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APIs · head to head

Solaris vs Volt

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
Volt logo

Volt

APIs

Account-to-account pay by bank across Europe, the UK, Brazil and Australia

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.; Volt account-to-account payments carry no chargeback mechanism, so consumers lose scheme dispute protection and merchants lose a familiar framework for handling claims.
  • They diverge on capability: Solaris covers German banking licence, Volt covers Pay by bank.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Solaris and Volt actually diverge.

Attributes where Solaris and Volt differ
AttributeSolarisVolt
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, REST API

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
  • Card issuing
  • Lending as a service
  • Digital assets and custody
  • SEPA payments
  • KYC and onboarding
  • Deposit protection

Only in Volt

  • Pay by bank
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Virtual IBANs
  • Payouts and refunds
  • Verify
  • Stablecoin checkout

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 Volt
  • A fintech that needs deposit taking and lending, which an e-money licence cannot providenot Volt
  • A European business needing German IBANs because customers reject foreign IBANs for salary and direct debitnot Volt
  • A company requiring German statutory deposit protection on customer balances as a product claimnot Volt

Volt

  • A travel seller with high average order values paying percentage card fees it wants to replace with flat transfer feesnot Solaris
  • An iGaming operator needing fast deposits and payouts where card acceptance is restrictednot Solaris
  • A merchant with heavy card fraud that wants strongly authenticated irreversible paymentsnot Solaris
  • A marketplace verifying seller bank accounts before paying outnot 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.

Volt

  • Account-to-account payments carry no chargeback mechanism, so consumers lose scheme dispute protection and merchants lose a familiar framework for handling claims.
  • Refunds are outbound payments rather than reversals, which changes treasury handling and means a refund can fail for reasons a card refund never would.
  • Conversion is lower than a stored card because the shopper must complete a bank authentication journey, and drop-off varies significantly by bank.
  • Core pay by bank pricing is per transaction but refunds, payouts, virtual IBANs, Verify and fraud tooling are billed separately, so the real cost is a stack of line items.
  • Bank API availability and quality vary across markets, and an outage at a major bank removes a slice of your checkout with no fallback unless you keep cards live.

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

Volt

On request
  • Volt pay by bank$undefined/year
    • Per successful transaction fee, quoted by volume and market
    • Separate charges for refunds, payouts, virtual IBANs and Verify
    • Circuit Breaker fraud tooling priced as an add-on

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 Volt if

  • You need pay by bank.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want circuit breaker.
Volt review

Questions people ask

Is Solaris or Volt better?
Neither clearly leads. Solaris starts at On request and Volt at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Solaris or Volt?
Solaris starts at On request and Volt at On request.
Does Solaris or Volt run on more platforms?
Solaris runs on Web, API. Volt runs on Web, REST API.
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 Volt is typically brought in for.
What can Solaris do that Volt cannot?
Solaris covers German banking licence, IBAN accounts, Card issuing, Lending as a service. Volt covers Pay by bank, Circuit Breaker, Virtual IBANs, Payouts and refunds.

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.

Volt: Are there chargebacks?

No. Bank transfers are irrevocable, so disputes are handled commercially between merchant and customer, not through a card scheme.

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.

Volt: How do refunds work?

As a separate outbound payment initiated by the merchant, which Volt charges for separately from the inbound transaction.

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.

Volt: Which markets are covered?

Europe and the UK, plus Brazil and Australia, on a single API integration.

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