Executive Brief: Rapyd Financial Network

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Rapyd Financial Network represents a compelling investment opportunity within the rapidly expanding fintech-as-a-service sector, positioning itself as the leading global payments infrastructure platform connecting businesses to over 900 local payment methods across more than 100 countries. The company has demonstrated exceptional growth trajectory, achieving combined revenues exceeding $1 billion following the strategic acquisition of PayU's Global Payment Organization for $610 million, completed in March 2025 after securing regulatory approvals from seven jurisdictions worldwide. Rapyd operates under a unified API architecture that enables businesses to embed payment acceptance, disbursements, card issuing, and multi-currency wallet capabilities without building complex financial infrastructure from the ground up. The platform serves a distinguished enterprise client roster including Adidas, Google, IKEA, Meta, Netflix, and Uber, validating its capability to meet the demanding requirements of Fortune 500 organizations requiring global payment solutions. With 1,600 employees operating across 22 offices spanning Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East, Rapyd has established the operational footprint necessary to deliver localized expertise while maintaining platform consistency. The company's March 2025 funding round at a $4.5 billion valuation, while representing a significant correction from the $15 billion peak valuation in 2022, establishes a more sustainable foundation for future growth and potential public market debut.

CORPORATE STRUCTURE & FUNDAMENTALS

Rapyd Financial Network Limited operates as a privately held fintech-as-a-service company headquartered at North West House, 119 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5PU, United Kingdom, with the company's UK customer support accessible at +44 20 3398 1076 for transactions, settlements, and account queries. The company was founded in 2016 by Arik Shtilman, Arkady Karpman, and Omer Priel, evolving from an earlier consumer digital wallet concept called CashDash into a comprehensive B2B payment infrastructure platform after the founders recognized the greater market opportunity in enabling cross-border commerce for enterprises. Arik Shtilman serves as Chief Executive Officer, bringing prior entrepreneurial experience from founding ITNavigator, a cloud-based contact center platform acquired by Avaya in 2013 for an undisclosed sum. The executive leadership team includes Maayan Naor as Chief Financial Officer, Marc Winitz as Chief Marketing Officer, and Dr. Shlomit Wagman as Global Chief Regulation and Compliance Officer, the latter having previously served as Director-General of Israel's Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority. Rapyd maintains additional significant operational centers in Tel Aviv serving as the primary research and development hub, Dubai where the company became the first Israeli fintech regulated to operate in the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore serving the Asia-Pacific region. The company operates under a complex multi-jurisdictional regulatory structure holding financial activity permits across 41 countries, requiring sophisticated compliance infrastructure to navigate varying local requirements for payment processing, electronic money, and money transmission activities.

The company has executed an aggressive acquisition strategy to accelerate geographic expansion and capability enhancement, with four completed transactions including the transformative $610 million purchase of PayU's GPO operations in August 2023 that added approximately $350 million in annual revenue and 1,000 employees. Previous acquisitions include Icelandic payments company Valitor in 2021 for approximately $100 million, Hong Kong-based business banking platform Neat, and Turkish payment services provider Paynet. Rapyd has raised approximately $2 billion in total funding across nine rounds from a distinguished investor syndicate including Stripe, General Catalyst, Target Global, Tiger Global Management, Coatue, BlackRock, and Fidelity Management, demonstrating institutional confidence in the company's market position and growth potential. The March 2025 Series F round raised $500 million specifically to finance the PayU acquisition, structured at a $4.5 billion valuation that reflects the broader reset in fintech valuations following the 2021-2022 funding cycle. Revenue performance has shown exceptional momentum, with the company reporting $50 million in quarterly revenue during Q1 2022, growing to combined revenues exceeding $1 billion in 2023 following the PayU consolidation, representing year-over-year growth approximating 100%. Management has articulated ambitious targets of achieving $2 billion in revenue and $400 million in EBITDA by 2026, supported by projected transaction processing volumes of $70 billion in 2024 with approximately 60% derived from cross-border collections and disbursements.

MARKET POSITION & COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS

The global payments market represents one of the largest addressable opportunities in financial services, with total transaction value in the digital payments segment projected to reach $24.07 trillion in 2025 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.44% to reach $36.09 trillion by 2030 according to Statista market forecasts. The more focused digital payment processing solutions market was valued at approximately $144 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $914 billion by 2034, expanding at a 20.3% CAGR as businesses increasingly adopt embedded financial services and cross-border payment capabilities. The fintech-as-a-service market specifically, where Rapyd competes as a primary infrastructure provider, is estimated at $352 billion in 2024 and forecast to reach $1.55 trillion by 2033 at a 17.9% CAGR, driven by the proliferation of API-driven modular financial services enabling non-financial platforms to embed banking, lending, and payment capabilities. Embedded finance, the integration of financial services into non-financial platforms, represents a particularly high-growth adjacent market estimated at $115.8 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $251.5 billion by 2029 at a 16.8% CAGR as retailers, marketplaces, and gig economy platforms increasingly monetize checkout experiences. Within these expanding markets, cross-border B2B payments are forecast to grow at 6% CAGR through 2030, while real-time payment transaction volumes are expected to surpass 500 billion annually by 2027 as more countries adopt instant payment infrastructure. The convergence of these trends creates a favorable environment for infrastructure providers like Rapyd that can aggregate local payment rails, regulatory licenses, and settlement capabilities into unified platform offerings.

Rapyd operates in a competitive landscape featuring both established global payment networks and emerging fintech challengers, with the company positioning itself as a comprehensive fintech-as-a-service alternative to point solutions. Stripe dominates the payment management category with approximately 34% market share according to 6sense tracking data, offering payment processing primarily focused on North American and European merchants with limited emerging market coverage. PayPal maintains approximately 32% share in payment management but operates primarily as a consumer payment network rather than pure infrastructure provider, creating different competitive dynamics focused on checkout experiences rather than embedded capabilities. Adyen, the Dutch payments company representing Rapyd's most direct enterprise competitor, has established strength in multi-channel retail payments and card acquiring but offers more limited payout capabilities and supports merchants in fewer geographic locations. dLocal has carved a strong position in Latin American emerging markets with specialized expertise in handling the regulatory complexity of Brazilian, Mexican, and Argentine payment systems. Airwallex competes in cross-border disbursements and multi-currency accounts, achieving a $5.5 billion valuation in October 2022, while Checkout.com focuses on high-growth technology companies requiring sophisticated payment orchestration. Additional competitors include Nium for cross-border infrastructure, Thunes for global payment networks, and regional specialists like eBanx in Latin America and Payoneer serving freelancers and marketplace sellers.

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO & DIFFERENTIATION

Rapyd's core platform architecture delivers fintech-as-a-service capabilities through a unified API framework enabling businesses to access payment acceptance, global disbursements, virtual accounts, card issuing, and digital wallet functionality without managing separate vendor relationships or building proprietary financial infrastructure. The platform supports over 900 local payment methods spanning credit and debit cards, bank transfers, e-wallets, mobile payments, and cash vouchers across more than 100 countries, providing significantly broader coverage than competing platforms that typically support 100-250 methods. Following the PayU acquisition, Rapyd expanded its payment method library to exceed 1,200 options while gaining financial activity permits in 41 regulated jurisdictions, establishing one of the most comprehensive global footprints in the fintech-as-a-service sector. The company operates as a licensed Visa and Mastercard acquirer in Europe, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Singapore, enabling direct card processing relationships that deliver higher authorization rates and more competitive interchange pricing than gateway-only providers. Rapyd's product suite is organized into five integrated modules: Rapyd Collect for payment acceptance, Rapyd Disburse for global payouts, Rapyd Wallet for multi-currency fund management, Rapyd Issuing for physical and virtual card programs, and Rapyd Virtual Accounts for local currency collection across 40+ countries in 25+ currencies.

Five Unique Product Differentiators:

First, Rapyd's Global Disbursement Network enables payouts to 190+ countries in 120+ currencies through multiple rails including local bank clearing, real-time payment networks, instant card payouts via Visa Direct and Mastercard Send, and third-party e-wallets, providing unmatched flexibility for businesses managing contractor payments, marketplace seller disbursements, or employee payroll across multiple jurisdictions. Second, the platform's challenging industry specialization provides tailored solutions for high-opportunity verticals including online gaming, iGaming, online travel agencies, affiliate marketing, creator economy platforms, and online trading applications that many competing payment providers decline to serve due to perceived regulatory complexity or reputational risk. Third, Rapyd's fintech-as-a-service architecture enables customers to embed white-label financial services including branded digital wallets with KYC/KYB verification, prepaid card programs, and multi-currency accounts into their own applications, transforming Rapyd from payment processor into comprehensive financial infrastructure provider. Fourth, the platform's developer-centric design features a 50,000+ member developer community, comprehensive API documentation, and multiple integration options ranging from full API integration to hosted checkout pages, payment links, and virtual terminals, enabling businesses to select implementation approaches matching their technical capabilities. Fifth, Rapyd's stablecoin payment solutions announced in late 2025 enable businesses to accept, pay out, and settle transactions in stablecoins through the same platform used for traditional payment methods, positioning the company ahead of competitors in capturing emerging digital asset payment flows.

TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE & SECURITY

Rapyd has invested significantly in enterprise-grade infrastructure capable of supporting the reliability, security, and scalability requirements of Fortune 500 clients processing billions in annual transaction volume. The platform architecture leverages MySQL Enterprise Edition for database operations, having migrated from AWS RDS standalone instances to MySQL InnoDB Cluster to achieve 100% database resilience during machine failures, configuration changes, and resource type changes with minimal performance impact. This database infrastructure enhancement delivered real-time visibility into system resources, locks, query performance, and potential issues while enabling 30% cost savings in cloud computing resources through optimized storage, IOPS, and volume type configurations. The company maintains PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance as a certified payment processor, ensuring the highest standard of cardholder data protection, alongside SOC 2 compliance demonstrating organizational controls for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Rapyd implements comprehensive data encryption standards for data at rest and in transit, granular role-based access controls, and database-level permissions strengthened through the MySQL Enterprise Security deployment.

The platform provides multilayered fraud monitoring and automated dispute management capabilities designed to identify suspicious transactions, prevent chargebacks before they occur, and protect merchants from fraudulent activity across diverse payment methods and geographies. Transaction monitoring, sanction screening, and identity verification including both KYC for individuals and KYB for business entities are integrated into the platform workflow, enabling customers to maintain compliance with local and international anti-money laundering requirements without implementing separate verification systems. Rapyd has appointed Dr. Shlomit Wagman, former Director-General of Israel's Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority, as Global Chief Regulation and Compliance Officer, signaling organizational commitment to navigating the complex regulatory requirements inherent in operating across 41 regulated jurisdictions. The platform supports real-time payment network connections enabling instant fund delivery 24/7/365 in supported markets, addressing the growing expectation for immediate payment settlement in gig economy, marketplace, and B2B contexts. CEO Arik Shtilman noted in his London Tech Week 2025 keynote that Rapyd has leveraged AI to cut onboarding and compliance processing times by 90%, demonstrating the company's investment in operational efficiency and automation capabilities.

PRICING STRATEGY & UNIT ECONOMICS

Rapyd employs Interchange++ pricing for card transactions, passing through actual interchange costs plus card network assessments and a Rapyd processing margin, providing transparency compared to flat-rate pricing models that can obscure true costs in enterprise contexts with varying transaction characteristics. The company positions its pricing as straightforward and transparent with no hidden fees, differentiating from competitors like Adyen that charge separately for value-added services including risk management tools and advanced analytics dashboards. Pricing varies by region with specific rate cards available for Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Africa, and the Middle East, requiring prospective customers to engage with sales representatives for detailed quotations rather than accessing self-service pricing information. For Hong Kong-based clients, Rapyd offers Business Accounts at $99 monthly providing payouts into 100+ countries, virtual accounts, and multi-currency management, though this product has received criticism from some users regarding the cost relative to traditional banking alternatives.

The company reports that clients achieve an average return on investment of 196% and spend 70% less time managing payments after implementing Rapyd solutions, suggesting meaningful efficiency gains that support the platform's value proposition for enterprises managing complex multi-country payment operations. Enterprise customers representing 75% of Rapyd's revenue receive dedicated account managers and customized implementation support, while smaller merchants may experience more limited support resources with ticket-based assistance rather than dedicated contacts. Payment settlement flexibility allows customers to receive funds daily, weekly, or monthly in preferred currencies, with built-in foreign exchange services enabling customers to collect in buyer currencies and settle in operating currencies without managing separate FX providers. The company's unit economics benefit from network effects as payment method coverage expands and geographic reach extends, creating increasing value for merchants seeking single-provider solutions for global payment operations while reducing marginal costs of adding incremental customers to existing infrastructure.

SUPPORT & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Rapyd provides customer support through multiple channels including phone, email, and an online support portal, with regional support numbers for the United Kingdom (+44 20 3398 1076), United States (+1 209-638-4373), and Singapore (+65 6016 3021) available Monday through Friday during business hours for transaction, settlement, and account queries. Technical support for terminal and online payment issues extends through Saturday with hours from 8 AM to 11 PM, providing broader coverage for operational issues affecting merchant payment processing. The company maintains a comprehensive documentation site at docs.rapyd.net providing integration guides, API references, and implementation examples across all product modules including collect, disburse, wallet, issuing, and virtual accounts functionality. A 50,000+ member developer community provides peer support and knowledge sharing for technical implementers, supplemented by Rapyd Hub centralizing financial operations management across multiple markets and payment methods. Enterprise accounts receive dedicated account managers providing tailored support, implementation assistance, and ongoing optimization recommendations, though smaller business customers have noted that support responsiveness may vary and complex issues can require extended resolution timeframes.

Implementation timelines vary based on integration complexity and regulatory requirements, with simpler hosted checkout integrations achievable within days while comprehensive API implementations requiring multi-country licensing coordination may extend several weeks or months. The company's acquisition of PayU added significant professional services capabilities and customer success resources previously serving over 30 countries in emerging markets across Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Training and certification programs support partner organizations including Independent Sales Organizations, Payment Facilitators, and Integrated Software Vendors participating in the Rapyd Payment Partner Program. The partner program has been specifically designed to serve high-opportunity industries including eCommerce, online gaming, creator economy, and financial services, providing referral partners with commission structures for merchant acquisition and ongoing processing volume.

USER EXPERIENCE & CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Rapyd maintains a strong presence on Trustpilot with over 300 customer reviews, with users frequently praising the platform's responsive account management and technical support capabilities. Representative positive feedback includes: "Graeme at Rapyd is my go-to expert for anything related to payment solutions. Their deep industry knowledge and ability to explain complex systems in simple terms make them an invaluable resource" and "Fantastic Quick response as always. Technical support 10/10 very helpful and by far the best credit card merchant I have used in over 30 years of business. When you have a problem you want the confidence it will get resolved ASAP. With Rapyd they deliver when needed." Enterprise users have validated the platform's global capabilities, with one review noting: "Rapyd is a perfect fit to our global needs. Most of our clients are Asian based and Latin America based. We were able to integrate Rapyd to disburse funds frequently and in bulk." Another business customer stated: "We use Rapyd to accept subscription payments to our SaaS software in multiple payment methods including card, online bank transfers and local wallets. This helped us grow our business globally with ease."

Customer feedback on G2 highlights the platform's convenience for global transactions, with users noting: "Easy way to send and receive money worldwide, so many payment options are available on this platform, which is too convenient for me" and "Whenever I need to send money to other country, this is my first choice. The worldwide payment networks are available without any hassle. Multiple payment options are available which is beneficial for me." However, user feedback also identifies areas requiring attention, with some reviews noting: "Sometimes facing delay in payment settlement" and concerns about "the absence of clear information and the possibility of high foreign exchange (FX) rates." The company's acquisition and integration of Neat Hong Kong customers generated significant negative feedback during the transition, with affected users criticizing the migration process, support responsiveness, and pricing changes. Some legacy Neat customers expressed frustration with the $99 monthly fee structure and reduced customer service accessibility compared to their prior experience. Customer case studies from enterprise accounts including Kadmos (seafarer payments), Littlepay (travel), and SEAGM (gaming digital goods) demonstrate successful implementations supporting complex cross-border payment requirements across challenging use cases.

INVESTMENT THESIS & FORECAST SCENARIOS

Rapyd's investment proposition centers on its unique position as a comprehensive fintech-as-a-service platform with the broadest global payment method coverage and regulatory licensing footprint among independent providers. The company's strategic moat derives from the significant barriers to replicating its network of 900+ payment methods, 41 regulated country licenses, and direct card acquiring relationships across major markets, capabilities that require years of relationship development and substantial compliance investment to establish. The PayU acquisition strengthens competitive positioning in high-growth Latin American and African markets where local payment method expertise and regulatory relationships are particularly valuable for capturing e-commerce expansion. Rapyd's investor syndicate including Stripe, the dominant payment infrastructure provider, suggests strategic validation of the company's market position and potential acquisition interest should the company pursue exit alternatives to independent public markets debut.

Base Case Scenario (50% probability): Rapyd achieves management's $2 billion revenue target by 2026-2027 through organic growth and PayU integration synergies, maintaining the 100%+ growth rate trajectory demonstrated in 2023. The company executes an initial public offering in 2026-2027 at valuations ranging from 8-12x revenue, implying enterprise value of $16-24 billion at $2 billion revenue levels. EBITDA margins expand toward the targeted $400 million level as operating leverage improves and integration costs normalize, supporting profitable growth trajectory attractive to public market investors. Transaction processing volumes reach $100+ billion annually by 2027 with maintained cross-border concentration generating premium revenue per transaction. Base case investment returns of 3-5x from current $4.5 billion valuation appear achievable assuming execution on articulated growth targets.

Optimistic Scenario (25% probability): Accelerated growth driven by embedded finance tailwinds propels Rapyd beyond $2.5 billion revenue by 2026, capturing disproportionate share of the $250+ billion embedded finance market through superior API capabilities and geographic coverage. Strategic acquirer interest from major payment networks (Visa, Mastercard), technology platforms (Apple, Google, Amazon), or financial institutions seeking fintech capabilities drives premium acquisition valuations exceeding $30 billion. AI-driven automation achievements announced by CEO Shtilman regarding 90% compliance processing improvements extend across platform operations, delivering exceptional margin expansion and competitive differentiation. Stablecoin payment adoption accelerates faster than anticipated, positioning Rapyd's early investment in digital asset settlement as meaningful revenue contributor. Optimistic scenario implies 5-8x returns from current valuation levels.

Pessimistic Scenario (25% probability): Integration challenges from PayU acquisition prove more complex than anticipated, extending customer churn, system consolidation costs, and management distraction beyond planned timelines. Intensified competition from well-capitalized competitors including Stripe's continued international expansion, Adyen's emerging market push, and regional champions protecting home market positions compresses pricing and growth rates. Regulatory tightening across multiple jurisdictions increases compliance costs and operational complexity, particularly affecting challenging industry verticals including online gaming and cryptocurrency-adjacent businesses. Economic slowdown reduces cross-border e-commerce growth and enterprise technology spending, extending customer sales cycles and reducing platform transaction volumes. Pessimistic scenario implies flat to modest positive returns with potential valuation compression to $2-3 billion range.

BOTTOM LINE

Rapyd represents an optimal solution for mid-market to enterprise organizations requiring comprehensive global payment infrastructure spanning acceptance, disbursements, and embedded financial services without the complexity of managing multiple vendor relationships across diverse geographic markets. The platform is particularly well-suited for e-commerce businesses expanding internationally, marketplace and gig economy platforms requiring multi-currency seller disbursements, SaaS companies offering subscription billing across multiple regions, online gaming and digital entertainment companies facing limited payment provider options, travel and hospitality businesses managing complex cross-border transactions, creator economy platforms distributing earnings to global contractor networks, and financial services companies seeking to embed payment and banking capabilities into their own applications. Organizations operating primarily in single domestic markets with straightforward payment requirements will find simpler, potentially more cost-effective alternatives among regional providers, while companies requiring extensive in-store point-of-sale capabilities may find Adyen's omnichannel strengths more aligned with their needs. The ideal Rapyd customer operates in multiple countries or anticipates international expansion, processes significant transaction volumes justifying enterprise-tier engagement, requires flexibility in payment method support beyond standard card processing, values API-first integration capabilities for embedding payments into proprietary systems, and operates in industries where finding willing payment partners presents ongoing challenges. Enterprises evaluating Rapyd should conduct thorough due diligence on pricing structures for their specific transaction profiles, verify supported payment methods and settlement capabilities in target markets, and assess integration complexity relative to internal technical resources before commitment.

Written by David Wright, MSF, Fourester Research