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APIs · head to head

Solaris vs Unit

Solaris logo

Solaris

APIs

German banking as a service with a full banking licence and a live regulatory problem

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Unit logo

Unit

APIs

Banking as a service platform for embedding deposit accounts, cards and payments, with a sponsor bank behind it

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Solaris baFin appointed a special representative in 2022 and extended the mandate in July 2024, so a partner is joining a bank under active supervisory monitoring, with slower approvals and heavier compliance demands as a direct consequence.; Unit your product depends on a sponsor bank you do not contract with directly, and 2024 showed what that means: Thread Bank received an FDIC enforcement action naming its banking as a service programmes and Blue Ridge Bank went under an OCC consent order and offboarded fintech partners.
  • They diverge on capability: Solaris covers German banking licence, Unit covers Deposit accounts.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Solaris and Unit actually diverge.

Attributes where Solaris and Unit differ
AttributeSolarisUnit
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Solaris

  • German banking licence
  • IBAN accounts
  • Lending as a service
  • Digital assets and custody
  • SEPA payments
  • KYC and onboarding
  • Deposit protection

Only in Unit

  • Deposit accounts
  • Payments
  • White label components
  • Compliance operations
  • Lending
  • Programme reporting
  • Sandbox

Both cover

  • Card issuing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Solaris

  • A retailer or platform launching a German current account or card product without applying for its own licencenot Unit
  • A fintech that needs deposit taking and lending, which an e-money licence cannot providenot Unit
  • A European business needing German IBANs because customers reject foreign IBANs for salary and direct debitnot Unit
  • A company requiring German statutory deposit protection on customer balances as a product claimnot Unit

Unit

  • A vertical SaaS platform for contractors that wants to hold customer funds and issue expense cards without pursuing a charternot Solaris
  • A payroll or benefits platform embedding accounts so employees can be paid ahead of schedulenot Solaris
  • A marketplace that wants seller balances to sit in real accounts under its own brand rather than as ledger entries at a processornot Solaris
  • A company that needs interchange revenue from a card programme to make the unit economics of its core product worknot Solaris

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Solaris

  • BaFin appointed a special representative in 2022 and extended the mandate in July 2024, so a partner is joining a bank under active supervisory monitoring, with slower approvals and heavier compliance demands as a direct consequence.
  • BaFin fined Solaris EUR 6.5 million in March 2024 for systematically late suspicious activity reports and EUR 500,000 for breaching large exposure limits between January 2022 and March 2024, which is a track record a partner inherits reputationally.
  • Solaris has previously needed BaFin approval before onboarding new corporate clients, which can turn a commercial decision to launch into a regulatory timetable outside your control.
  • The 2024 restructuring involved job cuts and the closure of parts of a business unit, so product lines a partner depends on may not have the engineering behind them that the sales process implies.
  • SBI Holdings acquired majority control in 2025, so strategic direction now sits with a Japanese financial group whose priorities for the European business may differ from the roadmap you were sold.

Unit

  • Your product depends on a sponsor bank you do not contract with directly, and 2024 showed what that means: Thread Bank received an FDIC enforcement action naming its banking as a service programmes and Blue Ridge Bank went under an OCC consent order and offboarded fintech partners.
  • Programme approval by the bank is a separate gate from signing with Unit, and it can add months and impose product restrictions that were not visible during the commercial conversation.
  • Compliance obligations are shared but the operational load lands on you, and platforms consistently underestimate the staffing needed for disputes, escalations and the bank ongoing oversight requests.
  • Pricing is unpublished and blends platform fees, per-account and per-transaction charges and interchange sharing, which makes it hard to model unit economics before you have volume and easy to be surprised by the minimum.
  • Migrating a live deposit programme to a different provider or bank is extremely disruptive because it involves moving customer accounts and card credentials, so switching costs are far higher than for ordinary software.

Pricing, plan by plan

Solaris

On request
  • Solaris banking as a service$undefined/year
    • Quoted per partner, typically setup fee plus monthly platform fee
    • Per account, per card and per transaction charges on top
    • Interchange sharing arrangements negotiated per programme

Unit

On request
  • Unit Banking as a Service$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus per-account and per-transaction charges, quoted
    • Interchange sharing arrangements negotiated per programme
    • Minimum commitment typical

Which should you pick?

Choose Solaris if

  • You need german banking licence.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want iban accounts.
Solaris review

Choose Unit if

  • You need deposit accounts.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want payments.
Unit review

Questions people ask

Is Solaris or Unit better?
Neither clearly leads. Solaris starts at On request and Unit at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Solaris or Unit?
Solaris starts at On request and Unit at On request.
Does Solaris or Unit run on more platforms?
Solaris runs on Web, API. Unit runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Solaris best used for?
Solaris is most often used for a retailer or platform launching a german current account or card product without applying for its own licence, a fintech that needs deposit taking and lending, which an e-money licence cannot provide, a european business needing german ibans because customers reject foreign ibans for salary and direct debit, a company requiring german statutory deposit protection on customer balances as a product claim. Of those, a retailer or platform launching a german current account or card product without applying for its own licence and a fintech that needs deposit taking and lending, which an e-money licence cannot provide are not what Unit is typically brought in for.
What can Solaris do that Unit cannot?
Solaris covers German banking licence, IBAN accounts, Lending as a service, Digital assets and custody. Unit covers Deposit accounts, Payments, White label components, Compliance operations. Both handle Card issuing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Solaris: Does Solaris have a real banking licence?

Yes. Solaris SE is a German credit institution, which is why it can offer deposits and lending, unlike e-money based competitors.

Unit: Who actually holds the money?

A chartered partner bank, not Unit. Deposits sit at the sponsor bank and FDIC insurance flows from that bank, so its condition is your condition.

Solaris: Is the BaFin action still live?

The special representative appointed in 2022 had the mandate extended in July 2024, and fines were issued in March 2024. Treat supervisory oversight as an active condition in your diligence.

Unit: What happened with Unit sponsor banks in 2024?

Thread Bank received an FDIC enforcement action that explicitly named its banking as a service and lending as a service programmes, and Blue Ridge Bank was under an OCC consent order from January 2024 and offboarded fintech partners. Blue Ridge exited the order in late 2025.

Solaris: Who owns Solaris now?

SBI Holdings of Japan agreed in December 2024 and January 2025 to take a majority stake of over seventy per cent for around EUR 100 million.

Unit: What does Unit cost?

Not published. Expect a platform fee, per-account and per-transaction charges, an interchange share and a minimum commitment.

Unit: Do we need our own compliance team?

Yes. Unit supplies tooling and the bank sets the rules, but disputes, escalations and evidence for bank oversight require named people on your side.

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