Solaris SE — formerly Solarisbank — is one of Europe's most established Banking-as-a-Service providers, operating from Berlin under a full German banking licence regulated by BaFin. Codego is a European banking infrastructure provider headquartered in Malta with electronic-money distribution licensing from the National Bank of Belgium, focused on rapid white-label card and IBAN programme launches across twelve countries.
| Codego | Solaris | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Malta · serving 12 countries | Berlin, Germany |
| Founded | 2012 | 2016 |
| Regulatory licence | NBB electronic-money distribution; pan-EU passporting | Solaris SE — full German banking licence (BaFin) |
| Primary geography | Pan-European, MENA, SE Asia | DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) primarily |
| Card schemes | Visa and Mastercard with BIN sponsorship | Visa primarily; Mastercard via specific products |
| White-label crypto cards | Native, custodial and non-custodial | Limited / regulated portfolio |
| EU IBAN issuance | Native, six countries | Native, primarily DE-issued |
| Self-service onboarding | Yes — programme portal | Enterprise sales-led |
| Time-to-launch | ≈ 15 days | 60-90 days typical |
| Best fit | Mid-market fintechs, fast launches, multi-jurisdiction | Larger DACH-centric programmes, deposit-based products |
Codego is built for fintechs operating across multiple European jurisdictions out of the box. Solaris's strength is in the German-speaking market: most reference customers and most of the issuing footprint sit in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For a programme launching primarily in Italy, Spain, France or the Nordics, Codego's pan-European footprint reduces friction.
Codego launches new programmes in around fifteen days through a self-service onboarding portal. Solaris embedded-finance integrations are typically 60-90 days from contract to live, reflecting the depth of the German banking-licence model and BaFin oversight. For products in market-test mode or competitive launch windows, the gap matters.
Codego's card-issuing API and IBAN platform are designed to be integrated by lean engineering teams. Solaris's enterprise model means heavier commercial structures, longer onboarding documentation and more complex programme certification. For start-ups and mid-market fintechs without enterprise procurement teams, Codego is structurally more accessible.
Codego natively supports crypto-funded card programmes with on-the-fly stablecoin-to-fiat conversion, integrated with the same Visa or Mastercard rails as fiat programmes. See white-label crypto card. Solaris under the German banking licence operates more conservatively in the crypto space.
Codego sponsors BINs on both Visa and Mastercard. Solaris programmes are typically Visa-anchored. Programmes that benefit from cross-scheme issuance — for example to optimise interchange or to access scheme-specific products — have more flexibility on Codego rails.
Codego ships card issuing, IBAN, ledger, KYC and payments on one stack. The full BaaS bundle is live in around fifteen days, configured through one self-service portal. See Codego BaaS platform. Solaris BaaS engagements are typically deeper and longer because they leverage a full German banking licence — a stronger stack for some use cases, but a longer path for fast launches.
Solaris's banking-licence depth makes it the right answer in specific scenarios.
Solaris SE holds a full German banking licence and can hold customer deposits with deposit-protection coverage. Programmes built around interest-bearing accounts, savings products or full retail banking benefit from this depth in a way that an electronic-money licence cannot match.
Programmes whose customer base is primarily German-speaking, whose distribution partners are DACH-based banks or retailers, and whose regulatory exposure is concentrated under BaFin, are exactly Solaris's home territory.
Lending programmes — instalment loans, BNPL, credit cards with revolving credit — sit naturally on a banking licence. Solaris has dedicated lending infrastructure under its banking entity. Codego's electronic-money distribution model is not designed for credit issuance.