Solarisbank raises EUR 190 million and joins forces with Contis to form a pan-European Banking-as-a-Service champion.
Berlin – 26.07.2021. Solarisbank AG, Europe’s leading Banking-as-a-Service platform, today announced that it has raised EUR 190 million in an oversubscribed Series D funding round, valuing the company at EUR 1.4 billion. The round was led by Decisive Capital Management, with support from growth investors, including Pathway Capital Management, CNP (Groupe Frère) and Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital. Existing investors led by yabeo Capital, alongside BBVA, Vulcan Capital and HV Capital, also participated in the round with significant additional investments.
“In the last 12 months, our passionate team has delivered against key milestones on our ambitious expansion journey. The funding is the result of their outstanding work and will further fuel our vision to create a world where financial services seamlessly sync with life.“
– Dr. Roland Folz, CEO of Solarisbank
Solarisbank drives the inevitable trend of embedded finance by enabling both global brands and fast-growing fintechs to integrate financial services into their own product offering via APIs. Since its Series C funding in June 2020, Solarisbank migrated its full tech stack to the AWS cloud and moved all partners to its entirely self-developed core banking system. In doing so, Solarisbank has set a new European benchmark in terms of cost efficiency, scalability and service quality. Recently, the company announced its official market entry in France, Italy and Spain, where it will offer local IBANs to its partners.
“We are experiencing a paradigm shift in banking, where customers expect financial services to adapt to their specific needs. Technology is the key to enable this transformation and Solarisbank’s powerful Banking-as-a-Service platform positions it perfectly for this new banking era. We are both inspired by the team and thrilled to work together on its mission.“
– Thomas Schlytter-Henrichen, Partner at Decisive Capital Management
Solarisbank also announced that it is joining forces with Contis, a leading, profitable European payments fintech, to become the undisputed pan-European Banking-as-a-Service leader. Founded in 2008 by fintech veteran Peter Cox, Contis has grown to become one of the most comprehensive Banking-as-a-Service platforms for payments in Europe. The collaboration will allow for a holistic offering that is second to none in terms of market coverage and product offering.
„Contis is one of the true fintech trailblazers, with numerous awards to its name and a proven track record of delivering disruptive technology, securely with proven high reliability in the payments space. Having already become one of Europe’s fastest growing companies over the last three years, this coming together brings our joint velocity to the next level. Solarisbank and Contis share the same vision and values and together we will spearhead the global trend of embedded finance.“
– Peter Cox, Executive Chairman and Founder of Contis Group
Upon completion of the transaction, the combined entity will be led by Solarisbank’s CEO, Dr. Roland Folz. Peter Cox will support the transition in his new role as Senior Advisor and shareholder.
“The alliance of our companies follows a clear strategic rationale as the platforms complement each other perfectly. Together we will build an international powerhouse for Banking-as-a-Service. We are delighted to have won a group of new elite investors to accompany us on our future growth journey.“
– Ramin Niroumand, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Solarisbank
Inclusive of this Series D round, Solarisbank has raised more than EUR 350 million since its founding in 2016. As is customary, both the funding round and the transaction will be subject to regulatory approval.
More information about Solarisbank is available at www.solarisbank.com