BC Business
Vancouver Whitecaps | BCBusiness
Vancouver-based Payfirma Corp.—a payment-processing company that accepts payments in mobile, e-commerce and in-store environments—announced today a multi-year partnership with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
CEO Michael Gokturk and COO Sunan Spriggs launched the company in 2011 and have grown its revenues from $1.5 million in its first year to just shy of $8 million in 2013. In 2013 the company was named to BCBusiness‘s annual list of B.C.’s Most Innovative Companies.
Gokturk says Payfirma’s existing relationship with the Whitecaps led to a mutual desire to work together, and when Payfirma approached them a few months ago, a deal was quick to follow. “We moved pretty quickly on it—it was an initiative that we started exploring in late Q1,” says Gokturk. “Being both local, we were able to move very quickly on this and it made sense for both sides to work together.”
Details of the contract will be ironed out in the weeks to come, but Gokturk confirms that Payfirma will be used primarily for off-venue merchandise sales. “We’re going to be exploring every angle to work together,” says Gokturk. “In the beginning we’re definitely going to be working with them more to see what we can do in their off-venue events—the ability for them to use us whenever they’re not in the stadium itself.”
The Whitecaps will be looking at different ways to incorporate Payfirma’s mobile payment offering—a mobile payment app and card reader—to increase merchandise sales at external events and venues.
Gokturk adds that he hopes to also get involved with Whitecaps camps, clinics and youth initiatives, and that they will be looking to discuss online sales in the future.
When asked about other contracts that Payfirma is seeking for the future, Gokturk says he can’t disclose any details yet but says, “I’m a big hockey fan.”