Ryft
“Can a UK-native, FCA-licensed marketplace payments processor capture European platforms underserved by Stripe Connect and Adyen?”
Founded2019
HQLondon, England, United Kingdom
FoundersRichard, Alex, Sadra
Total raised£5.7M
Latest roundSeed (£5.7M, 2025)
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments
The story
Ryft began as Butlr, a marketplace mobile-ordering app whose founders hit the ceiling of relying on Checkout.com for payment processing. They pivoted to build their own FCA-authorised payment institution purpose-built for marketplaces, positioning Ryft as a UK-native Stripe Connect / Adyen for Platforms / Mangopay alternative with built-in split payments, escrow, and PSD2-compliant fund flows.
Last 12 months
Product timeline
2019
Founders launch Butlr, a mobile ordering/payments marketplace app for venues and restaurants.· pivot
2020
Butlr scales to 1M users during COVID; founders identify payment processor (Checkout.com) limitations as core constraint.· pivot
2022
Ryft launches as an FCA-authorised payment institution focused on marketplace/platform payments.· pivot
2025
Raised £5.7M to scale embedded payments for European marketplaces and platforms.· funding
Regulated entities
Authorised Payment Institution
UK FCA
Ryft Pay LTD
The stack
Payments / PSP
Accounting gap: significant