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APIs · head to head

Griffin vs Marqeta

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
Marqeta logo

Marqeta

APIs

Card issuing and transaction processing APIs with just-in-time funding

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.; Marqeta you still need a sponsor bank and a BIN, so the timeline and compliance burden of launching are set by a bank you must separately court and satisfy.
  • They diverge on capability: Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, Marqeta covers Just-in-time funding.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Griffin and Marqeta actually diverge.

Attributes where Griffin and Marqeta differ
AttributeGriffinMarqeta
Starting price£100/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer month with usage drawdownquote

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, REST API), 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 Marqeta

  • Just-in-time funding
  • Virtual and physical issuing
  • Spend controls
  • Programme management tools
  • Multi-region issuing
  • Webhooks and ledger data

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 Marqeta
  • A lender wanting UK accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itselfnot Marqeta
  • A fintech burned by sponsor bank instability that wants the deposit holder and the API provider to be the same entitynot Marqeta
  • A platform needing sub-account ledgering for pooled client funds with a clean audit trailnot Marqeta

Marqeta

  • A delivery marketplace funding courier cards only at the moment a courier pays for the ordernot Griffin
  • An expense platform issuing a virtual card per subscription with merchant locksnot Griffin
  • A lender issuing a card that draws on an approved credit line rather than a stored balancenot Griffin
  • A fintech wanting the same issuing stack across US and European programmesnot 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.

Marqeta

  • You still need a sponsor bank and a BIN, so the timeline and compliance burden of launching are set by a bank you must separately court and satisfy.
  • Pricing carries minimum monthly platform commitments, so a programme with modest card volume pays for capacity it never uses.
  • Programme revenue depends heavily on interchange, which means regulated debit interchange caps and European interchange caps materially change the business case by market.
  • Disputes, chargebacks and fraud losses sit with the programme, and teams that assumed the processor absorbed them discover a real operations headcount requirement.
  • Just-in-time funding makes your own authorisation endpoint a hard availability dependency; if it is slow or down, cards decline at the point of sale.

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

Marqeta

On request
  • Marqeta card issuing$undefined/year
    • Minimum monthly platform fee plus per-transaction and per-active-card charges
    • Interchange share negotiated between programme, processor and sponsor bank
    • Sponsor bank required, with its own fees and approval process

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 Marqeta if

  • You need just-in-time funding.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want virtual and physical issuing.
Marqeta review

Questions people ask

Is Griffin or Marqeta better?
Neither clearly leads. Griffin starts at £100/month and Marqeta at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Griffin or Marqeta?
Griffin starts at £100/month and Marqeta at On request.
Does Griffin or Marqeta run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, REST API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Marqeta is typically brought in for.
What can Griffin do that Marqeta cannot?
Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, UK payment rails, Integrated ledger, Automated onboarding. Marqeta covers Just-in-time funding, Virtual and physical issuing, Spend controls, Programme management tools.

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.

Marqeta: Do I need a sponsor bank?

Yes. Marqeta is an issuer processor, not a bank. Card programmes run on a sponsor bank BIN, and that bank approves and supervises your programme.

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.

Marqeta: How does the pricing really work?

A minimum monthly platform fee plus per-transaction and per-active-card charges, offset by a negotiated share of interchange. The interchange split is the substance of the deal.

Griffin: Does it cover Europe?

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

Marqeta: What is just-in-time funding?

Marqeta calls your endpoint at authorisation so you decide and fund each transaction, rather than pre-loading balances onto cards.

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