“Can Metro Bank rebuild trust and grow fee-based revenues by embedding SME-focused financial services — insurance, invoice finance, and payments tools — into its high-street banking proposition?”
Metro Bank launched in 2010 as a challenger high-street bank in the UK, differentiating on customer service and extended branch hours rather than purely digital-first. It listed publicly in 2019 but suffered a major capital and accounting scandal in 2019-2020 that required a significant capital raise and restructuring. By 2021-2024, Metro Bank pivoted toward embedding financial services (insurance, invoice finance, SME payments tools via BankiFi) as adjacencies to its core banking proposition, while working to comply with UK Open Banking mandates. The bank is now focused on serving retail and SME customers with a mix of in-house banking products and third-party embedded finance partnerships.
Metro Bank discloses Railsr as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Metro Bank does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Railsr.
Metro Bank's cards are issued through TSYS.
Metro Bank's embedded insurance is provided by Churchill Expert and Cardif Pinnacle.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 4 layers in Metro Bank's stack: Banking / BaaS (Railsr); Card issuing (TSYS); Lending (Business term loans (1–30 year), Business overdrafts, Business credit card, Asset finance and 4 others); Insurance (Churchill Expert and Cardif Pinnacle).
Metro Bank is founded in 2010 and headquartered in One Southampton Row, London WC1B 5HA, United Kingdom.
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