# ClearBank: The Clearing Bank for Fintechs and необанки > ClearBank: the UK's first new clearing bank in 250 years — FSCS protection, Faster Payments and CHAPS via API, embedded banking, ECB-licensed EU arm. Author: Алёна Дунаева — юрист, Family Office (https://wiki.private.law/authors/dunaeva) Last modified: 2026-07-02T20:55:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/clearbank Topics: banking Jurisdictions: uk, eu, netherlands Functional tags: bank, corporate-banking, crypto-friendly Semantic tags: bank, corporate-banking, crypto-friendly Article type: child --- **Lawyer, Family Office** --- ClearBank is the UK's first new clearing bank in 250 years. It launched in 2017 with a simple idea: a bank with no retail arm and no branches that sells access to payment infrastructure — Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs — to fintechs, neobanks and other banks through a single API. The model is called agency banking: clients reach the payment schemes through ClearBank without becoming direct members. For the UK fintech market it is a systemic player: the accounts of Tide, Chip, Coinbase, Capital on Tap and dozens of neobanks run on ClearBank. FY2025 was the third consecutive profitable year: 279 institutional clients (+61 over the year) and more than 17 million accounts, up from 13 million a year earlier. ## Who They Are and the Licence A full banking licence: authorised by the PRA, regulated by the FCA and the PRA. Unlike neobank providers, ClearBank opens real accounts with FSCS deposit protection — the limit rose to £120,000 on 1 December 2025. For fintechs this is the key sales argument: their users' accounts sit with a licensed bank, not with “electronic money”. The model is conservative: ClearBank does not lend, and client balances are held at the Bank of England. Credit risk on the balance sheet is minimal — the bank earns on fees, transaction volumes and interest income. The European arm is ClearBank Europe N.V., headquartered in the Netherlands: an ECB credit institution licence (2024), supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank, with more than €70 million committed to the expansion. Stated plans include USD services. ## Products and Rails - Clearing and settlement accounts: Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs — direct access through one API. - Virtual accounts: Coinbase runs 3+ million GBP wallets on a small number of real accounts. - Safeguarding accounts for neobanks and PIs — regulatory segregation of client funds at a licensed bank. - Embedded Banking: FSCS-protected accounts and savings products inside third-party apps — Tide Instant Saver, Chip, LemFi; November 2025 — the UK's first savings account offered directly inside a crypto exchange (Coinbase, 3.75% AER). - EUR rails via ClearBank Europe: SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant, TARGET2; multi-currency and FX. - 2025 — a move into corporate embedded banking (PayCaptain as the first partner). ## Who It Suits Fintechs and neobanks, neobanks and neobanks (settlement and safeguarding accounts), banks and building societies, credit unions, wealth platforms, and crypto firms — selectively and with a high compliance bar (Coinbase has been a partner since 2019: GBP on/off-ramp via FPS and CHAPS). No direct retail: end users only see ClearBank in the small print of their fintech's app. ## Onboarding and Compliance Institutional onboarding through the commercial team: licensing status (neobank/PI/bank/credit union), AML infrastructure, flow of funds, project economics. Timelines are individual — weeks to months. Operating companies outside the financial sector won't get a direct account: the route runs through a fintech built on ClearBank's infrastructure. The sanctions perimeter is the standard strict UK filter. ## Risks and Limitations - No direct access for ordinary businesses — only via the bank's fintech clients. - GBP-centric: EUR arrived only recently via ClearBank Europe, USD is still on the roadmap. - Crypto onboarding is selective: the bank picks large regulated players; there is no mass intake of crypto firms. - Pricing is negotiated, with no public grid. > 🍓 ClearBank is an infrastructure bank: real accounts with FSCS protection, direct API access to the UK schemes, and EUR rails through ECB-licensed ClearBank Europe. For a fintech it is the most “bank-grade” infrastructure option in the UK; for private capital, it is what actually sits behind Tide, Chip and Coinbase accounts. ## Q/A ### **Is ClearBank a bank or a BaaS provider?** A fully licensed bank (PRA/FCA) that sells its infrastructure as a service. That is the difference from neobank-based BaaS: the accounts are real and FSCS-protected. ### **Is money held with a fintech on ClearBank FSCS-protected?** Yes — if the account is opened at ClearBank via embedded banking, FSCS protection applies, up to £120,000 since December 2025. Check the specific fintech's disclosures. ### **Does ClearBank work with crypto companies?** Selectively. Coinbase since 2019: GBP on/off-ramp via Faster Payments and CHAPS, plus FSCS-protected savings accounts since November 2025. There is no mass onboarding of crypto firms. ### **What does ClearBank Europe add?** An ECB credit institution licence under DNB supervision: EUR accounts, SEPA, SEPA Instant and TARGET2 for European fintechs — the same agency banking model, in the euro area. --- **Related:** [BaaS and neobank in Europe](/en/baas-sponsor-bank), [Neobanks](https://wiki.private.law/en/neobanks), [Clear Junction](https://wiki.private.law/en/clear-junction), [BCB Group](https://wiki.private.law/en/bcb-group) 📎 We maintain a comparison file of payment infrastructure providers — licences, rails, pricing and onboarding across Clear Junction, ClearBank, BCB Group and peers. Request the current version via the form at [wiki.private.law](http://wiki.private.law/). --- ## FAQ ### Is ClearBank a bank or a BaaS provider? A fully licensed bank (PRA/FCA) that sells its infrastructure as a service. That is the difference from необанк-based BaaS: the accounts are real and FSCS-protected. ### Is money held with a fintech on ClearBank FSCS-protected? Yes — if the account is opened at ClearBank via embedded banking, FSCS protection applies, up to £120,000 since December 2025. Check the specific fintech's disclosures. ### Does ClearBank work with crypto companies? Selectively. Coinbase since 2019: GBP on/off-ramp via Faster Payments and CHAPS, plus FSCS-protected savings accounts since November 2025. There is no mass onboarding of crypto firms. ### What does ClearBank Europe add? An ECB credit institution licence under DNB supervision: EUR accounts, SEPA, SEPA Instant and TARGET2 for European fintechs — the same agency banking model, in the euro area. --- ## Factual claims - Lawyer, Family Office - ClearBank is the UK's first new clearing bank in 250 years. - The European arm is ClearBank Europe N.V., headquartered in the Netherlands: an ECB credit institution licence (2024), supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank, with more than €70 million committed to the expansion.