Griffin secures UK banking licence with restrictions from PRA
London-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider Griffin has received an authorised with restrictions (AwR) banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and is now officially in mobilisation as it pushes to become the UK’s first full-stack BaaS platform with a full banking licence.
Griffin lands restricted banking licence from PRA
Receiving the authorisation means Griffin is now listed on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register and can operate as a bank subject to certain restrictions.
During this period, Griffin will be able to hold a limited amount of deposits and carry out a limited amount of payment services. The new bank says it will work on further developing its systems and controls and plans to grow its team during this phase. Mobilisation can last up to 12 months and exiting mobilisation to become an authorised bank without restrictions will be subject to approval by the PRA and the FCA.
Griffin founders: Allen Rohner, CTO (left) and David Jarvis, CEO (right)
To kick off this phase, Griffin will begin working with a select group of businesses who will receive early access to its BaaS products and provide feedback as the bank prepares for general availability. An early adopter of Griffin’s offerings is embedded finance solutions provider Liberis.
“This moment has been years in the making,” says David Jarvis, CEO and co-founder of Griffin. “Becoming a bank is testament to the determination of our team, who have been tirelessly building a modern core banking system, a resilient operational backbone and a robust compliance framework.”
Griffin currently provides access to its suite of BaaS products via its sandbox – a free test environment that allows users to experiment with the API, build prototypes of financial products and test out new features.
FinTech Futures caught up with Griffin’s chief commercial officer Adam Moulson last year to learn more about the company and its offerings.
