What Penta is, in 2026
Penta is a German SME-focused partner-bank fintech built specifically for German GmbH, UG (haftungsbeschränkt), and SME companies underserved by both Qonto (more freelancer-tier in the German market) and legacy German chartered banks (Deutsche Bank Business, Commerzbank Mittelstand, Sparkasse). Founded in Berlin in 2017; approximately 50,000 German SMB customers. Corporate status note — Migrating to Qonto platform; standalone Penta brand sunsetting (neobanks.app, ) — which reshapes the structural read on Penta as a standalone brand going forward.
Product surface: German local IBAN via Solaris Bank partner-bank model, Mastercard business debit + virtual cards, built-in invoicing with German Umsatzsteuer handling, multi-user roles, and the deepest DATEV-first workflow in the German SMB neobank category alongside Lexoffice + sevDesk integration. The structural distinction from EMI-licensed Tide / Finom / Holvi / Anna is the partner-bank arrangement with Solaris Bank AG providing DGS pass-through cover.
Partner-bank fintech with Solaris Bank as the chartered-bank sponsor. DGS pass-through cover up to €100K — structurally distinct from EMI-licensed German SMB alternatives.
At a glance
Who Penta is for: German GmbH, UG, GbR, and Einzelunternehmen — particularly fast-growth startups and SMEs needing DGS-protected operating cash with deep German Steuerberater workflow integration (DATEV + Lexoffice + sevDesk). The structural fit is any German SMB above the typical Qonto-freelancer-tier where the DGS cover and chartered-bank counterparty matter more than the broader Qonto EU footprint.
Who to avoid Penta for: SMBs operating across multiple EU markets (Qonto's French ACPR licence with FR / DE / IT / ES coverage is the structural alternative); operators wary of partner-bank counterparty risk given Solaris's 2024 BaFin enforcement actions (Qonto's direct French credit-institution licence is the lower-counterparty-risk alternative); businesses with material non-EUR receivables (Wise Business is the multi-currency layer); and operators outside Germany (no other EU country local-IBAN issuance).
Safety in one sentence: Penta Fintech GmbH holds no banking licence; customer deposits sit at Solaris Bank AG (BaFin-licensed credit institution) with DGS pass-through cover up to €100,000 per depositor per institution, with the structural caveat of Solaris's 2024 BaFin enforcement-action history affecting partner-bank counterparty risk assessment.
Bank structure & Solaris partner-bank arrangement
Penta Fintech GmbH operates as a partner-bank fintech in Germany; Penta itself does NOT hold a banking licence. Customer deposits sit at Solaris Bank AG — a BaFin-licensed German credit institution supervised by BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) and the European Central Bank under the Single Supervisory Mechanism for prudential supervision. The structural model is a partner-bank arrangement (German equivalent of US "Banking-as-a-Service" via Solaris).
The depositor protection regime is DGS pass-through. Customer funds at Solaris Bank AG carry pass-through cover under the German DGS (Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken, EdB) and EU Directive 2014/49/EU up to €100,000 per depositor per institution. The structural cover applies to customer funds titled at Solaris in the customer's name (or in an FBO custodial arrangement) — Penta as a fintech is not in the deposit-protection chain. This is materially different from EMI-licensed Tide / Finom / Holvi / Anna where funds are safeguarded without DGS cover.
The Solaris partner-bank counterparty risk is the structural caveat. Solaris Bank had documented BaFin regulatory enforcement actions in 2024 related to its AML / compliance posture, including a special-representative appointment and operational restrictions affecting some BaaS partner relationships. These enforcement actions did NOT affect DGS pass-through cover for customer deposits — DGS protection is a regulatory framework, not a function of Solaris's own operational state. But the structural caveat is that Solaris's BaaS partner-bank dependencies (including Penta's) carry operational-counterparty risk that EMI-licensed neobanks and chartered-bank-direct neobanks don't face. Verify the current Solaris BaFin supervisory state before treating Penta's structural cover as load-bearing for German SMB treasury policy.
The contrast with Qonto (direct French credit-institution licence with DGS at the chartered-bank level) and Grasshopper (US OCC-chartered national bank with FDIC) matters: those are licence-holding entities with direct deposit-insurance cover. Penta is a fintech-on-bank-stack, with the same DGS coverage outcome but via a longer chain that introduces partner-bank counterparty risk.
The fee schedule
| Item | Starter (€9) | Standard (€35) | Premium (€79) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | €9 | €35 | €79 |
| SEPA transfers / month | 20 | 200 | Unlimited |
| Mastercard business debit cards | 1 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Virtual cards | Limited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| DATEV integration | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Lexoffice / sevDesk integration | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-user roles | 1 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Invoicing depth | Basic | Full | Full + advanced |
| Dedicated support | — | — | ✓ |
The pricing inflection is around the Standard tier — DATEV / Lexoffice / sevDesk integration plus 5-user multi-user access lands €35/mo for typical German SMBs. Premium at €79/mo is the structural fit for larger SMBs needing dedicated support and unlimited multi-user access. The Starter tier at €9/mo is structurally aligned with sole-trader Einzelunternehmen but excludes the DATEV integration that most German Steuerberater workflows require.
Hands-on notes
Onboarding for a German GmbH or UG clears in 1-3 business days. Required documents: Handelsregister-Auszug (DE company register extract), Gesellschaftsvertrag (articles of incorporation), Steuernummer + USt-IdNr (tax IDs), beneficial-ownership disclosure (25%-or-more rule), and identity verification for each beneficial owner. GbR and Einzelunternehmen onboarding is slower (3-7 business days) — the regulatory documentation requirements for non-Handelsregister-registered entities is more bespoke.
The DATEV integration is Penta's structural strength. German Steuerberater (tax accountant) practices standardise on DATEV for cooperative bookkeeping software; Penta's DATEV integration handles automatic bank-feed export, vendor-record sync, and pre-categorisation aligned with German VAT rules. For typical German GmbH companies running Regelbesteuerung VAT with Steuerberater-mediated bookkeeping, the DATEV depth materially compresses month-end close friction.
Friction points: Solaris partner-bank counterparty risk is the structural caveat — Solaris had BaFin enforcement actions in 2024 that affected broader BaaS operations. Verify Solaris's current BaFin supervisory state at relevant decision points. EUR-only operating account; international payments via SEPA + SWIFT correspondents. Customer support is German + English chat; quality is variable through 2024-2025 reflecting Solaris-related operational pressure.
Plan & tier comparison
| Feature | Starter | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | €9 | €35 | €79 |
| SEPA / mo | 20 | 200 | Unlimited |
| Cards (physical + virtual) | 1 + few | 5 + unlimited | Unlimited |
| DATEV / Lexoffice / sevDesk | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-user | 1 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Dedicated support | — | — | ✓ |
Caveats
Solaris partner-bank counterparty risk. Solaris had documented BaFin enforcement actions in 2024. DGS pass-through cover is unaffected — but operational-counterparty risk in the partner-bank chain is materially higher than at chartered-bank-direct alternatives like Qonto or Grasshopper. Verify Solaris's current supervisory state before treating Penta as load-bearing.
Germany-only. No EU passporting beyond DACH. Cross-EU operators evaluate Qonto for FR / IT / ES coverage or Finom for DE / NL / FR / IT / ES.
Not free. €9/mo entry tier; €35/mo for the DATEV-included tier. Excludes very low-volume sole traders where Holvi Lite (€9/mo) or Finom Solo (free) fit better.
EUR-only operating account. International ops via SEPA + SWIFT. For material non-EUR flows, stack Wise Business alongside.
Smaller scale than Qonto. Qonto is the EU SMB market leader by customer count; Penta is a niche German-market-only alternative.
Penta vs. Qonto vs. Holvi
Penta vs. Qonto. Both DGS-protected up to €100K, but the licence chain differs. Qonto holds direct French ACPR credit-institution licence — DGS at the chartered-bank level. Penta is a partner-bank fintech on Solaris Bank — DGS via Solaris's licence with partner-bank counterparty risk in the chain. Operationally Qonto serves FR / DE / IT / ES; Penta serves Germany-only. For German GmbH companies prioritising DATEV depth + Germany-only operating shape, Penta. For cross-EU coverage or lower partner-bank counterparty risk, Qonto.
Penta vs. Holvi. Holvi is FIN-FSA EMI without DGS cover; Penta has DGS pass-through via Solaris. For German GmbH companies needing DGS cover, Penta. For DACH SMBs comfortably below €100K balance who prioritise the Procountor / Steuerberater workflow depth, Holvi. The Procountor / Tilitoimisto-side strength is unique to Holvi.
FAQ
- Is Penta a bank?
- No. Partner-bank fintech with deposits at Solaris Bank AG (BaFin-licensed credit institution). DGS pass-through cover up to €100K via Solaris.
- Are Penta deposits DGS-protected?
- Yes — via Solaris Bank partner-bank arrangement under German EdB and EU Directive 2014/49/EU. €100K per depositor per institution. Solaris-counterparty risk is the structural caveat.
- What happened with Solaris Bank and BaFin?
- 2024 BaFin enforcement actions related to AML / compliance posture; special-representative appointment + operational restrictions affecting some BaaS operations. DGS cover unchanged; operational counterparty risk elevated.
- How does Penta compare with Qonto?
- Qonto holds direct French ACPR credit-institution licence with DGS at the chartered-bank level. Penta is partner-bank fintech via Solaris with DGS pass-through. Qonto covers more EU markets; Penta is Germany-only with deeper DATEV depth.
- Does Penta integrate with DATEV, Lexoffice, and sevDesk?
- Yes — all three first-class on Standard and Premium tiers. DATEV is the dominant German Steuerberater standard.
- Can a German GbR or Einzelunternehmen open a Penta account?
- Yes — GmbH, UG, GbR, and Einzelunternehmen onboarding. Handelsregister-registered entities clear faster than non-Handelsregister sole traders.
Who Penta is for
Use Penta if you run a German GmbH, UG, GbR, or Einzelunternehmen and want DGS-protected operating cash plus the deepest DATEV / Lexoffice / sevDesk integration depth in the German SMB neobank category. The structural fit is any German SMB above the typical Qonto-freelancer-tier where the DGS cover and chartered-bank counterparty matter and where the German Steuerberater workflow is the deciding factor. Verify the current Solaris BaFin supervisory state before committing material operating cash.
Use Qonto if you operate across multiple EU markets or are wary of partner-bank counterparty risk. Use Holvi if you operate in Finland or want the Procountor / Tilitoimisto-side workflow depth alongside DATEV. Use Wise Business alongside if you have material non-EUR receivables. Use a chartered German bank (Deutsche Bank Business, Commerzbank Mittelstand, Sparkasse Business) if you need full chartered-bank product depth — lending lines, treasury management, mortgage / commercial real estate — that no German SMB neobank covers as of 2026.
References
Primary-source list, with capture date 2026-05-18. Penta's partner-bank arrangement with Solaris is the load-bearing structural fact; verify Solaris's BaFin supervisory state against the source URLs at decision time.
- Penta — Legal & terms
- Penta — Pricing & plans
- Solaris Bank — Sponsor bank profile
- BaFin — German financial supervisor
- ECB — Single Supervisory Mechanism
- EdB (Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken) — German DGS
- DATEV — Bank integration directory
- Lexoffice — Integration partner page
- sevDesk — Integration partner page
- BZSt — German VAT (Umsatzsteuer) guidance
- BaFin — Solaris Bank supervisory actions register
- Handelsregister — German company register
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Premium plans
- GmbH / UG entry tier — IBAN, debit card, basic invoicing.
- Multi-user + DATEV + advanced invoicing.
- Standard + dedicated support + advanced workflow.