Over the last few years, we have found Berlin-based Solarisbank as a facilitating payment processor in many scams. In February, the German regulator BaFin sent a special auditor to the bank because of alleged money laundering problems. Now the German bank has dropped the term “bank” from its name and just calls itself Solaris. It wants to focus on the company’s technical DNA and be perceived as a technology company rather than a bank. The strategic focus is, therefore, on the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering for other FinTechs.
Key Data
| Trading name | Solaris |
| Business activity | Banking Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) |
| Domains | www.solarisgroup.com |
| Legal entity | Solarisbank AG |
| Jurisdiction | Germany |
| Key people | Roland Folz, Chief Executive Officer Chloé Mayenobe, Chief Growth Officer Delia König, Chief Product Officer Jörg Howein, Chief Product Officer Thom Rasser, Chief Financial Officer Dennis Winter, Chief Technology Officer Ingmar Krusch, Chief Information Officer Layla Qassim, Chief of Staff |
| Regulator | BaFin |
Short Narrative
We do not know whether the BaFin audit is related to the name change. Probably not. Officially, this step is justified by the strategic focus on technology and the company’s technological DNA.
“In particular, our tech DNA has enabled our growth in the past and will ensure our success in the future,” said Solaris executive Layla Qassim (LinkedIn).
The German fintech also intends to change its legal form and become an international SE (Societas Europaea) to become “IPO ready.” Last year, Solarisbank CEO Roland Folz announced that the company wanted to be ready for an IPO by mid-year 2022. However, given the current market environment, an IPO is very unlikely.
Founded in 2016, Solaris offers its banking license to other fintechs. In 2021, Solaris opened one million new online accounts. The company employs 750 people at eight other locations in Europe and India.
The Scam Legacy
In January 2022, Germany’s WirtschaftsWoche published a piece on Solarisbank titled “Now criminals love this bank too.” In the article, the magazine describes how victims deposited funds to broker scams through Solarisbank. In the scammer scene, it was an open secret, at least until recently, that Solarisbank has a very relaxed attitude towards money laundering. Therefore, big scams like Daxiron have cooperated with the fintech.
