Over five hundred jobs are now under threat at London financial technology firm Guavapay, after payments titan Mastercard initiated legal action to force the company into liquidation.
Legal Action and Mounting Pressure
Mastercard issued a winding up petition against Guavapay on Christmas Eve, court documents reveal. The legal move targets unpaid sums owed to Mastercard, which is listed as one of Guavapay's major creditors. A High Court hearing to decide the company's fate is scheduled for 21 January 2025.
If Guavapay fails to settle its debt or reach an agreement with Mastercard before the hearing, the court could order the firm to be wound up. Neither Guavapay nor Mastercard provided comment when contacted about the petition.
Regulatory Scrutiny and Leadership Exodus
The petition delivers a fresh blow to the embattled fintech, which has been under significant pressure since September. At that time, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) raised serious concerns about Guavapay's customer due diligence and fraud prevention systems.
In response to the regulator's intervention, Guavapay was forced to suspend onboarding new clients and halt new deposits into its MyGuava App and MyGuava Business platform. The company described this as a "temporary measure," but by November admitted it had no clear timeline for reinstating services.
The FCA's action triggered an immediate boardroom exodus, with three directors resigning. Guavapay stated its compliance team and external consultants were reviewing the issues and were in ongoing dialogue with the regulator.
A Fintech's Rapid Rise and Sudden Struggles
Founded in 2017 by Azerbaijani entrepreneurs and Russian university graduates Elkhan and Orkhan Nasibov, Guavapay has operated without external investment. The brothers, who wholly own the company, also control crypto trading business Finbloom.
Despite its recent troubles, the company had been growing rapidly. Accounts filed at Companies House show Guavapay's turnover nearly doubled to £23.4 million in 2024, generating a pre-tax profit of just under £2 million.
The past year has seen significant upheaval in its leadership. Fintech veteran Guy Noble was appointed chief executive in March, only to depart after six months. In a separate development, co-founder Elkhan Nasibov was appointed chair of the skills committee at the London Chamber of Commerce in August.
The company had also been expanding internationally, opening an Azerbaijani subsidiary which received an e-money licence earlier this year.
