Two Female-Led UK FinTechs Unite as Cashflows Backs Tap & Go

Jan de Vries · 2026-08-14

The FinTech world just got a little more interesting. Two UK-based payment companies, both founded and led by women, are joining forces in a move that could shake up how businesses accept payments. Cashflows, a London-based payments powerhouse, has invested in Tap & Go, a Blackpool startup that specializes in card payment technology and merchant services. While the exact investment amount wasn't disclosed, the implications are clear: this is a strategic bet on growth, innovation, and the power of shared ambition. ### What This Partnership Means for Businesses For merchants, this isn't just another funding announcement. It's a signal that Tap & Go is about to get a whole lot bigger. The company plans to use this capital to expand its product base across new verticals, which means more options for you, the customer. Think beyond just card machines—we're talking e-commerce solutions, virtual payments, and support for multi-site operations. If you've been looking for a payments partner that can grow with you, this could be your answer. Anna McDonald, Managing Director at Tap & Go, put it perfectly when she said, "We are building a brand and proposition that means customers come to Tap & Go because they know we can support them wherever their growth takes them. We are very proud to be a challenger in our own space and working with Cashflows, itself a challenger acquirer, bringing a shared level of tenacity, ambition and drive. There's something particularly powerful about two female-led businesses coming together with that mindset, as together, we can be ambitious about what we build and deliver for our customers." ### The Story Behind Tap & Go Founded in 2022 by Anna McDonald and Nichola Eagle, Tap & Go started as part of the International Connections Group (ICG) before recently spinning out on its own. The company specializes in card payment machines and business cash advances, designed to support businesses of all sizes. From a mom-and-pop shop to a growing enterprise, Tap & Go has positioned itself as a flexible, customer-first alternative to the big banks. ### Why Cashflows Made the Move Cashflows, founded in 2010 and led by CEO Hannah Fitzsimons, has built a reputation for making it easy for growing businesses and financial institutions to accept card and digital payments. Through its own acquiring platform and gateway, the company provides a secure ecosystem for processing payments across Europe. But this investment isn't just about expanding their footprint—it's about combining strengths. Hannah Fitzsimons explained, "While the relationship may have started as a commercial partnership, this is not simply a financial investment—we believe in what Tap & Go are building and the energy from the team is palpable. This is a real opportunity to combine their drive and customer focus with our experience and expertise to accelerate the next stage of growth for Tap & Go." ### What's Next for Tap & Go? The investment will fuel several key initiatives: - **Expansion into new verticals**: universities, stadiums, dentistry, hotels, builders' merchants, and the motor sector. - **Product diversification**: moving beyond card payments into e-commerce, virtual payments, and multi-site solutions. - **Brand building**: investing in people, boosting brand awareness, and strengthening market reputation to attract new customers organically. This isn't just about writing a check. Cashflows is bringing its infrastructure, expertise, and team to the table, which means Tap & Go can focus on what it does best—innovating and serving customers. ### A Broader Strategy in Motion For Cashflows, this investment signals a wider growth strategy. The company is exploring further strategic investment opportunities, which suggests this might be just the beginning of a larger consolidation play in the European payments space. For two female-led businesses to come together like this, it's also a powerful statement about leadership and ambition in an industry often dominated by male-led giants. The partnership between the two companies actually started back in 2025, with Cashflows providing the infrastructure and transaction settlement services for Tap & Go's card machines. Now, with the investment, that relationship has deepened, creating opportunities to work more closely and unlock new growth areas. If you're a business owner looking for a payments partner that's agile, ambitious, and customer-focused, this is a story worth watching. The combined strengths of Tap & Go's drive and Cashflows' experience could very well set a new standard for what challenger FinTechs can achieve.