Manchester-based payments company Ryft has secured a €23 million (£20 million) Series B amid broader efforts to promote British tech companies and strengthen sovereign payments infrastructure across Europe.
The round was led by Gresham House Ventures, with participation from existing investors Pembroke VCT and Ingenii Capital. This follows their €6.6 million round in April 2025 – as covered by EU-Startups.
Speaking on the raise, Ryft’s CEO and co-founder, Sadra Hosseini says: “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’s Series B comes amid continued investment in European payments infrastructure in 2026.
EU-Startups has seen approximately €224.8 million in relevant rounds this year, including €86.2 million for London-based Primer, €83 million for fellow British payments company Sokin, €37 million for Amsterdam’s Silverflow and €12 million for Klearly, alongside earlier-stage rounds for SolvaPay, Ralio and paymove.
The UK has accounted for several of the larger announcements, with Primer, Sokin and Ralio all based in the same country as Ryft – tying into this wider country push for British tech.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby adds: “Ryft’s success is a vote of confidence in Manchester’s thriving fintech sector and shows how British businesses can start, scale and compete on the global stage. This Government is backing the industries and companies like Ryft that are creating jobs, attracting investment and driving good growth in every postcode.”
Founded in 2021, Founded in 2021 by Alex Mackenzie, Richard Kirby and Sadra Hosseini, Ryft builds payment solutions for marketplaces, platforms and multi-location businesses, helping them manage seller onboarding and complex transaction flows, including recurring billing, automated split payments and cross-border payouts, through a single integration.
Since launch, Ryft has partnered with the likes of Global Payments, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Nuvei.
According to the company, they have tripled the processing volume over the past 12 months and more than 6,500 businesses, including Epos Now, Chaiwalla, the Disasters Emergency Committee, Daytrip and Sprive are now using its payment system.
Today’s investment will support Ryft’s expansion across Europe and the US, while accelerating its product development and move upmarket.
As part of its European expansion, Ryft has applied for a full EU license from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). With this, Ryft will be able to passport its services across the European Economic Area.
Rohit Mathur, Partner at Gresham House Ventures, which led the round, says: “Modern commerce runs on platforms, from marketplaces and franchises, to creators, and, in time, AI agents, but the payments foundation beneath it was built for a two-party world that no longer exists. Ryft is the rare UK-built, FCA-regulated FinTech designed for multi-party payments from the ground up, and its best customers are compounding volumes over 100% a year on the platform.
“As commerce shifts to instant, multi-party platforms and increasingly agent-initiated payments, ownership of the infrastructure rails becomes a question of national economic sovereignty, not just merchant cost. We’re backing Ryft because the UK needs domestic champions with payment architecture for the next era of commerce, and Ryft is one of them. Sadra, Alex, Richard and the wider team are executing at an impressive pace, and we are proud to back this category-defining Manchester FinTech!”
