Rapyd raises $300 million for its unified payments platform

Rapyd, which is developing an all-in-one payments solutions platform, today announced it has raised $300 million, bringing the company’s total raised to over $450 million. CEO Arik Shtilman said the funds will be used to double the size of Rapyd’s engineering and product teams and explore acquisitions globally.

Virtual card spend is projected to grow to $355 billion by 2022, up from $136 billion in 2017, according to Accenture. With annual transaction volumes anticipated to surpass $9 trillion, businesses are increasingly investigating unified payment solutions.

Rapyd offers solutions on the web and mobile, including the ability to accept cash, bank transfers, e-wallets, local debit cards, and over 900 alternative payment methods in more than 100 regions. The platform supports disbursements in over 170 countries and multicurrency settlement to a single file across 65 currencies. Moreover, it delivers real-time foreign exchange, ID verification via document scanning, and anti-money laundering and counter financing terrorism (AML/CFT) services.

Rapyd offers an API, a software development kit that integrates with existing apps, and responsive designs for merchant checkout flows. The checkout solution can stand alone or coexist with gateways and local payment systems, while Rapyd’s white-label wallet platform ships with features targeting retail shops and rewards programs.

Rapyd competes with a number of well-established companies in a financial tech sector estimated at $147.37 billion as of year-end 2018, including Ayden, PayPal, and Stripe. But Rapyd hit around $100 million in revenue last year at a pre-money valuation of $1.2 billion, driven by the fees it levies on payments and multicurrency transactions (3.5% plus 30 cents for funds in and $1.50 plus 1% for exchanges).

Over the past year, Rapyd has expanded its network with new and existing products for Thailand, South Korea, Mexico, India, Brazil, and the U.K. It also acquired Iceland-based payment card service provider Korta, inked agreements with Visa and Mastercard, launched an anti-fraud service called Rapyd Protect, and partnered with payments technology company InComm to support cash bill pay and load solutions at participating retailers in the U.S.

“The demand for online payments has skyrocketed following the restrictions due to the effects of COVID-19, and as a company, we are well-placed to provide businesses across the globe with the solutions they need and to get them up and running fast,” Shtilman said in a statement. “To kick off 2021 with this substantial round of funding to further invest in our platform is a tremendous vote of confidence both in the growing need for local payment solutions that can be deployed at scale globally, and more specifically in our vision and company.”

Coatue led the series D funding round announced today, with participation from Spark Capital, Avid Ventures, FJ Labs, and Latitude. Current backers General Catalyst, Oak HC/FT, Tiger Global, Target Global, Durable Capital, Tal Capital, and Entrée Capital also contributed. Rapyd has offices in London and Mountain View, California.