[Edaily Marketin Reporter YunJi Kim ] As the volume of fintech investment in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in 10 years, Griffin—a startup specializing in banking infrastructure and known as a financial partner of Uber—has successfully secured new investment. It appears that the company’s ability to rapidly expand its client base and revenue—backed by its full banking license—has attracted investor interest, even as UK fintech investment plummeted by more than 60% year-over-year in the first half of this year.

According to the global venture capital (VC) industry on the 14th, UK-based Griffin recently secured a $20 million (approximately 26.7 billion won) Series B investment from firms including Octagon Partners and Notion Capital. Following the investment, the company’s valuation surpassed $100 million (approximately 133.7 billion won).

Founded in 2017, Griffin is a startup specializing in financial infrastructure that helps companies provide financial services to their customers without having to form separate partnerships with banks. For example, ride-hailing platforms or e-commerce operators that wish to offer banking or payment services to customers through their own apps must typically partner with a bank to build the necessary systems. By using Griffin, they can integrate these financial capabilities directly into their own services. Griffin provides the technology and infrastructure required for banking operations, and client companies utilize these to operate their financial services.

A prime example of a client is the ride-hailing platform Uber. Griffin provides banking account infrastructure for Uber drivers and delivery personnel in the UK. Other clients include the financial management platform “Counting Up,” the corporate financial services provider “AnnaMoney,” and the card services provider “Yonder.”

This funding round is considered particularly significant given that it took place amid an ongoing slowdown in investment in the UK fintech market. According to global accounting and consulting firm KPMG, UK fintech investment in the first half of this year totaled 1.8 billion pounds, a 64% decrease compared to the same period last year, marking the lowest first-half figure since 2016. The number of investment deals also fell from 281 to 205 during the same period. This suggests that while investors remain cautious about new investments, they are still allocating funds to companies with a stable business foundation and growth potential.

It is believed that Griffin’s rapid expansion of its customer base, built on its banking license, was a key factor in attracting investment. Since obtaining a formal banking license from the UK financial authorities in 2024, Griffin has increased its client base from five to more than 80. Currently, the number of end customers using Griffin’s financial infrastructure has surpassed 300,000, and the annual volume of payment transactions is approaching 10 million.

This expansion of its client base has also led to revenue growth. Recurring revenue for the fiscal year ending in late September of this year increased 3.2-fold compared to the previous year. Octagon Partners, which led this investment round, assessed that Griffin has secured a competitive edge—one that traditional banks or fintech companies would find difficult to match—based on its proprietary technology and banking license.

Griffin plans to use the funds from this investment to expand its card issuance and stablecoin payment businesses. First, it will expand its services to allow client companies to issue their own branded debit cards for individuals and businesses, with plans to add credit card issuance capabilities in the future. The vision is to combine card issuance capabilities with existing bank accounts and payment services, enabling companies to operate a variety of services on a single financial infrastructure.

The company also plans to expand its stablecoin business (virtual assets designed to peg their value to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar). Griffin intends to enhance its reserve asset management capabilities for companies that issue and operate stablecoins and to integrate blockchain-based cross-border payment functions into its platform. Through these efforts, the company aims to build a financial infrastructure that allows users to utilize both traditional banking payment networks and blockchain payment networks simultaneously.

A Griffin spokesperson stated, “Over the past two years, we have helped more than 80 companies build the infrastructure necessary to offer financial products,” adding, “Cards and stablecoins are the natural next step in expanding our existing infrastructure, and we will accelerate this effort following this investment round.”