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APIs · head to head

Solaris vs Yapily

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
Yapily logo

Yapily

APIs

Open banking API infrastructure for account data and pay-by-bank payments across Europe

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Yapily has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Yapily production pricing itself is not published; only the resulting typical merchant transaction cost is publicly known, so the underlying platform fee still requires a sales conversation.
  • They diverge on capability: Solaris covers German banking licence, Yapily covers Unified open banking API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Solaris and Yapily actually diverge.

Attributes where Solaris and Yapily differ
AttributeSolarisYapily
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree sandbox, pay-as-you-go production
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Web, API), 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 Yapily

  • Unified open banking API
  • Account information access
  • Payment initiation
  • Free sandbox
  • Multi-country bank coverage
  • Webhooks and reconciliation tooling

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

Yapily

  • A merchant wanting a lower-cost payment method alongside card acceptancenot Solaris
  • A lending or budgeting product needing bank account data for affordability checksnot Solaris
  • A business wanting one API instead of separate integrations to each bank's own open banking standardnot Solaris
  • A company prototyping open banking features for free in sandbox before committing budgetnot 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.

Yapily

  • Production pricing itself is not published; only the resulting typical merchant transaction cost is publicly known, so the underlying platform fee still requires a sales conversation.
  • Consumer adoption of pay-by-bank still lags card payments, so merchants offering it as a checkout option typically see it used as a secondary rather than primary payment method.
  • Coverage depends on the banks in each country maintaining reliable open banking APIs, and inconsistent bank-side reliability across markets is a known category-wide weakness, not unique to Yapily but not solved by it either.
  • As infrastructure for both account data and payments, a company only needing one of those two capabilities is still evaluating a broader platform than it may need.
  • Regulatory dependence on PSD2 and UK open banking rules means the underlying legal framework, not just Yapily's product, could shift and affect what is possible on the platform.

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

Yapily

Free
  • SandboxFree
    • Free testing environment
    • UK and European bank connections for development
  • Production$undefined/month
    • Pay-as-you-go pricing, exact rates not published
    • Typical pay-by-bank cost of 0.1 to 0.5% or a flat 5 to 30 pence per transaction

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 Yapily if

  • You need unified open banking api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want account information access.
Yapily review

Questions people ask

Is Solaris or Yapily better?
Neither clearly leads. Solaris starts at On request and Yapily at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Solaris or Yapily?
Yapily has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Solaris and Free for Yapily.
Does Solaris or Yapily run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Yapily for free?
Yes. Yapily has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Solaris starts at On request.
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 Yapily is typically brought in for.
What can Solaris do that Yapily cannot?
Solaris covers German banking licence, IBAN accounts, Card issuing, Lending as a service. Yapily covers Unified open banking API, Account information access, Payment initiation, Free sandbox.

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.

Yapily: Is there a free way to try it?

Yes, sandbox access is free for development and testing.

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.

Yapily: How much cheaper is pay-by-bank than card payments?

Typically 0.1 to 0.5% of transaction value, or a flat 5 to 30 pence, against 1.5 to 3.5% for card scheme fees.

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.

Yapily: Is production pricing published?

No, production access is pay-as-you-go but exact rates require a sales conversation.

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