Vitesse

Vitesse operates a treasury and payments platform built for the insurance market, giving carriers, managing general agents (MGAs), third-party administrators (TPAs) and brokers visibility and control over claim funds that are held and disbursed across multiple parties and jurisdictions. The platform combines a digital ledger, multi-currency accounts, safeguarding arrangements and a payments network, allowing insurers to see where delegated funds sit in real time, fund claims accounts appropriately and settle claims to claimants directly.

Core capabilities include opening accounts in over 25 currencies within one business day with dedicated bank details for segregation and funding; an account structure that supports contract arrangements ranging from single-insurer binders to multi-insurer, multi-contract risk splits; segregation of client claim funds from corporate funds in tier-1 regulated banks with minimal local-bank liquidity held to speed domestic settlement; real-time balance and payment visibility including where TPAs handle claims; customisable statements and reports available online, via API, email or FTP for reconciliation; and user rights management with two-step approval flows for payments and money movements. Named use cases cover delegation of funds from carriers to MGAs and TPAs, segregation of delegated funds, risk sharing where one payment account draws each co-underwriter's share for a single payment, and fund pooling where one funding account supports multiple payment accounts. The Vitesse Cashbook provides an audit trail of funding, payments and returns. Payouts can be made by bank transfer, eCheck, pay-to-card or wallet, with same-day or instant settlement offered against the 5-10 day timeframe the company attributes to banks.

The company was originally a cross-border B2B payments business and repositioned to insurance in 2021. It works within the Lloyd's marketplace — including the Faster Claims Payment (FCP) initiative launched with Lloyd's of London and LIMOSS — as well as the broader global insurance company market.

Founding story

Vitesse was founded in London in 2014 by Phil McGriskin and Paul Townsend, who had previously built Envoy Services, a payments business sold to Worldpay in 2011. (One report dates the founding to 2013.)

Business model

Vitesse supplies regulated financial infrastructure to insurance market participants, holding and safeguarding claim funds and executing claim payments on their behalf through a software platform and connected payments network. Customers connect through the platform's UK and US hubs and via API, with partners onboarded into a shared network rather than through separate bank accounts and integrations per relationship.

Traction

The company reports 550+ connected partners, coverage of 180+ countries and currencies, and $30bn processed since inception (with £15B in processed payments reported as passed in 2025 and £10B in 2023). At the time of the 2024 Series C, press coverage cited more than $10 billion facilitated in payouts to date.

Latest developments

Following the 2024 Series C led by KKR and the chartering of Vitesse Trust Company, LLC in New York, the company has focused on US expansion and product development, including expanding its payments network and insurance value chain connectivity. In 2025 it was included in the Sunday Times 100 list of Britain's fastest-growing private companies and the CNBC/Statista World's Top 300 Fintech Companies list, and passed £15B in cumulative processed payments. New UK and US platform hubs are being offered to customers.