Ryft Lands £20 Million Series B for Multi-Party Payment Expansion

Manchester-based payments infrastructure provider Ryft has announced a successful £20 million Series B funding round, marking the largest such investment in the UK this year. The round was led by growth capital investor Gresham House Ventures with continued support from existing investors Pembroke VCT and Ingenii Capital, as well as new backing from NPIF II – PXN Equity Finance.

This latest injection brings Ryft’s total funding to approximately £27 million, which will directly fuel its international expansion across European and US markets. The company has already submitted an application for a full European Union payments license with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to facilitate seamless market entry throughout the EEA.

Addressing Modern Commerce Challenges

Founded in 2021 by Alex Mackenzie, Richard Kirby, and CEO Sadra Hosseini, Ryft specializes in payment solutions for marketplaces, SaaS platforms, and multi-location businesses. Current payment systems often struggle with complex transaction flows requiring multiple parties—a common challenge for modern digital commerce.

Ryft’s FCA-regulated infrastructure solves this through a single API integration that automates key processes:

• Automated Split Payments: Real-time, compliant payouts across complex merchant hierarchies
• Streamlined Onboarding: Automated KYC and compliance verification for multi-region merchants
• Flexible Billing: Managing recurring subscriptions and cross-border payments in multiple currencies
• Merchant Monetization: Enabling platform operators to generate additional revenue from transactions

Strategic Implications

The funding arrives as Europe seeks to build sovereign payment infrastructure that can challenge global incumbents. “This investment allows us to compete globally with a powerful, efficient alternative,” said Sadra Hosseini.

Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, highlighted Ryft’s success as evidence of Manchester’s growing fintech hub status and the UK’s ability to support globally competitive businesses.

Experts note that owning payment infrastructure is becoming increasingly strategic as commerce evolves towards instant platform payouts and AI-driven transactions. “Ryft offers a rare, FCA-regulated solution built specifically for multi-party payments,” said Rohit Mathur of Gresham House Ventures.