As coronavirus drives more consumers to cashless, cardless payment options, one of the biggest players in the fintech industry is turning to public markets for expansion.
Paya ($PAYA), a popular payment processor service, started trading on the Nasdaq Monday following a merger with special acquisition vehicle FinTech Acquisition Corp III, which is backed by private equity firm GTCR. The stock opened at $12.49 and was up slightly in midday trading.
"Long-term public investors understand the growth trajectory of well-run fintech and payments companies, and being public provides Paya the flexibility for more accretive acquisitions in a space where we expect consolidation to continue," Paya CEO Jeff Hack told Cheddar.
The company reported processing $30 billion worth of transactions per year for more than 100,000 customers, with municipalities, nonprofits, and businesses making up the lion's share.
So far it has three successful deals under its belt, including acquisitions of Stewardship Technology in 2018, First Billing Services in 2019, and The Payment Group this September.
The most recent deal with The Payment Group added 600 new clients, largely in public utilities and municipal courts.
Hack said Paya went the SPAC route because it offered speed and "certainty of proceeds."
"SPAC deals aren't the right choice for every company, but in our case it gave us valuable time to focus on growing our business and serving our clients," he said.
The business has nearly doubled its topline growth rate during the pandemic, which Hack said has clarified the case for integrated payment technology.
"Simply said, when you have buyers and suppliers working from home, when you're utilizing integrated electronic payments, those payments continue to flow regardless of where the workers are placed," he said.
Charitable and faith-based organizations specifically, he added, stand to benefit, because the pandemic has shut down their physical locations right at the time of greatest need.
"Online donation management is critical to keeping those businesses going," he said. "The adoption that people have experienced during COVID will by all rights continue even stronger post the pandemic."
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
