Top 32 payments investors & payment processing VCs (2025)

Global payments funding collapsed. From $32 billion in 2021 to just $1.2 billion in Q1 2025.

Winners focus on vertical payment solutions. Embedded finance dominates. Infrastructure plays command premium valuations.

This guide maps 32 active payments investors. Not general fintech funds. Not banking VCs. Pure payments capital.

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32 Active payments venture capital

QED Investors

$925M in new funds for fintech/payments investments.

Focus: B2B payments, payment infrastructure, embedded payments
Stage: Seed to Series B
Portfolio: Multiple payments unicorns
Contact: qedinvestors.com

FTV Capital

B2B payments specialist with focused portfolio.

Focus: Payment software, merchant services, cross-border payments
Stage: Growth equity
Portfolio: Vagaro, Ebanx
Contact: ftvcapital.com

Bessemer Venture Partners

Early Toast investor, active in vertical payments.

Focus: Embedded payments, vertical SaaS payments
Stage: Series A to growth
Portfolio: Toast ($20B IPO), payment platforms
Contact: bvp.com

Y Combinator

Most active early-stage payments investor.

Focus: Payment infrastructure, global payments, B2B payments
Stage: Pre-seed/seed, $500K
Portfolio: Razorpay, Flutterwave, HitPay, BukuWarung
Contact: ycombinator.com

Sequoia Capital

Tier-1 VC with major payments wins.

Focus: Payment platforms, infrastructure
Stage: Series A+
Portfolio: Stripe, Razorpay
Contact: sequoiacap.com

Ribbit Capital

Fintech specialist with payments expertise.

Focus: Payment innovation, infrastructure
Stage: Seed to growth
Portfolio: Razorpay, payment platforms
Contact: ribbitcap.com

Tiger Global

Growth investor in scaled payments.

Focus: Proven payment companies
Stage: Series B+
Portfolio: Mesh Payments, Razorpay
Contact: tigerglobal.com

TCV

Growth investor backing payment leaders.

Focus: Enterprise payments, platforms
Stage: Series C+
Portfolio: Razorpay, scaled payments
Contact: tcv.com

GIC

Singapore sovereign fund in payments.

Focus: Asian payment infrastructure
Stage: Growth rounds
Portfolio: Razorpay, regional leaders
Contact: Through advisors only

Valar Ventures

Peter Thiel's fund for payments disruption.

Focus: Emerging market payments
Stage: Seed to Series B
Portfolio: BukuWarung, global payments
Contact: valar.vc

Goodwater Capital

Consumer-focused with payments angle.

Focus: Consumer payments, wallets
Stage: Series A-B
Portfolio: BukuWarung, payment apps
Contact: goodwatercap.com

DST Global

Late-stage payments investor.

Focus: Scaled payment platforms
Stage: Series C+
Portfolio: BukuWarung, global players
Contact: dst.global

Greycroft

Early Venmo/Braintree backer.

Focus: Payment innovation
Stage: Seed to Series B
Portfolio: Flutterwave, payment startups
Contact: greycroft.com

General Atlantic

Growth equity for payment scale-ups.

Focus: Payment processors, infrastructure
Stage: Growth equity
Portfolio: Global payment companies
Contact: generalatlantic.com

IVP

Growth investor in payment unicorns.

Focus: Payment platforms at scale
Stage: Series B-D
Portfolio: Klarna, payment leaders
Contact: ivp.com

Matrix Partners

Multi-stage payments investor.

Focus: Payment infrastructure, B2B
Stage: Seed to growth
Portfolio: Razorpay, payment platforms
Contact: matrixpartners.com

Salesforce Ventures

Strategic investor in B2B payments.

Focus: Enterprise payment solutions
Stage: Series A+
Portfolio: Razorpay, B2B payments
Contact: salesforceventures.com

TPG

PE firm active in payments.

Focus: Payment platform buyouts
Stage: Growth to buyout
Portfolio: Toast, scaled payments
Contact: tpg.com

TLV Partners

Israeli VC in payment innovation.

Focus: Payment technology, fraud prevention
Stage: Series A-B
Portfolio: Mesh Payments
Contact: tlv.partners

Alpha Wave Global

Global growth investor.

Focus: Emerging market payments
Stage: Series B+
Portfolio: Mesh Payments
Contact: alphawaveglobal.com

BBVA Ventures

Bank corporate VC for payments.

Focus: Payment innovation, infrastructure
Stage: Series A-C
Portfolio: Payment fintechs
Contact: bbva.com/ventures

GV (Google Ventures)

Alphabet's payments investments.

Focus: Payment infrastructure, APIs
Stage: Seed to growth
Portfolio: Payment platforms
Contact: gv.com

HOF Capital

Early-stage payments investor.

Focus: Payment infrastructure startups
Stage: Seed to Series A
Portfolio: HitPay, early payments
Contact: hofcapital.com

Accel

Global VC with payments practice.

Focus: Payment platforms, infrastructure
Stage: Seed to growth
Portfolio: Global payment companies
Contact: accel.com

Index Ventures

Transatlantic payments investor.

Focus: European payment innovation
Stage: Seed to growth
Portfolio: Payment unicorns
Contact: indexventures.com

Village Global

Network-driven payments investor.

Focus: Early payment innovation
Stage: Pre-seed to seed
Portfolio: Payment infrastructure
Contact: villageglobal.vc

First Mark Capital

NYC-based payments investor.

Focus: Payment platforms, B2B
Stage: Seed to Series B
Portfolio: Payment companies
Contact: firstmarkcap.com

Omidyar Network

Impact investor in financial inclusion.

Focus: Emerging market payments
Stage: Series A-B
Portfolio: Flutterwave
Contact: omidyar.com

Glynn Capital

Silicon Valley payments investor.

Focus: Payment infrastructure
Stage: Series A+
Portfolio: Flutterwave
Contact: glynncapital.com

Renegade Partners

Female-led fund in payments.

Focus: Wallet infrastructure, embedded payments
Stage: Series A lead
Portfolio: Ansa
Contact: renegadepartners.com

Lone Pine Capital

Hedge fund in payment unicorns.

Focus: Public/private payments crossover
Stage: Late-stage
Portfolio: Razorpay
Contact: Referral only

Alkeon Capital

Growth equity for payments.

Focus: Scaled payment platforms
Stage: Series C+
Portfolio: Razorpay
Contact: alkeon.com

Payment investment reality check

The new economics

Interchange compression killed easy money. Buy-now-pay-later saturated. Cross-border commoditized.

Today's winners:

• Vertical payment solutions with 3-5x higher take rates
• Embedded finance earning on both sides
• Infrastructure enabling new payment rails

What gets funded

Pre-seed: Technical founders from Stripe/Square/Adyen
Seed: $50K+ monthly processing volume
Series A: $10M+ annual processing, clear vertical
Growth: Path to $1B processing volume

Due diligence deep dive

Payments investors examine:

• Chargeback rates by cohort
• Processing margin sustainability
• Compliance infrastructure
• Sponsor bank relationships

Prepare 24 months of processing data. Document your risk models. Have your BSA/AML policies ready.

Beyond traditional venture

Strategic investors

Visa Ventures: Strategic partnerships plus capital
Mastercard Start Path: Accelerator plus investment
Amex Ventures: B2B payments focus
PayPal Ventures: Adjacent payment innovation

Alternative funding

Revenue-based financing: For predictable processing revenue
Merchant cash advances: Against future receivables
Debt facilities: For float and working capital
Tokenization: Blockchain-based payment networks

Making payments pitch

Payments investors see hundreds of "Stripe for X" pitches. Stand out with:

1. Actual processing volume - not GMV projections
2. Unit economics by merchant type - show the math
3. Compliance roadmap - not just current state
4. Why this vertical, why now - market timing matters

Track which slides resonate. Iterate based on engagement data.

Recent payments wins & losses

Success patterns

Toast: Vertical focus + integrated payments = $20B IPO
Razorpay: India's payment infrastructure at $7.5B valuation
Flutterwave: African payments reaching global scale

Why payments startups fail

Underestimated compliance costs. Sponsor bank pulled out. Larger player compressed margins.

Fraud ate the unit economics. Vertical wasn't big enough. Stripe launched competing product.

What's next in payments

Real-time payments adoption accelerates. Embedded finance becomes default. Vertical solutions consolidate.

Winners will combine:

• Deep vertical expertise
• Modern infrastructure
• Sustainable unit economics
• Global ambitions

FAQs

Q: What processing volume do I need for Series A?
Most payments VCs want $10M+ annual processing. Better if concentrated in one vertical with strong retention.

Q: Do I need a sponsor bank before raising?
For seed, LOI suffices. Series A investors expect active sponsor relationships or direct licenses.

Q: How do VCs evaluate payment startups differently?
Focus on net revenue (after interchange), not GMV. Cohort retention matters more than growth.

Q: Embedded payments or standalone?
Embedded wins 9/10 times. Higher retention, better economics, clearer distribution.

Q: Which verticals attract most investment?
Healthcare, vertical SaaS, B2B marketplaces. Avoid competing with Square in retail.

Q: Should I raise from strategic investors?
Good for partnerships, slow for decisions. Mix strategic with financial VCs.