Gig Workforce Payments Platform Payfare Opens Trading At $6

Payfare, the global financial technology company working in the field of pay solutions for the gig economy, has successfully completed an initial public offering (IPO) for $65.4 million, a press release says.

That constitutes 10.9 million Class A common shares at $6 per share, the release says, and the shares will be trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “PAY.”

“Gig workers are a valued and growing part of our economy, and Payfare is proud to help drive their financial security and inclusion,” said Marco Margiotta, CEO of Payfare. “We deliver on this by partnering with leading on-demand gig platforms to power free digital banking and provide instant payouts to their workforce.  With our proprietary technology and continued platform and revenue growth, we are well positioned to lead the industry while providing value to our shareholders as a public company.”

The release says that the syndicate of underwriters includes lead Stifel GMP along with Scotia Capital, Canaccord Genuity and Raymond James, the release says.

Payfare teamed up with DoorDash in order to launch DasherDirect, the banking solution to help give delivery drivers more flexible banking solutions.

DasherDirect, issued by Stride Bank and powered by Payfare, offers a mobile banking app and business Prepaid Visa card, and other rewards. Dashers have the ability to add earnings every day at no cost, and also do things like check their balance, pay bills, transfer money and set earnings goals. The tool was only available in some East Coast U.S. areas as of December 2020, but will be rolled out soon to everyone.

Freelancers, such as the delivery drivers who work for companies like DoorDash, make up 57 million Americans in total, and many of them are counted among the essential workers who staffed grocery stores in the pandemic last year. The need for companies like Payfare is driven by the fact that many freelancers lack benefits and stability, which has made the past year even more difficult for them.