Griffin can now call itself a bank since it has raised more than £19 million.
Ten months after submitting its application for a banking license, banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider Griffin was given permission to operate with restrictions today by the PRA and the FCA.
Griffin is now officially a bank, which means it can start to accept deposits and offer payment services.
Griffin’s BaaS platform is designed to give fintechs access to all of the UK’s payment rails, bank accounts, debit cards, an integrated ledger, and automated customer onboarding. This is different from many consumer or SME challengers.
“This moment has been years in the making,” said David Jarvis, CEO and co-founder of Griffin.
“Becoming a bank is testament to the determination of our team, who have been tirelessly building a modern core banking system, a resilient operational backbone and a robust compliance framework. This will enable us to deliver an exceptional banking platform for the UK fintech community.”
Before bank license Griffin has already made good progress, with a partnership with 11:FS to help launch its Verify customer onboarding solution and a first customer win with embedded finance Liberis.
“Griffin’s proposition is to offer a suite of banking products that will help embedded finance platforms like Liberis deliver more value to small businesses and differentiate our proposition in a competitive market,” said Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis.
“We’re thrilled to be an early adopter of Griffin.”
Griffin raised £12.5 million in a round led by Notion Capital in 2022, when it was hard to get money. Before that, it got £6.5 million from EQT Ventures in 2020.
