British real-time clearing and embedded banking player ClearBank has hired former
Uber executive Tristan Kirchner to lead its European expansion plans.
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Kirchner joins as CEO of ClearBank Europe following a 25 year-career in payments and financial services, having held senior leadership roles at Uber Payments, Barclays and Visa. Based in Amsterdam, he will lead ClearBank’s European operations and long term strategy.
Since receiving its European licence a little over a year ago, ClearBank has passported into 20 countries, serving more than 35 clients.
The firm is now stepping up its efforts on the continent, not only through the appointment of Kirchner but the opening of a French branch that will allow it to work directly with domestic fintechs, EMIs, and financial institutions, offering its cloud based, API driven platform.
To support this expansion, ClearBank is introducing a regionally focused sales organisation. The team will now operate across tfree hubs, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Western/Southern Europe.
Says Kirchner: “With an EU banking licence and strong early traction with more than 30 clients across multiple European markets, the foundations are in place for significant, sustained expansion.”
Mark Fairless, Group CEO, ClearBank, adds: “With Tristan’s appointment as the CEO of our European Bank and the opening of our French branch, we’re accelerating our mission to modernise payments across the continent.”

