Griffin, the full-stack Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform, has received approval from the UK’s financial services regulators to launch as a fully operational bank, following a successful funding round.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority have lifted restrictions on Griffin, allowing the BaaS platform to exit mobilisation and launch.
The launch follows a £19m funding round led by MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja and Breega and was supported by existing investors Notion Capital and EQT Ventures.
John Weguelin, Board Chair at Griffin, commented: “This pivotal moment is only possible because of the support of our investors, the guidance from our regulators and the commitment of our people.
“A big thank you to all our existing investors and a warm welcome to all our new investors. We look forward to working with all our investors in this exciting new chapter for Griffin.”
Founded by Silicon Valley engineers David Jarvis and Allen Rohner, Griffin has brought on board a team of banking and tech experts from notable institutions like Form3, Swift, Barclays, Virgin Money, Lloyds and others in preparation for the launch of its initial pilot customers.
Aiming to serve fintechs and brands looking to embed finance, Griffin will provide bank accounts, including interest-bearing savings accounts, access to the UK’s payment infrastructure, cards, an integrated ledger and automated compliance technology.
“Today’s announcement is a culmination of years of hard work by the incredible team at Griffin. I’m particularly grateful to our pilot customers for placing their trust in us, and look forward to helping them continue to scale innovative products at the intersection of technology and finance,” Jarvis, CEO of Griffin, added.
Since its inception in 2017, the bank has prioritised a strong ethical culture alongside robust governance and financial oversight and has become a member of Tech Zero, in which it plans to actively pursue initiatives to decrease its carbon footprint and environmental impact.
We are hugely impressed with Griffin’s level of emphasis on ethical business practices and sustainability,” Marek Kiisa, Co-Founder and a Managing Partner at NordicNinja, said.
Jesse Saarela, Principal at NordicNinja also added: “The team’s commitment to helping their customers as well as everyone impacted by their business is very unique, and I am looking forward to working with them further.”
In other licence related news, most recently Enfuce was granted an Electric Money License (EMI) from the FCA and is now able to offer electronic money services, card issuing, and payment solutions directly to UK customers
