Ryft, a UK startup aiming to replicate Stripe’s success, has secured an FCA licence following a £1.2 million seed raise in September.
Ryft’s platform facilitates marketplace payments, automatically directing funds to merchants and sub-merchants by the next working day. This API-based solution manages all aspects of online payment acceptance, merchant onboarding, and payment distribution according to business needs.
Positioning itself as “Stripe Connect without the high fees and lengthy payout wait times,” the authorisation of the licence allows Ryft to operate as a regulated payment facilitator with some of the largest acquirers worldwide.
The founders, Sadra Hosseini and Alex Mackenzie, drew on their experience from a previous venture in building and selling a mobile ordering marketplace app for pubs and bars. They identified a significant gap in the market for microtransactions and expedited payouts.
With the licence secured, Ryft plans to enhance its in-house compliance team to support more complex payments, empowering B2B digital and marketplace platforms to monetise transactions across their technology and establish independent relationships with various organisations.
Hosseini expressed pride in achieving the FCA licence, stating, “We are both incredibly proud to have secured our FCA licence after a year and a half. This furthers our ability to provide support to marketplaces and merchants in the industry. Ryft was created to handle everything so your business doesn’t have to.”
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