Benzinga | Aug 30, 2021 08:04AM EDT

2021 and the Death of Cash: A Look at OLB vs. Other FinTech Payment Companies

Every moment we collectively spent at home in the past year has undoubtedly been tied to accelerating the online economy.

More time in front of the screen meant increased online shopping--to the tune of a $26.7 trillion global rise in e-commerce. So it's no surprise to learn that as of recently, FinTech payment companies have dominated the banking industry. As more people log on, both merchants and consumers constantly look for safer and easier ways to engage in the transaction of goods and services.

It's no secret that this software has been increasingly on investors' radars in 2021. Although many of these FinTech payment firms are publicly traded, the 500 lb gorilla in the space is Stripe, still a private company. In March, Stripe raised $600 million, increasing its valuation to $95 billion, making them one of the largest private unicorns.

However, there are some other publicly traded players in the game that are on the horizon, including OLB Group, Inc (NASDAQ:OLB). OLB Group processed $775 Million in transactions for over 8,500 merchants, generating $10.21M in revenue in the past year. OLB Group's current market cap sits at $27.2M, with a very modest price/sales multiple at 2.66.

Let's look at some of the smaller publicly traded players and compare essential valuations with OLB Group:

Peer List for the OLB Group, Inc:

GreenBox Pos (NASDAQ:GBOX) develops, markets, and sells innovative blockchain-based payment solutions, which offer significant improvements for the payment solutions marketplace.

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE:FOUR) offers software providers a single integration to end-to-end payment offering, a powerful gateway, and a robust suite of technology solutions (including cloud enablement, business intelligence, analytics, and mobile) to enhance the value of its software suites and simplify payment acceptance.

i3 Verticals Inc (NASDAQ:IIIV) offers integrated payment and software solutions to small and medium-sized businesses and organizations in strategic vertical markets such as schools, the public sector, not-for-profit organizations, and healthcare.

Paya Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PAYA) processes payments through credit and debit cards, ACH, and check payment processing solutions. It serves customers through around 2,000 distribution partners focusing on verticals such as healthcare, education, non-profit, government, utilities, and other B2B.

OLB Group, Inc (NASDAQ:OLB) is a FinTech that provides cloud-based Omni commerce and payment acceptance solutions. Offering SecurePay(tm) and eVance, the company provides clients with a payment processing solution that helps businesses create a payment gateway. Moreover, its virtual terminal has various management and business tools targeted towards small- and medium-sized merchants. The company also operates ShopFast, an omnichannel platform that allows consumers to purchase goods from clients' websites across multiple different sectors. Recently, OLB announced DMint, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, is planning to bring approximately one thousand cryptocurrency mining machines online this year operated by zero carbon footprint data centers, a move that seems in line with their portfolio of cashless-based systems.

With the continued transition away from cash-based payment systems, both online and in-store, the constantly evolving industry will most certainly be one to watch.