Banking-as-a-service platform Griffin goes after banking license following £6.5m fundraise

Griffin, a new fintech delivering Banking-as-a-Service has closed a £6.5m funding round led by EQT Ventures. 

The London-based firm, founded in 2017, says it is an ‘API-first’ bank helping lower costs for other to firms launch new financial products and services. The company says it will use the new cash to pursue a UK banking license via the PRA and FCA as well as hire more people.

In 2020, one of the breakout areas of fintech venture funding has been in firms helping others deliver financial products while not having to jump through the normal regulatory hoops.. Banking-as-a-Service or 'embedded finance' are the popular buzzwords attached to the trend.

“Every company needs a banking partner, a ledger, and the necessary compliance infrastructure to launch a financial services product,” said David Jarvis, co-founder and CEO at Griffin. 

“These systems all need to be kept in sync with each other, which is why it’s crazy that everyone ends up stitching together ad-hoc solutions rather than leveraging a single vertically integrated solution. With Griffin, we want to be the one-stop shop for companies seeking to bring something new to market. 

Tom Mendoza, deal partner and investment advisor at EQT Ventures, says there is currently a combination of "explosive fintech growth, consumer brands launching financial services, such as Apple, and the advent of embedded finance.”

This new round follows the company's previous £3m seed round announced earlier this year. Other participants in the round include Seedcamp, Tribe Capital, Paul Forster (co-founder Indeed.com), Matt Robinson (co-founder Go-Cardless/Nested), and Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas (COO GoCardless).