London-headquartered tech bank ClearBank is to create 60 new jobs with the opening of a new European division.
The new European company, located in Amsterdam, is expected to recruit over 60 new members of staff in the next five years.
The newly established ClearBank Europe N.V. has secured a Credit Institution Licence from the European Central Bank and will be based in Amsterdam.
Expansion to Europe marks the first step in ClearBank’s international growth plans, with the company now competing on a regional level.
Charles McManus, CEO at ClearBank, said: “We’re thrilled to be open for business in Europe – and this marks the first milestone in our global expansion strategy.
“We will soon fulfil client demand for Euro clearing, as well as Sterling, with the US Dollar coming next.
“ClearBank has succeeded in one of the most competitive FintTech environments in the world, demonstrating the strength of our people, technology, and business model.
“We will take these strengths and carefully evolve our proposition to help institutions across the continent address their unique set of challenges and opportunities.”
Unlike other European providers with legacy systems, ClearBank’s services are accessed via a single API, underpinned by a scalable and flexible, real-time cloud-native platform.
The platform was purpose-built from scratch, allowing for more efficient and cost-effective transactions, as well as being free of legacy issues associated with traditional banking infrastructure.
It also operates a unique business model, where client funds are held at the central bank for maximum security.
The new banking licence allows ClearBank to meet that demand by providing Euro accounts and payments in addition to Sterling.
ClearBank Europe N.V. will also offer multi-currency and FX services to its European clients as well as upgrade ClearBank UK’s FX capabilities.
The company will also soon begin rolling-out embedded banking services to European clients, with protected bank accounts and funds held under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
ClearBank chose the Netherlands for its European headquarters due to its strong economy, robust yet innovative regulatory regime, and thriving fintech ecosystem.
The new European company expect to hire 60 new members of staff to be hired in the next five years.
Rintse Zijlstra (pictured), who has been appointed CEO at ClearBank Europe to spearhead the continental expansion, said: “With changing regulations impacting banks and payment providers across Europe – many of which will require major overhauls of technology infrastructure – we are best-placed to help our clients deliver compliant, next-generation banking and payments services.
“ClearBank was purpose-built to enable the banking services of tomorrow and our expansion will see us support new and existing clients in their European growth.”
Founded in 2015, ClearBank has established itself as the market leader in agency banking and embedded banking infrastructure, serving blue-chip clients such as TrueLayer, Tide, Chip, Coinbase, Raisin and Wealthify.
The bank has maintained profitability since 2022, and last year reported 91 per cent year-on-year growth in total income to £111.3m and first annual pre-tax profit of £18.4m.
It can now offer its UK clients the same high standards of technology, security, and scalability on the continent and enable them to accelerate their growth into new markets, as well as serve new European institutions.