Griffin secures $13.5m in Series A funding round

Banking-as-a-Service platform Griffin, which recently obtained its UK banking licence, has raised $13.5 million (£11 million) in a Series A funding round led by MassMutual Ventures.

Existing investors Seedcamp, Notion Capital and EQT Ventures also participated in the funding round.

“We’re fortunate to have found in MassMutual Ventures an investor with such conviction in what we’re doing,” said David Jarvis, chief executive officer 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.”

Griffin was authorised as a UK bank “subject to restrictions” by the Prudential Regulation Authority in March this year, also known as being in a “mobilisation period”.

During this period, Griffin can hold a limited amount of deposits and carry out a limited amount of payment services.

It will use part of the proceeds of its Series A to prepare to exit mobilisation, while the rest will support Griffin’s commercial activities and fund development of its embedded finance platform.

Ryan Collins, managing partner at MassMutual Ventures, added: “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.”

Last year, Griffin raised £12.5 million in a fundraising led by Notion Capital and, in 2020, secured £6.5 million from EQT Ventures.