Silverflow, an Amsterdam-based cloud-native card payment processing platform, has raised $40M in Series B funding led by Picus Capital. The platform offers a single API with direct connections to card networks like Visa and Mastercard, delivering real-time enriched transaction data. The capital will fuel global expansion in North America and Southeast Asia, product enhancements including China UnionPay and JCB support, and 50% team growth to 120 employees.
PSD3 Fuels Cloud Processing Shift
The timing aligns with PSD3 regulations expected in 2026, mandating real-time payments and open banking upgrades. Rivero raised $7M Series A in 2024 for card operations automation, while CLOWD9 secured $3.3M for decentralized issuer processing. Silverflow's direct network API addresses legacy mainframe bottlenecks stifling scalability.
Legacy Mainframes Block Innovation
Payment processors rely on 50-year-old mainframes handling billions of transactions daily, causing slow batch processing and opaque fees. These systems lead to 20-minute dashboard latencies and hinder real-time fraud detection. Current solutions fail to support embedded finance demands, with global processing market at $47.6B in 2022.
Direct API Enables Real-Time Data
Silverflow rebuilds processing from scratch using event-driven architecture on AWS, providing scheme-level transparency like IC++ pricing and network tokenization. Unlike orchestration layers like Corefy, it connects directly to networks for 1.75M daily transactions nearing 1B annually. Customers including Deutsche Bank and Buckaroo gain unified omnichannel acquiring.
As Anne Willem de Vries, Co-founder & CEO noted:
"This investment is a clear validation that the market is ready to move past the ‘legacy drag’ of outdated systems."
Adyen Alumni Drive Differentiation
The platform reduces intermediaries, enabling faster payouts and analytics rebuilt with ClickHouse to cut query times from 15 minutes to under 1 minute. Competitors like Worldpay cling to legacy models, while Silverflow scales to project $100B annual volume. Its API-first design future-proofs for AI-driven commerce.
European VCs Back Payments Modernization
Picus Capital leads with fintech hits like Personio (unicorn) and Billie, signaling growth conviction in infrastructure. Rabo Investments, a corporate VC, adds banking validation via its fraud prevention portfolio including Hawk AI. Existing backers INKEF Capital, Global PayTech Ventures, and Crane follow on, confirming strategic continuity.
Payments Market Scales to $140B
The payment processing market grows from $47.6B in 2022 to $139.9B by 2030 at 14.5% CAGR. Trends like real-time mandates and embedded finance drive capital inflows. Silverflow processes for PSPs, PayFacs, and acquirers across EU, NA, and APAC.
Ex-Adyen Leaders Redefine Acquiring
Founders Anne Willem de Vries (ex-Adyen Card Acquiring lead), Robert Kraal (ex-COO Global Acquiring), and Paul Buying (serial founder) bring proven scaling expertise. De Vries led Adyen's US launch; Kraal oversaw global operations. This Tier 1 domain fit positions Silverflow to capture share from incumbents.
Global Expansion Targets Key Networks
Silverflow plans North America and Southeast Asia market entry, adding China UnionPay and JCB integrations. Team expansion targets engineering, product, and compliance roles amid 112 recent social posts signaling hiring momentum. Partnerships with Deutsche Bank and Buckaroo validate traction toward $100B volume.