R. Raphael & Sons Limited, trading as Raphaels Bank, was a small UK-based independent

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

that provided prepaid and credit card services, personal savings products, consumer credit, and a multi-currency ATM network. It was established in 1787 by Dutchman Raphael Raphael who moved to London at the start of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. The bank was owned by the Raphaels family until 1983 and was owned by the Lenlyn Holdings plc starting in 2004. It went into liquidation in October 2020.

History

R Raphael & Sons was founded by Dutchman Raphael Raphael, in 1787. Raphael built up a considerable wealth during the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, and later diversified the business to include stockbroking, foreign banking and

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes fro ...

broking. Successive generations of the Raphael family moved into public share issues, raising loans for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an governments, and transactions in

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

railway stocks in Europe. In 1890, Raphael's was a major contributor to the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...

fund to rescue

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...

. The Raphael family finally severed links with the bank in 1983. Since 2004, the bank has been a subsidiary of Lenlyn Holdings. The bank is sited in Piccadilly, London and at Walton Lodge, in

Walton, Aylesbury Walton (perhaps formerly known as Walcot) is a hamlet in the parish of Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, England. Although Aylesbury has grown to such an extent that it completely surrounds Walton by a couple of miles in each direction, the hamlet ...

a grade II listed building, part of Walton Terrace. In 2014 the bank had an issue with inter-company transfers that resulted in a rare fine from the UK Prudential Regulation Authority. In early 2016, plans became public that

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...

would use Raphael Bank to offer Mobile Payment Services in Germany and in Italy, by integrating into the

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

Wallet. In April 2017, Vodafone Germany announced the availability of PayPal in the Vodafone Wallet, referring to R Raphael & Sons plc as the provider, and licensed by Visa. In March 2019, it was reported in the press that Raphaels Bank would soon be closing after failing to attract a buyer. The shareholder, Lenlyn Holdings, had been trying to sell it since 2015. The book of motor loans had been sold to Paragon Bank in 2018 and the pre-paid card business had been closed down. The bank commented that while they were gradually withdrawing from other lending activities, they continued to maintain existing services. In May 2019 the

and the UK

Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financ ...

fined the bank £1.89 million because it had failed to properly supervise the companies to which it outsourced large parts of its operations. This had resulted in thousands of its customers being unable to use their payment cards on Christmas Eve in 2015. In October 2019, the bank shut down its savings account division. On 6 July 2020 the bank gave up its banking licence from the Prudential Regulatory Authority and on 30 October it entered members' voluntary liquidation.

References

External links

{{UK banks , state1=collapsed Banks based in the City of London Banks established in 1787 Banks disestablished in 2020 British companies established in 1787 British companies disestablished in 2020