London-headquartered banking as a service startup Griffin has raised $13.5m (£10.9m) in Series A capital.
The raise comes hot on the heels of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) granting Griffing a banking licence in March, albeit with restrictions.
Founded in 2016, Griffin provides tools for other companies to build financial products.
“Griffin’s licence and BaaS [banking as a service] platform represent unique capabilities in the UK market and enable it to become a pillar for the fintech ecosystem,” said Ryan Collins, managing partner at MassMutual Ventures.
“Its comprehensive product suite is tailored to serve fintechs, payment services providers and brands looking to embed finance offerings.”
The FCA’s restrictions on Griffin mean it can only hold a limited amount of deposits and carry out a limited amount of payment services while in restricted authorisation.
Today’s Series A, led by the venture capital firm MassMutual Ventures, will be used by Griffin to lift its current banking licence restrictions and develop its software.
Prior backers Seedcamp, Notion Capital and EQT Ventures also took part in the Griffin Series A round.
David Jarvis, CEO, Griffin, said: “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.”
Last year the bank secured £12.5m from investors. It provides financial products such as savings accounts and automated onboarding.
