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APIs · head to head

Griffin vs Highnote

Griffin logo

Griffin

APIs

UK banking-as-a-service from a company that holds its own full banking licence

From
£100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Highnote logo

Highnote

APIs

Card issuing, acquiring and ledger on one platform for embedded payments

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Griffin platform banking carries a one-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds and a 3,500 pound monthly minimum, which prices out early-stage companies entirely.; Highnote card issuing requires a sponsor bank, and that bank sets programme approval, compliance obligations and often minimum volumes, so a small programme can be rejected regardless of technical fit.
  • They diverge on capability: Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, Highnote covers Card issuing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Griffin and Highnote actually diverge.

Attributes where Griffin and Highnote differ
AttributeGriffinHighnote
Starting price£100/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer month with usage drawdownquote
PlatformsWeb, REST APIWeb, API

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Griffin

  • Bank accounts by API
  • UK payment rails
  • Integrated ledger
  • Automated onboarding
  • Debit cards
  • Interest on balances

Only in Highnote

  • Card issuing
  • Merchant acquiring
  • Unified ledger
  • Spend controls
  • GraphQL API
  • Programme management
  • Dispute handling
  • Real time authorisation webhooks

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Griffin

  • A wealth platform that must hold client money in a licensed bank rather than an EMI safeguarding accountnot Highnote
  • A lender wanting UK accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itselfnot Highnote
  • A fintech burned by sponsor bank instability that wants the deposit holder and the API provider to be the same entitynot Highnote
  • A platform needing sub-account ledgering for pooled client funds with a clean audit trailnot Highnote

Highnote

  • A marketplace that both pays out to sellers and issues them spend cards, wanting one settlement ledgernot Griffin
  • A vertical software company embedding card acceptance and card issuing for the same customer basenot Griffin
  • A fintech launching a commercial charge card programme with custom authorisation logicnot Griffin
  • A platform replacing separate issuing and acquiring vendors to remove cross system reconciliationnot Griffin

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Griffin

  • Platform banking carries a one-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds and a 3,500 pound monthly minimum, which prices out early-stage companies entirely.
  • It is UK-only, so a business with European or US operations needs a second banking provider and a second integration for those entities.
  • It is a young bank with a small balance sheet relative to incumbents, and enterprise counterparties still ask hard questions about concentration risk.
  • Holding a banking licence means Griffin applies bank-grade due diligence to its own clients, so onboarding is slower and more selective than an EMI-based provider.
  • Feature breadth is narrower than long-established providers, particularly in card programme management and in payment types beyond core UK rails.

Highnote

  • Card issuing requires a sponsor bank, and that bank sets programme approval, compliance obligations and often minimum volumes, so a small programme can be rejected regardless of technical fit.
  • Pricing is entirely quoted, including platform fees, per active card charges and monthly minimums that do not appear on the website, so the true cost per card is only visible late in a sales process.
  • Interchange sharing is the real revenue model for most customers, and the split is negotiated, capped for regulated debit under the Durbin amendment and sensitive to your spend mix, so revenue projections built on headline interchange rates overstate income.
  • Running issuing and acquiring with one provider concentrates risk: an outage or a compliance action affects both money in and money out at the same time.
  • Highnote is a younger company than the established issuer processors, so long term programme continuity, network certifications in new geographies and international coverage are thinner than the incumbent alternatives.

Pricing, plan by plan

Griffin

£100/month
  • Business Banking$100/month
    • From 100 pounds per month
    • Interest or commission from around 1.75 percent AER variable
    • Operational accounts and UK payment rails
  • Platform Banking$3500/month
    • One-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds
    • Minimum monthly spend of 3,500 pounds, drawn down by usage
    • Higher committed tiers at 5,000 and 10,000 pounds with discounts
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing
    • Bespoke account structures and volumes
    • Negotiated interest or commission share

Highnote

On request
  • Highnote platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme with no public rate card
    • Requires a sponsor bank relationship for card issuing
    • Interchange sharing terms negotiated per programme

Which should you pick?

Choose Griffin if

  • You need bank accounts by api.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want uk payment rails.
Griffin review

Choose Highnote if

  • You need card issuing.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want merchant acquiring.
Highnote review

Questions people ask

Is Griffin or Highnote better?
Neither clearly leads. Griffin starts at £100/month and Highnote at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Griffin or Highnote?
Griffin starts at £100/month and Highnote at On request.
Does Griffin or Highnote run on more platforms?
Griffin runs on Web, REST API. Highnote runs on Web, API.
What is Griffin best used for?
Griffin is most often used for a wealth platform that must hold client money in a licensed bank rather than an emi safeguarding account, a lender wanting uk accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itself, a fintech burned by sponsor bank instability that wants the deposit holder and the api provider to be the same entity, a platform needing sub-account ledgering for pooled client funds with a clean audit trail. Of those, a wealth platform that must hold client money in a licensed bank rather than an emi safeguarding account and a lender wanting uk accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itself are not what Highnote is typically brought in for.
What can Griffin do that Highnote cannot?
Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, UK payment rails, Integrated ledger, Automated onboarding. Highnote covers Card issuing, Merchant acquiring, Unified ledger, Spend controls.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Griffin: Is Griffin actually a bank?

Yes. It received a UK banking licence with restrictions in March 2023 and a full licence in March 2024 after exiting mobilisation.

Highnote: Do I need a sponsor bank?

Yes for card issuing in the United States. Highnote is a processor and programme platform, not a bank, and the sponsor bank sets approval and compliance terms.

Griffin: What does it cost?

Business banking from 100 pounds a month; platform banking from a 15,000 pound onboarding fee plus a 3,500 pound monthly minimum drawn down by usage.

Highnote: How do customers make money on a card programme?

Mostly interchange sharing. Negotiate the split explicitly and model it against your actual spend mix, since regulated debit interchange is capped.

Griffin: Does it cover Europe?

No. Griffin is a UK bank serving UK accounts and UK payment rails.

Highnote: Can Highnote handle both accepting and issuing payments?

Yes since its 2025 acquiring launch, on the same ledger, which is its main structural differentiator.

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