Marqeta bags undisclosed Mastercard investment
Marqeta, a California-founded card-issuing platform, has bagged an undisclosed investment from Mastercard.
The deal sees Mastercard acquire a minority stake in Marqeta, according to Barron’s.
The fintech raised $150 million from an undisclosed investor back in May 2020, setting its value at $4.3 billion. Other backers include Goldman Sachs, CommerzVentures, and Mastercard rival Visa.
“We want to invest in products, in customers and invest in continuing to grow globally,” says Marqeta
Marqeta provides cards, wallets and other payment tools to businesses. Through Marqeta, companies can issue credit and debit cards to workers. Among its clients are Square, Uber, Instacart and DoorDash.
Founded in 2010, the company operates in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific. It claims it has issued more than 140 million cards through its platform.
“No need” for the money
Marqeta’s chief revenue officer, Omri Dahan, tells Barron’s the fintech doesn’t need the money. It also wasn’t actively fundraising when it started speaking to Mastercard.
It therefore plans to use the funds for “general corporate purposes”.
“We want to invest in products, in customers and invest in continuing to grow globally. We’re excited about that,” says Dahan.
Marqeta and Mastercard have worked together since 2014, bringing card products and programmes to markets across North America and Europe.
The new investment means Marqeta can expand the partnership into new geographies, beginning with the Asia Pacific. It will also bring more of Mastercard’s services to its own customers.
“Mastercard’s investment in Marqeta is a significant validation of the power of modern card issuing and the strength of our technology,” says Marqeta’s CEO, Jason Gardner, in a statement.
In June, Mastercard bought Finicity, a data aggregator, for nearly $1 billion. Last year, it also bought European payments company Nets for $3.2 billion, and Transactis, which helps businesses deliver bills and receive payments.
IPO plans
Despite rumours that Marqeta could be acquired, the fintech remains stalwart in its resolve that it won’t be bought.
Currently not turning a profit, Marqeta’s CEO Gardner told TechCrunch earlier this year that the firm already sees itself as “a public company”.
The payments provider is planning a 2021 initial public offering (IPO). A Reuters source has said Marqeta could go ahead with an IPO later this year or early in 2021.
The company is on a high following a surge in demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
Read next: Japan’s NEC buys Swiss core banking firm Avaloq in $2.2bn deal
