solarisBank announces €60m investment injection to accelerate its growth

Maria Nikolova

The oversubscribed Series C funding, in which BBVA has participated, will allow for an accelerated expansion of solarisBank’s Banking-as-a-Service market presence in Europe.

German technology company with a banking license solarisBank today announced a fresh €60 million investment injection to enable it to continue its growth plans.

The oversubscribed Series C funding, in which BBVA has participated, will allow for an accelerated expansion of solarisBank’s Banking-as-a-Service market leadership in Europe. The funding round will be led by HV Holtzbrinck Ventures with participation from Vulcan Capital, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Storm Ventures. Around half of the funding is contributed from existing investors, led by Yabeo, with additional contributions from BBVA, SBI Group, ABN Amro, Global Brain, Hegus and Lakestar.

Founded in March 2016, solarisBank’s API-accessible financial tech-products are tailored towards the needs of the high-growth market for contextual banking, in which customers are offered services adapted to their particular circumstances and needs. solarisBank reports that its revenues have doubled each year since 2017, with the team having grown to 310 employees with 52 nationalities, and large, fast-growing partner brands have joined the platform.

solarisBank has also expanded its product portfolio over the last two years. In addition to further digital banking services, a new KYC (Know-Your-Customer) unit was established as well as the subsidiary solaris Digital Assets.

The series C funding will help solarisBank in developing its tech platform, growing its team and expanding internationally. It will also strengthen the regulatory capital base.

BBVA joined the series B funding round in March 2018, in line with its commitment to support disruptive innovation in the financial services industry. Back then, the bank stated its investment was driven by its belief that banking-as-a-service, facilitated through open APIs, would be an important market changer for the sector.

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