BaaS fintech Griffin taps Clausematch for banking licence applications

UK Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) fintech Griffin has selected Clausematch for its compliance technology to streamline the application process to regulators and become a fully licenced bank.

Griffin taps regtech Clausematch

The BaaS and embedded finance platform provider utilised Clausematch’s compliance tech to draft and review all the documentation needed to submit its application to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Griffin says this is a “critical proof-point” for the adoption of regtech software designed to make an often long and complex process more efficient for modern fintech companies.

In order for the more than 100 documents to be submitted to the PRA and FCA for licensing, they must be approved by management-level and board-level committees and require input from across different areas of the business, including finance, risk, compliance, engineering, product and commercial operations.

Once the drafting stage is complete, all documents require at least two rounds of review and challenge before final approval.

Griffin says this often leads to policies being amended in response to comments from board members and executives.

Clausematch’s technology provided Griffin with a rigid and structured platform that minimised the formatting options available, ensuring a more organised and collective approach between Griffin employees.

Griffin chief operating officer Rupert Whitten says: “The regulators require applicants to demonstrate there has been robust challenge throughout the entire drafting process, and Clausematch gives us very clear and granular evidence that this happened and when.”

Emma Kempton, vice president of customer success at Clausematch, says: “Our relationship has been mutually beneficial as not only have we supported them in applying for their banking licence with our tooling, but also along the way the Clausematch product team learnt a great deal from the Griffin team, in terms of the requirements of an organisation at this stage of their journey.”

Although Griffin officially submitted its bank authorisation application on May 12, the company says it will continue to submit documentation and work with regulators “to ensure the company is in the best position to serve its customers well when it becomes a fully regulated bank”.