IQ Payments
IQ Payments (PayiQ) is a Turku-based Finnish software firm operating a cloud-based mobile fare collection platform and 12 white-label public transport ticketing apps covering 100+ Finnish municipalities, serving transport authorities, cities, employers, and 1.7 million end users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersTurku, Finland
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What IQ Payments does
IQ Payments Oy, trading as PayiQ, is a Finnish software company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Turku that operates a cloud-based mobile fare collection platform for public transport, branded as 'Ticketing as a Service'. The platform powers both a multi-city aggregator app (PayiQ Tickets) and a portfolio of 12 white-label city and operator-branded passenger apps covering over 100 municipalities across Finland, including HSL (Helsinki), Nysse (Tampere), Föli (Turku), Oulu, Lahti, Kuopio, Jyväskylä, Kouvola, and the Åland Islands via Ålandstrafiken. Underlying technical components include integration with multiple payment methods (Epassi commuting benefits, MobilePay, Apple Pay, debit/credit cards), Suomi.fi public-sector authentication for subsidized Kela school transport, city-bike rental (Donkey Republic), park-and-ride, and the GreenImpact module that calculates CO2 footprint across more than 10 transport modes with gamified 'climate coins'.
PayiQ serves four primary customer segments: public transport operators and authorities (B2G, multi-year tenders such as Ålandstrafiken's 5-year contract with a 5-year option), cities and municipalities seeking a City Access white-label citizen-services app, corporate/employer buyers using the Epassi-integrated commuting benefit and Scope 3 emissions reporting solution, and end-user passengers who buy tickets through the apps. The company is reported to have 1.7 million end users across Finland.
Revenue is generated through a mix of recurring SaaS/platform licensing fees from transport authorities and cities, transaction commissions on tickets sold via the PayiQ Tickets aggregator, white-label app development and licensing for operators and cities, and corporate subscription fees for commuter-benefit management. The company, led by CEO Elena Lipchenko with founder Mikko Soini and board member Sampo Hietanen (MaaS pioneer), operates from offices in Turku and Stockholm and discloses no external funding or parent company; the stated headcount band of 1–10 employees makes PayiQ a notably lean B2G SaaS vendor relative to its 100+ city footprint.
IQ Payments firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- IQ Payments
- Legal name
- IQ Payments Oy
- Website
- https://payiq.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- IQ Payments (PayiQ) is a Turku-based Finnish software firm operating a cloud-based mobile fare collection platform and 12 white-label public transport ticketing apps covering 100+ Finnish municipalities, serving transport authorities, cities, employers, and 1.7 million end users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
IQ Payments industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Transport Fare Collection Software
- NAICS
- Other Support Activities for Transportation (4889)
- SIC
- Transportation Services (4700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mobility Payments & Wallets (Transit + Mobility) (THADALAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Transit & Ticketing Wallets (FSAMAEAG)
Keywords
Where IQ Payments is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Turku
- HQ country
- Finland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
IQ Payments business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Ticket Transaction Fees / Commission: PayiQ earns transaction fees or commissions on each ticket sold through its platform and mobile apps. The platform aggregates tickets from multiple cities under a single app (PayiQ Tickets), taking a take rate on each sale.
- Platform/Software Licensing (SaaS): PayiQ provides Ticketing as a Service to public transport authorities and operators under multi-year contracts. This includes software, back-office systems, and ongoing support services.
- White-label App Development & Licensing: PayiQ creates and maintains branded mobile apps for individual transport operators and cities (e.g., Urpolan Liikenne app, Föli app), generating licensing and development fees.
- Corporate Commuter Benefit Management: PayiQ provides employer commuter benefit management systems integrated with Epassi, enabling companies to manage and track employee commuting benefits and associated CO2 reporting (Scope 3).
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
IQ Payments product offering
Product offeringCore offering
IQ Payments Oy (PayiQ) provides a cloud-based Ticketing as a Service platform for public transport, delivering white-label and aggregator mobile ticketing applications to transport authorities, cities, and corporate clients across Finland. The platform enables ticket purchase, multi-payment integration (including Epassi employee benefits), CO2 footprint tracking via GreenImpact, and real-time mobility data for transport operators and municipalities.
Product overview
PayiQ operates as a Ticketing as a Service platform provider for sustainable mobility. The core offering consists of the PayiQ Tickets mobile app (the primary multi-city ticketing application serving 100+ locations) and white-label Passenger Apps for specific cities and regions. The platform includes a Corporate Solution for managing commuting benefits with Scope 3 emissions reporting, and City Access applications for city services. Key features include GreenImpact (CO2 tracking and gamification) and Mobility Balance (Arvotili for Epassi benefit management). The platform integrates with multiple payment providers (Epassi, MobilePay, Apple Pay, cards) and transportation modes to support cities' carbon neutrality targets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GreenImpact: CO2 tracking and sustainability engagement feature that measures users' mobility carbon footprint and rewards environmentally friendly transportation choices.
- Mobility Balance
- Arvotili
- City Access
Products and services
- PayiQ Tickets Primary PayiQ mobile ticketing application enabling end users to purchase single, day, and season public transport tickets across 100+ cities and municipalities in Finland. Supports multiple payment methods including Epassi commuting benefits, MobilePay, Apple Pay, and cards; includes route planning, ticket sharing, park-and-Ride functionality, and integration with Donkey Republic city bike rentals.
- Ticketing as a Service Platform Cloud-based mobile fare collection platform (Ticketing as a Service) sold to public transport authorities and operators under multi-year contracts. Includes back-office ticketing, payment processing, CO2 footprint measurement via GreenImpact, and ongoing support services. Award-winning platform that has been in operation for over a decade.
- Corporate Solution B2B corporate offering that provides employers with a seamless transportation experience and frictionless payment for employee commuting benefits. Integrates with Epassi commuting benefit platform and includes Scope 3 emissions reporting for sustainability compliance.
- Fare Collection for Public Transport End-to-end fare collection system sold to public transport operators and authorities, including hardware integration with vehicle devices (via Octanova), back-office software, and ongoing operations. Designed to optimize use of transport resources and digitize fare collection.
- City Access White-label city-branded smartphone application offering a one-stop shop for city services, including transport tickets, city bike rentals, park-and-Ride, and citizen communication/engagement channels, deployed under the city's own brand.
- Föli App White-label public transport ticketing app for Turun seudun joukkoliikenne Föli (Turku Regional Transport), offering single, day, and season tickets, travel card loading, park-and-Ride functionality, and Epassi payment support across 7 municipalities.
- Kuopio Tickets (formerly Vilkku) White-label public transport ticketing app for Kuopio regional transport offering single and day tickets for lines 1-86, season tickets, ticket sharing, and Epassi payment.
- Urpolan Liikenne App White-label mobile app for Urpolan Liikenne bus company operating in Vaasa and Seinäjoki regions, offering single, series, and monthly tickets including student tickets.
Quantifiable outcome
- CO2 savings tracked per user through GreenImpact gamification and rewarded with climate coins
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use IQ Payments
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
IQ Payments technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature7 records
IQ Payments partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- OctanovacoreOctanova is a Finnish-Estonian hardware company that supplies bus equipment (vehicle devices for ticket validation). PayiQ's ticketing system has been compatible with Octanova's public transport vehicle devices for years, and Octanova supplies hardware for PayiQ's Åland deployment alongside Ålandstrafiken.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
IQ Payments competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Masabi: Masabi provides a mobile ticketing and fare collection SaaS platform (Justride) for public transport agencies globally, serving a similar B2G/B2B customer base with white-label apps and a similar product positioning to PayiQ's Ticketing as a Service.
Emerging players
- Littlepay: Littlepay is a cloud-based open-loop EMV payments platform for public transport, focused on account-based ticketing. It overlaps with PayiQ's fare collection ambitions and is increasingly competing in European transit procurements.
- Token Transit: Token Transit offers mobile fare collection and ticketing software for transit agencies and operators, including white-label apps. It is a comparable mobile-first fare collection platform serving smaller and mid-size agencies, similar to PayiQ's municipal focus.
Broad incumbents
- Scheidt & Bachmann: Scheidt & Bachmann supplies fare collection, parking, and signalling systems to public transport and mobility operators globally. It is an established incumbent that competes for major transit ticketing contracts across Europe.
- Conduent Transportation: Conduent is a large incumbent in transit fare collection and mobility services, offering account-based, open-loop, and mobile ticketing solutions. It targets the same municipal and regional transit authority customer base as PayiQ.
- Thales Ground Transportation: Thales is a major incumbent in rail and urban transit fare collection, with mobile and account-based ticketing offerings. It competes in large-scale Nordic and European public transport procurements alongside PayiQ.
- Cubic Transportation Systems: Cubic is a global incumbent in transit fare collection (NextWave, NextAccount, open-loop platforms) supplying large metropolitan transit authorities. It competes against PayiQ in larger municipal procurements as a much larger, more diversified vendor.
- INIT (Innovative Transportation Systems): INIT provides fare collection systems, planning software, and telematics for public transport operators worldwide, including mobile ticketing modules. As a broad German-based incumbent, it competes with PayiQ in European municipal tenders.
Regional players
- MaaS Global (Whim): MaaS Global (now SWAVIA/Sampo Hietanen's venture) developed Whim, a MaaS app integrating public transport, taxis, and rentals in Helsinki and other cities. It is a comparable Nordic mobility-aggregation play, with direct board-level overlap to PayiQ.
- Waltti (Kuntien Tiera / TVV lippu- ja maksujärjestelmä): Waltti is the Finnish national fare collection and ticketing system operated by Kuntien Tiera, providing back-office and mobile ticketing for multiple Finnish regions. It is the most direct domestic competitor to PayiQ within the Finnish public transport market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
IQ Payments social profiles
Digital presenceIQ Payments compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
IQ Payments financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
IQ Payments leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
IQ Payments funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
IQ Payments M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about IQ Payments
What does IQ Payments do?
IQ Payments Oy (PayiQ) provides a cloud-based Ticketing as a Service platform for public transport, delivering white-label and aggregator mobile ticketing applications to transport authorities, cities, and corporate clients across Finland. The platform enables ticket purchase, multi-payment integration (including Epassi employee benefits), CO2 footprint tracking via GreenImpact, and real-time mobility data for transport operators and municipalities.
Is IQ Payments a public or private company?
IQ Payments is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was IQ Payments founded?
IQ Payments was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is IQ Payments based?
IQ Payments is headquartered in Turku, Finland, in the Europe region.
How does IQ Payments make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Ticket Transaction Fees / Commission is the primary driver. The others are platform/Software Licensing (SaaS), white-label App Development & Licensing and corporate Commuter Benefit Management.
Who are IQ Payments's main competitors?
Masabi is listed as a direct peer. Emerging players are Littlepay and Token Transit. Broad incumbents are Scheidt & Bachmann, Conduent Transportation, Thales Ground Transportation, Cubic Transportation Systems and INIT (Innovative Transportation Systems). Regional players are MaaS Global (Whim) and Waltti (Kuntien Tiera / TVV lippu- ja maksujärjestelmä).
Does IQ Payments have an API?
No public API is recorded for IQ Payments.
What industry is IQ Payments in?
IQ Payments's product category is Public Transport Fare Collection Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THADALAD, Mobility Payments & Wallets (Transit + Mobility), with a secondary code of FSAMAEAG, Transit & Ticketing Wallets. Its NAICS code is 4889 and its SIC code is 4700.