CAPTIQ agrees cooperation with Solarisbank

Frankfurt-based FinTech CAPTIQ, the first online financing platform for regulated professionals, has signed a cooperation agreement with Solarisbank, Europe's leading banking-as-a-service platform. Solarisbank will act as the lending bank in the offering of the credit platform for regulated professionals developed by CAPTIQ.

CAPTIQ has developed a completely automated process for distribution partners and financing customers, from application to loan disbursement, with Solarisbank handling the supervisory aspects. 'Our mission is to provide regulated professionals with speed, reliability and a positive user experience when it comes to financing. We are pleased to have found the perfect banking partner for the launch of our lending platform in Solarisbank, which shares these values with streamlined processes and modern technology,' commented CEO and founder Soraya Braun. As a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform, Solarisbank will handle the lending to CAPTIQ customers in the future.

CAPTIQ has developed the first alternative online financing solution tailored to the needs of regulated professions, the majority of which are freelancers. The loans brokered via the platform address in particular financing requests of less than 250,000 euros, which are hardly economically viable for commercial banks at current market conditions, are hardly reached by development banks and thus remain underserved. CAPTIQ has developed a specific rating model and a tailored application process for the target group, which includes pharmacists, architects, doctors, lawyers and auditors.

By fully automating and digitizing the process, CAPTIQ can offer small loan brokerage at market rates. Regulated professionals can apply for loans themselves via the website or through financial advisors. Disbursement is made by Solarisbank within a few business days if positive, also fully automated. The loans are refinanced through bearer bonds placed with institutional customers. The bearer bond already received an investment grade rating (BBB- restricted) from Creditreform prior to the start of lending via the platform. CAPTIQ was the first German alternative financing platform to boast an investment-grade rating and to secure refinancing from institutional investors prior to the market launch of the credit offering.

Nicolas Knecht, Managing Director Lending at Solarisbank, commented: 'CAPTIQ's platform is aimed at a demanding target group that expects tailor-made lending solutions as well as uncompromisingly good service. This approach fits perfectly with our vision of embedded finance: CAPTIQ provides the platform and the funding, we provide the interface to our fully automated lending product and take care of the supervisory aspects of lending. We are very much looking forward to working together.'

CAPTIQ is the first credit platform for regulated professionals, which simplifies the granting of loans to regulated professionals, e.g. for the establishment of a medical practice or a law firm. The company offers financing at marketable conditions up to 250,000 euros. In addition to legal forms with a balance sheet (e.g. limited liability companies), the company also caters to the needs of non-accounting legal forms typical of regulated professions (e.g. freelancers). The loans are refinanced in securitized form via institutional investors such as Depot A managers, loan funds, pension funds, insurance companies or pension funds. The CAPTIQ business model is based, in addition to the direct inquiry by the chamber professional, on a B2B approach that involves financial advisors and banks in sales and lending.

Solarisbank is Europe's leading banking-as-a-service platform. As a technology company with a full German banking license, Solarisbank enables other companies to offer their own financial services. Using APIs, partners integrate Solarisbank's modular products directly into their own offerings. The platform offers digital bank accounts and payment cards, as well as identification and credit products, custody and trading of digital assets, and services from integrated third-party providers. In 2019, Solarisbank established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Solaris Digital Assets GmbH, to provide a licensed custody solution for digital assets. To date, Solarisbank has raised more than €350 million from well-known and international investors, including ABN AMRO's Digital Impact Fund, Athos, BBVA, CNP (Groupe Frère), Decisive, finleap, Global Brain, HV Capital, Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital, Lakestar, Pathway Capital Management, Samsung Catalyst Fund, SBI Group, Storm Ventures, Visa, Vulcan Capital, and yabeo Capital.