Full-Time

Payments Operations Team Lead

Solaris

Solaris

501-1,000 employees

BaaS platform enabling branded embedded finance

Compensation Overview

€63k - €85k/yr

Frankfurt, Germany + 1 more

More locations: Berlin, Germany

In Person

Employees may work abroad for up to 12 weeks per year.

Bachelor's, Master's

Category
Finance & Banking (1)
Required Skills
SQL
Risk Management
iOS/Swift
Data Analysis

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Requirements
  • A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or a related field is preferred.
  • A minimum of 4–5 years of experience in Payment Operations or Banking Operations is required, including first leadership experience managing a small team.
  • Strong knowledge of SEPA and SWIFT payment schemes is required.
  • Knowledge and comprehension of the Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and its application to Payment Operations is required.
  • The ability to engage with team members and provide clear and concise feedback is required.
  • The ability to lead cross-functional projects with different departments is required.
  • Fluent English is required; German is a strong plus.
  • A strong analytical and data-driven mindset is required, including experience applying artificial intelligence-based tools or automation to improve operational performance.
  • A hands-on and entrepreneurial mentality is required.
  • Strong analytical skills focused on process improvement are required.
  • Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail are required.
Responsibilities
  • Oversee daily payments operations and provide strategic direction by setting priorities, key performance indicators, and performance targets.
  • Act as the primary point of contact for partners and third-party banks regarding payment-related inquiries and follow-up calls.
  • Establish governance, reporting, and control frameworks to ensure operational integrity and scalability.
  • Drive automation, streamline workflows, and embed robust risk management practices.
  • Allocate team resources effectively across time zones to ensure consistent, high-quality performance.
  • Lead, coach, and develop a team of 3–5 payment operations specialists to achieve targets, resolve incidents efficiently, and continuously improve processes.
  • Lead and develop the team according to defined career paths by ensuring regular development conversations.
  • Liaise with Business Unit heads, functional heads, and key stakeholders to ensure the effective functioning of the team within the wider company environment.
  • Continuously improve processes in collaboration with the team's process experts and relevant stakeholders.
  • Oversee the monitoring and processing of SEPA and SWIFT payments.
  • Take responsibility for payment-related incidents and serve as the main point of escalation for senior management.
  • Contribute to regulatory communications with BaFin, the Deutsche Bundesbank, and other European central banks and regulators.
  • Actively support and lead audit cycles while maintaining a compliant-first approach and adherence to established processes.
Desired Qualifications
  • SQL familiarity is preferred.
  • German language proficiency is a strong plus.

Solaris provides a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform in Europe, allowing brands to embed financial services through APIs. Its modular, cloud-based API stack covers digital bank accounts, payment cards, KYC/KYB, payments, and BNPL, all branded to partners. The platform leverages a broad open API suite and Contis-backed e-money capabilities to serve multiple sectors, from SaaS to mobility and travel. Solaris aims to help businesses offer financial products quickly and reliably with a compliant, scalable banking backend across Europe.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

Series G

Total Funding

$723.9M

Headquarters

Berlin, Germany

Founded

2016

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • SBI completed ownership control in March 2025 and backed the 2026 transformation.
  • Solaris won ADAC in 2022 and is extending savings accounts across that base.
  • Germany focus and AI automation target lower costs after closing Italy, Spain, and France.

What critics are saying

  • ADAC and Börse Stuttgart generate about 80% of revenue, creating existential concentration risk.
  • Andreas Bittner’s Berlin lawsuit attacks SBI’s 2025 takeover and Solaris’s recapitalization.
  • Solaris cut 20% of staff in March 2026 and pushed profitability to 2028.

What makes Solaris unique

  • Solaris holds a rare German full banking license and embedded-finance APIs.
  • Steffen Jentsch is rebuilding Solaris as Europe’s first AI-native bank in 2026.
  • Bankident Plus, launched January 29, 2026, streamlines onboarding and AML compliance.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Flexible Work Hours

Hybrid Work Options

Home Office Stipend

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

1%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

3%
Tech.eu
Jun 5th, 2026
German fintech Solaris pivots to AI-native banking, cuts 20% of staff to ride "huge wave" over financial services

Solaris, a German Banking-as-a-Service provider, is becoming "Europe's first AI-native bank" under CEO Steffen Jentsch, who joined in early 2026. The Berlin-based fintech, valued at $1.6 billion in 2021, is rebuilding its banking processes using AI agents and large language models whilst maintaining human oversight. The strategic pivot, backed by majority shareholder SBI Holdings, involved cutting 20 per cent of its 400-strong workforce. Solaris is focusing on Germany after closing subsidiaries in Italy, Spain and France. Its two major clients, ADAC and Boerse Stuttgart Group, comprise around 80 per cent of revenues. The company has pushed back its profitability timeline to 2028, following earlier restructuring in 2024 amid client losses and regulatory restrictions from BaFin.

Tech.eu
Mar 25th, 2026
German fintech Solaris cuts 20% of workforce in pivot to AI-native banking

German fintech Solaris is cutting 20 per cent of its 400-strong workforce, eliminating around 80 roles as it repositions itself as an "AI-native bank". The Banking-as-a-Service provider aims to increase automation across its processes and products, with AI agents handling operational tasks whilst humans oversee control and governance. The restructuring follows previous job cuts, a write-down and a rescue funding round by Japan's SBI Group. New CEO Steffen Jentsch is shifting Solaris from an embedded finance platform towards developing data and AI-driven financial services for partners including ADAC and Boerse Stuttgart Group. The company has secured investor backing for its repositioning strategy, with Jentsch describing the move as the "next logical step" following Solaris's pioneering work in cloud-based banking via APIs.

Solaris
Mar 25th, 2026
Solaris announces strategic transformation to become Europe's first AI-native bank.

Solaris announces strategic transformation to become Europe's first AI-native bank. Solaris management sets a new strategic direction to build a highly automated banking platform, backed by majority shareholder SBI. Berlin, March 25, 2026. Solaris has announced a comprehensive strategic repositioning and is starting its transformation into Europe's first AI-native bank. Just under three months after taking office, the new management team led by CEO Steffen Jentsch is setting a new direction: together with majority shareholder SBI Group (Tokyo), Solaris will develop its embedded finance platform into a pan-European financial infrastructure, with processes largely automated with artificial intelligence. The strategy builds on Solaris' German full banking license, its API-based platform, ten years of experience in the Banking-as-a-Service market, and long-term financial support guaranteed by SBI. Ten years ago, Solaris was one of the first companies in Europe to prove that cloud-based banking via APIs works. Today, Solaris is taking the next logical step. Solaris is developing a platform that combines this infrastructure with AI and rebuilds banking processes from the ground up. With the EU AI Act and DORA, Europe is creating the regulatory framework needed for this step. Together with SBI and in close dialogue with the regulatory authorities, Solaris is developing Solaris into an AI-native bank and creating new growth through the broad use of artificial intelligence in banking. Steffen Jentsch, CEO Solaris SE.

Solaris
Jan 29th, 2026
Solaris launches Bankident Plus for compliant, fast customer onboarding with instant account access

Solaris launches Bankident Plus for compliant, fast customer onboarding with instant account access. Bankident Plus already meets upcoming German AML requirements, speeds up customer verification, and increases security during account opening. BERLIN - January 29, 2026 - Solaris, Europe's leading embedded finance platform, recently launched Bankident Plus, an enhanced identification solution that verifies a customer's identity and opens a bank account in one seamless flow. The new solution pairs a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) with a reference transfer completed during a customer's first account top-up. This simultaneous process meets the new requirements of Germany's Anti-Money Laundering Act and helps Solaris' partners boost onboarding conversion while reducing operational risk. Bankident Plus adds a short pre-identification step (selfie capture and ID photo), followed by a QES. The mandatory reference transfer is bundled into the first SEPA top-up. Once the payment is confirmed and the identity is verified and has successfully passed Solaris' fraud prevention systems, Solaris activates the account, giving customers immediate access and allowing them to use the account right away. Because identity verification is part of the top-up customers would make anyway, the flow is intuitive, safe, and time-saving. If identification fails, the account will not be activated.

Fintech Garden
Jan 9th, 2026
Weekly Harvest: Trump-connected stablecoin, JPMorgan Chase Takes Over Apple Card & Solaris under new management

Weekly harvest: trump-connected stablecoin, JPMorgan Chase takes over Apple Card & Solaris under new management. This episode starts with covering deliberations between Apple, the company most known for tech hardware, but, now more so, payment solutions, i.e. Apple Pay. Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea reflect on the news, although it exclusively affects their operations in the US. Moving on, going on a hot take, both hosts discuss World Liberty Financial applying for a banking license. The company in question is best known for its ties to the Trump coin, a subject of wide controversy. Last, but most certainly not least, the topic of Solaris, the biggest vendor for Web3 finance solutions, is changing its leadership. The news hits its co-host, Dumitru Condrea, a little closer to home, as he used to work for the company. JPMorgan Chase takes over Apple Card. JPMorgan Chase has agreed to take over the Apple Card partnership from Goldman Sachs, ending Goldman's high-profile but costly push into consumer finance. The move reflects Goldman's retreat from retail banking amid regulatory pressure, rising losses, and operational challenges tied to the Apple Card. For JPMorgan, the deal strengthens its position as the world's largest credit card issuer and deepens its relationship with Apple, giving it access to millions of affluent users and long-term growth in digital consumer finance. Trump-connected stablecoin. World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture linked to the Trump family, has applied for a US banking licence, signaling ambitions to operate within the regulated financial system. The move would allow the firm to offer deposit-taking and payment services alongside crypto products, bridging traditional banking and digital assets. The application comes as regulators increase scrutiny of crypto firms seeking legitimacy and stability. If approved, it could reshape perceptions of politically connected crypto ventures and intensify debate around regulation, influence, and risk in US financial services. Solaris under new management. Solaris has appointed Steffen Jentsch to lead its embedded finance platform, reinforcing its focus on scalable, regulated financial infrastructure. Jentsch brings experience in payments, banking, and platform strategy, positioning Solaris to accelerate growth across Banking-as-a-Service and embedded finance offerings. The appointment signals Solaris' intent to strengthen execution and partner support as competition intensifies and clients demand more compliant, modular financial products across Europe and global markets.