Newly licensed UK bank Griffin raises £11 million in a Series A funding round led by MassMutual Ventures
Griffin, the UK’s first full-stack Banking as a Service platform, has announced that it has raised £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 funding round comes on the heels of Griffin’s recent achievement in securing its UK banking licence 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.
“We’re fortunate to have found in MassMutual Ventures an investor with such conviction in what we’re doing,” said David Jarvis, CEO of Griffin. “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 £12.5 million last year in a round led by Notion Capital, and in 2020 raised £6.5 million 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 licence. 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.
