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APIs · head to head

Griffin vs Volt

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
Volt logo

Volt

APIs

Account-to-account pay by bank across Europe, the UK, Brazil and Australia

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.; Volt account-to-account payments carry no chargeback mechanism, so consumers lose scheme dispute protection and merchants lose a familiar framework for handling claims.
  • They diverge on capability: Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, Volt covers Pay by bank.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Griffin and Volt actually diverge.

Attributes where Griffin and Volt differ
AttributeGriffinVolt
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 Volt

  • Pay by bank
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Virtual IBANs
  • Payouts and refunds
  • Verify
  • Stablecoin checkout

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

Volt

  • A travel seller with high average order values paying percentage card fees it wants to replace with flat transfer feesnot Griffin
  • An iGaming operator needing fast deposits and payouts where card acceptance is restrictednot Griffin
  • A merchant with heavy card fraud that wants strongly authenticated irreversible paymentsnot Griffin
  • A marketplace verifying seller bank accounts before paying outnot 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.

Volt

  • Account-to-account payments carry no chargeback mechanism, so consumers lose scheme dispute protection and merchants lose a familiar framework for handling claims.
  • Refunds are outbound payments rather than reversals, which changes treasury handling and means a refund can fail for reasons a card refund never would.
  • Conversion is lower than a stored card because the shopper must complete a bank authentication journey, and drop-off varies significantly by bank.
  • Core pay by bank pricing is per transaction but refunds, payouts, virtual IBANs, Verify and fraud tooling are billed separately, so the real cost is a stack of line items.
  • Bank API availability and quality vary across markets, and an outage at a major bank removes a slice of your checkout with no fallback unless you keep cards live.

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

Volt

On request
  • Volt pay by bank$undefined/year
    • Per successful transaction fee, quoted by volume and market
    • Separate charges for refunds, payouts, virtual IBANs and Verify
    • Circuit Breaker fraud tooling priced as an add-on

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 Volt if

  • You need pay by bank.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want circuit breaker.
Volt review

Questions people ask

Is Griffin or Volt better?
Neither clearly leads. Griffin starts at £100/month and Volt at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Griffin or Volt?
Griffin starts at £100/month and Volt at On request.
Does Griffin or Volt 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 Volt is typically brought in for.
What can Griffin do that Volt cannot?
Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, UK payment rails, Integrated ledger, Automated onboarding. Volt covers Pay by bank, Circuit Breaker, Virtual IBANs, Payouts and refunds.

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.

Volt: Are there chargebacks?

No. Bank transfers are irrevocable, so disputes are handled commercially between merchant and customer, not through a card scheme.

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.

Volt: How do refunds work?

As a separate outbound payment initiated by the merchant, which Volt charges for separately from the inbound transaction.

Griffin: Does it cover Europe?

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

Volt: Which markets are covered?

Europe and the UK, plus Brazil and Australia, on a single API integration.

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