In a major strategic leap, London-based fintech startup Yaspa has raised $12 million in fresh funding to fuel its expansion into the United States, targeting the booming market of regulated online gambling and gaming payments. The investment round was led by Discerning Capital, with additional participation from TechStars Ventures and Metavallon VC, marking a pivotal moment in Yaspa’s journey as it transitions from a European player to a global contender in real-time, AI-enhanced payments infrastructure.
Why This Funding Round Matters?
Yaspa is entering the U.S. at a time when demand for seamless, secure, and regulation-compliant payment solutions is at an all-time high. The company’s suite of tools, which includes instant account-to-account payments, real-time payouts, player identity verification, and fraud protection, is uniquely suited for sectors like iGaming, where user experience, speed, and compliance intersect.
The funding will be used to:
- Establish a new U.S. office in Atlanta, a fintech hub with access to talent and regulation support
- Scale product integration with regulated gambling operators
- Support compliance efforts across multiple state jurisdictions
- Expand U.S.-based hiring for engineering, sales, and regulatory teams
The Yaspa Value Proposition
Founded by James Neville, a former CTO at Worldpay, Yaspa has positioned itself as a fintech built for highly regulated industries. The company is a pioneer in open banking, leveraging direct bank connectivity and artificial intelligence to power payments that are not only faster, but smarter.
Core services include:
- Instant A2A Payments: Eliminates card rails, reducing cost and risk
- Real-time Payouts: Boosts user trust and retention in gaming and betting
- Embedded Identity & AML Checks: Simplifies onboarding while ensuring compliance
- Chargeback-Free Transactions: A key appeal for gambling and trading platforms
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James Neville founder of Yaspa
Why the U.S. Market?
Yaspa’s move into the U.S. is a calculated response to a rapidly evolving regulatory and technological landscape. According to Grand View Research, the open banking market in the United States is expected to reach a projected revenue of US$ 30,926.2 million by 2030. A compound annual growth rate of 27.9% is expected of the United States open banking market from 2025 to 2030.
Simultaneously, the regulated iGaming and sports betting market has exploded. In 2024 alone, U.S. gambling revenue almost touched $72 billion, with digital gaming emerging as the fastest-growing segment, as highlighted.
For Yaspa, this means:
- Unprecedented demand for secure, open-banking based solutions
- A clear opportunity to replace legacy payment platforms with more transparent and cost-efficient alternatives
- Room to integrate its AI-layered platform into a fragmented but lucrative market
Investors Speak: Why Yaspa, Why Now?
Discerning Capital led the $12M round with a strong thesis: Yaspa’s ability to serve regulated, high-friction industries gives it a durable edge in markets that are increasingly tech-forward but still face bottlenecks in trust and speed.
Strategic Expansion: Atlanta at the Core
Rather than heading to Silicon Valley or New York, Yaspa has chosen Atlanta as its U.S. beachhead. Why?
- The city hosts FinTech Atlanta, a public-private coalition backed by companies like FIS, Global Payments, and InComm
- It offers favorable state-level tax incentives and lower cost of living for tech hires
- It is logistically well-positioned for working across East Coast gambling operators and Midwest enterprise clients
U.S. Hiring and Next Steps
Yaspa plans to onboard a U.S. team of 50+ employees by the end of 2026, focusing on regulatory advisory, AI engineering, and enterprise sales. The company is already in talks with licensed operators in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania for early integrations.
Its next phase includes:
- Launching in select iGaming states by Q1 2026
- Rolling out a white-label version of its identity verification suite
- Forming partnerships with state regulators to influence open banking frameworks
Yaspa vs. the Competition
While Yaspa competes with names like TrueLayer, Plaid, and Vyne, its focus on real-time, AI-enhanced payments for regulated verticals gives it a specialized market niche.
What sets Yaspa apart:
- No generic bank connectivity. Every integration is compliance-optimized
- AI layer built for fraud prevention and behavioral scoring
- In-product identity verification, rather than redirect-based KYC flows
The Futurism Today’s Final Take: The iGaming Trojan Horse
At The Futurism Today, we believe Yaspa’s U.S. entry is about more than just geography. It’s about timing. The convergence of open banking policy shifts, iGaming regulation, and AI-powered user experiences creates a window of opportunity that few fintechs are positioned to capture.
Yaspa’s ability to embed security, intelligence, and scalability into the high-risk world of gambling payments may ultimately lead to use cases beyond just iGaming. Think real estate transactions, healthcare claims, and cross-border commerce.
As the fintech arms race heats up, Yaspa’s calculated expansion serves as a blueprint for how regtech-infused fintech can scale across borders without losing its edge.
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