Oakland, California-based issuer processor Marqeta, which is backed by Goldman Sachs, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) and seeking out investment banks for advice, Reuters reported.
Marqeta's business allows companies to issue credit and debit cards to their staff, and the pandemic has given it a huge boost as people everywhere rely more on online shopping and food delivery, Reuters reported.
In May, Marqeta raised $150 million in a private funding round and doubled its value to $4.3 billion. That led banks to tell the company it could get even more value going public.
Last year, Marqeta’s revenue doubled to around $300 million.
Marqeta will be interviewing several investment banks to find an adviser. The IPO could come by 2021, Reuters reported.
Marqeta's proposed IPO is being announced as the investment market is waking back up after the pandemic put a stop to most activity during March and April. Shift4 Payments, another payments tech firm, went public and priced its IPO at $345 million last month. Shift4 has seen a near-doubling of value since then, according to Reuters.
Marqeta, which formed in 2010 and specializes in simplifying the process of issuing payment cards, also recently partnered with buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay to help that company expand its footprint in the U.S. Afterpay's BNPL model helps customers pay incrementally for expensive purchases.
Marqeta's role is to provide the application programming interface (API) and help onboard new customers for Afterpay quicker than before, providing a consolidated virtual experience.
According to a recent PYMNTS report, Visa called Marqeta one among a new class of payment providers, and Marqeta was one of over 20 firms in Visa's fast-track program, focused on companies helping the world move into a new, more digital business environment.
