If you’re an EMI looking for a banking provider, chances are that you require a partner that doesn’t just offer you the basic products, such as operating accounts, but also understands how EMIs operate in practice, from safeguarding and payment flows to reconciliation and scaling. 

Most EMIs already work with a bank, a fintech provider, or both. However, many EMIs have also encountered some of these challenges: 

• Onboarding takes months, delaying product launches 
• Payment execution is slow or reliant on batch processing 
• APIs are limited, forcing manual workarounds 
• Certain customer segments or use cases are restricted 
• Your provider doesn’t fully understand your business model 

As your volumes grow, these issues become harder to ignore, which is why many EMIs don’t rely on a single partner. In practice, multi-provider setups are common because they often reduce operational risk and unlock new capabilities as the business evolves. 

The best EMI banking partners in the UK and Europe include ClearBank, Banking Circle, and LHV. 

ClearBank is a fully licenced bank in the UK and Europe, built specifically to support EMIs and other regulated financial institutions, with 279 clients and £17.8bn in client deposits. GBP client funds are held at the Bank of England, and euro client funds are held at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the European Central Bank (ECB). 

ClearBank provides API-first banking infrastructure, enabling EMIs to launch and scale payment services without relying on legacy systems. 

Here’s what you can do in partnership with ClearBank: 

• Faster onboarding with EMI-specific infrastructure: Many EMIs experience delays because their banking partners aren’t set up for fintech use cases. ClearBank removes much of this friction by designing its onboarding and support model around regulated financial institutions. Teams already understand safeguarding, payment flows, and compliance requirements, reducing back-and-forth and shortening time to launch. Dedicated relationship managers also provide ongoing support as your product evolves. 
• Direct integration into your platform via API: ClearBank’s cloud-based API lets you embed banking functionality, eliminating manual processes and disconnected systems. Payments can be initiated programmatically, account data is available in real time, and event-driven updates keep your systems in sync. This supports automated workflows, faster product development, and real-time user experiences. 
• Scalable virtual accounts for automated reconciliation: As payment volumes grow, reconciliation becomes harder to manage, particularly with pooled accounts. ClearBank enables the creation of virtual accounts (vIBANs) via API, allowing you to issue accounts under your own name and sort code, for each end customer. These accounts support full payment functionality and can be created at scale, from tens of thousands to millions. This removes the need for manual matching and improves visibility across transactions. 
• Access to payment schemes without the complexity of becoming a direct scheme participant: ClearBank is a direct member of key UK and European payment schemes, including Faster Payments, Bacs, CHAPS, SEPA Instant, SEPA Credit Transfer, and TARGET2. EMIs can connect indirectly to these schemes via ClearBank, without having to undergo a lengthy application process, maintain access, and invest engineering resources into implementing scheme updates. 
• Infrastructure that supports long-term growth: As use cases become more complex, ClearBank’s infrastructure allows EMIs to expand. This includes different account types and support, cross-border payments, and multi-currency flows. ClearBank also enables more advanced BaaS models through embedded banking, enabling UK firms to deliver interest-bearing, FSCS-protected accounts to customers.

Banking Circle is a fully licenced bank headquartered in Luxembourg, providing payments, accounts, and foreign exchange services to over 700 regulated financial institutions. 

Key capabilities include: 

• Access to multiple local clearing schemes through a single integration 
• Support for cross-border payments in 24 currencies 
• Virtual account infrastructure, with millions of accounts issued 
• API, SWIFT, or portal-based integration options, depending on your setup 

Banking Circle’s platform is cloud-based and event-driven, with a strong focus on scalability and automation. It enables financial institutions to access international markets without establishing local banking relationships. 

Its agency banking model allows EMIs to: 

• Access SEPA and Faster Payments through one integration 
• Maintain brand control with their own IBANs and BICs 
• Reduce operational complexity by avoiding direct scheme participation

LHV is a European bank providing cloud-native banking infrastructure to over 200 regulated financial institutions. It offers a combination of accounts, payments, and API connectivity across the UK and Europe. 

Core features include: 

• Safeguarding and operational accounts with multi-currency support 
• Virtual IBANs for customer-level account structures 
• Indirect access to UK and European payment schemes 
• Real-time account information and payment execution via API 

LHV’s infrastructure supports both GBP and EUR payment flows, including: 

• Faster Payments for real-time GBP transactions 
• SEPA Instant and SEPA Credit Transfer for euro payments 
• Bacs and SWIFT for additional payment use cases

When evaluating providers, ask the following questions: 

• Does the provider have EMI-specific expertise? A provider that understands safeguarding, payment flows, and compliance reduces onboarding friction and ongoing operational overhead. 
• Is the infrastructure truly API-first? Look for full API coverage across payments, accounts, and reporting (rather than just payment initiation). 
• Does the provider support virtual accounts at scale? This simplifies reconciliation and supports high-volume growth. 
• Are they proven to deliver safeguarding under the new FCA rules? This ensures you will be compliant with UK regulations. 
• What level of access to payment schemes is offered? Indirect access through a direct scheme participant reduces the number of intermediaries and payment complexity.  
• What are the transaction times and STP rates? This is particularly important for FPS and SEPA Instant, where end-to-end transactions must always be completed in under 10 seconds. Always aim for high STP rates (above 99%) to improve payment certainty. 
• Can the provider support your long-term needs? Your provider should support new markets, payment flows, and customer segments so that you don’t need to replatform as you scale. 

Keep in mind: It’s common to adopt a multi-provider strategy. This reduces dependency risk and allows you to combine capabilities across different partners.

As your business scales, the limitations of your banking partner become more visible. Slow onboarding, restricted payment flows, and outdated infrastructure can all directly impact your ability to grow. 

By choosing a provider with: 

• Strong EMI expertise 
• Modern, API-first infrastructure 
• Flexible account types and scalable account structures 
• Direct payment scheme membership 

…you can build a banking setup that supports both your current operations and your long-term plans.

Sources: 

https://www.lhv.com/about 

https://www.lhv.com/financialinstitutions  

https://www.lhv.com/financialinstitutions/payments 

https://www.lhv.com/financialinstitutions/accounts 

https://www.lhv.com/financialinstitutions/api 

https://www.lhv.com/financialinstitutions/fx 

https://www.bankingcircle.com/  

https://www.bankingcircle.com/company/  

https://www.bankingcircle.com/payments/ 

https://www.bankingcircle.com/agency-banking/ 

https://www.bankingcircle.com/technology-and-platform/ 

https://www.bankingcircle.com/api/  

*Disclaimer: All information relating to third-party products and companies featured in this article has been sourced solely from their respective public websites and official publications at the time of writing. ClearBank makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of this information. Product features, positioning, and company details may have changed since publication. Readers should refer to each provider's official website for the most up-to-date information before making any purchasing decisions.