Payoneer Is Said to Hire FT Partners to Explore Deal Options

(Bloomberg) -- Payoneer Inc., which developed a platform to facilitate cross-border payments, hired FT Partners to explore options for expansion, including a private funding round, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The New-York based financial technology startup is considering acquiring smaller companies or raising funds the person said, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the discussions were private.

Founded in 2005, Payoneer has raised more than $265 million from investors such as Technology Crossover Ventures, Susquehanna Growth Equity and Viola Ventures. The company employs 1,200 people across the U.S., the U.K. and Asia. The firm plans to open offices in Latin America this year.

Payoneer's technology moves money for businesses in one country working with those in other countries and handles the regulatory and currency issues that come with international transactions. While many payments startups rely on the existing credit card infrastructure, Payoneer has built its own connectors directly into banks, allowing recipients to get money deposited in their accounts and avoiding the transaction fees that come with plastic.

The company services over 4 million customers, including many of the biggest internet marketplaces such as Amazon.com Inc., Airbnb Inc. and Google, according to its website. Payoneer raised $180 million from investors in 2016, and is reportedly valued at over $1 billion.

Rivals to the traditional players in cross-boarder transfers have been attracting high valuations. Transferwise Ltd., which provides low-cost international money transfers, is one of Europe's most successful fintech companies, valued at $3.5 billion following a secondary share sale in May.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yaacov Benmeleh in Tel Aviv at ybenmeleh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz

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