banking modules.
- 2015
Solaris is established within Finleap
[1]Andreas Bittner and Marko Wenthin establish Solaris as part of Berlin fintech builder Finleap.
Products and positioning
A regulated European banking-as-a-service and embedded-finance infrastructure provider for digital companies, fintech startups and other businesses seeking to integrate financial products into their own customer journeys.
Digital banking · 2016
Bank accounts
Solaris provides account infrastructure that partner companies can integrate into digital products. The service is designed for embedded and white-label use, enabling a non-bank brand to offer account functionality through its own application or customer interface while Solaris supplies the regulated banking foundation.
Payment cards · 2016
Debit and credit cards
The platform supports card-based products for digital businesses and financial-services partners. Card capabilities form part of Solaris's modular infrastructure and can be combined with accounts, payment services and partner-specific user experiences.
Payments · 2016
Payment and electronic-money services
Solaris offers payment transactions and electronic-money capabilities as infrastructure modules. These services allow partners to incorporate regulated payment functions into their own applications and operating processes rather than developing the complete payments stack independently.
Lending
Consumer lending
Solaris includes consumer-credit products among its banking services. The lending infrastructure can be used by partners to incorporate financing into digital customer journeys, including buy-now-pay-later use cases.
Banking-as-a-service · 2016
White-label banking platform
Solaris's core offering is a modular banking platform for digital companies and fintech startups. Its banking modules can be integrated into partner websites, mobile applications and business processes, combining software interfaces with the services of a German-licensed credit institution.
Brand decisions
2025
Accept majority investment from SBI GroupStrategyBackground
Solaris continued to require capital to support its regulated banking infrastructure and European operations.
Action taken
SBI Group became the majority shareholder following a €140 million Series G financing round.
Aftermath
SBI Group assumed majority ownership while Solaris continued operating as an active banking-as-a-service institution.
Series G financing. €140 million raised (2025)
2022
Strengthen governance and compliance controlsStrategyBackground
BaFin identified organizational deficiencies during supervisory work and ordered a special audit to assess the implementation of corrective measures.
Action taken
Solaris was required to improve business organization, risk management and anti-money-laundering prevention and to limit related risks.
Aftermath
The regulatory action placed greater emphasis on operational controls and compliance as Solaris expanded its regulated platform across Europe.
2022
Adopt the Solaris SE nameStrategyBackground
The company had previously operated as Solarisbank AG while expanding its banking-as-a-service business.
Action taken
Solaris changed its name to Solaris SE in November 2022.
Aftermath
The Solaris name became the company's principal corporate and market identity.
2016
Build a modular banking platform with MastercardStrategyBackground
Solaris was developing a regulated infrastructure model for digital businesses and sought to broaden the modules available to platform partners.
Action taken
The company entered a strategic partnership with Mastercard to develop new banking modules.
Aftermath
The partnership reinforced Solaris's positioning as a technology-enabled banking infrastructure provider.
Recent events
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