Berlin-based banking-as-a-service platform Solarisbank has migrated its entire customer base from an externally sourced core banking system to an inhouse alternative.
Founded in 2015 by Marko Wenthin, formerly of Deutsche Bank and Andreas Bittner, an ex-MD at core banking supplier Avaloq, Solarisbank initially contracted an outside supplier for its core system.
However, the the firm has been developing its own platform since late 2017, with migration finally happening over the course of this year and completed last weekend.
Explaining the decision, the company says that by developing its own modular core banking system, it has optimised its infrastructure to meet the specific requirements of a BaaS platform.
It can now perform core processes such as account openings and Sepa credit transfers at a fraction of the time and with far greater stability, equating to a drastic increase in the scalability and cost efficiency of the platform.
Jörg Howein, CPO, Solarisbank, says: "Running our own core banking system allows us to offer all of our partners improved service level agreements and grants us full control over performance."
In addition to the improved performance of the payment ledger itself, removing the dependency on a third-party provider also enables Solarisbank to automate formerly manual processes connected to the ledger in the areas of operations and customer support.
Late last year, the firm also migrated its entire technology stack to Amazon Web Services as part of a plan to extends its business across new European markets next year.
In November, SolarisBank outlined the reasoning behind the core banking switch in a blog and video: