The global cross-border payments industry moves trillions each year. Yet, transfers can be delayed across multiple banks and intermediaries for days, with fees and FX spreads cutting into the final amount. For many businesses, the process is unpredictable and far too slow for a digital-first world.
Riva Money, a London-based startup founded by former Revolut and Wise executives, thinks it’s time to rip up that rulebook. Backed by $3 million in pre-seed funding from Project A and angels from Revolut, Monzo, and J.P. Morgan, the company’s ambition is clear: slash the cost, shorten the wait, and make it crystal clear where the money is at every step.
A frustration that became a mission
Co-founders Niklas Hoejman and Mahendra Katoch first crossed paths at Wise before taking senior roles at Revolut, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. They know the payments world inside out, but they also know the frustrations from the customer side. Both are expats who have spent years relying on these systems themselves.
Even inside cutting-edge fintechs, they watched as infrastructure choked innovation: five-day settlement times, markups of 0.5–0.75% on FX, and a near-total lack of transparency on where the money was. That combination of insider knowledge and lived experience pushed them toward a single conclusion: there had to be a better way.
In an exclusive conversation with TFN, Riva’s founders share: “We realised the market needed infrastructure designed for the modern business from the ground up. Our mission came directly from that shared frustration: make cross-border transfers as fast and clear as sending an email, without the hidden costs.”
Letting the money choose its fastest route
Riva’s core technology doesn’t take an ideological “blockchain only” or “traditional only” stance. Instead, it uses both, whichever is the better tool for the job. Payments can travel via established fiat-to-fiat rails or through blockchain-based channels using stablecoins, with the route chosen dynamically for each transaction.
In other words, a payment from London to Singapore might travel across a blockchain network in near real time, while one to New York could be faster and cheaper through traditional channels. The decision is calculated in real time to strike the best balance of speed, cost and reliability.
“Starting from a blank sheet allowed us to avoid the compromises that slow other providers down. We built every layer, such as technology, compliance, and customer journey, around three goals: be faster, be transparent, and be more cost-efficient. That’s what makes our routing truly adaptive,” explain the founders.
A market and moment made for change
Riva’s launch comes as regulation around digital assets edges into the mainstream. In the US, UK, and EU, policymakers are introducing frameworks for stablecoins and other digital payment assets, signalling not just tolerance but genuine readiness for adoption.
The first rollout is scheduled for September 2025 in the UK and EU, supported by payment institution licences, along with MICA and VASP approvals in the EU and Switzerland. North America is on the map for the first half of 2026, followed by selected Asia Pacific markets.
Riva’s team is already global, operating in eight countries including the UK, Sweden, India and the US, and representing more than eight nationalities.
Building for the long game
With this $3 million raise, Riva is expanding its engineering team and preparing for a fast-paced international rollout.
The company’s founders are open about the scale of what they’re tackling, but equally clear about the opportunity: “Businesses shouldn’t be at the mercy of banking timetables and invisible fees. The future belongs to payment systems operating at internet speed, priced transparently, and accessible globally. That’s the path we’re on.”
If the vision holds, Riva could do more than make cross-border payments faster. It could take one of the most stubborn bottlenecks in global commerce and clear it away for good, giving companies everywhere the freedom to move money whenever and wherever they need it.
