Ryft a/k/a RyftPay, a UK fintech with the ambition to emulate the success of Stripe, has secured an FCA license as an Authorised Payment Institution following its £1.2 million seed round in August 2022. Ryft is supported by SFC Capital and the ex-founder of Shutterstock and the founder of LoveFilm. The London-based company’s payment solution integrates into an online marketplace and accepts payments from all major cards, along with Google and Apple Pay.
Ryft, operated by Butlr Ltd, was founded in 2021 by friends Sadra Hosseini and Alex Mackenzie, who previously built a mobile ordering marketplace app for pubs and bars called Butlr. Since then, the two have built up a team of 14 and raised a total of £1.5m, including the £1.2m seed round in August 2022. The Payment Institution is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with the reference number 972895.
“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.”
Ryft claims that it will be able to facilitate more complex payments with the team in place and allow B2B digital and marketplace platforms to monetize payments across their technology.
With the license, 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.
