Fintech startup Ryft raises £20M in UK’s largest payments Series B of 2026

Manchester-based fintech startup Ryft has raised £20 million in a Series B round, securing fresh capital at a time when UK fintech funding falls to its lowest level in a decade.

The round was led by Gresham House Ventures, with participation from existing investors Pembroke VCT and Ingenii Capital. Ryft says the deal marks the largest UK payments Series B of 2026. Independent reporting from Sky News confirmed the £20 million raise and the company’s plans to use the funding for international growth.

The timing makes the raise stand out. UK fintech investment dropped to £1.8 billion in the first half of 2026, down from £5 billion during the same period last year, according to KPMG’s latest Pulse of Fintech report. Deal activity fell to 205 transactions from 281 a year earlier, its lowest level in a decade.

Ryft enters that tougher funding market with growing transaction volume and a widening customer base. The Manchester company says its processing volume tripled over the past year, and more than 6,500 businesses now use its payments infrastructure. Customers include Epos Now, Chaiiwala, the Disasters Emergency Committee, Daytrip and Sprive.

Building payments infrastructure for more complicated commerce

Founded in 2021 by Sadra Hosseini, Alex Mackenzie and Richard Kirby, Ryft focuses on businesses whose payment flows go beyond a simple transaction between one buyer and one seller.

Its technology supports marketplaces, platforms and multi-location companies that need services such as automated split payments, recurring billing, seller onboarding and cross-border payouts. Ryft has partnerships with payment companies including Global Payments, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Nuvei.

Image credit: Ryft

That focus puts the startup in a part of payments that is becoming more relevant as marketplaces, franchises and software platforms handle transactions involving multiple parties.

Ryft plans to use the Series B funding to grow across Europe and the United States and move further into larger enterprise accounts. The company has applied for a full EU license from the Malta Financial Services Authority. Approval would allow Ryft to passport its services across the European Economic Area.

“This round of investment means we can take what we’ve built in the UK into new European markets and compete on the global stage. Payments have been dominated by a small number of incumbents for a long time. We want to provide a powerful and efficient alternative to businesses, not just in Europe, but globally,” Ryft CEO and co-founder Sadra Hosseini said.

The funding comes at a more selective time for fintech investors. KPMG’s figures show that Britain remains Europe’s leading fintech market by investment, yet its share of fintech investment across Europe, the Middle East and Africa dropped to 22% in the first half of 2026.

For Ryft, the next test is no longer simply whether it can win customers in Britain. The £20 million round gives the company the capital to see whether a payments platform built in Manchester can turn its domestic momentum into a larger international business.