Griffin launches its sandbox to break down barriers for startups and fintech developers

London, November 22, 2022  – Today, BaaS (Banking as a Service) fintech  Griffin announced that its sandbox environment has officially moved out of beta. Free, unlimited sandbox access is now available to all fintechs and brands that want to build a prototype or experiment on Griffin’s platform. “We aim to lower the barriers to entry for fintechs and brands building embedded finance products, and launching our sandbox is an important step forward,” David Jarvis, CEO and co-founder of Griffin said. “Our open platform will make it simple and accessible for engineers or product managers to start building without financial commitment, sales calls, NDAs or long wait times.”

Breaking down barriers for fintechs

ProMEX, a Hong Kong-based digital marketplace for trading physical commodities for cash or stocks, is one of the first companies to use Griffin’s sandbox. ProMEX was searching for a platform on which they could build a prototype version of their app for the UK market. They found that most platforms were built on outdated tech and required upfront fees and long wait times. They were able to access Griffin’s sandbox environment instantly, and discovered that the technology backbone was a great fit for their app’s technical and functional requirements. Through Griffin’s sandbox, ProMEX were able to build a complete prototype of their app, which included customising KYC workflows, testing the decision accuracy of identity checks, creating mock customer bank accounts, and simulating payments between buyers and sellers. “As a fintech in the early stages of UK expansion, we sought a platform that would provide an open and collaborative iteration process. By building and testing our MVP on Griffin’s sandbox, we have significantly reduced the time and resources needed to build our UK app, allowing us to focus on launching the product, and driving adoption in the UK market,” Guido Glowania, CSO of ProMEX said.Read the full case study here.

What users can build with Griffin’s sandbox

Engineers can test and develop proof of concepts using Griffin’s full-stack BaaS platform and financial crime prevention tools, either by integrating directly against the API or using the intuitive dashboard. Currently, the sandbox allows users to simulate:

• Onboarding customers and running KYC/KYB verification checks with Verify
• Opening an operational bank account for their own organisation
• Generating segregated bank accounts (safeguarded and client money) for customers
• Making payments to external accounts and transfers between internal accounts
• Adding new payees and viewing payments and transactions

Griffin is currently seeking authorisation to become a bank with the PRA and the FCA. Upon Griffin’s authorisation, fintechs will be able use the platform to build and launch regulated financial services apps quickly. “The industry is starving for a banking partner that can break down barriers to entry for emerging fintechs and let innovators build and launch at speed,” Stephen Chandler, Managing Partner at Notion Capital said. “The launch of Griffin’s sandbox is a critical step in becoming the bank you can build on.” Griffin is developing the infrastructure to power the next wave of fintech innovation. Created by experienced Silicon Valley founder-engineers and led by a team of banking and technology experts, it recently closed a $15.5 million funding round led by Notion Capital and launched its first BaaS product, Verify,  which helps fintechs manage risk, automate KYC and KYB checks, and streamline customer onboarding. To start using the sandbox, go to app.griffin.sh/register on your browser and sign up.