Startups > ClearBank

ClearBank

ClearBank provides cloud-native clearing and banking infrastructure for financial institutions.

Grant $627M total Founded 2015 London, England 315 employees

ClearBank is the UK's first new clearing bank in over 250 years, providing cloud-native banking and payment infrastructure to financial institutions and fintechs. Built on modern, scalable architecture rather than legacy systems, it offers real-time clearing, current accounts, FX trading, and embedded banking services. Unlike traditional clearing banks, ClearBank remains neutral—it doesn't lend customer funds or compete with its clients for end customers, making it a truly independent banking infrastructure provider.

Problem solved

Financial institutions and fintechs are constrained by legacy banking infrastructure that cannot handle real-time payments, API-driven integrations, or seamless crypto on/off-ramps.

Target customer

Financial institutions, fintechs, and digital banks requiring real-time payment clearing, account services, and embedded banking infrastructure without legacy technology constraints.

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Founders

Nick Ogden

Founder Director

Serial entrepreneur with 30+ years in banking and payments; invented e-commerce (Wine Warehouse 1994), founded WorldPay (sold to RBS 2002, became FTSE 100 company), and Voice Commerce Group (UK's first non-bank payments institution).

Charles McManus

Chief Executive Officer

Current CEO leading ClearBank's expansion and operations.

David Gagie

Chair

Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair with global banking and payments experience; former Senior Advisor on regulatory conduct at FCA and Payments Systems Regulator.

Funding history

Series C £25M February 28, 2017 Led by PPF Group · CFFI Ventures

Series E $230M March 19, 2022 Led by Apax Digital · CFFI UK Ventures, PPF Financial Holdings

Total raised: $627M

Industries

Financial Services Banking

Pricing

Subscription-based with standing monthly fee plus usage-based charges for implementation, additional accounts, payment transactions, payment remediation, and API sandbox access. Specific pricing not publicly disclosed.

Notable customers

Tide, Oaknorth, Coinbase, Chip, Raisin, and 200+ total customers including 1.7M individuals/SMBs via embedded banking arrangements across 250+ financial institutions

Integrations

UK payment schemes (Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS), public and private cloud infrastructure, FX trading platforms, crypto on/off-ramp services

Website

clear.bank/

Competitors

Form3

Payments infrastructure provider; ClearBank offers broader clearing and embedded banking services with full banking license.

Alviere

Digital banking platform; ClearBank is a neutral infrastructure provider that doesn't compete with customers.

Griffin

Fintech banking API; ClearBank provides direct access to UK clearing schemes and full banking services.

BM Technologies

Legacy banking technology; ClearBank built on modern cloud-native architecture supporting real-time payments and APIs.

Why this matters: ClearBank broke a 250+ year monopoly as the first new UK clearing bank, proving legacy banking infrastructure is replaceable with modern cloud-native technology. Reaching profitability in October 2023 with £111M+ revenue while serving major players like Coinbase and 1.7M embedded banking users demonstrates strong market validation for neutral, infrastructure-first banking.

Best for: Fintechs and financial institutions needing neutral, modern banking infrastructure with real-time clearing, API-first architecture, and regulatory compliance without legacy system constraints.

Use cases

Fintech embedded banking

Fintechs like Tide use ClearBank's infrastructure to provide FSCS-protected accounts to SMBs without building banking systems themselves. Real-time transaction clearing and account management enable faster onboarding and seamless user experience.

Crypto on/off-ramps

Coinbase and other crypto platforms use ClearBank for UK clearing and payment services, enabling customers to convert between fiat and crypto with real-time settlement on modern infrastructure.

Digital bank infrastructure

Neobanks and digital-first banks leverage ClearBank's cloud-native clearing and current account services to launch without owning legacy banking infrastructure, reducing time-to-market.

Real-time FX trading

Financial institutions use ClearBank's real-time FX offering to buy and sell currency instantly, integrated with payment clearing for seamless cross-border transactions.

Alternatives

Form3 Payments API focused on payment scheme connectivity; lacks full banking license and embedded banking services that ClearBank offers.

Flywire Specialized in cross-border payments for education and healthcare; narrower use case than ClearBank's broad financial infrastructure.

Yapstone Payment processing for specific verticals; ClearBank provides neutral clearing infrastructure across all use cases without industry focus.

FAQ

What does ClearBank do? +

ClearBank is a cloud-native clearing bank providing real-time payment clearing, current accounts, FX trading, and embedded banking infrastructure to financial institutions and fintechs. It connects directly to UK payment schemes (Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS) and offers seamless fiat-to-crypto on/off-ramps. Unlike traditional banks, ClearBank doesn't compete with customers by lending their funds or pursuing end-users.

How much does ClearBank cost? +

ClearBank uses a subscription model with a standing monthly fee plus usage-based charges for implementation, accounts, transactions, and API access. Specific pricing is not publicly available; contact ClearBank for enterprise quotes.

What are alternatives to ClearBank? +

Form3 (payment scheme connectivity), Alviere (digital banking platform), Griffin (fintech banking APIs), and legacy providers like BM Technologies. However, ClearBank is unique as the only neutral clearing bank built on modern cloud infrastructure without competing with customers.

Who uses ClearBank? +

ClearBank serves 200+ customers including fintechs (Tide, Coinbase, Chip, Raisin), digital banks (Oaknorth), and financial institutions. Over 1.7M individuals and SMBs use embedded banking services via ClearBank's infrastructure across 250+ financial institutions.

How does ClearBank compare to Form3? +

Both provide payment scheme connectivity, but ClearBank offers broader banking services including current accounts, clearing, and embedded banking with a full UK banking license. Form3 focuses narrowly on payments APIs. ClearBank's key advantage is neutrality—it doesn't compete with customers.