YAP, the Chennai-headquartered technology startup that provides application programming interfaced (API) platform focused on the financial services sector, has raised $10 million in a Series B round co-led by Flourish Ventures and Omidyar Network India.
YAP which counts CRED founder Kunal Shah and PayU India CEO Amrish Rau, among others, as its investors. BEENEXT, 8i Ventures, DMI Group – The Sparkle Fund, and Better Capital also participated in the financing round.
This startup will use this fresh round of funding to strengthen its technology teams, build new capabilities, and explore new markets across Asia. In April 2020, YAP had raised $4.5 million in a Series A round.
According to the startup, this financial backing reflects the growth potential of business-to-business fintech infrastructure that connects financial services embedded in consumer-facing platforms with regulated bank balance sheets.
Founded in 2015 with the goal of enabling payments for businesses, the platform has evolved into a “Bank-in-a-Box” fintech infrastructure provider.
On the funding, YAP Co-founder Madhusudanan R said, “The tailwinds from the pandemic presented a shot in the arm for our business with across-the-board adoption of our API capabilities. At one end, we have over 20 banks accelerating their efforts to partner; at the other end we have over 300 brands and fintechs looking to embed financial products into their user journey.”
According to YAP, its API platform enables digital platforms, fintech companies, and offline businesses to bring customised solutions to their end-users by connecting them with other fintech platforms, payment infrastructures such as UPI, incumbent banks, and Non-Bank Financial Companies (NBFCs).
YAP has a market presence in India, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. It plans to expand to Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
“YAP is our first investment in embedded finance infrastructure in India, aligning with our principles of Fair Finance to foster a more inclusive economy,” said Anuradha Ramachandran, Investments Director, Flourish Ventures.