Last autumn, the firm opened its platform to UK fintechs and concluded its early-access programme. We talk to its CEO.

Griffin, a UK bank for fintechs – including those in the wealth space – says cost pressures will continue to fuel demand for its offerings, having recently widened its services on its business-as-a-service platform. 

In September 2024 Griffin opened its platform up to UK fintechs and wrapped up its early-access programme, called Foundations. Griffin enables companies to embed banking products such as payments, savings, safeguarding and client money accounts. The value proposition is enabling users to unlock more revenue opportunities across their value chain, Griffin, which is a licensed UK bank, says. Griffin secured full authorisation from the UK's Prudential Regulatory Authority in February 2024; it raised £19.1 million (£23.7 million) from investors in that month, having raised £31.4 million in 2023, giving it enough regulatory capital to launch as a UK bank (source: 2023 annual report).

“If you have cost pressures from a lack of automation in your back office, that will have a direct impact on your ability to compete. So firms that automate will have a competitive advantage in the market, and those that stick with legacy banks and processes won’t,” David Jarvis, co-founder and CEO of Griffin, told this publication in a call.


David Jarvis

“Wealth remains one of our top market segment priorities and that will continue to be the case. Our ideal customer is an asset manager that is investing in technology to improve their client money operations and is looking for a better experience than that offered by the legacy clearing banks,” Jarvis continued. 

The rise of organisations such as Griffin shows how some of the background services, or "plumbing" of the financial system, are being affected by digitalisation and a desire by firms to outsource certain functions amid constant cost pressures and the need to remain flexible. (To take a look at some related issues from this publication's research team, see our latest annual Technology and Operations report.)

Foundations, which launched in December 2023, saw scaleups and startups like Certua and Marygold & Co work with the bank in refining features and capabilities. Griffin’s product suite now spans use cases in the wealth, lending, insurance, proptech and payroll sectors.

Jarvis argues that Griffin is changing the business model of how fintechs interact with banks. 

“The main thing is the move away from handling all client money in a pooled account, which was always a recipe for disaster,” he said. “Wealth managers who work with us get the benefit of having dedicated accounts for every one of their clients – and their clients in turn benefit from knowing that when they fund an account it’s in their name and they can see that thanks to the UK’s Confirmation of Payee scheme.”

Jarvis said this field is growing because the need to keep up with technology is a constant pressure for firms in every sector, including wealth. 

Asked about firms that inspire him, Jarvis gave the example of Stripe, which is an Irish-American financial services and software company; it helps firms accept payments and manage their online presence.

“Stripe is probably the classic example of an API-first payments infrastructure business that dramatically lowered the cost of being able to take card payments on the internet. Closer to home might be a firm like DriveWealth, which makes it easier for companies to offer investment products,” Jarvis said. 

And Jarvis gave a shout-out to online homestay marketplace Airbnb and the time he spent working there under the leadership of Brian Chesky, CEO. “Brian is still the leader I look up to the most – funny, human, empathetic. I think most CEOs could learn from him,” Jarvis concluded.