British Fintech Setting Up Atlanta Office to Solve Gambling Sector’s Payment Problems

British payments firm Yaspa, fresh off a $12 million capital raise, has set up an office in Atlanta as it aims to tackle issues of player safety, security and speed in the rapidly growing U.S. gambling sector. 

Yaspa is an innovator in open banking, a system by which consumers consent to give third-party platforms access to their banking data, often via APIs.  

Proponents say the framework, which is already used by the majority of Americans, whether they know it or not, offers greater choice, access and even security.

Head of product Max Collinge will speak on the concept at next week’s Fintech South conference, a stage where other British fintechs have made their Atlanta debuts. 

While working as the chief technology officer of the former Worldpay, which brought him to Atlanta often, Yaspa founder and CEO James Neville saw the need to connect money to identity in a new way. 

That’s especially true in settings like crypto exchanges, forex platforms and car dealerships, where the risk of fraud is high and regulators have instituted strict “know-your-customer” rules. 

Since most e-commerce transactions fail to meet this threshold, and because payment habits are ingrained at the point-of-sale, Yaspa has spent less time chasing consumer transactions and more focused on carving out a niche in the gambling world, offering its bank-to-bank offering, Intelligent Payments, to casinos and online betting platforms. 

As Congress and states consider new regulations governing gambling, Discerning Capital, a Las Vegas firm that kicked in $10 million of the recent funding round, is betting that Yaspa is primed to “disrupt” the sector, given its experience with U.K. regulators and in 18 European markets. 

“The high-risk nature of gambling payments makes it an area in need of innovation and we believe Yaspa addresses two of the biggest issues: chargebacks and player protections,” said Discerning Capital partner David Williams in a news release. 

The U.K. and EU tend to be more strictly regulated markets than the U.S., where the private sector often takes the lead on setting standards. 

Still, Mr. Neville said he sees upside as new player protection measures are instituted. (After another failed push during the 2025 legislative session, Georgia is one of just 11 states where sports betting remains illegal.)

“We feel that we can really shape the industry while it’s in its relative infancy in the U.S.,” Mr. Neville said during an appearance on the Leaders in Payments podcast. 

Beyond verifying identity, Yaspa uses algorithms tied to consumers’ real-time banking data to tell if a transaction is affordable, as well as whether it carries markers of addiction or other indication of harm. The solution netted Yaspa an Innovate UK grant in 2024. 

A paradox that may also pan out in the U.S., Mr. Neville said on the podcast, is that the U.K. has seen stricter rules on platforms translate to higher revenues.

Yaspa set up its Atlanta entity in May at a co-working space  in Midtown, where Worldpay had its U.S. base before the British payments firm was acquired by another Atlanta payments giant: Global Payments.  

“Georgia’s lovely — it’s hot, but it’s also a good epicenter of payments,” Mr. Nevillle told host Greg Myers. 

The rapidly growing company has more than 70 employees across its base in London, a new tech hub in Leeds, and now, Atlanta. 

Techstars Ventures, another longtime investor, also took part in the latest fundraising round for Yaspa, which was founded as Citizen in 2017.  

The funding is geared toward accelerating growth in the U.S. market, Mr. Neville said in a news release.

“This significant investment marks a major milestone for Yaspa. It enables us to take our proven technology into a new market at pace – hiring a local team, building strategic partnerships and adapting our platform to meet the specific needs of operators.”