Account infrastructure solution in Europe for fintechs
As a fintech, you likely need a banking partner that can handle everything from virtual IBANs to delivering access to European payment schemes. Many firms find that managing these connections themselves is too complex, leading them to look for partners to provide the underlying banking infrastructure.
Account infrastructure solutions in Europe for fintechs include ClearBank, Banking Circle, and Solaris, with the right choice depending on your specific regulatory status and payment requirements.
This article breaks down the infrastructure required to scale across Europe and the providers that offer it.
ClearBank, Banking Circle, and Solaris: Compared
ClearBank
Regulated fintechs, EMIs, payment institutions, and platforms that need account and payment infrastructure in the UK and Europe
Operating accounts, customer segregated accounts, client money accounts, multi-currency accounts. Real accounts and scalable virtual accounts with vIBANs
SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant, SEPA Direct Debit T2, and SWIFT
Banking Circle
Payment businesses, financial institutions, and cross-border fintechs that need multi-currency account and payment infrastructure
Real accounts, virtual accounts with vIBANs, customer segregated accounts and multi-currency accounts
SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant, SEPA Direct Debit, T2, and SWIFT
Solaris
European fintechs and brands that need embedded finance or BaaS-style account infrastructure
Accounts, cards, lending and embedded finance infrastructure delivered through APIs
SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant, SEPA Direct Debit, T2, and SWIFT
What account infrastructure do fintechs need to operate in Europe?
Operating across European markets typically needs a setup that handles both real and virtual accounts while keeping you compliant with local regulations.
1. Real and virtual account structures
Real accounts hold the actual funds, but virtual accounts that sit underneath real accounts are particularly helpful for scaling fintechs.
Programmatic virtual account creation lets you assign unique account details to thousands of customers in milliseconds. This supports immediate onboarding and makes automated reconciliation much simpler by identifying the payment by the virtual account or vIBAN used.
2. Access to euro payment rails
Your infrastructure must connect to the schemes that move money. This usually means SEPA Credit Transfer for standard payments and SEPA Instant for real-time transfers. Since European regulation now mandates that providers support SEPA Instant, having a banking partner that clears and settles these payments in a few seconds is becoming the default requirement.
Note: ClearBank’s SEPA Instant adoption report, created in collaboration with Celent, found that SEPA Instant is expected to become a much larger part of European payments over the next decade. By 2035, SEPA Instant is expected to account for 75% of all SEPA credit transfers, with the tipping point expected around 2030, when instant payments are forecast to overtake traditional credit transfers.
For fintechs choosing account infrastructure in Europe, this means SEPA Instant should not be treated as a nice-to-have add-on. It is increasingly part of the baseline infrastructure needed to deliver real-time euro payments, support always-on customer expectations, and avoid needing to upgrade or re-platform later.
Read more: SEPA Instant adoption in Europe report
3. Safeguarding support
If you’re an E-money Institution (EMI) or a Payment Institution (PI), you have a regulatory obligation to keep customer funds separate from your own operational money.
Your infrastructure provider should offer safeguarding accounts so you can hold and move value across different European borders without maintaining dozens of separate banking relationships.
How to avoid the complexity of direct scheme participation
Connecting directly to schemes such as SEPA or T2 can be a major operational and technical undertaking. It may require scheme applications, technical connectivity, settlement arrangements, liquidity management, testing, compliance processes and internal operational teams to manage access on an ongoing basis.
Many fintechs choose an agency banking model instead. In this setup, they connect through a banking partner that already has scheme access, settlement infrastructure, and operational processes in place. This can help fintechs launch European payment services faster, without taking on the full cost and complexity of becoming a direct participant themselves.
Read more: Why we need a new approach to agency banking
How to choose the right account infrastructure partner
Every provider has different strengths, so your decision should be based on your long-term business goals. Consider:
- Geography and licences. Confirm they have the right licences to support you in every market where you plan to operate, such as a full Dutch banking licence allowing operation throughout the eurozone.
- API uptime and reliability. Look for providers with high uptimes, especially if you rely on SEPA Instant, which operates 24/7, 365 days a year and requires all transactions to be completed in under 10 seconds.
- Reconciliation and data. You need a partner that provides real-time transaction data via webhooks so you don't have to wait for end-of-day reports to know where your funds are.
- Conflicts of interest. Consider whether the bank competes with you for the same retail customers. Choosing a partner that is solely B2B can help ensure they prioritise your growth.
Comparing European account infrastructure providers
Choosing a provider depends on your regulatory model, product roadmap, and the account and payment infrastructure you need. Here are three options:
ClearBank: For regulated fintechs and European expansion
ClearBank provides account and payment infrastructure through a fully licenced bank in the UK and Europe (ClearBank Europe N.V.). Its infrastructure is built to sit behind fintechs, offering the accounts, APIs and payment connectivity they need.
ClearBank can help fintechs:
- Access a suite of account types, including operating accounts, customer segregated accounts, client money accounts and multi-currency accounts
- Use real and virtual account structures, including virtual accounts with addressable vIBANs
- Open virtual accounts through an API in real time, with the ability to support up to 10 million virtual accounts
- Connect to European payment schemes including SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant Credit Transfer and T2, as well as UK schemes such as Faster Payments, Bacs and CHAPS
- Design account structures around their specific use case, rather than forcing every customer, currency or payment flow into one account model
Banking Circle: For cross-border flows
Headquartered in Luxembourg, Banking Circle may be relevant for fintechs that need to:
- Support cross-border payment flows across multiple markets
- Use virtual accounts and vIBANs to improve routing and reconciliation
- Access multi-currency account and payment infrastructure
- Connect through API, SWIFT or portal-based workflows
- Work with a banking provider focused on payment businesses and financial institutions
Solaris: For digital banking
Solaris is a European embedded finance provider that supports companies building banking, payment and card features into their own products. Solaris may also be relevant for companies that need to:
- Offer B2B or B2C digital banking services through API-based infrastructure
- Build account infrastructure as part of a broader embedded finance proposition
- Support SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Instant payment flows
Build European account infrastructure with ClearBank
Choosing the right account infrastructure solution in Europe depends on your regulatory model, product roadmap and payment requirements. For fintechs, that often means finding a partner that can support the right account structures, connect to European payment rails and provide the API-first infrastructure needed to scale.
ClearBank helps fintechs build account and payment infrastructure across the UK and Europe, including real accounts, virtual accounts with vIBANs, customer segregated accounts, and access to schemes such as SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant Credit Transfer and T2.
If you’re looking for a fully licenced banking partner to support your European growth, ClearBank can help you design account infrastructure around your use case.
FAQs
SEPA Instant settles funds in under ten seconds and operates every day of the year. Standard SEPA Credit Transfers typically process in batches and can take up to one business day to reach the recipient's account.
A real account is a regulated bank account that holds actual funds, whereas a virtual account is a ledger-based entry that maps to a real master account. Virtual accounts allow businesses to issue thousands of unique account details for easier reconciliation without the administrative burden of opening separate real accounts for every customer.
A vIBAN is a virtual International Bank Account Number used to identify specific customers or payment streams. Fintechs use them to automate reconciliation, as each incoming payment to a unique vIBAN tells the system exactly which user or invoice the funds belong to.
You don't necessarily need your own licence if you partner with a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) or agency banking provider. These partners provide the underlying account infrastructure and regulatory umbrella, allowing you to provide financial services under their licence.
*Disclaimer: All information relating to third-party products and companies featured in this article has been sourced solely from their respective public websites and official publications at the time of writing. ClearBank makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of this information. Product features, positioning, and company details may have changed since publication. Readers should refer to each provider's official website for the most up-to-date information before making any purchasing decisions.
Sources:
