Payhawk Achieves Visa Membership, Enables Independent Card Issuance

Published about 1 year ago

Expense management fintech firm, Payhawk, has secured principal membership with Visa. This development empowers the company to issue cards independently without depending on third parties.

Payhawk’s Growing Capabilities

Card issuance is a significant part of Payhawk’s services. It provides business customers with company cards in multiple currencies, enabling them to manage and monitor spending and expense management comprehensively.

The company’s CEO, Hristo Borisov, highlighted the importance of their new Visa membership and their recently acquired Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Bank of Lithuania. Borisov emphasized the company’s priority to broaden its payment options and offer flexibility to all clients.

Visa Membership: An Exclusive Privilege

Being a Visa member is a distinct privilege typically reserved for larger financial institutions. Membership is only granted after a thorough assessment by Visa.

Payhawk’s Remarkable Growth

In recent times, Payhawk has garnered significant attention. Last year, the firm made headlines as Bulgaria’s first startup unicorn, with a valuation exceeding $1bn following a $100m extended Series B round.

Prominent investors in the company include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sprints Capital, Endeavour Catalyst, HubSpot Ventures, Jigsaw VC, Greenoaks, QED Partners, and Earlybird Digital East.

In addition to card issuance, Payhawk also offers solutions to several back-office issues such as generating reports, bill payments, and invoices, tasks that are still manually handled in many organizations. Last October, the company expanded its offerings by adding credit cards, giving customers the flexibility to choose between smart Visa credit or debit cards.