Zepz, a $5 billion fintech unicorn, is laying off more staff
Zepz, which owns the WorldRemit and Sendwave brands, has a headcount of around 1,600.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Zepz, the money transfer group that owns WorldRemit, made a fresh round of layoffs.
The British fintech unicorn, which is backed by TCV, Accel, Leapfrog and other major venture capital funds, told CNBC exclusively that it laid off 30 roles across its people and marketing functions.
“Zepz has entered a redundancy consultation which will could affect less than 2% of its global headcount,” a Zepz company spokesperson said in an exclusive statement to CNBC.
“Zepz values the contributions these colleagues have made to our company,” the spokesperson added.
“As part of the redundancy package, all impacted individuals will be offered support via our Employee Assistance Programme, including coaching, counselling, and re-employment support.”
“In line with our organisational values, our priority is ensuring all decisions relating to redundancies and restructuring are well-communicated and delivered with humanity while protecting the privacy of those impacted,” the spokesperson added.
That follows a separate round of layoffs the company embarked on earlier this year.
In May, Zepz cut 26% of its workforce, citing duplication of roles that resulted from its acquisition of Sendwave, another money transfer service.
Zepz hasn’t been immune to the effects of slowing momentum in the digital payments space, which has forced companies to cut back on costs and, in several cases, lay off staff.
The company reached profitability for the first time last year.
Zepz said that, with this in mind, its focus is on “innovation and continuous improvement for our users, delivering meaningful products that make finance more convenient and accessible to migrant communities.”
“To fully realise our mission to unlock the prosperity of cross-border communities, we sometimes need to make tough decisions,” Zepz told CNBC.
Zepz has long been touted as an IPO candidate in the U.K., but its timeline on reaching that goal is currently unclear. The business was last valued at $5 billion, making it one of the largest and most valuable fintech companies in Europe.
