Solarisbank raises €190 million and acquires Contis

Solarisbank has used a portion of the proceeds from the series D round to acquire Contis, a profitable European payments fintech based in the UK

Solarisbank, the European banking-as-a-service provider, has raised €190 million in an oversubscribed series D funding round that values the Germany-based fintech at €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.

Solarisbank enables 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 has migrated its full tech stack to the Amazon Web Services cloud and moved all partners to its entirely self-developed core banking system.

In doing so, Solarisbank says it 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.

Dr Roland Folz, chief executive officer of Solarisbank, says: “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.”

Thomas Schlytter-Henrichen, partner at Decisive Capital Management, adds: “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.”

Solarisbank has used a portion of the proceeds from the series D round to acquire Contis, a profitable European payments fintech based in the UK.

Founded in 2008 by fintech veteran Peter Cox, Contis has grown to become one of the most comprehensive banking-as-a-service providers for payments in Europe.

Solarisbank says the acquisition will allow for a holistic offering that is second to none in terms of market coverage and product offering.

Cox, executive chairman and founder of Contis Group, comments: “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.”

Ramin Niroumand, chairman of the supervisory board of Solarisbank, adds: “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.”

Upon completion of the transaction, the combined entity will be led by Solarisbank’s chief executive officer, Dr Folz. Cox will support the transition in his new role as senior adviser and shareholder.

Inclusive of this Series D round, Solarisbank has raised more than €350 million since its founding in 2016. Both the funding round and the transaction are subject to regulatory approval.

Image: Solarisbank

Mark Dugdale