​​​ClearBank is a purpose-built, technology-enabled clearing bank. We enable financial institutions and corporates to offer secure accounts, clear payments in real-time and enhance their banking propositions for their customers. 

​​Yes, ​ClearBank is a UK and European bank.  
 
Our UK bank, ClearBank Limited, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (FRN: 754568). 

Our European bank, ClearBank Europe N.V., is authorised by the European Central Bank and regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank. ClearBank Europe N.V. is registered at the Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam Trade Registry under number 89463366. 

No. Tide is an FCA-regulated electronic money institution (EMI). We collaborate with Tide, providing the underlying accounts and powering Tide’s payments. By using our Embedded Banking service, Tide can pay interest on accounts and offer FSCS eligibility.  

ClearBank is a provider of banking services to other businesses. Our goal is to help clients innovate, differentiate and grow. 

Those clients may use ClearBank to offer their own products and services to consumers or other businesses. 

You can apply to ClearBank if your business is a legally incorporated entity and one of the following financial institutions: 

• Authorised e-money institution
• Authorised Payment Institution
• Bank
• Building Society
• Credit Union
• Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) regulated financial institution
• Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) regulated financial institution
• Insurance firm
• Investment and wealth management firms
• Isle of Man Financial Services Authority regulated financial institution
• Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) regulated financial institution
• Pension firm
• Small e-money institution
• Small payment institution 

Your financial institution must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and/or by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or registered with the FCA’s temporary permissions regime. 

You can still apply to ClearBank or if you’re currently in the process of applying to the FCA and/or PRA to be authorised or registered as one of the financial institutions above. 

Unfortunately, we can’t support micro-enterprises.  

You can apply to ClearBank if your company is a financial institution that is registered with or authorised by an appropriate regulatory authority within the European Economic Area (EEA). Our eligibility criteria comprise the following: 

• Authorised Payment Institution
• Bank
• EEA branch or subsidiary of a foreign bank
• Electronic money institutions
• Insurance firms including reinsurance firms
• Investment and wealth management firms
• Pension firms
• Registered digital asset firms
• Other financially regulated institutions 

Unfortunately, we can’t support micro-enterprises. 

A legally incorporated entity is formed, made up of or run by a group of individuals but is seen as separate from those individuals. In this way, the people associated with the entity aren’t personally responsible for the entity’s actions. An incorporated entity has its own responsibility to uphold the law in the same way as an individual person does.  

When you register a limited company, for example, it becomes an incorporated entity that has a separate identity from you or anyone else associated with the company. That means you won’t be held personally responsible for the actions of the company. 

A regulated financial institution is primarily a firm that offers financial services to its customers. For example, you could be a financial holding company, a mixed financial holding company, an investment holding company, an authorised payment institution, an asset management company, or an alternative investment fund manager, among others, to be classified as a regulated financial institution.

Your financial institution must be authorised by the financial regulator(s) in your home jurisdiction.

Being authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) means that you have applied for and been granted authorisation from the FCA and those holding key positions in the business are fit to do so. 

Being authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) means that you have applied to the Bank of England’s PRA and been granted authorisation. Going forward, you carry out the activities the PRA regulates under their supervision and by following the policies they’ve set out. 

Yes, you can apply to ClearBank if you’re still in the process of applying for an FCA licence. We work closely with pre-regulated firms throughout their application journey, providing an operating account. During that time, you can build your banking infrastructure and test it in our API sandbox environment. Once your FCA licence is granted, the transition to our full banking services is seamless. 

According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a micro-enterprise employs less than 10 people and has a turnover or annual balance sheet of no more ​than ​€2 million. A business must have both of these defining features to be considered a micro-enterprise. 

No, unfortunately we can’t support non-regulated firms such as e-money agents and distributors. 

Yes, we can support digital asset and crypto businesses in the UK if they are already regulated as an EMI or EPI, investment firms, and Cryptoasset registered firms, as well as firms applying for FCA permissions in any of the above. 

Yes, we can support investment and wealth management firms with agency banking and Embedded Banking services. We can only support firms with client money accounts if they have CASS 7 client money permissions. 

Yes, we can support non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) with agency banking and Embedded Banking services. We can only support firms with client money accounts if they have CASS 7 client money permissions. 

Yes, you’ll have a relationship manager from day one and an API support team working closely with you throughout the onboarding process to ensure that your launch day goes off without a hitch. 

Yes, you’ll have a dedicated relationship manager to help you from the very beginning, throughout the onboarding process and for the entirety of your ClearBank journey. Our Client Services team is also always on hand to help with any questions you might have. 

Here’s how to get in touch with us, depending what kind of support or information you need: 

• Applications: [email protected]
• General: [email protected]
• Recruitment: [email protected]
• Media: [email protected]
• Security: [email protected]
• Data protection: [email protected] 

If you’re a client and need to speak to someone directly, you can contact your relationship manager. 

If you’re a client and have a complaint, you can contact your relationship manager. 

If you feel you have cause to complain, you can contact us at: 

• [email protected]
• 0203 111 2370 (7:00am to 7:00pm Monday to Friday)
• ClearBank Customer Operations, Borough Yards, 13 Dirty Lane, London, SE1 9PA 

Our sort code is 04-06-05 

You’ll have a relationship manager from day one to get you started, support you as you integrate with our API and beyond as your dedicated Clearbank contact. When you’re ready to integrate, our team will become your project team, working closely with you throughout the entire process. 

Our API is fully flexible, giving you the freedom to connect to as many or as few endpoints as your business needs. 

The simulation environment is our API sandbox, a place for your team to build, test and tweak your integration and infrastructure before going live. You can use the simulation environment to understand our API in great detail, giving you peace of mind knowing that launch day will be a success. You’ll continue to have access to our API sandbox post-launch, allowing for continuous testing and adoption of new products. 

No, there’s no cost to access the simulation environment as a ClearBank client or partner. 

Yes, you can use a third-party integrator to integrate with our API on your behalf.