Griffin, the UK’s full-stack Banking as a Service platform, announced that it has raised $13.5 million (£11 million) in a Series A funding round “led by global VC firm, MassMutual Ventures, with participation from existing investors Seedcamp, Notion Capital and EQT Ventures.”
This investment round “comes on the heels of Griffin’s recent achievement in securing its UK banking license with restrictions.”
It represents “a significant milestone in its goal to deliver a best-in-class banking platform for fintechs.”
The new funds will be used “to prepare for exiting the “mobilisation” period (also known as authorisation with restrictions), which is subject to regulatory approval.”
The funds will also be “geared towards supporting Griffin’s commercial activities and further developing its embedded finance platform.”
David Jarvis, CEO of Griffin, said:
“We’re fortunate to have found in MassMutual Ventures an investor with such conviction in what we’re doing. This funding round not only validates our mission and strategy but also equips us with the resources to continue to deliver our innovative banking solutions to more customers.”
Ryan Collins, Managing Partner at MassMutual Ventures, commented:
“Griffin’s licence and BaaS platform represent unique capabilities in the UK market and enable it to become a pillar for the fintech ecosystem. Its comprehensive product suite is tailored to serve fintechs, payment services providers and brands looking to embed finance offerings.”
Griffin continues “to make strong headway on its quest to be the bank of choice for companies looking to embed finance.”
The fast-growing API-first bank has “attracted early adopter customers such as embedded finance platform Liberis and notable partnerships with 11:FS and Cable.”
Griffin raised £12.5m last year “in a round led by Notion Capital, and in 2020 raised £6.5m from EQT Ventures.”
Griffin’s unique offering “brings the power of SaaS to banking, with a developer-friendly Banking as a Service platform supported by a UK banking license.”
Built from the ground up to serve fintechs and innovative brands looking to embed finance, Griffin will “offer bank accounts (including interest bearing savings accounts), access to the UK’s payment rails, cards, an integrated ledger, and automated compliance technology.”