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Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha , or NYK Line, is purchasing Germany’s payroll platform designed specifically for maritime employees. Kadmos , as it aims to further extend the outreach of its fintech offerings within the maritime industry.
The fiscal details of the acquisition agreement were not revealed by the corporations, with the transaction anticipated to conclude within the coming several weeks.
In 2021, MIT graduates Justus Schmueser and Sasha Makarovych established Kadmos with the objective of offering cost-effective and clear solutions for international salary transfers to various enterprises, particularly focusing on ship owners and shipping management firms, tailored explicitly towards their seafarer workforce.
In 2019, NYK introduced a financial services platform named MarCoPay in Manila, Philippines, providing loans and insurance specifically designed for Filipino seafarers and their families. Following this launch, they have partnered with various ship owners and ship management firms and have also made acquisitions. a License for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) From the central bank of the Philippines.
NYK aimed to acquire Kadmos as part of their strategy to expand their digital payments sector outside the Philippines. They intend to integrate the Kadmos platform into MarCoPay, which will offer payroll services to maritime employees from various countries around the world.
Our strategy involves utilizing Kadmos' worldwide presence and extensive network, combined with MarCoPay’s strengths in the Philippine market," explained Makarovych to TechCrunch. "Additionally, we aim to capitalize on the esteemed reputation of the NYK brand to accelerate our growth in the shipping sector and attract clients more rapidly—it’s a highly regarded name known throughout the industry.
Kadmos aims to broaden its scope beyond just payroll services to include cross-border B2B payments and corporate card offerings. The firm seeks to extend its reach into the cruise sector as well. Additionally, Kadmos plans to provide extra financial services tailored for shipping firms and maritime workers via an alliance with NYK and Makarovych, as mentioned earlier.
Makarovych stated that Kadmos’s team will remain with the company, though there will be some modifications to the leadership hierarchy.
Several digital payment platforms are accessible to maritime firms, including options like MarTrust, ShipMoney, and Brightwell.
However, Makarovych believes that Kadmos distinguishes itself due to its comprehensive coverage, highlighting features such as fully cashless operations onboard ships. This includes the use of virtual point-of-sale systems and peer-to-peer money transfers.
Our cards come unpersonalized and offer broad acceptance, enabling businesses to deploy Kadmos onto their vessels swiftly without dealing with intricate card distribution," stated Makarovych. "The Kadmos pricing structure is highly adaptable, permitting firms to address costs for their staff in a customized manner while still adhering to rules set forth by the Maritime Labor Convention—our competitors merely impose a recurring SaaS charge.
Most recently, Kadmos secured a $29.5 million Series A funding round in 2022. This influx of capital increased their overall funds raised to $38 million. Currently, they boast over 40 corporate clients.