Yaspa receives $12m investment in funding round as part of US expansion plans
Discerning Capital leads investment in London-based fintech company, as CEO James Neville says funds will be used to hire a local team in new market
Yaspa has received $12m (£9m) in its latest funding round, led by Discerning Capital, to help drive the open banking supplier’s international growth aspirations.
The funding round also saw participation from venture capital firms Metavallon and TechStars Ventures.
The $12m will be used to further Yaspa’s expansion into North America, after it recently incorporated a US entity based in Atlanta, Georgia.
The investment firm also said it chose to invest in the London-based fintech company because it “believes Yaspa’s payments process will disrupt the gambling payments ecosystem while adding native player protections”.
Commenting on the investment round, Yaspa CEO James Neville explained the capital will be used to build a team on the ground in a new market and adapt its product to the needs of operators.
Neville said: “This significant investment marks a major milestone for Yaspa.
“It enables us to take our proven technology into a new market at pace – hiring a local team, building strategic partnerships and adapting our platform to meet the specific needs of operators.
“We’re looking forward to supporting businesses that want to lead on compliance, player safety and user experience as the market matures.”
David Williams, partner at Discerning Capital, added: “We are excited to be partnering with Yaspa to help them expand deeper into regulated gambling.
“The high-risk nature of gambling payments makes it an area in need of innovation and we believe Yaspa addresses two of the biggest issues: chargebacks and player protections.
“We believe that any operator who evaluates Yaspa’s A2A product versus their existing payments provider will end up adding Yaspa.”
As part of Discerning Capital’s investment, Williams will join the Yaspa board.
Last April, Yaspa was awarded a grant by the UK government to further develop its safer gambling payments and AI platform, with a view to being used in affordability checks for operators.