Solaris sells Engage business to UK fintech Suits Me
Solaris, a Germany-based embedded finance provider, has sold its Engage business to UK-based fintech Suits Me for an undisclosed sum.
Solaris sells Engage business to Suits Me for undisclosed sum
Suits Me, founded in 2015, is an alternative banking provider that offers a number of personal account options. The company says it provides “accounts and services tailored to the needs of underserved communities” as it looks to “foster a more inclusive financial landscape”.
Engage operates as a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that enables credit unions and community banks to embed cards, accounts and other payment infrastructure into their offerings.
The acquisition includes all Engage Card accounts, which are to be transferred to Suits Me “subject to customer consent”. Matthew Sanders, CEO of Suits Me, tells FinTech Futures that Engage customers will be transferred to an account option that “best matches their historic usage”.
“This migration has already started and will be finished mid-January 2025,” he explains. “[The acquisition] sits well with us both ethically and commercially as we aim to continue our expansion both organically and by acquisition.”
The deal comes after Solaris announced last September its decision to “discontinue major parts” of its UK-based Electronic Money Institution (EMI) business, formerly known as Contis. Carsten Höltkemeyer, CEO of Solaris, later stated that the company is embarking on “a new chapter of transformation“.
Speaking to FinTech Futures, a spokesperson for Solaris says: “The Engage programme is impacted by Solaris’s decision to discontinue parts of its EMI operations announced in September. Since then, we have been working hard to find a new home for Engage to enable this important service to continue.
“Credit unions and customers will receive communication to help ensure a seamless continuation of services during the transfer of business to Suits Me. This move is the best resolution for Engage account holders, ensuring members can continue to access the crucial functions that Engage provides, including the ability to use their debit card, withdraw cash, receive bank transfers, pay their bills and receive support as normal.”
Suits Me says in a statement that it plans to “carry on Engage’s successful initiatives in partnership with UK credit unions”.
The Knutsford-headquartered company is a former client of Contis, sold to Solaris in 2021, and previously adopted its BaaS platform before switching to PPS three years ago.
