“Can a fully-chartered UK bank with a developer-first API become the definitive regulated infrastructure layer for European embedded finance — making sponsor-bank workarounds obsolete?”
Griffin was founded to be the programmable bank layer that other fintechs and software companies build on — a UK-chartered bank with a developer-first API. Unlike most BaaS providers that front for a sponsor bank under a license arrangement, Griffin pursued its own full UK banking licence (applied 2022, mobilisation 2023, full licence March 2024), which allows it to offer FSCS-protected deposits natively. This vertical integration of banking licence + modern core + KYC product (Verify) differentiates it from earlier-generation BaaS players that relied entirely on partner banks. The embedded finance angle is central: Griffin sells regulated infrastructure (accounts, payments, onboarding) to fintechs, not end-customers.