Paystone closes $69-million financing round

Fintech firm Paystone secures $69 million in financing to further its acquisition and growth strategies

Photo: Paystone CEO Tarique Al-Ansari, and CFO, Abdullah Saab

LOCAL FINTECH FIRM Paystone has announced the closing of $69 million in financing from the National Bank of Canada and the Canadian Business Growth Fund, an investment fund made up of Canada’s major banks.

Consisting of both an equity investment and debt financing, the funds will be used to fuel growth in customer engagement services and electronic payment processing solutions.

“This financing round accelerates Paystone’s vision,” says Tarique Al-Ansari, CEO of Paystone. “We are transforming payments acceptance by integrating marketing automation with electronic payments, enabling merchants to grow their revenues.”

Formerly known as Zomaron, Paystone develops payment processing solutions for businesses that are also aimed at helping brands engage customers. The business has benefitted from the migration to digital commerce, experiencing a high degree of merchant growth last year and surpassing 25,000 clients using their payment systems. The company’s consistent revenue growth also earned it rankings on The Globe and Mail’s 2020 list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies and The 2020 GROWTH500 list by Canadian Business. 

“The positive business impacts we experienced amidst the pandemic showed us that digital consumers, and the technology to support every step of the customer engagement journey, is critical for merchants,” says Al-Ansari. “This funding round is a significant milestone and will be transformational for Paystone. We are very proud to have the support and partnership of CBGF and National Bank as we scale into the next phase of growth and opportunity.”

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This is the first major investment in a Southwestern Ontario-based business by the CBGF. “Paystone’s organic growth trajectory is impressive and supported by an ambitious acquisition strategy,” says George Rossolatos, CEO of CBGF. “We believe Tarique and his team have the skills and experience to continue to execute on their plans to grow Paystone into a leading provider of all-in-one payment solutions.”

With over 100 employees and working with more than 50 sales partners across Canada, Paystone has been actively expanding over the past couple of years. The firm has acquired four startups, including Montreal-based DataCandy, Alberta-based POS West and the merchant portfolio of British Columbia-based NxGen Canada, in addition to Ontario-based Swift Payments. Kieran Delamont