As the world circles Australia’s thriving fintech industry which produced the largest takeover in Australian history, digital payments company Novatti Group (ASX: NOV) is staking its claim as a rising star on the global stage which has seen its revenue jump 55% amid a recent hiring spree.
Although they are not as well known as the household buy-now-pay-later companies, it was not long ago that Afterpay took a liking to Novatti when selecting the Melbourne-based fintech as their launch partner in New Zealand. Fast forward 7 months and Afterpay has been sold for $39 billion while their NZ services are quietly facilitated by Novatti.
Driving their emergence as a Tier 1 partner of choice within the fintech community is the digital payments tech Novatti facilitates. These payment services accelerate the trend towards a cashless economy where Novatti’s digital payment products are focused on convenience, accessibility and speed.
Through their range of cards, vouchers, crypto gateways, regulatory licences, digital wallets and apps, Novatti is well positioned for further growth in the fintech sector.
“Across the year we invested heavily in Novatti’s ecosystem, which includes our technology, licences, partnerships, and our team. This ecosystem is central to capturing growth in key markets, as businesses seek a partner to pay and be paid,” said Novatti Managing Director, Peter Cook.
“I want to particularly highlight the investment we’ve made in our team, which grew from 65 to 128 over the past year. This team enables Novatti to develop new solutions, open new markets, and facilitate our long-term growth. It is exciting to see the best talent in the fintech industry choosing Novatti to further their career, particularly in such a competitive market.”
With their headcount almost double that of a year ago, business at Novatti has been rising in response to pandemic trends driving online shopping and digital payments. Making Novatti’s hiring spree more impressive is the major shortage of talent in the tech industry due to Australia’s border closures. This restriction on international students and global talent markets hasn’t stopped Novatti securing top fintech talent as they emerge as an employer of choice under Cook’s focus towards long-term growth.
“All these achievements flowed into Novatti delivering its strongest-ever annual revenue results, with $18.4m in total revenue, including $16.5m in sales revenue. Both these results were up around 50% on FY20,” said Cook.
“Novatti has now grown its annual sales revenue by an average of 45% each year for the past three years, highlighting our ability to deliver consistent, long-term results.”
Macro forces are continuing to drive a shift in banking and payment services away from the traditional banking which initially gave rise to the BNPL sector.
Sold for $39 billion at a revenue multiple of 40x, Afterpay’s sale has shined a spotlight on valuations within the Australian non-bank fintech industry and international players are turning their attention to the land Down Under.
Given the astronomical rise of some companies, a period of consolidation is widely tipped by industry insiders, reflective of the Australian market which has witnessed its busiest year of M&A activity.
Riding the macro forces that are driving a societal transition toward user-friendly cash alternatives, Novatti’s hiring spree and revenue growth as facilitators of this trend has put them in a position to excel.
*Owners of this website are NOV shareholders
Alfred Chan is an Analyst at Emerald Financial, specialising in ASX-listed small cap companies.
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