By Lars Mucklejohn
Griffin, the UK’s newest fully operational bank, has secured a $24m (£19m) funding round as it looks to take on new customers for its Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform.
The latest funding round follows a £11m investment announced last June and is led by MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja and Breega, with participation from existing investors Notion Capital and EQT Ventures.
Having been authorised as a bank last March, London-based Griffin has now received regulators’ approval to exit “mobilisation”, when it operated with a banking licence but under restrictions.
Griffin, founded in 2017, offers a Banking as a Service platform. It allows businesses to integrate banking, payments and wealth services into their own offerings without having to set themselves up as banks.
For example, a housebuilder could use BaaS to offer loans to buyers without needing its own banking licence.
The funding boost for Griffin comes during a tough time for the wider fintech sector as valuations tumble and higher interest rates drive up funding costs.
David Jarvis, co-founder and chief executive of Griffin, told City A.M. that the firm was “not oblivious” of the difficulties for fintechs raising cash.
“Our new investors choosing to back us at this time underscores the strength of our business model and the viability of our approach to full-stack Banking as a Service,” he added. “The new funding will be used to enhance our infrastructure as we go live with our pilot customers and scale the bank.”
Griffin did not comment on what valuation it had raised the money at.
NordicNinja and Breega are both EU Article 8 funds, meaning they promote environmental and social objectives. Marek Kiisa, co-founder and managing partner at NordicNinja, said the firm was “hugely impressed with Griffin’s level of emphasis on ethical business practices and sustainability”.
Jarvis added: “Getting the nod from the PRA and FCA to exit mobilisation and launch as a fully operational bank is a validation of all the hard work that the team at Griffin has put in over the years and our commitment to regulatory compliance.”
