London-based Noah Payments has raised $38 million in seed funding to build infrastructure, not another crypto wallet. Its bet is that businesses moving money across borders want the speed of stablecoins without the operational headache. The company provides APIs that handle liquidity, compliance, and connections to local payment rails, letting clients send and receive in over 60 currencies while Noah manages the on-chain settlement [Axios Pro, October 2026].
The Infrastructure Wedge
Noah's product is a single API layer that combines four traditionally separate functions. It provides stablecoin settlement, connects to local payment systems like bank transfers or mobile money, manages liquidity pools across currencies, and monitors transactions for compliance [Axios Pro, October 2026]. The company calls this "stablecoin-native" infrastructure, purpose-built for digital assets rather than bolted onto legacy systems like SWIFT [Dealroom.co]. For a remittance company or a global payroll provider, the promise is simpler: integrate once to send money to 150 markets, with Noah handling the conversion between fiat and stablecoins like USDC under the hood [Forbes, July 2025].
The Adyen Connection and the Checkbook
The founding team brings a specific pedigree to the problem. Co-founder and President Thijn Lamers was previously the Executive Vice President of Global Sales at payments giant Adyen [Noah, About]. CEO Shah Ramezani's background spans financial roles at firms like Lazard and UBS, plus operational experience leading the Asia division for e-commerce group The Hut Group [Noah, About]. This blend of high-scale payments and complex cross-border finance informed their thesis. They are not selling crypto speculation; they are selling reliable plumbing.
That thesis attracted a notable roster of financial and operational angels alongside institutional funds. The $38 million seed total was assembled across two rounds: a $22 million raise in June 2025 and a $16 million extension in October 2026 [FinTech Weekly, June 2025] [Axios Pro, October 2026]. Investors include LocalGlobe, Felix Capital, and FJ Labs, with individuals like Adyen co-founder Pieter van der Does (via Endeit Capital), Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, and Unity co-founder David Helgason also participating [tech.eu, October 2026].
| Round | Date | Amount | Key Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | June 2025 | $22M | LocalGlobe, Felix Capital, FJ Labs, Joe Lonsdale, David Helgason [FinTech Weekly, June 2025] |
| Seed Extension | October 2026 | $16M | Endeit Capital, FJ Labs, LocalGlobe, Felix Capital [Axios Pro, October 2026] |
Traction in a Nascent Market
Customer adoption metrics, while self-reported, show velocity. Noah says it signed more than 150 new customers during 2026, catering to segments like remittances, fintechs, marketplaces, and payroll providers [Axios Pro, October 2026]. The company also claims revenue grew 538% year-to-date in 2026 compared to the same period last year, with 31% month-on-month growth [Connecting the Dots in Payments]. The raw numbers are impressive, though they start from an undisclosed base. The customer count suggests product-market fit is being established, one API integration at a time.
The Regulatory and Execution Hurdle
The path forward is not merely technical. Noah's entire model depends on navigating a fragmented and evolving global regulatory landscape for digital assets. Its stated use of proceeds from the October 2026 round includes expanding regulatory licenses and hiring engineering and compliance staff [Axios Pro, October 2026]. Furthermore, while stablecoins promise near-instant settlement, the final mile to a recipient's bank account or mobile wallet still relies on traditional local rails. Noah must ensure those connections are not just built, but robust and reliable at scale. A failure in liquidity management or a compliance misstep in one jurisdiction could ripple across its client base.
- Regulatory arbitrage. The business is a bet on the global harmonization of stablecoin rules, not just their adoption. A crackdown in a key market could sever a critical corridor overnight.
- Rail reliability. Noah's value hinges on being more reliable than the banking incumbents. Any systemic downtime or failed settlements would immediately undermine its core promise.
- Concentration risk. The early customer base of remittance and fintech companies can be volatile. Diversification into more stable enterprise treasury flows will be a key test of market breadth.
Building the New Default
Noah's next twelve months will be about proving its infrastructure is not just functional, but indispensable. The planned expansion of a New York office points to a deliberate push into a major financial and regulatory hub [Axios Pro, October 2026]. The real milestone to watch is whether it can land a flagship enterprise customer outside its core fintech segment,a multinational moving treasury operations or a large marketplace settling with global suppliers. That would signal that stablecoin-native payments are ready for prime-time corporate finance.
The $38 million seed, anchored by LocalGlobe and Felix Capital and backed by operators from Adyen and Palantir, is a substantial war chest for a company still in its commercial infancy. It funds the licensing, the engineering, and the business development required to turn a promising API into the default rail for a segment of the $179 trillion cross-border payments market [Forbes, June 2026]. The question for Ramezani and Lamers is whether businesses will buy the shovel fast enough, before the giants who own the old mines decide to dig for themselves.
Sources
- [Axios Pro, October 2026] Noah raises $16M seed extension for stablecoin payments | https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2026/10/07/noah-16m-seed-extension-stablecoin-payments
- [tech.eu, October 2026] UK stablecoin infrastructure startup Noah closes $38M seed round | https://tech.eu/2026/10/07/uk-stablecoin-infrastructure-startup-noah-closes-38m-seed-round/
- [FinTech Weekly, June 2025] Noah Raises $22M to Rethink Global Payments | https://www.fintechweekly.com/news/noah-22m-stablecoin-cross-border-payments
- [Noah, About] About - Noah | https://noah.com/en/uk/about
- [Dealroom.co] Noah Profile |
- [Forbes, July 2025] Europe’s Fintechs Welcome U.S. Stablecoin Regulation | https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevorclawson/2025/07/18/europes-fintechs-welcome-us-stablecoin-regulation/
- [Connecting the Dots in Payments] Noah metrics report |
- [Forbes, June 2026] In The Stablecoin Race, Noah Is Selling The Shovels | https://www.forbes.com/sites/kjartanrist/2026/06/16/in-the-stablecoin-race-noah-is-selling-the-shovels/