Yapily Raises $51M to Expand Open Banking API Infrastructure

Yapily Secures $51 Million in Series B Funding

Yapily, a fintech startup, has successfully completed a $51 million Series B funding round, with Sapphire Ventures leading the investment. The company is dedicated to providing a single, standardized open banking API for various European markets.

This API empowers developers to directly connect with third-party bank accounts within their own applications and services.

Infrastructure as a Core Differentiator

“Our primary distinction from many competitors lies in our concentration on the underlying infrastructure,” explained Stefano Vaccino, founder and CEO. Unlike companies like Tink or TrueLayer, Yapily functions behind the scenes.

The company deliberately avoids brand visibility, offering no direct consumer-facing interface.

Focus on Official API Integrations

Yapily’s strategy centers exclusively on API integrations. Recent European regulations, specifically PSD2, mandate that banks provide official APIs for integration with third-party services.

While full compliance is still evolving, a growing number of banks are now adhering to these requirements.

Enhanced Reliability and Performance

By prioritizing official APIs, Yapily delivers a faster and more dependable user experience. Alternative solutions often rely on a combination of official APIs, screen scraping, and private APIs.

Screen scraping can be notably slow, and private APIs are susceptible to unexpected disruptions.

Extensive Bank Coverage

Currently, Yapily supports over 1,500 banks across eight countries. “We achieve between 90 and 99% coverage in the U.K., France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Italy and the Netherlands,” Vaccino stated.

A comprehensive list of supported banks is available on their website. According to Vaccino, only Tink currently matches this level of European coverage.

Versatile API Functionality

The Yapily API facilitates a range of functionalities. These include checking bank account balances, verifying account holder names, and retrieving transaction history spanning the past two years.

Increasingly, customers are utilizing open banking for initiating payments directly from bank accounts.

The Rise of Account-to-Account Payments

Compared to traditional card payments, account-to-account payments offer cost advantages. Cards are also subject to expiration, potentially leading to customer churn.

Yapily’s API supports various payment types, including one-time, international, bulk, and recurring transactions.

Expansion Plans and Future Markets

The newly acquired funding will fuel Yapily’s expansion across Europe. Beyond its existing presence in the U.K., Germany, and Italy, the company will be expanding its teams in France and Spain.

Further expansion is planned into Northern Europe and the Baltic regions, with a longer-term focus on Latin America.

“We will be evaluating opportunities in Latin America, particularly Brazil, at the beginning of next year,” Vaccino mentioned, noting the advanced state of open banking APIs in Brazilian banks.

Growing Customer Base

Yapily currently serves approximately 100 customers, including prominent names like American Express, QuickBooks, Bux, Vivid Money, Volt, and Moneyfarm.

By concentrating on the infrastructure layer, Yapily enables other fintech companies to build applications leveraging its API, proving to be a successful market strategy.