An opportunity at the intersection of fintech, HR tech, and local commerce.
Ampezy digitizes the corporate benefits market - starting in the United States, expanding across the Americas and Europe.
Request informationA large market with an outdated solution
The problem
North American companies spend $176.2 billion a year on non-cash rewards and incentives - and the average company invests $1,090 per employee per year with no way to measure whether those incentives drove retention or performance. (Source: Incentive Research Foundation / Incentive Federation, 2022; IRF via Engage2Excel, 2023)
The opportunity
The US digital employee incentive platform market is valued at $3.5 billion today and projected to reach $7.2 billion by 2034 (7.5% CAGR). Digital rewards already account for 55% of all reward delivery. Nobody has solved the end-to-end problem for the mid-market segment (15-500 employees). (Source: Emergen Research, 2024; Business Research Insights, 2025)
A $3.5 billion market growing at 7.5% annually.
Within a $176.2 billion North American non-cash rewards spend (IRF, 2022), the US digital employee recognition and reward platform market is our beachhead.
$3.5B
Total Addressable Market
US digital employee recognition & reward platform market (2024)
Growing to $7.2B by 2034 · CAGR 7.5% · Source: Emergen Research 2024
$3.2B+
Serviceable Addressable Market
US + LatAm B2B2C digital incentive platforms, SMB & mid-market
$48M+
Serviceable Obtainable Market
Miami metro · 82,000+ businesses · 15-500 employees · Year 1-2 beachhead
$176.2B total non-cash rewards spend in North America (IRF / Incentive Federation, 2022) · $1,090 average per-employee incentive spend per year (IRF, 2023) · Digital rewards: 55% of all reward delivery (Business Research Insights, 2025)
A global model. The Americas first.
Ampezy's model is replicable in any market with formal employment and digital payments. We start with six countries across the Americas where the infrastructure is already in place.
United States
Initial market
US digital employee recognition & reward platform market (2024)
Source: Emergen Research, 2024
Annual market growth (CAGR 2024-2034)
Source: Emergen Research, 2024
Canada
Nearest English-speaking expansion
Employee benefits market size (2024)
Source: Cognitive Market Research, 2024
Annual growth (CAGR 2024-2031)
Source: Cognitive Market Research, 2024
Brazil
Largest LatAm economy · Pix leader
Meal & food voucher market (vale-refeicao + vale-alimentacao)
Source: ABBT / Technavio Brazil Benefits Market, 2024
Annual market growth (CAGR 2024-2030)
Source: Mordor Intelligence, 2024
Colombia
Fastest-growing Andean economy
Employee benefits & meal voucher market (2024)
Source: extrapolated from LatAm total · Fortune BI, 2024
Annual growth (CAGR 2024-2031)
Source: Fortune Business Insights, 2024
Argentina
Strong tech talent pool · Rapid digitalization
Employee benefits market est. (2024)
Source: extrapolated from LatAm total · Fortune BI, 2024
LatAm market CAGR (2024-2031)
Source: Fortune Business Insights, 2024
Peru
Stable economy · Growing formalization
Employee benefits market est. (2024)
Source: extrapolated from LatAm total · Fortune BI, 2024
Annual growth (CAGR 2024-2031)
Source: Fortune Business Insights, 2024
And the rest of the world?
The global rewards and incentives service market is valued at $4.65 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $10.2 billion by 2034 at an 8.9% CAGR. North America accounts for 40%+ of the global market, with digital rewards representing 55% of all service types. (Source: Business Research Insights, 2025)
Europe is led by France, Germany, and the UK - all with mature digital payment infrastructure and strong employee benefits regulation. Mexico (22M formal workers), Chile, and the Caribbean are natural expansion corridors from our LatAm base. Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are following the same digitalization curve, each with millions of mid-market companies and no dominant solution.
Per-employee non-cash incentive spend grew 43% from 2020 to 2023 ($764 → $1,090).
Corporate incentive budgets are expanding, not contracting.
Beyond the Platform Market
We start in the $3.5 billion US digital employee incentive platform market. That is our beachhead - a focused, verified, growing segment where Ampezy competes today.
But our real goal is larger. $176.2 billion flows annually through corporate incentive programs in North America alone - most of it as cash bonuses, physical gift cards, and merchandise that disappears into employees' bank accounts with no visibility, no data, and no connection to the merchants those employees visit every day.
Ampezy is building the infrastructure that normalizes the financial interaction between these three actors: the company that rewards, the employee who receives, and the merchant who benefits. Every time that interaction happens on Ampezy, we generate transaction revenue, float income, and data - regardless of how large the incentive market grows.
If just 5% of the US workforce receives incentives through a platform like Ampezy - conservative, given that 55% of all reward delivery is already digital - that represents 8 million employees spending $1,090 per year.
At our 2% transaction commission, transaction revenue alone exceeds $174 million annually. Before subscriptions. Before float. Before LatAm.
Total non-cash rewards spend in North America annually
Source: IRF / Incentive Federation, 2022
Average per-employee non-cash incentive spend
Source: Incentive Research Foundation, 2023
Of all reward delivery is already digital and growing
Source: Business Research Insights, 2025
We are not building a better gift card.
We are building the operating system for corporate incentives.
The timing is right
Infrastructure is ready
Stripe Treasury, Persona KYC, and digital payment rails across the Americas are mature. Building this 5 years ago would have cost 10x more.
Wallet adoption accelerated
The pandemic pulled digital payment adoption forward by 5-7 years. The average employee already knows what a digital wallet is.
Underserved segment
Enterprise solutions (SAP, Workday) are too expensive for mid-market. Consumer solutions lack the controls HR needs. Ampezy sits exactly in between.
Per-employee non-cash spend growth (2020-2023): $764 → $1,090
Source: IRF 2024
Projected increase in merchandise incentive spending (2024)
Source: IRF 2024
Projected increase in digital gift card spending (2024)
Source: IRF 2024
Of employees report having a structured recognition system
Source: Gallup
10 revenue streams. One mission: make life easier.
Every revenue line is unlocked by solving a real problem for companies, employees, or merchants. No friction - just value that people are willing to pay for.
1.Company subscriptions
Tiered SaaS plans (Free/Starter/Business/Enterprise) based on employee count and features
2.Merchant subscriptions
Multi-branch, loyalty programs, and advanced reporting for merchants
3.Transaction commission
2% flat on every Ampezy-processed payment - deducted in weekly settlement
4.Financial float
Interest on platform balances (T-Bills / MMF) - same model as Edenred (~40% EBITDA)
5.Expired bonus breakage
Revenue from unused voucher balances that expire per company policy
6.Advertising campaigns
Merchants pay to promote offers directly to employees in-app
7.Merchant Intelligence
Premium analytics - spending insights and benchmarks (Phase 2)
8.ERP connectors + Promotions
Salesforce, SAP, HubSpot integrations for automated performance bonuses (Phase 2)
9.FX spread
LatAm cross-border flows - FX margin on international employee benefits (LatAm expansion)
10.White Label / API Licensing
Enterprise clients deploy Ampezy under their own brand (Phase 4)
Company subscriptions
| Free | $0/mo | Up to 15 employees |
| Starter | [PLACEHOLDER]/mo | 16-50 employees |
| Business | [PLACEHOLDER]/mo | 51-150 employees |
| Enterprise | Custom | 150+ employees |
Merchant transaction fee
Per transaction processed through the platform. No monthly fee for merchants. Weekly automatic payout.
Two types of players. Neither solves the full problem.
HR software platforms (Buk, HiBob, Workhuman) offer recognition and engagement tools but never process a real financial transaction. Card-based benefits platforms (Benepass, Edenred, Pluxee) move real money but use open Visa rails - which means they cannot charge transaction commissions, cannot build a dedicated merchant network, and cannot give local businesses a seat at the table. Ampezy is the only closed-loop platform where all three actors transact together.
| Platform | B2B2C Loop | QR Payments | Open Merchant Network | Commission Revenue | Float Revenue | LatAm Ready |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampezy | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2% | Yes | Yes |
| Benepass | No | No (Visa) | N/A (Visa) | No | No | No |
| Edenred | Partial | No (Card) | Closed | No | Core moat | 31 countries |
| Pluxee / Cobee | Partial | No (Card) | Closed | No | Core moat | Spain/MX |
| HR Software | No | No | No | No | No | Varies |
Edenred and Pluxee earn ~40% EBITDA margins from float income - the same mechanism Ampezy has built. The difference: their merchant network is closed, locking out local businesses. Ampezy captures float + open merchant network + 2% transaction commission simultaneously. Competitors on open Visa rails capture only subscriptions.
Benepass
Visa card for US employee benefits. 200+ countries. No merchant network, no transaction revenue. Strong on compliance (FSA/HSA). 4.9/5 on G2.
Edenred
Global leader, 45+ years, 31 countries. 500K+ corporate clients, 36M+ consumers. Float-driven model (7-week avg. fund dwell). Closed merchant network - only large chains.
Pluxee (acquired Cobee)
Sodexo spin-off (2024). Acquired Cobee (Spanish digital-native, 1,500 clients, expanded to Mexico) in September 2024. Same closed-network model as Edenred.
Five layers of defensibility
Network effects
More companies = more customers for merchants. More merchants = more value for employees. Each side makes the other stickier.
Data moat
Transaction data, spending patterns, loyalty behavior, and achievement records create a growing intelligence layer no competitor can replicate on day one.
Switching cost
Companies configure groups, policies, allowances, and budgets. Employees accumulate achievements and loyalty progress. Merchants build review reputation. Everyone has reasons to stay.
Multi-actor platform
Serving three actors (companies, employees, merchants) simultaneously makes single-actor competitors structurally incomplete.
Full-stack product advantage
Complete product (auth, payments, loyalty, reviews, analytics, multi-country) built before go-to-market. Competitors face 12+ months of engineering catch-up.
This is not a prototype. This is a platform.
Every feature listed below is built, tested, and working end-to-end across web and mobile.
QR Payments
Merchant-initiated, employee-approved. Full/partial/split. 5-min expiry with regeneration.
Daily Allowances
Auto-refreshing daily limits (e.g. $15/day lunch). Category-restricted. No carryover.
Split Payments
N-payer sessions with sequential QR codes. Progress tracking. Auto-complete on last payer.
Loyalty Program
Configurable tiers (visit-based). Auto-applied discounts. Per-branch or chain-wide.
Places Directory
Employee-facing merchant directory. Category filter. Opening hours. Tap-to-call/navigate.
Reviews & Ratings
1-5 star ratings, optional comments, merchant replies. Summary histogram per merchant.
Achievement Record
Verifiable professional credentials from every bonus. Forward-compatible with ERP promotions.
Advertising Campaigns
Merchants promote offers to employees. Fixed per-campaign fee. Any plan.
Multi-Branch
MERCHANT_MASTER manages chain. Per-branch admins, cashiers, loyalty config, and reporting.
Analytics Dashboards
Company KPIs, merchant intelligence, employee spending analytics. Real-time.
Security
JWT + refresh tokens + 2FA TOTP. Rate limiting. Serializable transactions. CORS + S3.
Multi-Country
Tax engine, payment adapters (Stripe/Cardnet/Azul), settlement minimums. 4 countries seeded.
60+ API endpoints · 35+ Prisma models · 6 web apps · 2 mobile apps · Stripe integration · Redis caching · Docker + Turborepo
Where we are today
Full-stack MVP - production-ready
60+ API endpoints, 6 web apps, 2 mobile apps, Stripe subscriptions, multi-country infrastructure (US, CA, MX, DO), complete KYC onboarding, QR payments, split payments, daily allowances, loyalty program, cashier shifts, merchant directory, reviews & ratings, achievement track record, advertising campaigns, and real-time analytics. Everything works end-to-end.
Investor pitch demo
8-screen interactive demo (Techstars format) covering all three actors - company web panel, employee mobile wallet, and merchant cashier app - with guided tooltips and mock data.
Incubator applications & investor conversations
Applying to accelerators including Techstars Miami. Demo ready for live investor presentations. Seeking seed round to fund first paying customer acquisition.
First paying customers - Miami pilot
Pilot program with 3-5 companies in the United States. Deploy real voucher budgets, measure redemption, and collect the first MRR.
Our targets for year one
Active companies
Pending confirmationEmployees on platform
Pending confirmationAffiliated merchants
Pending confirmationMonthly GMV
Pending confirmationProjected ARR
Pending confirmationRedemption rate
Pending confirmationTarget metrics based on the initial pilot program in the United States. Actual figures available to qualified investors under NDA.
Want to know more?
If you're an investor, accelerator, or strategic partner interested in learning more about Ampezy, reach out directly.
We're in early conversations with investors and accelerators. Reach out directly - we respond to every serious inquiry within one business day.
Email us at hello@ampezy.comInclude your fund name, check size range, and a brief description of your thesis. We'll send back our one-pager and deck within 24 hours.
Prefer a video call? Email us at hello@ampezy.com and we'll schedule time directly.
Sources: Incentive Research Foundation / Incentive Federation 2022 Incentive Spending Study (cited in Engage2Excel Trendicators 2024 Employee Rewards Trends Report); Emergen Research, US Employee Recognition & Reward System Market Report 2024; Business Research Insights, Global Rewards and Incentives Service Market 2025; Dr. Jack Wiley research via Engage2Excel (employee engagement impact).