Unicorn Cashless Payment Firm Nayax Raises Approximately $142 Million In IPO

Cashless payments FinTech Nayax has raised 462 million shekels (NIS) (approximately $142 million) in its initial public offering (IPO) on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), according to a Thursday (May 20) announcement.

The firm’s IPO is the biggest in the history of TASE’s High Tech Sector when it comes to the amount raised and company value, the announcement stated.

“This occasion is a milestone for Nayax, which over the 15 years since its inception has evolved into a technology company with more than 370,000 points of sale worldwide,” said Nayax Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors Yair Nechmad in the announcement. “Joining TASE grants us exposure to international investors…”

Nayax was trading at NIS 1,020 (approximately $310) per share at market close on Thursday.

TASE CEO Ittai Ben Zeev said in the announcement that Nayax’s IPO is “the first global offering of a unicorn on TASE, and we are confident that more international companies will follow this path.”

Nayax has over 19,000 clients running point-of-sale (POS) systems in approximately 50 nations throughout the globe. It accepts nearly 40 currencies and works with payments networks like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal. In addition, Nayax is a Licensed Payment Institution in Europe, according to the announcement.

The company has over 400 staffers in nine nations, including 270 staffers at the firm’s headquarters in Herzliya, Israel. It had an overall $79 million in revenue in 2020, the announcement stated.

Nayax “enables contact, swipe and contactless payments, including credit and debit cards, prepaid or postpaid cards, mobile app payment and QR codes,” according to the company’s website. “Nayax devices also work seamlessly alongside coin mechanisms and bill validators.”

The news of Nayax’s IPO comes as the pandemic keeps impacting the spending preferences of consumers as an increasing number of them trend toward emerging solutions, such as contactless transactions, mobile wallets and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, PYMNTS reported.