The two banks are further establishing the partnership they started back in July 2021.
Image source: Lensi Photography/Starling Bank.
ClearBank and Allica Bank are partnering to support UK small and medium businesses.
The real-time clearing bank will sort out the payments rails and account infrastructure for the fintech challenger bank, enabling it to focus on helping SMEs and providing them with tailored support.
Building on the relationship the two banks forged back in July 2021, ClearBank will provide Allica’s SME customers with accounts and access to UK payments schemes.
“We are supporting Allica Bank with accounts and access to payments rails so that they can go and be successful in their business models supporting UK SMEs with their own offering in the market,” ClearBank chief risk and compliance officer Emma Hagan told AltFi.
“A big part of what we do is doing our bit really well: real time APIs, no legacy infrastructures so that other companies can come along and innovate on top of that great access to payments rails and account infrastructure that we provide.”
ClearBank CEO Charles McManus described Allica as “supporting the backbone of our economy”, adding that the bank is committed to helping them boost business banking in the UK.
“This is just another great example of the services we can provide into the market, the way we can support innovators like Allica with what they’re doing,” Hagan continued.
“For us it’s another great name to have on our platform, but also hopefully great for Allica to enable them to do what they do best.”
ClearBank currently has more than 230 clients across the industry including banks such as Kroo, digital assets firms like Coinbase and Gemini, and fintechs like Tide, Chip, Raisin and Trustly.
With a focus on human support backed by banking technology, Allica differentiates itself from the traditional big banks, and the partnership with ClearBank will allow it to continue to grow this offering.
“By offering a relationship-backed service, powered by modern technology, Allica is building the future of banking for established businesses. It is vital that we work with industry-leading partners that can grow with us as we scale,” Allica Bank chief operating officer Keith Middlemass said.
“ClearBank is a leader in its field and is an obvious partner for us — we are on the same path both in growth trajectory, and in our values.”
Both banks reached profitability towards the end of last year and have seen continued growth since then, with Allica reporting last month that it saw 500 per cent revenue growth in 2022 and ClearBank’s 2022 losses dropping by 65 per cent as it reached record income levels of £58m.
