Highnote Named to Forbes Fintech 50 for Second Consecutive Year

Recognition follows year of acquiring launch, real-time and stablecoin settlement innovation, and accelerating enterprise adoption

Highnote, the unified platform for modern issuing, acquiring, credit, ledger, and money movement, announced it has been named to the Forbes Fintech 50 for the second consecutive year. The annual list recognizes the most influential and innovative private fintech companies shaping the future of finance.

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The recognition follows a breakout year of platform expansion, new product launches, and enterprise growth across Highnote’s unified embedded finance platform.

“We built Highnote on the belief that the future of fintech is flexible, intuitive, and designed around the needs of each business,” said John MacIlwaine, CEO of Highnote. “Companies want the ability to launch quickly, differentiate their financial experiences, and evolve without limits. Our platform gives them that foundation, and this recognition from Forbes reinforces the momentum we’re seeing as more enterprises choose Highnote to power what comes next.”

Highnote completed a $100 million Series B financing round in January 2025 and later extended the round by an additional $25 million from existing investors, reflecting strong confidence in the company’s growth, platform expansion, and trajectory. During this period, Highnote expanded into U.S. merchant acquiring, enabling customers to manage pay-ins and pay-outs on a single platform and ledger alongside issuing and credit programs.

Adoption of acquiring scaled quickly. Netevia expanded its use of the Highnote platform and committed billions in annual acquiring volume, signaling strong market demand for a unified financial stack.

Highnote also expanded into real-time and programmable money movement with the launch of Instant Payments, which supports real-time disbursements via Visa Direct, Mastercard Move, RTP, and FedNow. Ferry became the first Highnote subscriber to bring Instant Payments live, validating real-time money movement in production programs and demonstrating strong demand for faster, more flexible disbursement capabilities.

Additional 2025 innovations include 24/7 Stablecoin Funding with BVNK and stablecoin settlement for enterprise payments launched with Cross River Bank and Visa. Highnote also expanded integrated credit funding capabilities through its partnership with OatFi, bringing embedded funding options into Highnote-powered credit programs. Subscriber momentum also grew, with Splitit expanding its use of the Highnote platform to unify issuing and acquiring within its installment and merchant programs.

Highnote’s unified architecture brings together issuing, acquiring, credit, money movement, and a fully integrated real-time ledger in one platform, giving customers centralized control, faster launch timelines, and end-to-end financial visibility.

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