Yapily stays out of open banking consolidation race

UK open banking infrastructure startup Yapily is stepping back from the fray as competitors rush to merge.

The comment arrives at a moment when open banking infrastructure is no longer a novelty but a commodity. When we covered Kazakhstan’s fintech pivot last month, the pattern was clear: banks and super-apps are bundling payments, lending, and commerce into closed ecosystems, leaving infrastructure providers with two choices—scale up or get squeezed out. Yapily, which has raised significant funding in the past, has the cash to wait, but the clock is ticking. The startup’s revenue model relies on transaction volume, and volume is increasingly migrating to platforms that own the end customer.

Vaccino’s phrasing is careful. “Remain on the sidelines” suggests strategic patience, not surrender, but the reality is that sitting out consolidation may be a high-risk bet. The open banking sector has seen deals in recent years, driven by economic logic: standalone infrastructure plays may struggle to compete with integrated financial stacks. Yapily’s approach could be read as confidence in its ability to outlast competitors, or it could reflect a recognition that the dynamics of the sector are shifting.

What makes this story particularly interesting is the absence of pressure. Yapily isn’t burning cash, and there’s no whisper of a down round or layoffs. Instead, the startup appears content to let others consolidate while it focuses on its core business. That’s a luxury few fintechs enjoy, and it raises an obvious question: is Yapily biding its time for a better opportunity, or has it concluded that the economics of open banking infrastructure no longer favor aggressive growth?

The answer will depend on how the sector evolves. If banks and super-apps continue to pull transaction volume into their own ecosystems, infrastructure providers like Yapily could face challenges. Alternatively, if regulators push for greater interoperability, infrastructure providers might see renewed demand. For now, Yapily’s bet is that the market will reward patience over scale. Whether that bet pays off will say less about Yapily and more about the future of open banking as a viable standalone business.

Sources: tech.eu