Griffin raises $20 million for stablecoin and card expansion

By Elena Vasquez

Griffin, the UK digital bank that provides bank accounts to Uber drivers, raised $20 million in a Series B led by Octagon Partners, the company said Thursday. The financing values Griffin at more than $100 million and will support planned expansion into card issuance and stablecoin services, according to the bank’s press release.

What will the $20 million fund?

Griffin intends to let companies offer branded retail and corporate debit cards through its platform, with credit cards to follow. It also plans to expand its stablecoin reserve services and add onchain cross-border payments.

The announcement does not identify the stablecoins, blockchains, custody arrangements, supported jurisdictions or launch timetable. Reserve composition and fee economics also remain unspecified.

The round therefore signals available capital rather than a completed product rollout. In practical terms, the capital is available, while the delivery schedule is not.

What does the Uber relationship establish?

Griffin’s banking platform serves more than 300,000 retail and business customers through more than 80 companies, the bank said. Uber uses Griffin to provide bank accounts to UK drivers, giving the bank a distribution channel within a named corporate customer.

The announcement does not say Uber will offer stablecoins to drivers or merchants, nor does it link the bank’s customer totals to stablecoin activity. The relationship demonstrates distribution reach, not verified demand for Griffin’s planned reserve or cross-border products.

That distinction matters because customer adoption and transaction volume are separate tests. Uber’s presence strengthens the commercial case, but it does not prove product uptake.

How strong is the revenue evidence?

Griffin received its UK banking license in March 2024. The bank said recurring revenue at its September fiscal year-end was 3.2 times the prior year’s level, and it based that comparison on unaudited accounts.

On Griffin’s comparison, 3.2 times equals 220% growth, although the release gives no absolute revenue base or definition of recurring revenue. That limits any inference about revenue per customer, profitability or cash generation.

Octagon managing partner Paraag Davé said he expects Griffin’s annual recurring revenue to “exceed 10 million British pounds soon.” The statement is an investor forecast without a target date or calculation, and the release does not reconcile it with the 3.2-times recurring-revenue figure. The growth signal is strong, but revenue scale remains unverified.

How does the plan change banking operations?

Griffin’s plan extends its proposition from account provision into branded card distribution, reserve services and onchain cross-border payments. For corporate clients, the intended proposition is one platform spanning bank accounts, payment cards and cross-border payment services.

The existing customer base gives the expansion a distribution base, but the release does not set card rollout dates, identify pilot clients or provide transaction targets. Nor does it describe how reserves are held, whether clients provide the underlying assets or how the services generate fees.

The bank’s March 2024 license establishes regulated status, while the release leaves the regulator unnamed and does not map the new services to permissions. The plan could deepen client relationships, but product and compliance details must precede any claim of market shift.

When will the expansion become operational?

The only forward timing signal is Davé’s undefined “soon,” applied to a revenue forecast rather than a product launch. No implementation deadline, product launch schedule or regulatory timetable appears in the announcement, leaving outside observers without a dated checkpoint.

The next credible change to UK payment infrastructure would be a disclosed rollout naming the stablecoins, chains, participating clients, transaction volumes and fee structure. Until those details or a launch timetable emerge, the $20 million round represents expansion capacity rather than evidence that stablecoin services have changed UK payment flows.