LHV Bank secures UK banking licence

LHV Bank provides banking services to more than 200 fintechs

LHV Bank has secured a UK banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). 

The authorisation allows LHV Bank to accept customer deposits and transition from a branch of Estonia AS LHV Pank to a UK bank, fully authorised and regulated by both the PRA and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

Operating in the UK since 2018, LHV Bank connects the traditional banking sector with fintechs.  

Its services include real-time multi-currency payments, current and savings accounts, and open banking, used by the likes of Airwallex, Currencycloud and Wise.  

On top of the banking services and SME lending that it currently offers, the bank has plans to accept retail deposits and expand its offerings for ecommerce businesses. 

Madis Toomsalu, chairman of LHV Bank, commented: “Receiving the licence without restrictions in just over a year since submitting our application validates the exceptional work of our team and the professional operation we’ve built.  

“We expect LHV Bank to achieve profitability by the end of our first year of operations. Our ability to generate additional capital internally positions us strongly for further growth in the dynamic UK banking market.” 

Image: LHV Bank 

Josh Poyser Josh Poyser is an editor at FinTech Intel. He has written about fintech for several years and appeared at FinTech Connect 2023 on the 'Unlocking Success: The Art of Fintech PR' panel.