Griffin Bank

Griffin Bank Ltd, trading under the Griffin brand, is a British bank and financial technology company headquartered in London. It operates primarily as a business-to-business banking-as-a-service provider rather than as a conventional consumer bank. Its platform allows fintech companies and other businesses to integrate regulated bank accounts, payment capabilities, deposit products and compliance functions into their own applications and customer propositions. The company was founded in 2017 by software engineers David Jarvis and Allen Rohner. From the outset, Griffin was designed around the idea that financial services could be delivered through programmable infrastructure instead of requiring every fintech or software company to build its own banking stack. This model places the bank between regulated financial infrastructure and the end customer: Griffin supplies the accounts, payments rails, regulatory controls and operational processes, while its clients incorporate those capabilities into products for their own users. Griffin's service scope includes business accounts for operational funds, client-money accounts, safeguarding accounts and other regulated payment or deposit accounts. It also supports embedded savings propositions and related financial features that can be presented within a client's own platform. Its customers and target sectors include fintech companies, lenders, wealth-management businesses, payroll providers and property-technology firms. These customers may use Griffin to provide banking functions without becoming banks themselves, subject to the applicable regulatory and contractual arrangements. A central part of Griffin's proposition is its API-driven architecture. The company presents banking functionality as modular infrastructure that can be connected to software systems and workflows. Alongside account and payment capabilities, Griffin offers Verify, an onboarding and compliance product designed to automate or streamline know-your-customer, know-your-business and anti-money-laundering checks. This combination of banking services and compliance tooling is intended to reduce the technical and operational burden associated with launching embedded financial products. Griffin reached an important regulatory milestone in March 2023 when it received a United Kingdom banking licence with restrictions. In March 2024, it obtained a full banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. The full licence strengthened its position as a regulated banking-as-a-service provider and supported its description as one of the United Kingdom's first full-stack BaaS platforms operating with a full banking licence. Griffin became a certified B Corporation in June 2024, marking a further corporate milestone concerning its stated social and governance standards. Griffin Bank Ltd is incorporated in England and Wales under company number 10842931. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the PRA and FCA under firm reference number 970920. Eligible deposits held with the bank are protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, subject to the scheme's rules and applicable limits. Griffin remains focused on institutional and embedded-finance use cases rather than building a mass-market retail banking franchise.

Griffin Bank Ltd was established in 2017 by software engineers David Jarvis and Allen Rohner. The business was built around banking as a service: instead of competing primarily for individual current-account customers, Griffin aimed to supply regulated banking capabilities to fintechs and other companies through software interfaces. Its intended customers could then embed accounts, payments, savings or safeguarded-money functionality into their own products. This approach addressed a structural problem in financial technology. Many fintech businesses have strong customer-facing software but lack the permissions, banking operations and compliance infrastructure needed to hold funds or provide regulated account services. Griffin's model was to combine a regulated bank with a technology platform, allowing customers to access banking functions through APIs and related operational tools. The company therefore positioned itself as infrastructure for embedded finance, with particular relevance to lending, wealth management, payroll and property technology. The platform developed beyond basic account connectivity. Griffin's offering includes operational business accounts, client-money accounts, safeguarding accounts, payment and deposit accounts, and embedded savings products. The bank also provides Verify, a compliance and onboarding product intended to automate checks associated with know-your-customer, know-your-business and anti-money-laundering processes. These capabilities support the lifecycle of a fintech product, from customer onboarding and account creation through payments, safeguarding and the management of funds. Regulatory authorisation was a defining stage in Griffin's development. In March 2023, the company received a UK banking licence with restrictions. This allowed it to progress under banking regulation while continuing through the relevant supervisory process. In March 2024, Griffin obtained a full banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. The full licence was significant for its business model because it reinforced the company's ability to present itself as a full-stack, regulated banking-as-a-service platform rather than only as a technology intermediary. Griffin's regulatory framework includes authorisation by the PRA and regulation by both the PRA and FCA under firm reference number 970920. The company is registered in England and Wales as Griffin Bank Ltd, company number 10842931. Eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in accordance with the scheme's rules and applicable limits. These arrangements form part of the trust and compliance infrastructure required by the institutional clients that use the platform. In June 2024, Griffin became a certified B Corporation. The certification added a corporate-responsibility dimension to the company's growth story, alongside its banking licence and technology platform. Griffin's development has consequently combined three strands: regulated banking, programmable financial infrastructure and a stated focus on responsible business practices. Its principal strategic emphasis remains business banking infrastructure for companies embedding financial services, rather than a broad consumer banking proposition.

• 2024

  Full banking licence granted

  [1]Griffin Bank Ltden.wikipedia.org

  The PRA and FCA grant Griffin a full UK banking licence, supporting its full-stack banking-as-a-service model.

• 2024

  B Corporation certification

  [1]Griffin Bank Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Griffin becomes a certified B Corporation in June, adding a formal responsible-business credential to its corporate profile.

• 2023

  Restricted banking licence granted

  [1]Griffin Bank Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Griffin receives a United Kingdom banking licence with restrictions, marking a major step toward operating as a regulated bank.

• 2017

  Griffin is founded

  [1]Griffin Bank Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Software engineers David Jarvis and Allen Rohner establish Griffin to develop technology-led banking infrastructure for fintechs and other businesses.

A regulated, API-first banking-as-a-service platform for fintechs and businesses embedding financial services into software products.

• Banking infrastructure

  Banking-as-a-service platform

  Griffin's core platform provides regulated banking capabilities through APIs and related technology services. Fintechs and other businesses can use it to incorporate accounts, payments, deposits and selected financial workflows into their own applications. The platform is designed for institutional and embedded-finance use cases, allowing clients to build customer-facing propositions while Griffin supplies the regulated banking infrastructure and operational controls.

• Accounts

  Business and client-money accounts

  Griffin offers account structures for business operations, client money and safeguarding. These products are intended for companies whose financial applications need to hold or manage funds under defined regulatory and operational arrangements. They can support sectors such as lending, wealth management, payroll and property technology, where separation and control of customer funds may be central to the product design.

• Savings

  Embedded savings accounts

  The platform supports savings features that businesses can embed into their own software products. Rather than requiring an end customer to interact directly with a standalone Griffin retail interface, the savings functionality can form part of a partner's application or financial proposition, subject to the relevant product, regulatory and contractual arrangements.

• Compliance and onboarding

  Verify

  Verify is Griffin's onboarding and compliance product. It is designed to automate or streamline know-your-customer, know-your-business and anti-money-laundering checks for businesses using Griffin's banking services. By combining customer due diligence workflows with banking infrastructure, it addresses a major operational requirement for fintech products and other companies embedding regulated financial services.

• 2024

  Transition to a full-stack regulated BaaS modelStrategy

  Background

  A full banking licence was strategically important to Griffin's positioning as a banking-as-a-service provider rather than solely a financial-technology intermediary.

  Action taken

  In March 2024, Griffin obtained a full banking licence from the PRA and FCA.

  Aftermath

  The licence strengthened Griffin's ability to provide regulated accounts, payments and deposit infrastructure to fintech and business customers.

  Source

• 2023

  Progression through restricted banking authorisationOther

  Background

  Griffin's banking-as-a-service model required formal UK banking authorisation so that it could provide regulated accounts and related services directly.

  Action taken

  The company obtained a UK banking licence with restrictions in March 2023.

  Aftermath

  The authorisation enabled Griffin to continue developing its regulated banking platform and pursue full authorisation.

  Source

1. 1Griffin Bank Ltden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Griffin official websitegriffin.com