Key Findings & Highlights:

This NelsonHall vendor assessment analyzes Papaya Global’s EOR offerings and capabilities.

Papaya Global, headquartered in New York, NY, provides global employer of record (EOR) and automated workforce management services. 

The company was established in 2016 and began offering global EOR services, adding its first clients in 2017. In 2018, it began offering managed international payroll services through its proprietary aggregator platform, which supports ~160 countries currently. In 2019, it expanded its services, adding independent contractor management support.

In July 2020, the firm made its first acquisition, Israeli-based HRIS technology provider Mensch, Inc. The investment integrated Mensch's comprehensive human capital management platform into Papaya Global's service and technology offering. In November 2021, the organization acquired a small work connectivity firm, NickNack, enhancing its technology solution for onboarding remote teams.

Papaya Global acquired a digital money transfer service, Azimo, in March 2022. The acquisition delivers money transfer licenses, making Papaya Global the only payroll/EOR vendor regulated and licensed to transfer workforce payments to authorities and works directly without using a third-party payment provider.  The payment technology, built into a single workforce platform, includes an interface that simplifies and gives clients greater payment transparency and control versus current payment services and traditional banks.

Papaya's vision is a single source of truth for the entire workforce, based on actionable analytics and enabling hiring, onboarding, and paying people worldwide in one platform.

Since its inception, Papaya Global has raised total equity funding of ~$444.5m over seven rounds. Following its most recent funding round in September 2021, the company valuation is ~$3.7b. Fifteen investors fund Papaya Global.

Papaya Global's employment services comprise three primary areas:

• Employer of Record (EOR): Full-scale employment services for organizations without an established in-country legal entity
• Global Payroll: AI-enabled end-to-end payroll processing for organizations with and without an established legal entity across ~160 countries
• Payments: Consolidation, validation, and payment services for all workers: payroll, EOR, and freelance contractors.

The company is a founding member of the Global Employment Innovation Organization (GEIO) member. The group, announced in February 2023, focuses on promoting, maturing, and expanding the ecosystem for global employment service providers by bringing industry leaders together to help ensure a better employment services industry for all stakeholders. The group focuses on and supports the remote work revolution through industry-wide cooperation and best practices to ensure providers have a solid foundation for a prosperous future.

Papaya Global offers its global EOR services to ~1,830 clients and ~ 57,000 active workers across ~160 countries globally, and include:

• Ongoing HR support
• Benefits management and administration
• Cross-border payments
• Worker classification & compliance checks
• Tax filing assistance
• Customized payroll ledger, per financial system requirements
• Integration to client systems (HRIS, VMS, T&A, Expenses Management, and ERP)
• Global equity plan management, including restricted stock units (RSU), employee stock ownership plans (ESOP), and employee stock purchase plans (ESPP)
• Statutory and custom reports for employers.