Clear Junction: Banking Infrastructure for Payment Companies

Clear Junction is a London-based payments infrastructure provider for regulated financial institutions. Founded in 2016 by cross-border payments veteran Dima Kats, it has operated as an FCA-authorised Electronic Money Institution since 2017. The niche is precise: correspondent-style banking for the firms mainstream banks refuse to serve — PSPs, EMIs, crypto companies, remittance providers.

The business is built on the problem known as de-risking. After 2015–2016, large banks shut correspondent accounts for payment and crypto firms en masse — not because of proven fraud, but because the compliance costs didn't pay off. Clear Junction did the opposite: it absorbed the compliance burden and sold the segment regulated access to GBP and EUR rails.

Who They Are and the Licence

Clear Junction Limited is an E-Money Institution authorised by the FCA (FRN 900684; authorised in 2017). The second layer sits in a sister company: Clear Junction Digital Limited is registered with the FCA as a cryptoasset business under the Money Laundering Regulations (FRN 900696), which lets the group combine fiat payments and digital assets in one window.

There is no banking licence: client funds are protected via safeguarding — segregated accounts with partner banks under the UK Electronic Money Regulations — not FSCS deposit protection.

In October 2025 the group formalised its first full Board: founder Dima Kats moved to the role of Group Executive Chair, and Teresa Cameron — the company's CFO for the previous four years — became Group CEO.

Products and Rails

• Correspondent accounts for financial institutions — the core product: GBP and EUR settlement for firms banks won't take.
• Collection accounts and virtual IBANs: millions of vIBANs issued via API for the end customers of institutional clients.
• GBP rails: Faster Payments, CHAPS, SWIFT. EUR rails: SEPA and SEPA Instant.
• FX in major pairs.
• Stablecoins: since July 2025 — on-chain USDC and USDT transfers, launched on Ethereum, Solana and Tron; the networks listed on the product page are Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain for USDC and Ethereum, Tron and BNB Smart Chain for USDT; send, receive and convert to fiat within the same regulated perimeter.
• December 2025 — the “Value in Transition” whitepaper: the company publicly backs a hybrid-rail model where classic schemes, permissioned platforms and public blockchains run in parallel.

Who It Suits

Banks — access to GBP/EUR rails without direct scheme membership. EMIs and PSPs — correspondent accounts and vIBAN infrastructure. Acquirers, crypto exchanges and digital asset firms, remittance providers. Strictly B2B: no retail or personal accounts, and the conversation makes sense at institutional scale.

Onboarding and Compliance

Institutional onboarding: KYB on the company and its UBOs, licensing status, AML policies, a documented flow of funds. For crypto clients — VASP/CASP registration and a coherent business model. Pricing and timelines are individual; per public sources, onboarding takes from several weeks. Clear Junction’s published minimum requirements cover incorporation and business-operation jurisdictions, sanctions-listed directors, shareholders and beneficial owners, and prohibited activities. The jurisdiction criteria include a limited internal-approval exception; they are the provider’s conditions, not a single UK rule that every Russian economic connection automatically fails.

Risks and Limitations

• An EMI, not a bank: no FSCS deposit protection, safeguarding only.
• Specialising in de-risked segments means constant regulatory attention: compliance queries and periodic re-KYC are routine.
• No public pricing grid — every deal is negotiated.
• The late-2025 CEO transition was an orderly succession, but the new management's strategy is worth monitoring.