Yaspa, a fast-scaling fintech based in London, has secured $12 million in a funding round led by Discerning Capital, aimed at driving expansion efforts in the United States.
Recognized as an award-winning fintech, Yaspa delivers real-time payment and identity verification solutions. The platform leverages open banking and artificial intelligence to empower regulated enterprises with enhanced customer intelligence and improved cashflow, through its proprietary solution — Intelligent Payments.
Discerning Capital is contributing more than $10 million, driven by a belief in Yaspa’s potential to transform the gambling payments sector while embedding advanced player protections. The round also includes continued support from long-term investor TechStars Ventures.
Operating from headquarters in London, Yaspa has expanded payment processing capabilities across multiple European markets. A U.S. entity has recently been established in Atlanta, Georgia, to support North American operations.
According to a 2024 industry report by Markets and Data, the U.S. open banking market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.5% from 2024 to 2031, increasing from $7.08 billion in 2023 to $35.79 billion by the end of the forecast period.
Discerning Capital targets companies positioned at the convergence of online gambling, sports, media, and technology. The firm backs businesses with validated models that require growth capital to scale. Yaspa’s real-time account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure is seen as a globally relevant solution for regulated gambling platforms due to its cost efficiency, elimination of chargebacks, and seamless integration of player protection features.
Founded in 2017 by CEO James Neville, a former CTO at Worldpay, Yaspa has reached significant operational milestones since inception.
Neville stated: “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, who will be joining Yaspa’s board, commented: “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.”