Skuad founder and CEO Sundeep Sahi
Global payment processing company Payoneer has acquired Skuad, a Singapore-based HR and payroll platform, for US$61 million in cash.
The deal aligns with Paynoneer’s strategy to build a business-grade financial stack for international SMEs.
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It will accelerate the fintech firm’s growth strategy by enhancing its global workforce management services.
Skuad founder and CEO Sundeep Sahi said that the entire team will stay on after the transaction.
This decision was partly driven by the fact that many of Payoneer’s existing customers already use their Payoneer accounts for payroll services. With 25 per cent of its B2B customers seeking enhanced workforce management capabilities, this acquisition presents significant crossover potential.
“Our customers have been asking for more robust payroll solutions, and the acquisition of Skuad allows us to meet that demand,” said Nagesh Deveta, SVP of APAC at Payoneer. “We are seeing SMEs increasingly seeking scalable solutions and the best talent at the right cost without border limitations. This acquisition positions us to to serve our customers’ needs better drive growth.”
Payoneer aims to offer comprehensive payroll, employer of record, and contractor management services to meet the evolving needs of businesses in a post-pandemic world. The demand for remote and distributed work has created a need for scalable solutions that allow companies to hire the best talent globally without being constrained by borders.
Skuad streamlines the hiring, onboarding, payroll, and managing global talent, eliminating the need for local entities. To date, the firm has secured US$15 million in funding, including a US$4 million seed investment led by Beenext and Anthemis Group in December 2020. Its other backers are Alto Partners Multi-Family Office, Argor Capital, and Zenius Education CEO Rohan Monga.
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According to a 2023 ManpowerGroup study, over 55 per cent of employers are willing to hire internationally amid growing talent scarcity. Additionally, a 2023 study found that 42.5 per cent of organisations hiring cross-border face significant challenges in paying international workers.
The Wall Street Journal has also reported that the trend of outsourcing office jobs overseas is accelerating, with 10-20 per cent of US service support jobs potentially moving overseas in the next decade, according to an economist at Stanford University.
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