editorial
ClearBank Ltd., a provider of bank accounts and embedded banking services for financial institutions, has announced its unaudited H1 2023 results. The bank reported a 144% year-on-year increase in revenues, from £20.2 million in H1 2022 to £49.3 million in H1 2023. Customer deposits also grew by 80% to £5.4 billion across nearly one million accounts, and payment volumes increased by 39% as the number of clients exceeded 200 institutions.
The bank experienced a series of systemic events in the first quarter of 2023, including the failure of SVB, which had a ripple effect on the US and European financial services markets. This led to a flight to secure and innovative banking partners. ClearBank’s combination of fully licensed banking services, advanced technology platform, and embedded banking offering contributed to its growth and momentum across all business lines.
Institutions are increasingly looking to protect deposits and offer better returns to customers than traditional banks, which have been slow to pass on interest rate increases. ClearBank is collaborating with clients like Chip and Raisin UK to provide market-leading savings rates, helping consumers make their money work harder in a high inflation environment. Client funds are held at the Bank of England to ensure maximum security for deposits.
ClearBank’s embedded banking proposition has attracted nearly one million end-customers, experiencing a 125% year-on-year increase. This offering embeds banking services directly into the user experience and is unique to ClearBank in the UK. The bank is also on track to achieve annual profitability later this year, with plans for international expansion as it progresses its European banking license application.
Highlights from H1 2023 include a 144% year-on-year increase in revenue across all business lines, customer deposit growth of 80% to £5.4 billion, and consistent profitability with a profit before tax of £5.9 million. Payment volumes also grew by 39% due to the rise of open banking-driven account-to-account transactions using Faster Payments.
Charles McManus, CEO of ClearBank, expressed satisfaction with the accelerated growth in the first half of 2023, attributing it to institutions seeking scale, security, and safety in their banking partners. He noted the significant increases in customer deposits and payment volumes, particularly in embedded banking and open banking. McManus also mentioned the upcoming expansion into Europe and the subsequent move into the US to meet customer demands, especially for transactions in GBP, USD, and EUR.
Mark Fairless, CFO of ClearBank, commented on the consistent profitability achieved since late 2022 and the positive results for H1 2023. He emphasized the contributions from all business lines, including embedded banking, FX and multicurrency, and payment clearing, to the increase in revenue.
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