London-based Rapyd, a startup that offers “fintech as a service”, has just raised $100 million in a new round of funding.
The company will use the funds to provide global business payments and expand its services around the world.
Rapyd CEO Arik Shtilman says the platform is poised for the global market, offering businesses a full suite of services including digital payment wallets and “know your customer” assistance to help businesses implement cross-border payments, reports Fortune.
Says Shtilman,
“Other companies are like ‘we’ll collect the payment for you.’ We saw a need for a platform that does much [more] than payments—such as storing money in custody, sanctions compliance and tax matters.”
According to the report,
“Rapyd’s current services don’t include support for cryptocurrency, though Shtilman said the company is looking into it.”
Shtilman says Rapyd supports hundreds of different payment methods to facilitate business payments around the world. In its efforts to reach business owners outside of the current financial system, it can even service companies that don’t have bank accounts by providing cash pick-up services.
On the other end of the spectrum, Shtilman says the company is targeting businesses with a global customer base in order to facilitate frictionless cross-border payment solutions. He did not disclose his clients.
Rapyd faces a number of competitors in the space, ranging from stablecoins, which can quickly move money without the typical volatility of Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies, to service providers offering enterprise solutions for cross-border payments, such as Ripple, Stellar and IBM.
Legacy leader Swift is also rolling out its new competitive product gpi (Global Payment Initiative) into domestic markets to remain competitive and to leverage the benefits of instant 24/7 digital transactions as the financial industry undergoes “an extraordinary change,” according to Swift’s board of directors chairman, Yawar Shah.
Rapyd’s latest $100-million raise was led by Oak HC/FT.
Other investors in the Series C round included General Catalyst, Tiger Global, Target Global, Entrée Capital and payments giant Stripe, which co-led the company’s previous funding round of $40 million earlier this year.
