Marqeta closes Australia office in bid to cut costs
Global card issuing platform Marqeta has closed its office in Australia as part of operational expense cuts.
Marqeta is undertaking “restructuring actions” to reduce operating expenses
A spokesperson for Marqeta says the company will instead by servicing its Australian customers, which include buy now, pay later (BNPL) firms Afterpay and Zip, out of its US headquarters in Oakland, California.
“All existing Marqeta customers in Australia will continue to be supported from our US office. This doesn’t impact their business,” the spokesperson says.
The spokesperson adds that “all recently signed customers that are currently being onboarded will be supported” and the company will “continue to support our global customers who want to expand into Australia”.
The decision to close the office has impacted eight roles in Australia and Singapore, including that of Marqeta’s now former country manager for Australia and New Zealand, Duncan Currie, who revealed the move on LinkedIn, writing that the company’s head office decided to “close the APAC offices with immediate effect” at the end of May.
“The decision had less to do with the momentum we created in the market, and more to do with a simplification and focus on large, high-revenue markets while the markets are not in growth companies favour,” Currie writes.
The move comes off the back of Marqeta’s Q1 2023 earnings call in May, in which the company revealed a net loss of $69 million over the quarter, with chief financial officer (CFO) Mike Milotich adding the figure includes “a $32 million one-time noncash post-combination compensation expense related to the closing of the Power acquisition”. Marqeta announced the acquisition of Power Finance, a credit card management platform, in January.
Meanwhile, the company’s total processing volume (TPV) rose to $50 billion and net revenue rose to $217 million, representing year-over-year increases of 37% and 31%, respectively.
In response to the results, the company said it would be undertaking “restructuring actions in Q2 to reduce operating expenses by $40-$45 million on an annual run rate basis to help put the company on a path to profitability”.
New CEO Simon Khalaf revealed on the earnings call that this would include laying off 15% of its total staff headcount – around 150 employees.
