Is Solaris or Zimpler better?

Neither clearly leads. Solaris starts at On request and Zimpler at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Solaris or Zimpler?

Solaris starts at On request and Zimpler at On request.

Does Solaris or Zimpler run on more platforms?

Solaris runs on Web, API. Zimpler 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 Zimpler is typically brought in for.

What can Solaris do that Zimpler cannot?

Solaris covers German banking licence, IBAN accounts, Card issuing, Lending as a service. Zimpler covers Bank payments, BankID identity, Payouts, Recurring payments.

APIs · head to head

Solaris vs Zimpler

Solaris

APIs

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

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Zimpler

APIs

Nordic and Brazilian account-to-account payments for regulated high-risk sectors

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

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.; Zimpler pricing is not published and is set by industry and risk profile, so smaller merchants cannot benchmark a quote and often discover they are paying well above a general-purpose provider.
They diverge on capability: Solaris covers German banking licence, Zimpler covers Bank payments.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Solaris and Zimpler actually diverge.

Attributes where Solaris and Zimpler differ
Attribute	Solaris	Zimpler
Platforms	Web, API	Web, 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 Zimpler

Bank payments
BankID identity
Payouts
Recurring payments
Risk screening
Brazil coverage

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

Zimpler

A Swedish gambling operator needing deposit and verified identity in a single customer flownot Solaris
A Nordic merchant wanting instant bank payouts rather than card refundsnot Solaris
A trading platform where confirming account ownership before funding is a regulatory requirementnot Solaris
A European operator expanding into Brazil and wanting one provider across both marketsnot 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.

Zimpler

Pricing is not published and is set by industry and risk profile, so smaller merchants cannot benchmark a quote and often discover they are paying well above a general-purpose provider.
As a payment facilitator carrying merchant risk, it declines or offboards merchants on risk grounds, which makes it a dependency you cannot assume will persist.
Its strength is concentrated in the Nordics, and coverage in southern and eastern Europe is thinner than pan-European account-to-account specialists.
Revenue concentration in iGaming ties the provider to a sector under constant regulatory change, so licence changes in one market affect the supplier as well as the merchant.
Bank transfers have no chargeback protection, so disputes are handled commercially and consumers used to card protections may resist the payment method.

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

Zimpler

On request

Zimpler payments$undefined/year
- Per-transaction pricing quoted by industry, risk and volume
- Separate pricing for payouts and identity verification
- Merchant underwriting required, with sector restrictions

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 Zimpler if

You need bank payments.
You work on Web, REST API.
You also want bankid identity.

Zimpler review

Questions people ask

Is Solaris or Zimpler better?: Neither clearly leads. Solaris starts at On request and Zimpler at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Solaris or Zimpler?: Solaris starts at On request and Zimpler at On request.
Does Solaris or Zimpler run on more platforms?: Solaris runs on Web, API. Zimpler 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 Zimpler is typically brought in for.
What can Solaris do that Zimpler cannot?: Solaris covers German banking licence, IBAN accounts, Card issuing, Lending as a service. Zimpler covers Bank payments, BankID identity, Payouts, Recurring payments.

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.

Zimpler: Which markets does Zimpler cover?

Sweden and the Nordics primarily, plus the wider EU and Brazil. It is strongest where national electronic identity schemes exist.

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.

Zimpler: Does it handle identity verification?

Yes. In the Nordics it captures BankID identity alongside the payment, which removes a separate verification step.

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.

Zimpler: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted per merchant based on sector, risk and volume, and merchants must pass underwriting first.

Solaris vs Zimpler

Solaris

Zimpler

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Solaris

Only in Zimpler

What people use each for

Solaris

Zimpler

Where each one falls short

Solaris

Zimpler

Pricing, plan by plan

Solaris

Zimpler

Which should you pick?

Choose Solaris if

Choose Zimpler if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Solaris

More on Zimpler

Keep looking

Other head to heads