What happened
Shares of Marqeta (MQ 1.89%) charged sharply higher Wednesday, jumping as much as 18.1%. As of 12:21 p.m. EDT, the stock was up 7%.
The modern card issuing specialist climbed as it announced a partnership with fintech company Bill.com (BILL -0.13%).
So what
Marqeta revealed in a press release today that it will underpin "new innovative commercial card products for Bill.com's financial institution customers." Bill.com provides cloud-based software to help simplify and automate back-office financial processes for small- and medium-sized businesses, so this could represent a lucrative opportunity.
Image source: Getty Images.
For its part, Marqeta's cloud platform offers application programming interfaces (APIs) that help companies build out highly configurable credit and debit card programs at scale. Bill.com will benefit as it works to digitize the payments space and streamline the accounts payable process for its customers.
Bill.com CEO René Lacerte was bullish, saying the partnership would give its customers "enhanced financial operations capabilities, enabling faster and easier payment offerings."
Now what
Bill.com has a substantial client base, serving more than 121,000 customers in its fiscal fourth quarter (ended June 30), as well as 10,700 businesses that use its DivvyPay spending management tools. This represents a noteworthy opportunity for Marqeta, significantly expanding its business prospects.
The company was already generating impressive growth, with revenue up 76% year over year in the second quarter. Marqeta has also announced impressive customer wins in recent months, including deals with Uber Technologies and Alphabet's Google Pay, as well as handling payments for other fintech leaders including Square and Affirm Holdings.
That said, it's also important to keep in mind that Marqeta only had its initial public offering (IPO) in June, so it has a limited history as a public company. It also continues to generate significant losses as it works to leverage its cloud-based platform, so there's still an element of risk investors should consider before buying shares in Marqeta.
