Lunar, the Nordic challenger bank, is taking a step to redefine payments for enterprises by over time transitioning its Banking Services division into a new standalone entity within Lunar Group: Moonrise.
This move underscores Lunar’s commitment to scaling its operations and unlocking the immense potential of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) in the Nordics and beyond.
The European BaaS market is expected to experience growth and is projected to reach “100 billion Euros by 2030, representing a growth of 230 percent over five years.”
Moonrise is positioned to meet the growing demand for scalable, innovative solutions.
Moonrise will simplify financial connectivity for payment businesses, enabling operations “across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden through a single API.”
Since the launch of Lunar’s Banking Services, interest from challenger banks and fintechs has grown.
To date, Lunar has partnerships with 14 companies, including Saldo Bank, Trustly, TrueLayer, PPRO, and Currencycloud (a VISA-owned company).
By taking the steps toward transitioning Banking Services into Moonrise, Lunar will be able to continue building on its success “as a challenger bank in retail banking while empowering Moonrise to deliver enterprise payment solutions with agility and specialization.”
This separation ensures each business area has the resources “needed to capitalize on its opportunities.”
Ken Villum Klausen, CEO and Founder of Lunar said:
“By taking the first step towards a dedicated focus through a separate entity, we can sharpen our focus on enterprise payments, scale faster, and ensure both Moonrise and our retail banking arm thrive independently. This is about meeting growing market demand from challenger banks and fintechs alike while driving meaningful transformation in the Nordic financial ecosystem.”
For challenger banks and fintechs, Moonrise represents an opportunity to overcome barriers to market entry in the Nordics, empowering them to innovate and compete “effectively in a region traditionally dominated by legacy institutions.”
Moonrise’s launch reflects Lunar’s goal to build a “more dynamic” and competitive financial ecosystem in the Nordics.
By enabling challenger banks and fintechs access to the region, Moonrise will contribute to advancing a “broader shift in consumer expectations and create a more dynamic financial ecosystem for everyone involved.”
As noted in the update, Moonrise simplifies Nordic financial connectivity by providing clearing infrastructure “access to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden through a single API.”
Launched from Lunar’s Banking Services, which processes more than 10,000 transactions daily and supports €5 billion in transaction volume run rate, Moonrise is designed for payments businesses, banks, and fintechs.
Its platform enables enterprise payments to scale while transforming the financial ecosystem in the Nordics.