Ryft raises £20m Series B to take multi-party payments into Europe and the US
What's the deal? Manchester-based payments firm RyftDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised a £20 million Series B round led by asset manager Gresham HouseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Existing investors Pembroke VCTDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Ingenii CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → joined, alongside new backer the Northern Powerhouse Investment FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → II.
What does Ryft do? It builds payment infrastructure for marketplaces, platforms, and multi-location businesses, handling complex flows such as automated split payments and cross-border payouts. It counts more than 6,500 business customers, including the Disasters Emergency CommitteeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and partners with Global Payments, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
Why now? Ryft said it tripled processing volumes over the past year. It has also applied for a full EU payments licence from the Malta Financial Services AuthorityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which would let it passport its services across the European Economic Area.
What's the endgame? The company plans to use the money to expand across Europe and the US. Chief executive and co-founder Sadra Hosseini said Ryft aims to challenge the dominance of "a small number of incumbents."
"This round of investment means we can take what we've built in the UK into new European markets and compete on the global stage," Hosseini said.
Why it matters: Investors framed the round as a bet on payments built for platforms rather than simple two-party transactions. "The payments foundation beneath it was built for a two-party world that no longer exists," said Rohit Mathur, partner at Gresham House VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, adding that Ryft's best customers are "compounding volumes over 100% a year."
The signal: The £20 million round sits in the top third of comparable deals by size, a sizeable cheque for a regional fintech targeting a niche the incumbents "left half-served for a decade," per Pembroke's Fred Ursell. It also marks a UK scaleup moving to compete abroad just as multi-party commerce — from marketplaces to creators to AI agents — reshapes how money moves.
Read more: mkfm.com
Image credit: Ryft
