Payments provider Ryft wins FCA licence to rival the likes of Stripe

Payments platform Ryft has just secured its UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) licence.

The authorisation of the licence opens up opportunities for the London-based fintech to be a regulated payment facilitator to the biggest acquirers.

According to Ryft, its platform processes payments and automatically diverts funds to merchants and sub-merchants the next working day.

Describing itself as Stripe Connect “without the high fees and lengthy payout wait times”, Ryft’s PSD2 compliant payments system is part of the five per cent of businesses to get through the FCA application process.

Ryft was founded just 1.5 years ago by friends Sadra Hosseini and Alex Mackenzie who previously built a mobile ordering marketplace app for pubs and bars called Butlr, and noticed a gap in the market for the profitability of microtransactions and fast payouts.

Since then, the two have built up a team of 14 and raised a total of £1.5m, including a £1.2m seed round raise last August.

“[The FCA licence] furthers our ability to provide support to marketplaces and merchants in the industry,” Ryft co-founder and CEO Sadra Hosseini said. 

“Ryft was created to handle everything so your business doesn’t have to.”

With the licence, Ryft will also be able to expand its in-house compliance team, with Grant Campbell joining as the new head of compliance and money laundering reporting officer.

According to Ryft, it will be able to facilitate more complex payments with the team in place and allow B2B digital and marketplace platforms to monetise payments across their technology.