Paysafe Continues Its Recovery As It Focuses on Bolstering Growth

Paysafe Ltd.’s chef executive early Tuesday pointed to progress in the processor’s growth plan and outlined moves aimed at bolstering both the company’s product line and its stock. A new digital wallet aimed at U.S. small businesses will launch before year’s end, while the company’s board authorized a $50-million share-repurchase program earlier in the day.

Former FIS executive Bruce Lowthers has been all about growth since taking over as chief executive at Paysafe in May 2022, after the London-based company’s stock had collapsed from its perch at more than $200 per share in January 2021. It has traded at less than $20 since March. “We’re preparing for the next stage of our turnaround,” Lowthers told equity analysts Tuesday. “The board does not believe our shares reflect the value of the company.”

Lowthers did not outline details about the new wallet, but clearly sees it as a key to his plan for energizing Paysafe’s growth. “We’re certainly not done, but we’re certainly moving to the next phase in our turnaround,” he said. In case any observer thought otherwise, he was quick to distinguish the new product from its more consumer-oriented rivals. “We’re trying to stay in the verticals we play in,” he noted. “We’re not trying to go upstream to compete with Apple or more horizontal wallet brands.”

Still, the new business wallet will join Paysafe’s longstanding stake in what the company calls its “classic” digital wallets for consumers, which are aimed particularly at casinos and for iGaming. Here, the company reported its transactions per active user reached 31 in the quarter, up 40% from the same period last year. Paysafe now has live operations in iGaming in 30 U.S. states, and an earlier agreement with the Fanatics Betting & Gaming platform is expected to augment this business significantly. “It’s a small part of our business but growing rapidly,” Lowther said.

These existing wallets constitute the Digital Wallets segment, one of two units making up Paysafe. This segment accounted for $5.6 billion in volume in the quarter, up 18% year-over-year, and $182.9 million in revenue, a 12% increase. Paysafe’s other unit, Merchant Solutions, accounted for $29.6 billion in volume, a 7% increase, with $216.8 million in revenue, up 6%.

All in all, Paysafe reported $35.1 billion in volume, an 8% year-over-year rise, with $396.4 million in revenue, also up 8%. Adjusted net income totaled $35.3 million, up 21%.