黑料吃瓜

New investment brings total funds raised in 2021 to $99 million  

LONDON, ONTARIO & MONTREAL, QUEBEC, JULY 23, 2021 - 黑料吃瓜, a leading payments and integrated software company, secures a $30 million investment from Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity, the private equity arm of Cr茅dit Mutuel Alliance F茅d茅rale, one of France鈥檚 leading financial institutions. The funds will support 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 ambitious growth strategy and further propel its best-in-class electronic payments and customer engagement technology platform.

黑料吃瓜 gives businesses the ability to win more customers and drive growth through a fully integrated technology platform, which continues to generate a significant amount of interest in the market with an emphasis on service-oriented verticals. 

鈥�Winning more customers is a universal need among businesses of all sizes, and our integrated platform that seamlessly combines electronic payments acceptance with customer growth tools is the first of its kind in the market鈥� says Tarique Al-Ansari, CEO of 黑料吃瓜.  

鈥満诹铣怨镶�檚 track record is very impressive, like its young and talented management team. The company has a comprehensive product roadmap and a very compelling growth strategy, and we intend to further support 黑料吃瓜 in becoming a differentiated leader in this extremely dynamic market,鈥� said David Dickel, Managing Director of Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity in Canada.This transaction brings Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity, an evergreen fund, as a minority shareholder in 黑料吃瓜.

The company鈥檚 consistent revenue growth also earned 黑料吃瓜 a #84 ranking on The Globe and Mail鈥檚 2020 list of and the #61 spot on list by Canadian Business. In addition to its impressive organic growth, 黑料吃瓜 completed five successful acquisitions in the past 18 months including the Forrester recognized DataCandy. 

鈥淎n investor with the caliber of Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity sets the stage for our company鈥檚 global expansion and opens doors beyond North America,鈥� says Al-Ansari. 鈥淭he support from such a highly respected European investor paired with our existing backers positions 黑料吃瓜 to continue to capitalize on both our organic and acquisitive growth strategies.鈥�

The recent financial investments combined with 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 pandemic-driven growth continue to accelerate the strategic evolution of the fintech company. 黑料吃瓜 entered the U.S. market for the first time in 2021 and is one of the fastest growing businesses in Canada with more than 30,000 merchant locations throughout North America. 

Dynamic Digital Payments Market

黑料吃瓜鈥檚 electronic payments and digital tools are well situated for businesses recovering from the global pandemic. According to the latest report by Payments Canada, the shift to a cashless society accelerated in 2020 with credit card payments exceeding 70 percent of total transactions in Canada. Nearly 3.2 billion of those transactions were contactless, up 55 percent over the previous two years. 

About 黑料吃瓜

黑料吃瓜 is a leading payment and software company redefining the way merchants engage their customers and grow their businesses. The company's seamlessly integrated suite of automated payment processing, customer loyalty, and gift card solutions is used by brands such as Irving Oil, The Source, Booster Juice, Global Pet Foods, Kernels Popcorn, and many of the MTY Food Group's restaurant brands. 黑料吃瓜's solutions are used at 30,000 locations across Canada and the United States which collectively process over 10 billion dollars a year in bank-card volume. With offices in London, Ontario, Montreal, Quebec and Vancouver, British Columbia, the fintech company employs more than 150 employees and works with over 50 sales partners across Canada. Visit www.paystone.com for details.

About Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity

Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity (formerly CIC Capital) is the private equity subsidiary of Cr茅dit Mutuel Alliance F茅d茅rale and carries out venture capital, growth capital and buyout activities.

Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity supports business leaders at all stages of their companies鈥� development, from seed phase to buyout, by providing them with the means and the time required to implement their transformational projects. Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity brings together a network of over 350 business leaders and entrepreneurs who share similar convictions and can benefit from one another鈥檚 experience, no matter the nature of their projects. Using its own funds (鈧�3.5 billion), Cr茅dit Mutuel Equity makes investments tailored to the time horizons and growth strategies of the companies in which it invests, whether in France, Canada, the United States, Germany or Switzerland.

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About Cr茅dit Mutuel Alliance F茅d茅rale

One of France's leading bank insurers, operating through nearly 4,300 branches serving 26.7 million customers, Cr茅dit Mutuel Alliance F茅d茅rale offers a diversified range of services to a wide range of customers, from private individuals and local professionals to businesses of all sizes. 

One of Europe's strongest banking groups, its shareholders' equity amounted to 鈧�49.6 billion and its CET1 ratio was 17.8% at 30 December 2020.

Cr茅dit Mutuel Alliance F茅d茅rale is made up of the following Cr茅dit Mutuel federations: Centre Est Europe (Strasbourg), Sud-Est (Lyon), Ile-de-France (Paris), Savoie-Mont Blanc (Annecy), Midi-Atlantique (Toulouse), Loire-Atlantique et Centre-Ouest (Nantes), Centre (Orl茅ans), Normandie (Caen), Dauphin茅-Vivarais (Valence), M茅diterran茅en (Marseille), Anjou (Angers), Massif Central (Clermont-Ferrand) and Antilles-Guyane (Fort-de-France). 

Cr茅dit Mutuel Alliance F茅d茅rale also encompasses Caisse F茅d茅rale de Cr茅dit Mutuel, Banque F茅d茅rative du Cr茅dit Mutuel (BFCM) and all its subsidiaries, including CIC, Euro-Information, Assurances du Cr茅dit Mutuel (ACM), Targobank, Cofidis Group, Banque Europ茅enne du Cr茅dit Mutuel (BECM), Banque de Luxembourg, Banque Transatlantique and Homiris.

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Media contact:
Victor Tang
vtang@paystone.com