Raisin, the Paypal-backed savings deposit marketplace that lets you shop for a better interest rate across Europe, has launched a dedicated U.K. site, meaning that savers can now access deposit accounts in Sterling.
The first partner bank on the British version of the platform is BACB, which is offering a range of fixed term savings accounts, from 1 to 3 years, with what appears to be pretty competitive interest rates.
Originally founded in 2013, Raisin set out to crack open the savings deposit market in Europe by taking advantage of EU-wide banking regulation. The problem the startup solves is that saving deposit rates differ not only from one local bank offer to another but even more strikingly across Europe as a whole.
The Raisin marketplace lets you shop around and compare different rates European-wide. However, the key difference to a comparison site is that, via its own bank partner, the company offers consumers a single interface that includes account opening and anti-money laundering checks, making it easy to switch and continually ensure you get a competitive interest rate.
For the banks that integrate with the Raisin marketplace, especially smaller and midsize banks, they get exposure to customers across Europe that might otherwise never be reached. It also gives them potential access to many more deposits, which helps with their own balance sheet lending and scale.
However, until today, all of Raisin’s listed products were Euros-based only, although accessible pan-Europe by residents of any EU/EEA country or Switzerland (with the exception of Belgium, apparently). To that end, Raisin U.K. says it is currently on-boarding a number of additional banks to the platform and “will build a marketplace with a broad range of participating banks and savings products over the coming months”.
Last month, Berlin-based Raisin revealed that more than €5 billion has now been invested using its savings tool by more than 100,000 customers across Europe. Along with strategic investor PayPal, the fintech startup has raised over €60 million from various backers, including Thrive Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Index Ventures.
Adds Raisin U.K. CEO Kevin Mountford in a statement: “This represents the beginning of our journey to bring great partner banks with attractive offers to U.K. savers. Over time we will be introducing enticing marketplace features to offer savers a better deal for their money.”
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