BVNK
AcquiredFounded 2021 Β· 464 employees on LinkedIn Β· 9 known investors
BVNK provides payments infrastructure and cross-border payment technology for fintechs and businesses. The platform supports multi-rail, multi-asset transactions globally with enterprise-grade processing capabilities.
Also known as BVNK Ltd
Founders & leadership
BVNK was founded in 2021 by Chris Harmse.
Investors Β· 9
Also in the syndicate Β· 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026BVNK operates a stablecoin and fiat payments platform for businesses and financial institutions, providing a single API and portal through which customers can send global payouts, accept payments, hold funds in combined fiat and stablecoin accounts, convert between currencies and stablecoins in real time, issue cards against stablecoin balances, and earn rewards on idle balances. The platform connects traditional payment rails (Swift, SEPA, ACH, Fedwire, Faster Payments) with major blockchains and stablecoins such as USDC, and can automatically convert on payout so that customers need not hold crypto directly.
The company markets two delivery models: "managed payments," in which customers use BVNK's custody, liquidity and licensing via its portal, API or an embedded offering; and "self-managed payments" through Layer1, an infrastructure-as-a-service product launched in 2024 that lets businesses connect their own licences, custodians and liquidity partners. BVNK states it holds 40+ licences and registrations across the UK, EU and US β including a UK FCA-regulated EMI and a Malta EMI, CASP registrations in Europe and US money transmitter licences β supporting customers in 130+ markets. It reports ISO 27001:2022, SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II certifications and 99.9% uptime.
As of 2026 the company reported 350+ team members, $39bn+ in annualized volume and 40+ global licences. In August 2026 BVNK became part of Mastercard following an acquisition reported by Forbes at $1.8 billion.
Founding story
BVNK was founded in 2021 by Jesse Hemson-Struthers (CEO), Donald Jackson (CTO) and Chris Harmse (CBO). Hemson-Struthers is a serial entrepreneur whose earlier e-commerce and gaming ventures were acquired by Naspers and Sportradar; Jackson previously founded Cue, a bootstrapped customer engagement platform, and Verity, a fraud reduction service; Harmse is a chartered financial analyst and former FX trader who was previously a partner at a macro/crypto fund. An early investor, Concentric, states it first invested at a valuation of around $4 million.
Business model
BVNK sells payments infrastructure to other businesses (B2B), either as a managed service in which BVNK supplies custody, liquidity and regulatory licensing, or as self-managed infrastructure (Layer1) that customers run with their own licences and partners. Products are consumed via a portal, API, or embedded into the customer's own platform. The company states it serves businesses and financial institutions processing at least $500,000 in payments per month with at least six months of trading history.
Sources do not state pricing terms in detail; BVNK's materials refer generally to provider fees, cost levers and FX/conversion in stablecoin payments, and the company says it has "dipped in and out of profitability" while investing in growth, with an expectation of profitability the following year (statement made in October 2025).
Traction
BVNK reported growing payments volume 200% year over year to $10 billion annualized as of December 2024, and $39bn+ annualized volume as of 2026. It reports support for 130+ countries, 40+ licences, 350+ employees (up from roughly 50 to 270 during one executive's tenure), and 125,000 successful stablecoin payouts processed for Deel contractors, with workers in 100+ countries opting for stablecoin wages. The co-founder said in October 2025 that the US had been its fastest-growing market over the prior 12-18 months.
Latest developments
In August 2026 BVNK announced that it had joined Mastercard, with Forbes reporting the $1.8 billion acquisition had closed. Other 2026 developments include a MiCA licence (February), a Corpay stablecoin wallets partnership (May), expanded stablecoin payments with Meow (April), stablecoin payments for Visa Direct (January), SOC 2 Type II renewal (June) and SOC 1 Type II certification (August), plus publication of the Stablecoin Utility Report 2026 and a 2026 stablecoin wallets strategy guide.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
BVNK positions itself as an enterprise-grade, stablecoin-native payments provider that is licensed for both fiat and crypto operations. Third-party recognition cited by the company includes CNBC's World's Top Fintech Companies 2026, a #1 ranking as cryptocurrency payment gateway on G2's Spring Grid, FXC Intelligence's Top 100 Cross-Border Payment Companies (2025) and market-leader placement for stablecoin managed payments in the FXC Stablecoin Payments Buyer's Guide. CNBC describes the space as highly competitive, with newcomers such as Alchemy Pay and TripleA and established players like Ripple.
BVNK emphasises proprietary, purpose-built stablecoin infrastructure rather than a wrapper over third-party APIs; breadth of regulatory licensing for both fiat and crypto; modular full-stack coverage of send, receive, store, convert, spend and earn from one integration; and enterprise security and compliance credentials. Forbes attributes its execution to a deliberately built culture combining decentralised autonomy, high engineering standards and commercial fluency across institutional FX and crypto.
Technology
The platform is proprietary and built in-house, designed to abstract blockchain complexity behind a single API supporting major chains and stablecoins alongside domestic and international fiat rails. Capabilities include named fiat accounts in USD, EUR and GBP, automatic fiat-to-stablecoin conversion at payout, wallet issuance for end customers, virtual cards linked to stablecoin balances, and self-custody infrastructure via Layer1. The company reports ISO 27001:2022, SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II certification, 99.9% uptime, AML systems and controls, and safeguarding of 100% of customer e-money funds.
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise sales ("speak to an expert" consultative motion) supported by content marketing including research reports, buyer guides, webinars and case studies. BVNK also distributes through embedding its infrastructure into partner platforms β for example payouts for Worldpay clients, stablecoin payouts for Deel contractors, stablecoin wallets for Corpay and stablecoin payments for Visa Direct.
Businesses and financial institutions moving money cross-border, including fintechs and payment service providers, marketplaces, global payroll and employer-of-record platforms, brokerages and trading firms, digital asset companies, gaming operators, and β per the co-founder β neobanks. Named customers and partners include Worldpay, Deel, Corpay, Visa/Visa Direct, Rapyd, Trust Payments, XM and Meow.
Geography
Licensed across the UK, EU (including Malta and CASP registrations) and the US, supporting customers in 130+ countries. US operations include a San Francisco office opened around December 2024 and a New York City presence, with a dedicated US CEO; the company also has a Malta entity with its own CEO.
History
Founded in 2021, BVNK announced a Series A led by Tiger Global in 2022 and set out to accelerate global money movement using stablecoins. It launched its Layer1 self-custody solution in 2024 and partnered with Deel in spring 2024 to enable stablecoin payouts to contractors. In December 2024 it raised a $50 million Series B led by Haun Ventures and simultaneously announced US expansion with a San Francisco office and a New York City presence. In October 2025 Citi Ventures made an undisclosed investment. During 2026 the company reported a MiCA licence (February), partnerships with Visa Direct, Meow and Corpay, and SOC 2 Type II renewal and SOC 1 Type II certification. It published "Why BVNK is joining Mastercard" in March 2026 and announced the completed Mastercard acquisition in August 2026.
Risks & controversies
BVNK's own web properties carry a risk warning approved by Archax Ltd stating that investments are high risk and investors should be prepared to lose all money invested, and note that crypto is not FCA-regulated in the UK and that BVNK is not a bank. The company operates in a highly competitive cross-border digital payments market and told CNBC it has "dipped in and out of profitability" while investing in growth. Its business is exposed to evolving stablecoin regulation, including MiCA in the EU and the US GENIUS Act.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Founder mafia
2 people who came through BVNK went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors Β· 10
by search overlap
Companies competing with BVNK for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline Β· 16
launches, deals, and filingsMastercard acquired BVNK in a deal reported at $1.8 billion; BVNK announced "BVNK joins Mastercard" on 3 August 2026 and its about page states the company is now part of Mastercard. Forbes reported on 3 August 2026 that the acquisition had closed.
$1.8B source β
Blog post explaining the company's decision to join Mastercard, published ahead of deal completion.
BVNK told CNBC that Citi Ventures, the venture arm of Citigroup, had invested an undisclosed sum. The company declined to disclose the amount or its current valuation, but co-founder Chris Harmse said the valuation is higher than the $750 million publicly disclosed at the previous round.
Alongside its Series B announcement, BVNK said it was opening an office in San Francisco and establishing a presence in New York City, after building out a US team, local banking infrastructure and operational licences.
In Spring 2024 Deel partnered with BVNK to let contractors receive wages in dollar-backed stablecoins such as USDC, with automatic conversion so Deel does not handle crypto. BVNK reports 125,000 successful payouts processed and worker adoption in 100+ countries.
BVNK launched Layer1, a self-managed / infrastructure-as-a-service offering allowing businesses to connect their own licences, custodian and liquidity partners.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- BVNKbvnk.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does BVNK do?
- BVNK is an enterprise stablecoin payments infrastructure provider, acquired by Mastercard in 2026 for a reported $1.8 billion.
- Who founded BVNK?
- BVNK was founded by Chris Harmse in 2021.
- Who are BVNK's investors?
- BVNK's investors include Avenir Growth Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Nordstar, Saison Capital, Scribble Ventures, Start Capital, The Raba Partnership.