Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
NEWSLETTER

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

London fintech Griffin receives authorisation with restrictions to become an official bank

Griffin
Photo Credit: Griffin

Banking as a service fintech company Griffin has been authorised as a UK bank subject to restrictions. The company is now officially in mobilisation – a transition from fintech startup to bank.

Griffin is now on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) registry and in mobilisation, which means it can act as a bank with some limits. The company can only keep a limited number of deposits and provide a limited number of payment services during this time.

Griffin will also further strengthen its systems and controls, expand its personnel, and continue to evolve its BaaS product line during mobilisation. The PRA and the FCA must approve the exit from mobilisation to become an authorised bank without restrictions.

Griffin will begin working with a select set of customers who will be given early access to its BaaS products and will provide critical input as the bank prepares for general availability. Liberis, a provider of embedded finance solutions, is one such early adopter.

Griffin’s UK banking licence follows a succession of notable achievements, including numerous major management appointments, a relationship with global financial services company 11:FS, and the launch of its first product, Verify, a comprehensive customer onboarding solution.

“This moment has been years in the making,” David Jarvis, CEO and co-founder of Griffin, said. “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.”

“We are honoured to receive authorisation in the UK and grateful to the partners and customers that have supported us along the way,” John Weguelin, Chair of the Board at Griffin, said. “The team will continue to work closely with the regulators in building an API-first bank while delivering a best-in-class customer experience.”

In 2022, the company raised £12M in a funding round to support the development of its API banking platform.

Griffin, based in London, is developing a full-stack platform that allows easy access to its range of BaaS products through its sandbox—a free, thorough test environment. The sandbox lets users experiment with the API, create financial product prototypes, and test new features.

The company was founded by Silicon Valley engineers David Jarvis and Allen Rohner (who co-founded tech unicorn CircleCI) in 2016 and is led by a team of banking and technology executives from Form3, Monzo, SWIFT, GoCardless and more. Griffin is backed by investors EQT Ventures, Notion Capital, Tribe Capital, and Seedcamp.

Related Posts
Total
0
Share

Get daily funding news briefings in the tech world delivered right to your inbox.

Enter Your Email
join our newsletter. thank you