Provider profile · 2026 edition
Sutor Bank review 2026: scores, fees and alternatives.
A Hamburg bank founded in 1921 that now sells banking as a service to digital firms.
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A Hamburg bank founded in 1921 that now sells banking as a service to digital firms.
Sutor Bank scores 1.9 out of 5 (39 out of 100) in the Buckingham Intelligence Safeguarding Banks Index 2026 and ranks 14 of 14. It is strongest for digital e-money and payment firms using banking as a service, and its best criterion is standing at 4 out of 5. Not published or not stated on the pages read: who it serves, products, pricing, onboarding, protection and scale and published pricing.
Scores from the Safeguarding Banks Index 2026.
No award in the Safeguarding Banks Index 2026.
| Segment | Score out of 100 | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| For E-money institutions | 41 | 14 of 14 |
| For payment institutions | 40 | 14 of 14 |
| For firms applying for a licence | 36 | 14 of 14 |
The score out of 5 is the overall score out of 100 divided by 20. Leader goes to the top three overall, Best for to the first in each segment, and Top rated for to a score of 5 out of 5 on a criterion. Awards cannot be bought.
Where it scores best, and where to check closely, as shown in each ranking.
Digital e-money and payment firms using banking as a service.
What Sutor Bank publishes on its own pages, read on 21 October 2026.
A Hamburg bank founded in 1921 that now sells banking as a service to digital firms. Its platform page lists escrow (trust) accounts for e-money companies and payment providers alongside API current and corporate accounts and fully digital account opening. It publishes nothing further on these accounts: no eligibility criteria, prices, timeline or scheme access.
| Fact | What the provider publishes |
|---|---|
| Legal status | "Sutor Bank GmbH", "Commercial Register: Hamburg Local Court HRB 178357"; "Supervised by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)". |
| Who it serves | "Escrow accounts for platforms, marketplaces, crowdfunding models, e-money companies, payment providers and other digital businesses" (German page: "Treuhandkonten für Plattformen, Marktplätze, Crowdfunding-Modelle, E-Money-Unternehmen, Zahlungsdienstleister und andere digitale Unternehmen"). Countries, minimums and licence requirements not published. |
| Products | Escrow (trust) accounts; "API-Retailkonten" and "API-Firmenkonten" (API retail and corporate accounts); fiat and crypto accounts with API connection. Payment scheme access not stated. |
| Pricing | Not published for these accounts. |
| Onboarding | "Volldigitale Konteneröffnung" (fully digital account opening). No timeline, document list or licence requirement stated. |
| Technology | API retail and corporate accounts listed; no balance, reconciliation or reporting detail. |
| Protection and scale | Deposits covered by the "Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken GmbH" up to "100.000 Euro pro Einleger pro Kreditinstitut"; "Member of the Deposit Protection Fund of Private Banks". No client numbers published. |
| Date read | 21 October 2026 |
A fact that is not published is scored as not offered or, for a fee, as if it were high. It is never estimated.
Facts read on 21 October 2026 from: sutorbank.de/en/banking-platform, sutorbank.de/banking-plattform, sutorbank.de/en/imprint, sutorbank.de/fileadmin/Dateien/footer/….
Each score with the evidence behind it.
Each criterion is scored 0 to 5 against the best published offer in the Safeguarding Banks Index. 0 means not offered or not published. How it is scored
The other providers in the same ranking, ordered by score.
| Provider | Score out of 5 | Rank | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClearBank | 4.2 | 1 of 14 | EMIs and PIs needing direct UK and EU scheme access |
| European Merchant Bank | 3.8 | 2 of 14 | EU EMIs wanting a published safeguarding tariff |
| Mano Bank | 3.8 | 3 of 14 | EU EMIs and PIs wanting fixed published safeguarding fees |
| Memo Bank | 3.6 | 4 of 14 | EU firms wanting interest on safeguarded euros |
| Magnetiq Bank | 3.5 | 5 of 14 | EEA EMIs and PIs still in the licensing queue |
| Banking Circle | 3.5 | 6 of 14 | Multi-currency safeguarding across the UK and EEA |
| Bank of London | 3.5 | 7 of 14 | Firms opening accounts during authorisation |
| Griffin | 3.2 | 8 of 14 | Dedicated per-customer safeguarding accounts |
| LHV Bank | 3.0 | 9 of 14 | GBP and EUR safeguarding with agency banking |
| Starling Banking Services | 2.8 | 10 of 14 | UK payment firms wanting their own sort code |
| Solaris | 2.2 | 11 of 14 | A second safeguarding account for licensed EMIs and PIs |
| CaixaBank | 2.1 | 12 of 14 | Payment firms licensed or passported into Spain |
| BNY | 1.9 | 13 of 14 | Large EMIs investing safeguarded cash in money market funds |
Side by side on every criterion, fact and award.
Head-to-head comparisons cover pairs within the top five of each ranking. Sutor Bank is compared with its alternatives in the table above.
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