Solarisbank raises $28 million with sights set on Asian market
While the US and European fintech markets seem to have stalled, Asia continues to show robust growth.
And now, German banking platform solarisBank appears poised to take advantage of this booming market. On Monday, solarisBank announced that it raised €26.3 million ($28 million) in a Series A funding round, and that it planned to use the capital to improve its products, and expand into Asia, Europe, and the US, Business Insider and Handelsblatt report.
The funding came from two new investors, as well as existing backers Yabeo Capital, UniCredit, and Finleap. solarisBank offers fintechs looking to provide banking services access to its suite of banking products, and to its European banking license.
solarisBank’s new backers include Arvato, a financial services company; and SBI Group, a Japanese holding group and active participant in the fintech sphere. solarisBank plans to develop “joint ventures” with SBI, in which solarisBank would take a 40% stake to SBI’s 60%. The first such collaboration is due to launch in Asia in early 2018, according to Business Insider.
Moving into Asia will give solarisBank access to a wealth of new customers. With VC investment in Asia outstripping funding in Europe and North America, the region will likely see more new fintechs emerge than the US or UK in the near term. This proliferation of additional players represents an opportunity for solarisBank: Many fintechs aim to provide banking services, but becoming regulated remains a difficult process, and solarisBank’s offering addresses this pain point. By concentrating on Asia, solarisBank is positioning itself to take advantage of a region that’s historically lagged behind Western markets, but now seems ready to take off.
