Britain's ClearBank is planning international expansion after reporting its first annual pre-tax profit.
The embedded banking and clearing provider posted a full year pre-tax profit of £18.4 million for 2023, compared to a £7.1 million loss the previous year. Income grew 91% to £111.3 million, with deposits doubling to £6.1 billion.
Launched in 2017 as the first new purpose-built clearing bank in the UK for 250 years, ClearBank is now used by more than 200 firms, including 15 of the UK’s newest banks such as Allica and Alba.
The company also saw its embedded banking end-customer base grow by 93% year-on-year. 1.2 million customers now hold FSCS-protected accounts through partners such as Chip, Raisin, and Tide.
Charles McManus, CEO, ClearBank, says: "While the industry and the broader economy have faced significant challenges, our values of innovation and sustainable growth have led to our first full-year of profitability — an incredible milestone in our journey.
"We have been able to offer resilience and stability in an uncertain market, building services our customers need, including a best-in-class embedded banking offering. But this is just one step on the journey, not the finish line."
Meanwhile, work on a European banking licence application continues ahead of a planned full EU launch later in the year, whilst a move into the US is also in the pipeline.