Zepz IPO delayed due to ‘accounting and management’ issues

Internal issues regarding accounting and senior management could delay the fintech’s planned New York initial public offering (IPO) if reports are to be believed.

Image source: Zepz

Cross-border payments firm Zepz has reportedly been beset by internal issues, leading to the delay of its potential $6bn initial public offering (IPO).

Anonymous sources told Bloomberg that the London-based firm had been encountering difficulties in terms of checking and verifying accounts in a “timely manner”.

The sources also alleged that Zepz had a “convoluted management structure” and “high churn” among its senior leadership, including four execs with the CEO title, and three different execs acting as chief marketing officer within the span of a year.

Zepz was founded in 2010 as WorldRemit by Somalian-born businessman Ismail Ahmed and currently provides international payments services in over 130 countries, supporting 70 currencies.

Zepz—like many other firms within the fintech industry—has been hit by recent job cuts.

In February, former chief executive officer Breon Corcoran announced plans to slash his company’s workforce by 5 per cent, while downsizing its London office, freezing pay, and downgrading the marketing budget by $40m.

It was widely reported in February that Zepz was planning to list on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in a deal advised by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Barclays.

Regardless of when and whether the deal goes ahead as planned, the firm’s plans to list in New York was unlikely to have been welcome news for many in the UK fintech industry, as the government has as of late been incentivizing more firms to list in London.

These measures included changes to listing rules, such as the loosening of the administrative red tape surrounding IPOs, as well as new options for founders to retain more control over their companies after listing.

Zepz in August 2021 confirmed a $292m funding round, with investors such as Farallon Capital, Leapfrog, TCV, and Accel joining the investment, which gave it a valuation of around $5 billion.

Zepz did not respond to a request for comment by AltFi in time for publication.