Main Highlights
- Paystone is payments and integrated software firm, received another strategic investment worth $23.8M this year.
- Paystone offers customer engagement tools that assist businesses in transforming ordinary transactions into meaningful conversations and development possibilities.
- Paystone, located in Canada, now has total money raised in 2021 of $78.8 million in a mix of debt and equity.
- It entered the US market for the first time this year and will conduct a formal launch later this year.
Paystone is payments and integrated software firm. It received another strategic investment worth $23.8M this year, this time from Crédit Mutuel Equity which is the private equity arm of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale.
The Canada-based firm was founded in 2008 as Zomaron, a payment processing company, and was renamed Paystone in 2019. Today, it offers electronic payments and customer interaction technologies to businesses, particularly those who provide services, according to CEO Tarique Al-Ansari.
Paystone’s Mission
“Paystone is on a mission to help businesses develop, and we were captivated by their dedication to that purpose and their emphasis on service-oriented verticals,” said Léa Perge, an investor at Crédit Mutuel Equity in Canada, in an email.
Paystone is a Registered MSP/ISO of US Bank N.A.’s Canadian branch and Elavon. Paystone is a Global Payments Direct, Inc. company. Paystone offers customer engagement tools that assist businesses in transforming ordinary transactions into meaningful conversations and development possibilities.
Paystone’s solution integrates customer engagement features and payment processing, allowing you to build repeat customers with each credit card touch, swipe, or insertion.
While the majority of the company’s rivals are focused on product firms, Al-Ansari realized how neglected the service side was: their requirements are distinct, and unlike retail, they are not trying to sell online. Rather, they require an online presence and digital marketing in order to connect with consumers, but their primary focus is on being found and providing content that explains why people should do business with them.
Paystone handles marketing through content, reviews, and loyalty and rewards programs. Paystone, on the other hand, rewards conduct rather than expenditure. Get a prize for referring a friend. Write a review, and you’ll receive a prize.
Al-Ansari refers to it as “benefit payments.” Referrals and reviews help businesses become more discoverable, and the more material that is available, the more consumers will consider the firm trustworthy, he noted.
Utilization of Funds by Paystone
Paystone, located in Canada, now has total money raised in 2021 of $78.8 million in a mix of debt and equity. It raised $54.9 million in January, money that has yet to be used, according to Al-Ansari.
Though he wasn’t actively looking for fresh money, Al-Ansari had been in talks with Crédit Mutuel Equity, formerly CIC Capital Canada, prior to the epidemic, and their transaction was halted.
Crédit Mutuel Equity expressed similar interest, and Paystone has already purchased five firms, taking into consideration the type of talent Paystone was looking for and its acquisition approach. Al-Ansari chose to accept the additional money. He stated that it provides the firm with the ability to hire more employees and double concentrate on developing the company, as well as enough money to search for other acquisitions.
Paystone entered the US market for the first time this year and will conduct a formal launch later this year. In North America, the firm has over 30,000 merchant locations on its network, which Al-Ansari aims to increase by 5,000 this year. The firm now employs 150 people, with another 50 anticipated to join by the end of the year.
Furthermore, Al-Ansari anticipates that growth will go up for the balance of the year. The firm processes around $6 billion in credit card payments each year and expects to earn $55.7 million in sales this year. It is cash flow positive, owing to the company’s bootstrapped roots, he claims.
“We want to be the go-to destination for service firms looking to have a digital presence in order to take payments and give loyalty and rewards,” Al-Ansari added. “We will do this by strengthening our market position and expanding our platform with customer-requested tools.”
