London-based Open Banking fintech Yapily raises $13m

Leading the investment round was Revolut investor Lakestar.

Yapily, the London-based fintech which helps businesses connect with retail banks through its single API, has raised $13m in a Series A funding round, which was led by Revolut and Facebook investor Lakestar.

Stefano Vaccino, founder and CEO of Yapily, declared: "The UK is at the epicentre of the world’s open finance movement, with the industry setting the rules as the world begins to embrace their own open banking positions.”

Yapily helps businesses link up with retail banks thought its API, which helps startups and Fortune 500 companies initiate payments and retrieve financial data.

Its customers are wide and varied, including the likes of accountancy firms, e-commerce companies, and cryptocurrency providers.

Existing Yapily clients include Intuit QuickBooks, where Yapidly's API is used by the accounting software provider to help its SME customers access financial information from bank accounts in the UK, France and Ireland.

Yapily said it will use the investment to improve customer experience to drive the use of open banking across Europe.

Leading the investment round was Lakestar, which has invested in Revolut, Skype, Spotify, Airbnb and Facebook. 

Existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, the German venture capital firm and LocalGlobe, the UK-based venture capital firm, also participated in the round. 

Angel investors also include Taavet Hinrikus, the TransferWise Chairman and co-founder and  Frank Strauss, the former CEO of Deutsche Postbank.

Yapily, which was set up in 2017 by former Goldman Sachs executive Vaccino, previously revealed it had raised $5.4m (£4.39m) in seed in funding in May last year.

Yapily has a headcount in London of 45 and has moved into new markets such as Italy, Ireland and France.

Vaccino added: “We believe open banking is a force for good. Using our API and infrastructure, we’re not only providing our partners with strong and powerful connectivity to boost their user experiences."

“But we’re also giving their customers, whether they be consumers or businesses, greater control of their finances, through the creation of products and services which can fuel greater financial management and accessibility. Something that’s more essential than ever during this period of uncertainty."

"With this funding we intend to drive open banking adoption and its benefits, ensuring benefits are far-reaching within the likes of payments, accounting, lending and beyond."

Stephen Nundy, Partner at Lakestar, said: “With pressure placed on the world's economy due to the Covid-19 outbreak, we believe investors have an important role to play in continuing to support innovation to fuel business growth."

“Now has never been a more important time to drive financial wellbeing and goodwill, and Yapily’s infrastructure is best placed to enable and encourage this across the financial ecosystem.”