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."
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
At the core of the ongoing government shutdown is a fight over the decision to end subsidies that let some 12 million Americans get health coverage.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
