ClearBank Accelerates European Expansion With Appointment of Former Uber Executive as EU CEO

ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking, today announces a significant step forward in its European growth journey with the appointment of a new European CEO and the opening of a branch in France. 

A leadership appointment to drive the next phase of European growth

ClearBank has appointed Tristan Kirchner as CEO of ClearBank Europe N.V. to spearhead the bank’s accelerating expansion across the continent. Kirchner brings more than 25 years of payments and financial services experience, having held senior leadership roles at Uber Payments, Barclays and Visa. 

A proven commercial strategist, his deep understanding of Europe’s regulatory and payments landscape will be instrumental as ClearBank scales its presence across a dynamic payments market. Based in Amsterdam, Kirchner will lead ClearBank’s European operations and long‑term strategy. He will work closely with Mark Fairless, ClearBank Group CEO, and Maurice Oostendorp, Chair of ClearBank Europe Supervisory Board, to shape expansion into new markets and evolve the bank’s services across the region.

French branch strengthens ClearBank’s continental footprint

Tristan joins at a pivotal moment for ClearBank’s European bank, with sustained growth and increased investment underpinning the launch of a French branch in response to strong demand for cloud native agency banking and real-time payments.

The French branch will allow ClearBank to work directly with domestic fintechs, EMIs, and financial institutions, offering its cloud‑based, API‑driven platform to power more efficient payments. France’s fast‑growing fintech ecosystem presents a significant strategic opportunity, with ClearBank well-positioned to support the next generation of payment innovators.

Scaling teams to meet demand across Europe

To support this expansion, ClearBank is strengthening its commercial structure by introducing a regionally focused sales organisation. The team will now operate across three regional hubs, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Southern/Western Europe, enabling sharper market focus and deeper customer engagement, while recognising the local nuances of each market.

Mark Fairless, Group CEO of ClearBank, said: “With Tristan’s appointment as CEO of our European Bank and the opening of our French branch, we’re accelerating our mission to modernise payments across the continent. Tristan’s track record in driving growth and navigating complex payments ecosystems makes him the ideal leader to propel ClearBank Europe’s next chapter. I look forward to working with him to plot our growth in the continent as we continue to revolutionise the way in which payments are made across the UK and Europe.” 

Maurice Oostendorp, Chair of ClearBank Europe Supervisory Board, said: “We are very pleased with the appointment of Tristan as the new leader of ClearBank Europe N.V. The European payments market presents a substantial opportunity for banks built specifically for scale, speed and regulatory resilience. ClearBank has moved quickly from licence to meaningful traction across multiple markets, reflecting strong demand for cloud native banking infrastructure. Strengthening leadership and expanding into key financial hubs such as France positions us to capture this opportunity, support clients locally, and scale a pan-European platform designed for the future of payments.”

Tristan Kirchner, CEO of ClearBank Europe, said: “I’m excited to join ClearBank at such a pivotal moment in its expansion journey. 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. ClearBank’s platform is one of the most innovative in the market, and I look forward to helping bring real-time payments to more clients and their customers throughout Europe, complemented by innovative services, such as stablecoins launching through our partnership with Circle.”

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