General Atlantic is a private equity firm that provides capital and strategic support for growth companies. General Atlantic combines a collaborative approach, sector-specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon, and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to build market businesses.

General Atlantic

Frog Capital is a scale-up stage investor focused on software enabled businesses in Europe. Frog’s experienced team has invested in over 100 companies, and in the last five years has exited companies with a total transaction value over €1 billion. Frog is a committed long-term partner, investing in ambitious companies with revenue from €3m to €30m and requiring €5m - €20m of growth capital. By applying industry knowledge, a network of relationships and operating expertise, Frog actively supports exceptional company growth and builds significant shareholder value.

Frog Capital

Highland Europe invests in rapidly growing European internet, mobile, and software companies that address large market opportunities and have over €10 million in annualized revenues. They can provide acquisition finance or lead secondary transactions as well as making primary investments. Their capital enables management teams to accelerate growth and build a lasting, valuable business. Highland Europe was launched in 2012 and closely collaborates with Highland Capital Partners, an independent global venture capital firm with a twenty-seven year investment experience and offices in Boston and Palo Alto.

Highland Europe

Connection Capital is a specialist syndicator of investment funds from private investors into private equity, commercial property deals & alternative asset funds. They provide a fully managed service

Connection Capital

Blenheim Chalcot is a multinational venture builder. We have been at the forefront of developing some of the most innovative GenAI-enabled firms for over 26 years. Our businesses are at the forefront of digital disruption in a variety of sectors, including media, GovTech, EdTech, and fintech. Our global reach includes the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia. We manage assets valued at over £1.8 billion, employ over 3,000 people, and generate over £500 million in sales throughout our portfolio. We at Blenheim Chalcot are venture builders rather than just venture capitalists. Along with money, we invest a plethora of information, experience, and creative ideas. We give our projects the foundation and assistance they require to develop from the ground up to scale and ultimately exit. Our business development services and access to international networks help our entrepreneurs and co-founders grow quickly. Our knowledge of digital helps large companies become more flexible, and their worldwide presence helps our enterprises develop faster.

Blenheim Chalcot

PayPal Ventures is PayPal's venture capital arm, investing in PayPal's strategic interest fields for return. Leveraging PayPal Venture's expertise and experience, PayPal – and the companies in which it invests – are helping to bring innovative solutions to market more quickly, scale them faster, and build a global financial system that is more transparent, personalized, inclusive, and customer-focused. PayPal Venture's investments reinforce its commitment to leading the financial technology industry and supporting entrepreneurship.

PayPal Ventures

Modulr

Modulr is on a mission to unlock the embedded payment opportunity for every business. Through software-driven account and payment creation, Modulr enable incremental revenue, operational efficiencies and way smoother customer experiences. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in London, England.

London-based Modulr provides infrastructure for lending, banking, FinTech, travel, etc. websites and apps to embed a range of solutions. The company primarily offers a full-stack payment-as-a-service platform and white-label infrastructure to use APIs to create payment products and services. Modulr’s infrastructure platform enables a range of payment services including payment accounts, cards, direct debits, and payments via open banking, and others. It supports several payment rails including SWIFT, CHAPS, Faster Payments, and SEPA.

Democratizing financial technology with a suite of API-based solutions

FinTech Infrastructure

AP automation solutions: Modulr acquires Nook to revolutionise business payments

London-based Modulr provides infrastructure for lending, banking, FinTech, travel, etc. websites and apps to embed a range of solutions. The company primarily offers a full-stack payment-as-a-service platform and white-label infrastructure to use APIs to create payment products and services. Modulr’s infrastructure platform enables a range of payment services including payment accounts, cards, direct debits, and payments via open banking, and others. It supports several payment rails including SWIFT, CHAPS, Faster Payments, and SEPA.In addition to payment services, Modulr also offers the infrastructure for enterprises to embed banking, lending, and wealth management services. In May 2024, Modulr launched a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29864">travel payment solution</a> targeted at online travel agents and travel industry intermediaries to enhance operational efficiency, streamline reconciliation, improve cash flow processes, and increase margins by ensuring timely payments within the travel industry. Key customers and partnershipsAs of May 2022, the platform was used by over 200 businesses (and millions of end customers), including Revolut, Wagestream, Sage, and BrightPay. Modulr also enables faster payments through its direct access to the Bank of England, Visa, Mastercard, and its possession of an electronic money license from the Central Bank of Ireland.Funding and financialsThe platform reportedly processed more than USD 100 billion in annualized transactions as of May 2022. In the same month, Modulr <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10527">raised USD 108 million (GBP 83 million) in Series C </a>funding led by General Atlantic, to invest in expanding its geographic footprint and in product developments.

Cross River Bank provides a white-label banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform for enterprises, combining banking services, payments, and marketplace lending infrastructure to build fintechs. Its solutions comprise demand deposits, savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and payment clearing services, including automated clearing house (ACH) and real-time payments. The company also provides banking and payment infrastructure for the crypto industry, including risk management services for its crypto clients. Key customers and partnerships As of December 2020, the company had over 400 employees, and had entered into more than 30 partnerships. Moreover, as of March 2021, the platform had been used to support over 375,000 small businesses through the paycheck protection program (PPP).Cross River Bank teamed up with UK-based BaaS provider <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/421515">Railsr </a>in January 2019 to launch a common API for their platforms to be used globally. As of April 2022, Cross River had over 80 clients including lenders such as Affirm, Best Egg, and Upstart, neobanks such as <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/220119">Revolut </a>, and blockchain-based payment processing platform GreenBox. The platform reportedly originated over USD 24 billion in loans per annum, around 10x the value of loans it originated in 2015. Cross River Bank has expanded its operations by acquiring Betterfin, a platform offering lending-as-a-service (LaaS) solutions, in November 2021. Through the acquisition, Cross River Bank leveraged Betterfin’s software to digitize parts of the small-business lending process (such as origination and underwriting).The company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/1643">American Express </a>(Amex) to enable FinTechs to issue credit cards through Cross River Bank, on the Amex network, while also providing select Amex benefits to the FinTechs.Funding and financials The company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9458">raised USD 620 million in funding </a>co-led by Eldridge and a16z, at a valuation of over USD 3 billion, to invest in product developments, recruitment, international expansion, and boosting strategic partnerships.

Cross River Bank

Synctera was co-founded in 2020 by Peter Hazlehurst, the former head of Uber Money, who previously led the development of Google Wallet. The company offers an API-based infrastructure platform for community and regional banks to find and partner with FinTechs. This enables FinTechs to leverage the former’s licenses to embed FDIC-insured mobile checking, debit cards, savings accounts, and payment innovations, among other features. The API platform offered to the banks will then be sold to the FinTechs to code on. Although the end customers interact with the FinTechs, they legally belong to the bank.<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8117">Synctera mainly charges the banks </a>based on the interchange fees they earn (half of the interchange fees, as of January 2022) from the services provided. It does not charge them an initial amount to use the platform. Moreover, the platform also embeds fraud-as-a-service and charges FinTechs on a per transaction basis (4 cents per transaction) should they choose to use it. It subsequently shares that revenue 50/50 with the banks.The company launched the “t-minus10” project in January 2022, which offers a live sandbox for FinTechs to build apps, test, and go to market, enhancing their access to banking partners. It subsequently launched a “Smart Charge Card” (APIs to build, launch, and issue charge cards) and “White-label Banking App” (a codebase for developers to build embedded banking products or neobank apps) infrastructure in October 2022.Key customers and partnershipsIn February 2022, Lineage Bank (a community bank in Tennessee) and GoGetr (FinTech aiming to promote health and wealth management) became the first companies to launch a banking solution using the Synctera platform. As of March 2023, the platform was working with around 50 fintechs, of which 14 were live (including Wayapay and Float). Synctera reportedly had over 20 implementations set for launch in the following two months.Synctera announced a new card issuing and management infrastructure offering (Card-as-a-Service), in July 2021, which it developed in partnership with Mastercard and leading card issuing infrastructure disruptor, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/64287">Marqeta</a>.Funding and financialsIn March 2024, Synctera raised USD 18.6 million in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27244">Series A1 extension</a> co-led by Lightspeed and Fin Capital. The company earmarked the funds to support business growth by facilitating more complex use cases across the US and international markets. The company also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16980?industryIds=53">raised USD 15 million</a> in funding led by NAventures in March 2023, to invest in expanding the platform’s use cases and broadening its geographic footprint beyond the US (including expanding to Canada). Meanwhile, Synctera has also partnered with the National Bank of Canada to enable companies to launch FinTech apps and embedded banking products in Canada.

Synctera

Based in the UK, Weavr, formerly known as Open Payments Cloud, was spun out of payment provider Ixaris in 2019. Weavr offers the infrastructure for enterprises to embed banking services across various industries, including education, fitness, logistics, etc. Weavr’s “Meta” platform combines multiple banking and payments partners in one platform through application programming interfaces (APIs). Using the APIs, enterprises can embed virtual banking services such as card payments, fund transfers, and international banking accounts.Weavr expanded its operations to Singapore in November 2022, as part of its global expansion plans.Key customers and partnershipsAs of July 2021, Weavr’s customers included Finway, Thanks Ben, and MySkillCamp, among others.In October 2019, Weavr partnered with payment service providers Global Processing Services (GPS), Paynetics, and iDenfy to enable developers to create and run sophisticated and streamlined payment experiences for their European customers through Weavr.Funding and financialsWeavr <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8647?industryIds=53">raised USD 40 million </a>in Series A funding in February 2022, led by Tiger Global, less than a year after <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4166">raising GBP 4 million (USD 5.5 million) </a>in seed funding in July. The funds were earmarked for business development and recruitment to support Weavr’s expansion to the US market, while also supporting its continued expansion in the UK and Europe.

Weavr

MX offers an open finance portal, data connectivity application programming interface (API), and MX platform API for banks, credit unions, and other financial service providers. The company’s solutions allow its clients to utilize financial data to reduce fraud, approve loans faster, and improve their customer experiences. In addition to APIs and connections, MX also offers a range of capabilities, including data aggregation, analytics, financial feed insights, wealth and investment services, and verification services. MX looks to enable banks and financial institutions to launch next-generation services and apps that automate and personalize financial experiences. As of January 2021, the company noted that it worked with more than 2,000 banks, credit unions, and FinTech companies, and its platform reached over 200 million end-users. Moreover, it also powered 43 of the top 50 digital banks as of the same period. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8753?industryIds=53">February 2022, MX partnered </a>with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/361160">Rize </a>, to enable users to access Rize’s banking infrastructure to build, launch, and scale financial products through a single API, thereby reducing the development time and cost. In January 2021, MX raised USD 300 million in a Series C funding round led by TPG Capital, at a valuation of USD 1.9 billion. The newly raised funds are to be invested in improving MX’s capabilities, expanding its global presence, and increasing its workforce. In January 2021, MX noted that its headcount tripled over the past two years, reaching 550 staff members. The company appointed Shane Evans as interim chief executive officer (CEO) in January 2022, to prepare the company for an IPO or sale (at a valuation of over USD 5 billion) and oversee its growth.

Bankable is a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) infrastructure provider allowing financial institutions and corporations to utilize its API to integrate banking services. It provides a platform for its enterprise customers to offer modular banking services, including ledger management (process data from multiple banks to support cash management for global corporate affairs), digital banking, payment cards, and e-wallets. The company expanded its platform by <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19662">acquiring Arex Markets </a>in June 2023, to embed working capital solutions (such as flexible invoice financing, corporate credit cards, lodged cars, and revolving credit). The company has a global presence, with operations spanning from the US to the Middle East as of January 2021. Bankable noted that the expansion of its global footprint also helps its European and US FinTech clients expand their operations internationally. Key customers and partnerships In January 2020, the company partnered with the diversified FinTech infrastructure provider <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/85350">Plaid </a>, which enabled Bankable’s customers to use Plaid’s tech to connect to more than 15,000 banks in the US and Europe. Funding and financialsIn April 2019, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/13061">Visa </a>invested an undisclosed sum in Bankable and entered a partnership with the startup. Through the partnership, Visa members obtained access to Bankable’s platform, while Bankable used VisaNet (Visa’s electronic global payments network) to extend its international payment and banking solutions.

Bankable

Platforms that allow FinTechs to integrate banking services such as opening and maintaining accounts, facilitating card payments, etc.


Platforms that enable FinTechs to integrate a range of payment-related services such as one-time payments, subscriptions, and receipt management for domestic and cross-border transactions.


Companies that enable organizations to embed anti-money laundering (AML), identity verification, and know-your-customer (KYC) solutions.


Platforms that allow FinTechs to integrate lending services,  by typically applying AI/ML technology to a spending analysis to analyze creditworthiness.

Companies providing APIs and integrations for FinTechs to access securities markets, facilitate transactions and clearing, and provide insights to help end-users manage their finances.

May specialize in promoting inclusiveness in financial services, primarily in the investment and lending spaces

AI/ML can improve the quality of their offerings, such as using AI/ML to reduce biases

Used for payment completions, accessing banking and transaction data, and providing financial insights, among others

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 
 Modulr, a UK-based FinTech infrastructure provider, has introduced a travel payment solution for online travel agents and travel industry intermediaries. This solution aims to improve operational efficiency, streamline reconciliation, enhance cash flow processes, and boost margins by facilitating timely payments within the travel industry.

</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Today’s product launch comes after <a href="http: 
//checkout.com"> Checkout.com </a> , another UK-based payment infrastructure provider, <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/29104"> partnered with Mastercard </a> early this month to enhance virtual cards to make B2B payments for online travel agents and other travel businesses.

Modulr

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