“Can a pure card-linking API layer survive as an independent business as card networks and loyalty platforms verticalize?”
Fidel API (legal entity Enigmatic Smile Ltd) launched in 2018 as a card-linking infrastructure company giving developers a single API to connect Visa, Mastercard, and Amex transactions to loyalty and rewards experiences. After raising $86M+ through 2022 and expanding to power Google Pay, British Airways, RBC and others, the company has narrowed its product surface to two offerings: the Select Transactions API and Offers as a Service (OaaS), a turnkey card-linked offers platform. LinkedIn data shows headcount contracting to ~16 people (from 35+ at peak), suggesting the business has been restructured under Enigmatic Smile leadership (Bishara Smeir as CEO) into a more focused card-linked-offers infrastructure play.
Fidel API's cards run on Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 3 layers in Fidel API's stack: Card network (Visa, Mastercard and American Express); Spend / AP (fidel api and fidel); Transaction enrichment (Fidel API (in-house)).
Fidel API is founded in 2018 and headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
Fidel API has raised $86.1M in total (latest round: Series B, 2022 ($65M)).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Fidel API and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.