Highnote
| Privately held company | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Software |
| Founded 📆 | 2020 |
| Founders 👔 | John MacIlwaine and Kin Kee |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , , |
Area served 🗺️ | United States |
| Products 📟 | Payment card issuing, program management, payments |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | highnote |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Highnote is an American financial technology company that provides infrastructure for embedded finance.[1][2] Founded in 2020 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company specializes in payment card issuing program management, and merchant acquiring for enterprises and digital platforms.[3][4]
History
Highnote was founded in 2020 by John MacIlwaine and Kin Kee in the San Francisco Bay Area. It initially operated in stealth mode, developing a platform focused on card issuing and real-time ledger technology for non-bank entities. In September 2021, Highnote formally emerged from stealth, announcing it had raised US$54 million in combined seed and Series A financing.[3][5]
In January 2025, Highnote raised US$90 million in a Series B round at a valuation of US$750 million led by Adams Street Partners and announced an expansion into United States merchant acquiring.[6][7] In June 2025, Highnote formed a joint initiative with BVNK to integrate stablecoin-based funding for card programs, a feature designed to allow global operators to bypass the constraints of standard United States banking hours.[8][9] In July 2025, Highnote launched an Instant Payments feature supported by Visa Direct and Mastercard Move, enabling near-real-time payouts to external debit and prepaid cards.[10]
References
- ↑ "Debit cards for the homeless and needy: How nonprofits are going cashless". American Banker. August 24, 2022.
- ↑ "Highnote Platform Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lunden, Ingrid (28 September 2021). "Highnote emerges from stealth with $54M and a plan to take on Marqeta in the world of card issuing as a service". TechCrunch. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- ↑ Mathias, Gloria (22 January 2025). "Highnote bags $90m in Series B to foray into US merchant acquiring". IBS Intelligence. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- ↑ Schott, Paul (Oct 11, 2021). "Greenwich-based Oak HC/FT leads $54M funding for San Francisco fintech firm". Greenwich Time.
- ↑ Lawler, Ryan (January 22, 2025). "Highnote raises $90M, adds merchant acquiring product". Axios.
- ↑ Emanuel-Burns, Cameron (31 January 2025). "January 2025: Top five fintech funding rounds of the month". FinTech Futures. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- ↑ "Highnote partners BVNK for 24/7 stablecoin funding for card programmes". Finextra. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- ↑ "Highnote launches 24/7 stablecoin funding with BVNK". FinTech Magazine. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- ↑ Pincovski, Claudia (15 July 2025). "Highnote rolls out real-time disbursements with instant payments". The Paypers. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
This article "Highnote (company)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Highnote (company). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
