The tech boom continues to reshape the city: another company is to hire in Porto

Fintech SaltPay acquired 90% of the payment solution national company's capital Pagaqui, and it will invest 40 million euros in a new technological centre in Porto. There is a team of 40 people working remotely, owing to the pandemic, but another 140 people are to be hired till the end of 2021. It will depend on the end of the lockdown. Still, the target is to hire up until 550 collaborators in two years’ time.

Porto is the centre stage for Pagaqui to “assemble a multidisciplinary pool of talents in the fields of Information Technologies, Acquiring, EPOS Systems, CRM, Loyalty Manager and E-commerce”, advances the company’s president, João Barros, in a statement.

SaltPay furthers that it will hire “mostly technological infrastructure and software engineers, thus becoming an excellence centre at European level”.

The head of the Portuguese payment solution company has no doubts that “the SaltPay Group technological hub will strengthen our supply in terms of equipment and innovative services, based on our own rather competitive technology. Our performance strategy will focus on customer service improvement, equipment supply that allow a practical and intuitive use, as well as a closer relationship with the customer”.

Porto is among the three centres established by SaltPlay, which is headquartered in the UK; the other two will be established in Eastern Europe and in Ireland.

Porto was chosen “in a logic of human resources capacity. There is [in Porto] a concentration of particular major faculties that can provide the human resources we need”, enhances João Barros to Negócios newspaper. The construction of facilities in Porto should be concluded in three years’ time.

SaltPay’s chairman believes that “Portugal will be the centre of our technological innovation, providing small and medium enterprises the next generation tools and services that enable to sell more and to better businesses management”.

Pagaqui, which will maintain its brand, highlights the “international dimension and the possibility to share competences, which will be a huge asset for current and potential clients”, stated João Barros. Also, Pagaqui, with a portfolio of circa 4.500 clients, is planning to hire another 100 collaborators for its commercial teams, in order to address the new products that are soon to be launched, targeted at small and medium retailers.