Israeli payroll platform for cross-border management of human resources and employee salaries Papaya Global announced today that it has agreed to acquire UK-based digital cross border payments service Azimo. The aim of the acquisition is to provide Papaya Global with new options for existing customers and employees to make fast payments to global teams, without needing to rely on external services such as Payoneer and Tipalti.
Azimo was founded in 2012 and has 180 employees in London, where it is headquartered, the Netherlands and mainly in Cracow in Poland. According to Crunchbase Azimo has raised $88 million to date. No financial details about the deal were disclosed but estimates are that it is for more than $100 million, which would make it Papaya Global's biggest acquisition to date.
Azimo operates an app for transferring money, mainly to foreign workers. Papaya Global plans closing this activity and using Azimo's technology and licenses to allow money transfers from organizations (Papaya's customers) to their employees in offices around the world. Even though Azimo's current business will be shut down, according to Papaya Global cofounder and CEO Eynat Guez, all the company's employees will be retained an integrated into Papaya's own workforce of 450.
Guez said, "Payroll payments made easy regardless of geography are what set us apart from other technology vendors, and this acquisition will make it possible for companies to make instant payments to their global teams. Azimo's global digital payment network, multiple payment licences, and deep fintech expertise will also enable us to build new payroll-related services for our business customers and their employees."
Papaya Global was founded in 2016 by Guez, CTO Ofer Herman and CPO Ruben Drong. Last November the company raised $250 million at a company valuation of $3.7 billion.
Upon closing, Papaya Global will gain payment licenses in the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, as well as a global digital payment network reaching more than 160 countries.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 28, 2022.
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