← Embedded Finance Index 2026

ClearBank

Also a provider — view ClearBank’s profile →

“Can a fully-licensed UK/EU clearing bank out-compete EMI-based BaaS providers by offering deposit protection and direct scheme access as embedded APIs?”

Founded2015
HQLondon, United Kingdom
FoundersNick Ogden
Total raised£370M+
Latest roundPE Growth (Apax Partners, March 2022)
ValuationUndisclosed (significant increase over £274M Dec 2021 valuation)
IndustryInfrastructure / BaaS
The story

Founded 2015 by WorldPay veteran Nick Ogden as the first new UK clearing bank in over 250 years, ClearBank built a cloud-native, API-first banking platform offering direct access to UK payment schemes (Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS) plus FSCS-protected deposits — a deliberate alternative to EMI-based BaaS providers like Modulr and OpenPayd. The 2022 Apax round funded a shift from UK-only clearing to multi-currency embedded banking across Europe, with explicit plans for North America and APAC. Today the company positions itself as a full-stack embedded finance provider (accounts, payments, safeguarding, FX) for both regulated fintechs and non-financial brands.

Last 12 months
2026-01
2026-05
Product timeline
2015
Founded by Nick Ogden (formerly of WorldPay) as Cb Infrastructure· founding
2017
Launched as the UK's first new clearing bank in 250+ years· banking
2021
Launched multi-currency solution; VertoFX first client· banking
2022
Raised £175M from Apax to fund European, US and APAC expansion· funding
2023
ClearBank Europe N.V. authorised in the Netherlands· banking
2026
PhotonPay collaboration extends UK Faster Payments/BACS/CHAPS access to APAC payment providers· banking
Regulated entities
2
regulatory licences held by ClearBank
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
In the press
embeddedfinancereview.com ↗
Coverage sourced from Embedded Finance Review — a content partner for this report. All articles are © their original authors; click any card to open the source.
◇ article2024-08-11
ClearBank receives Dutch bank licence
ClearBank secures Dutch banking license for EU expansion with passporting. How UK infrastructure provider's full license beats e-money competitors.
clearbank
Source · Embedded Finance Review ↗
◇ article2024-01-14
DataPlus launches embedded payment solution for hotels | ClearBank enters embedded banking
In the first edition of 2024, we cover also news from the embedders Tesla, Freshbooks, X, Sony, Rappi as well as infrastucture news from Adyen, Andaria and WealthKernel. Check out also the five jobs on the job board!
clearbank
Source · Embedded Finance Review ↗
◇ article2024-01-13
ClearBank Appoints Paul Staples to Lead Embedded Banking Expansion
ClearBank appoints Paul Staples as Group Head of Embedded Banking, marking strategic shift to serve non-financial brands with cloud-based fintech infrastructure.
clearbank
Source · Embedded Finance Review ↗
The stack
5 layers disclosed in ClearBank’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
UK Faster Payments (direct, self-operated)BACS (direct, self-operated)CHAPS (direct, self-operated)SEPA (direct, self-operated via ClearBank Europe)T2 / EUR high-value (self-operated)
Money movement
in the full report
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Sponsor bank
in the full report
FX & payouts
in the full report
Accounting gap: none
4 more providers across 4 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.