IPSI Innovative Payment Solutions Inc (QB)

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Risks Relating to our Company

We have had very limited operations to date with our current business model.

We only began developing our current business December 2019, when we sold our Mexican subsidiaries and began to focus solely on application-based payment solutions, as opposed to our prior business plan which was based on payments via physical kiosks. Moreover, COVID-19 resulted in significant delays in the development and commercial launch of IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet, and we only achieved full commercial availability of our flagship offering IPSIPay in September 2022. As such, we have a very limited operating history in our current business model, which makes it difficult to evaluate both our operating history and our future potential. We have yet to demonstrate our ability to overcome the risks frequently encountered in “start-up” companies, including in the payment services industry in the United States, and are still subject to many of the risks common to early stage companies, including the uncertainty as to our ability to implement our business plan, market acceptance of our proposed business and services, under-capitalization, cash shortages, limitations with respect to personnel, financing and other resources and uncertainty of our ability to generate revenues. There is therefore a significant risk that our activities will not result in any material revenues or profit, and the likelihood of our business viability and long term prospects must be considered in light of the stage of our development. There can be no assurance that we will be able to fulfill our stated business strategy and plans, or that financial, technological, market, or other limitations may force us to modify, alter, significantly delay, or significantly impede the implementation of such plans. We have insufficient results of operations in our current business model for investors to use to identify historical trends. Investors should consider our prospects considering the risk, expenses and difficulties we will encounter as an early-stage company. Our revenue and income potential is unproven and our business model is continually evolving. We are subject to the risks inherent to the operation of a new business enterprise and cannot assure you that we will be able to address these risks, and our inability to address these risks could lead to the failure of our business.

We have generated and we will likely continue to generate, operating losses and experience negative cash flows, and it is uncertain whether we will ever generate predictable revenues or achieve positive cash flows or profitability.

For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we incurred a net loss of $10,331,424 and $14,494,915, respectively. We have an accumulated deficit of $52,399,858 through December 31, 2022. We expect to continue to incur operating losses until such time, if ever, as we are able to achieve sufficient levels of revenue from operations. There can be no assurance that we will ever generate significant sales or achieve profitability. Accordingly, the extent of future losses and the time required to achieve profitability, if ever, cannot be predicted.

We also expect to experience negative cash flows for the foreseeable future as we fund our operating losses. Although we believe our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient for the near term, if in the long term we do not generate significant revenues or raise additional financing in order to achieve and maintain profitability. We may not be able to generate these revenues or achieve profitability in the future. Our failure to achieve or maintain profitability would likely negatively impact the value of our securities and financing activities.

We have a present need for additional funding, which raises questions about our ability to continue as a going concern. We may be unable to raise capital when needed, which would force us to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts, or could cause our business to fail.

As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $374,765. We believe that based on our current operating plan, our existing cash and cash equivalents (which (which were increased via a private placement in February 2023 through which we raised $535,000) was will only be sufficient to enable us to fund our operations and our debt and other obligations for a very limited period. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” below. This raises questions about our ability to continue as a going concern. Moreover, we have significant indebtedness due in December 2023, and thus we will need significant additional funds to repay our debt, fund our working capital, and fully implement our business plan as we seek to achieve revenues, positive cash flow and profitability. There is a material risk that we will be unable to generate sufficient revenues to pay our expenses, and if our existing sources of cash and cash flows are insufficient to fund our activities, we will need to raise additional funds. Additional equity or debt financing may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all, particularly in the current economic environment. If adequate funds are not available, we may be required to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more of our new products in development.

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we will be required to finance our cash needs through public or private equity offerings, debt financings and corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. Any debt financing or additional equity that we may raise may contain terms, such as liquidation and other preferences, that are not favorable to us or our stockholders. If we raise additional funds through collaboration and licensing arrangements with third parties, it may be necessary to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.

If we are unable to generate cash flow positive operations or achieve profitability, and if we are unable to raise additional funds on commercially reasonable terms or at all, we may be required to significantly reduce or cease our operations, or our business could fail, which could result in the loss to investors of their investment in our securities.

We have not generated sufficient revenue or cash flow to pay our convertible notes, and conversion of such debt into shares of common stock, which would cause significant dilution.

As of December 31, 2022, we had outstanding convertible notes owed to two institutional investors in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $2.26 million which has a currently maturity date of December 30, 2023. To date, we have not generated sufficient revenue or cash flows to pay the balances owed under these notes and provide sufficient working capital to run our business. The outstanding principal amount of the notes is convertible at any time into shares of our common stock at $0.0115 per share. In addition, upon the occurrence and during the continuation of an Event of Default (as defined in the notes), the notes each will become immediately due and payable and we have agreed to pay additional default interest rates. We may not have sufficient cash resources or access to funding to repay such notes. Moreover, upon conversion of these notes, our current shareholders will suffer dilution, which given the current conversion price of the notes would be significant.

Servicing our debt requires a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate sufficient cash to service our debt depends on many factors beyond our control.

Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our debt, to fund planned capital expenditures and to maintain sufficient working capital depends on our ability to generate cash in the future. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or from other sources in an amount sufficient to enable us to service our debt or to fund our other liquidity needs. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to allow us to make scheduled payments on our debt, we may need to seek additional capital or restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt on or before the maturity thereof, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our debt on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that the terms of that debt will allow any of the above alternative measures or that these measures would satisfy our scheduled debt service obligations. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow to repay or refinance our debt on favorable terms, it could significantly adversely affect our financial condition and the value of our outstanding debt. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain any financing when needed.

Covenant restrictions under our indebtedness may limit our ability to operate our business.

Our outstanding convertible notes contain, and our future indebtedness agreements may contain covenants that restrict our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to engage in other business activities. The Notes restrict our ability to:

In addition, the notes contain price protection anti-dilution provisions that will discourage financing at prices below the conversion price of the notes and will result in a decrease in the conversion price of the notes if we should issue securities below such price.

We previously have identified material weaknesses in our internal controls, and we cannot provide assurances that these weaknesses will be effectively remediated or that additional material weaknesses will not occur in the future.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over our financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a- 15(f) under the Exchange Act. In connection with our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, we identified material weaknesses in our internal controls which included (i) insufficient segregation of duties and oversight of work performed in our accounting and finance function due to limited personnel with the appropriate skill sets and (ii) lack of written policies and procedures to address all material transactions and developments impacting our financial statements. However, given the small size of our company and the current state of our business, we are faced with the risk that we may not always be able to detect errors or omissions in our financial reporting and we face internal control weaknesses in the future. If we fail to comply with the rules under Sarbanes-Oxley related to disclosure controls and procedures in the future, or, if we experience material weaknesses and other deficiencies in our internal control and accounting procedures and disclosure controls and procedures, our stock price could decline significantly and raising capital could be more difficult. If new material weaknesses or significant deficiencies are discovered or if we otherwise fail to address the adequacy of our internal control and disclosure controls and procedures from time to time, our business may be harmed. Moreover, effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to helping prevent financial fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and operating results could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, and the trading price of our securities could drop significantly.

Risks Related to Our Business

We are dependent on Frictionless and other back-end providers for our technology development and infrastructure.

In June 2021, we entered into an investment and services collaboration with Frictionless under which Frictionless agreed to deliver to us a live, fully compliant financial payment software as a service solution for use by us as a digital payment platform (which became IPSIPay) that enables payments within the United States and abroad, including Mexico, together with a full suite of product services to facilitate our anticipated product offerings. Frictionless was and remains critical in the development of IPSIPay, and currently, we remain dependent on Frictionless and its contracted back-end providers for the execution of the technological aspects of IPSIPay. If Frictionless or such other technology providers are unable to perform the important functions they manage for us, or if we were to lose our commercial relationship Frictionless or such other technology collaborators, our ability to offer IPSIPay, and thus our business and results of operations, would suffer greatly.

The payment services industry is highly competitive, and many of our competitors are larger and have greater financial and other resources.

The payment services industry is highly competitive, and our continued growth depends on our ability to compete effectively with both traditional and non-traditional payment service providers. We currently expect to face competition from a variety of financial and non-financial business groups which include retail banks, non-traditional payment service providers which provide mobile top-up services, and mobile network operators, traditional kiosk and terminal operators, electronic payment system operators, as well as other companies that provide various forms of payment services, including electronic payment and payment processing services. Competitors in our industry seek to differentiate themselves by features and functionalities such as speed, convenience, network size, accessibility, hours of operation, reliability and price. A significant number of these competitors have greater financial, technological and marketing resources than we have, and operate robust networks and are highly regarded by consumers.

There is uncertainty as to market acceptance of our technology, products and services.

We have conducted our own research into the markets for our technology, products and services; however, because we are a new entrant into the market, there is a risk that the market will not accept our technology, products and services. Further, we have limited information on which to estimate our anticipated level of sales. Our products and services require consumers and service providers to adopt our technology. Our industry is susceptible to rapid technological developments and there can be no assurance that we will be able to match any new technological advances. If we are unable to match the technological changes in the needs of our customers, the demand for our products will be reduced and our ability to generate revenue could be adversely impacted.

We may be unable to scale usage of our digital payment products.

We have developed and launched digital payment products, including, IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet. It was only recently (in September 2022) that we completed the key integration of our IPSIPay mobile application and back-end payment processing infrastructure through its commercial partners, and our efforts are now focused on increasing the number of IPSIPay downloads. No assurance can be given that we will be able to achieve commercial success these products as and when planned. Moreover, the growth of the digital payments industry in general is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, and the slowing or stopping of the development or acceptance of developing protocols may occur unpredictably. This would have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and the viability of our current business model.

We may be unable to integrate complimentary services or features into IPSIPay, which could cause IPSIPay to decrease in popularity or customer usage.

As part of our development of IPSIPay, we are endeavoring to integrate into IPSIPay new services and capabilities, such as conversational AI technology through Druid and the Walmart Virtual Healthcare telemedicine service. We may be unable to technologically establish or maintain the capabilities of these offerings, and even if we are able to do so, these offerings may not increase customer interest in IPSIPay, which could harm our business, our ability to generate revenues and results of operations.

We are dependent on technology networks and systems to process, transmit and securely store electronic information and we could be subject to liability if our technology systems fail to be secure.

We could be held liable for damages or our reputation could suffer from security breaches or disclosure of confidential information or personal data. Through Frictionless and other service providers, we are dependent on technology networks and systems to process, transmit and securely store electronic information and to communicate with our kiosks, with our partners and with our customers. Security breaches of this infrastructure could lead to shutdowns or disruptions of our systems and potential loss or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or data, including personal data. The theft and/or unauthorized use or publication of our, or our customers’, confidential information or other proprietary business information as a result of such an incident could adversely affect our competitive position and reduce marketplace acceptance of our services. Any failure in the networks or computer systems used by us or our customers could result in a claim for substantial damages against us and significant reputational harm, regardless of our responsibility for the failure. In addition, through Frictionless and other service providers, we have access to or are required to manage, utilize, collect and store sensitive or confidential customer or employee data, including personal data. As a result, we are subject to numerous U.S. and non-U.S. laws and regulations designed to protect this information, such as various U.S. federal and state laws governing the protection of personal data. If any person, including any of our employees, negligently disregards or intentionally breaches controls or procedures with which we are responsible for complying with respect to such data, or otherwise mismanages or misappropriates that data, or if unauthorized access to or disclosure of data in our possession or control occurs, we could be subject to liability and penalties in connection with any violation of applicable privacy laws and/or criminal prosecution, as well as significant liability to our customers or our customers’ clients’ for breaching contractual confidentiality and security provisions or privacy laws. The loss or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential customer or employee data, including personal data, whether through breach of computer systems, systems failure, employee negligence, fraud or misappropriation, or otherwise, could damage our reputation and cause us to lose customers. Similarly, unauthorized access to or through our information systems and networks or those we develop or manage for our customers, whether by our employees or third parties, could result in negative publicity, legal liability and damage to our reputation, which could in turn harm our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our focus on migrant communities generally, and significant changes or disruption in U.S.-Mexico migration patterns, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. 

We are targeting the unbanked and underserved migrant communities as initial users of IPSIPay. Our money transfer business therefore relies to a large extent on international migration patterns, particularly between the U.S. and Mexico, as individuals move from their native countries to countries with greater economic opportunities or a more stable political environment. A significant portion of money transfer transactions are initiated by immigrants or refugees sending money back to their native countries, particularly Mexico. Immigration has become a very contentious political topic in recent years, and changes in immigration laws or policies that discourage migration and political or other events (such as war, trade wars, terrorism or health emergencies including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic) that make it more difficult for individuals to migrate to or work in the U.S. could adversely affect our money transfer remittance volume or growth rate. Additionally, sustained weakness in global economic conditions could reduce economic opportunities for migrant workers and result in reduced or disrupted international migration patterns. Reduced or disrupted international migration patterns, particularly in the U.S. or Europe, are likely to reduce money transfer transaction volumes and therefore have an adverse effect on our business. Finally, since we are targeting migrant communities, and since immigration has become such a contentious topic, our reputation in the marketplace (including the financial markets) could be harmed, which could adversely affect our business.

We are subject to economic risks that could impact the overall level of consumer spending.

The payment services industry depends heavily on the overall level of consumer spending. We are exposed to general economic conditions that affect consumer confidence, consumer spending, consumer discretionary income or changes in consumer purchasing habits. Economic factors such as employment levels, business conditions, energy and fuel costs, interest rates, and inflation rate could reduce consumer spending or change consumer purchasing habits. A reduction in the amount of consumer spending could result in a decrease in our prospects for revenue and profits. If users of our products and services spend or remit less money per transaction, we will have fewer transactions to process at lower amounts, resulting in lower revenue. As we are targeting the migrant communities in the United States, weakening in the Mexican economy could have a negative impact on users of IPSIPay which could, in turn, negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations, particularly if the recessionary environment disproportionately affects some of the market segments that represent a larger portion of our payment processing volume.

If consumer confidence in our business deteriorates, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business is built on consumers’ confidence in our brands, as well as our ability to provide fast, reliable payment services. As a consumer business, the strength of our brand and reputation are of paramount importance to us. Several factors could adversely affect consumer confidence in our brand, many of which are beyond our control, and could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. These factors include:

Our business will initially be geographically concentrated and could be significantly affected by any adverse change in the region in which we operate.

Initially our business will be concentrated in states such as California and later Texas and Florida, which have high migrant populations. We plan to derive a large portion of our revenues in the coming years from these migrant states and customers in these migrant states. Therefore, our business is exposed to adverse regulatory and competitive changes, economic downturns and changes in political conditions in these migrant states. For example, in 2022, the governors of Florida and Texas have begun transporting persons who allegedly engaged in illegal immigration to other states, and policies such as these have increased the national focus on immigration, in many instances negatively. Such activities could discourage migration, which could cause our products and services to be less desirable. Moreover, due to the concentration of our businesses in migrant states, our business is less diversified and, accordingly, is subject to regional risks, including inclement weather, power outages, labor shortages, and state and local laws, rules and regulations.

We expect to be subject to extensive government regulation if we are deemed to be engaged in a regulated business or if we implement our cryptocurrency operations, and we are faced with the risk that new regulations applicable to our business will be enacted.

Currently, we are indirectly impacted by government regulation, however, we may be directly subject to a variety of regulations aimed at preventing money laundering and financing criminal activity and terrorism, financial services regulations, payment services regulations, consumer protection laws, currency control regulations, advertising laws and privacy and data protection laws which may sometimes result in monetary or other sanctions being imposed on our financial service providers or us. Many of these laws and regulations are constantly evolving and are often unclear and inconsistent with other applicable laws and regulations, making compliance challenging and could directly or indirectly increase our related operating costs and legal risks. In particular, there has been increased public attention and heightened legislation and regulations regarding money laundering and terrorist financing. Our financial service providers or us may be required make significant judgment calls in applying anti-money laundering legislation and risk being found in non-compliance with such laws, which could have an adverse impact on our business.

The regulatory regime governing digital assets and offerings of digital assets is evolving and uncertain, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect our development.

We may incorporate digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, as part of our product offerings. The regulatory regime governing digital assets is uncertain and rapidly evolving, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect the development and the value of our company. Regulation of digital assets is currently undeveloped and likely to rapidly evolve as government agencies take greater interest in them. Regulation also varies significantly among international, federal, state and local jurisdictions and is subject to significant uncertainty. Various legislative and executive bodies in the United States and in other countries may in the future adopt laws, regulations, or guidance, or take other actions, which may severely impact the digital assets market. In addition, any violations of laws and regulations relating to the safeguarding of private information in connection with e-Wallets could subject us to fines, penalties or other regulatory actions, as well as to civil actions by affected parties. Any such violations could adversely affect our ability to maintain e-Wallets, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition. Failure by us to comply with any laws, rules and regulations, some of which may not exist yet or are subject to interpretation and may be subject to change, could result in a variety of adverse consequences, including civil penalties and fines.

The laws and regulations indirectly affecting our industry are constantly evolving and failure to comply adversely impact our business.

Our business is indirectly subject to a wide range and increasing number of laws and regulations, as described below. Liabilities or loss of business resulting from a failure by us, our agents or their subagents to comply with laws and regulations and regulatory or judicial interpretations thereof, including laws and regulations designed to protect consumers, or detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud and other illicit activity, and increased costs or loss of business associated with compliance with those laws and regulations has had and we expect will continue to have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Our services are subject to increasingly strict legal and regulatory requirements, including those intended to help detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and other illicit activity. The interpretation of those requirements by judges, regulatory bodies and enforcement agencies may change quickly and with little notice. Additionally, these requirements or their interpretations in one jurisdiction may conflict with those of another jurisdiction. As United States federal and state as well as foreign legislative and regulatory scrutiny and enforcement action in these areas increase, we expect that our costs of complying with these requirements could continue to increase, perhaps substantially, and may make it more difficult or less desirable for consumers and others to use our services or for us to contract with certain intermediaries, either of which would have an adverse effect on our revenue and operating income. For example, we have made additional investments in our compliance programs based on the rapidly evolving and increasingly complex global regulatory and enforcement environment and our internal reviews. These additional investments relate to enhancing our compliance capabilities, including our consumer protection efforts. Further, failure by us or partners and service providers to comply with any of these requirements or their interpretation could result in the suspension or revocation of a license or registration required to provide money transfer, payment or foreign exchange services, the limitation, suspension or termination of services, changes to our business model, loss of consumer confidence, the seizure of our assets, and/or the imposition of civil and criminal penalties, including fines and restrictions on our ability to offer services. We are subject to numerous regulations such as those imposed by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) in the United States and similar laws in other countries, which generally prohibit companies and those acting on their behalf from making improper payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Some of these laws, such as the Bribery Act, also prohibit improper payments between commercial enterprises. Because our services are offered in other countries, we face significant risks associated with our obligations under the FCPA and other national anti-corruption laws. Any determination that we have violated these laws could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Our United States business is subject to reporting, recordkeeping and anti-money laundering provisions of the federal Bank Secrecy Act and could be subject to regulatory oversight and enforcement by U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The remittance and digital payments industry has come under increasing scrutiny from government regulators and others in connection with its ability to prevent its services from being abused by people seeking to defraud others. Our failure to continue to help prevent frauds and increased costs related to the implementation of enhanced anti-fraud measures, or a change in fraud prevention laws or their interpretation or the manner in which they are enforced has had and could in the future have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Further, any determination that our partners have violated laws and regulations could seriously damage our reputation and brands, resulting in diminished revenue and profit and increased operating costs. In some cases, we could be liable for the failure of our partners to comply with laws which also could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The regulations implementing the remittance provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act also impose responsibility on us for any related compliance failures of our partners.

The requirements under the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act, the European Revised Payment Services Directive and similar legislation enacted or proposed in other countries have resulted and will likely continue to result in increased compliance costs, and in the event we or our agents are unable to comply, could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Additional countries may adopt similar legislation.

We may have difficulty managing our growth, which may divert resources and limit our ability to successfully expand our operations.

Our implementation of our business plan and current or future strategic initiatives will place significant demands on our operations and management. Our future success will depend on the ability of our officers and other key employees to continue to implement and improve our operational, credit, financial, management and other internal risk controls and processes, along with our reporting systems and procedures, as the number and geographical scope of our customer and vendor relationships continue to expand. We may be unable to implement improvements to our management information and control systems and control procedures and processes in an efficient or timely manner, and we may discover additional deficiencies in existing systems and controls. In particular, our controls and procedures must be able to accommodate our expected increase in revenue. Our growth strategy may require us to incur additional expenditures to expand our administrative and operational infrastructure. If we are unable to manage future expansion in our operations, we may experience compliance and operational problems, have to slow the pace of growth or have to incur additional expenditures beyond current projections to support such growth, any one of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. We may be unable to increase the volume of sales at acceptable risk levels, expand our customer base and manage the costs and implementation risks associated with our growth strategy. We also cannot provide you with any assurance that our further expansion will be profitable, that we will be able to maintain any specific level of growth, if any, that we will be able to maintain capital sufficient to support our continued growth or that we will be able to adequately and profitably manage that growth.

We may not be able to complete or integrate successfully any potential future acquisitions, partnerships or joint ventures.

We have implemented joint ventures and commercial partnerships as part of our business, and from time-to-time, we may evaluate possible acquisition transactions, partnerships or joint ventures, some of which may be material. Potential future acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures may pose significant risks to our existing operations if they cannot be successfully integrated. These projects would place additional demands on our managerial, operational, financial and other resources, create operational complexity requiring additional personnel and other resources and require enhanced control procedures. In addition, we may not be able to successfully finance or integrate any businesses, services or technologies that we acquire or with which we form a partnership or joint venture. Furthermore, the integration of any acquisition may divert management’s time and resources from our core business and disrupt our operations. Moreover, even if we were successful in integrating newly acquired assets, expected synergies or cost savings may not materialize, resulting in lower than expected benefits to us from such transactions. We may spend time and money on projects that do not increase our revenue. Additionally, when making acquisitions it may not be possible for us to conduct a detailed investigation of the nature of the assets being acquired due to, for instance, time constraints in making the decision and other factors. We may become responsible for additional liabilities or obligations not foreseen at the time of an acquisition. In addition, in connection with any acquisitions, we must comply with various antitrust requirements. It is possible that perceived or actual violations of these requirements could give rise to regulatory enforcement action or result in us not receiving all necessary approvals in order to complete a desired acquisition. To the extent we pay the purchase price of any acquisition in cash, it would reduce our cash reserves, and to the extent the purchase price is paid with our stock, it could be dilutive to our stockholders. To the extent we pay the purchase price with proceeds from the incurrence of debt, it would increase our level of indebtedness and could negatively affect our liquidity and restrict our operations. All of the above risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.

We are subject to the discretion of administrative enforcement agencies. 

In certain cases, regulations may provide administrative discretion regarding enforcement, and regulations may be applied inconsistently across the industry, resulting in increased costs for the Company that may not be incurred by competitors. Changes in laws, regulations or other industry practices and standards, or interpretations of legal or regulatory requirements, may reduce the market for or value of our products or services or render our products or services less profitable or obsolete. For example, policymakers may impose heightened customer due diligence requirements or other restrictions, fees or taxes on remittances. Changes in the laws affecting the kinds of entities that are permitted to act as money transfer agents (such as changes in requirements for capitalization or ownership) could adversely affect our ability to distribute certain services and the costs of providing those services.

Major bank failure or sustained financial market illiquidity, or illiquidity at our clearing, cash management and custodial financial institutions, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. 

We face certain risks in the event of a sustained deterioration of financial market liquidity, as well as in the event of sustained deterioration in the liquidity, or failure, of our clearing, cash management and custodial financial institutions. In particular, in the event of a major bank or credit card failure, we could be unable to process transactions via our mobile applications: In such a case, or if financial liquidity deteriorates for other reasons, our ability to operate our business and our financial condition and results of operations could be significantly harmed.

As our business develops, we will need to implement enhanced compliance processes, procedures and controls with respect to the rules and regulations that apply to our business.

Our success requires significant public confidence in our ability to handle large and growing payment volumes and amounts of consumer funds, as well as comply with applicable regulatory requirements. Any failure to manage consumer funds or to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could result in the imposition of fines, harm our reputation and significantly diminish use of our products. In addition, if we are not in compliance with anti-corruption laws and other laws governing the conduct of business with government entities and/or officials (including local laws), we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties and other remedial measures, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If we cannot keep pace with rapid developments and change in our industry and provide new services to our clients, the use of our services could decline, reducing our revenues.

The payment services industry in which we operate is characterized by rapid technological change, new product and service introductions, evolving industry standards, changing customer needs and the entrance of more established market players seeking to expand into these businesses. In order to remain competitive, we continually seek to expand the services we offer and to develop new projects, including, for example, the electronic wallet. These projects carry risks, such as delays in delivery, performance problems and lack of customer acceptance. In our industry, these risks are acute. Any delay in the delivery of new services or the failure to differentiate our services or to accurately predict and address market demand could render our services less desirable, or even obsolete, to consumers. In addition, if alternative payment mechanisms become widely available, substituting our current products and services, and we do not develop and offer similar alternative payment mechanisms successfully and on a timely basis, our business and prospects could be adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to recover the costs we have incurred in developing new services. Our development efforts could result in increased costs and we could also experience a loss in business that could reduce our earnings or could cause a loss of revenue if promised new services are not timely delivered to our clients, we are not able to compete effectively with our competitors’ or do not perform as anticipated. If we are unable to develop, adapt to or access technological changes or evolving industry standards on a timely and cost effective basis, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Our systems and our third party providers’ systems may fail due to factors beyond our control, which could interrupt our service, cause us to lose business and increase our costs.

We depend on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of numerous systems, including our computer systems, software and telecommunications networks, as well as the data centers that we lease from third parties, including Frictionless. Our systems and operations, or those of our third party providers like Frictionless, could be exposed to damage or interruption from, among other things, fire, flood, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure, vendor failure, unauthorized entry, improper operation and computer viruses. Substantial property and equipment loss, and disruption in operations, as well as any defects in our systems or those of third parties or other difficulties could expose us to liability and materially adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any outage or disruptive efforts to our data center would result in the failure of our computers and kiosks to operate and would, if for an extensive period, adversely impact our reputation, brand and future prospects.

Unauthorized disclosure of data, whether through cybersecurity breaches, computer viruses or otherwise, could expose us to liability, protracted and costly litigation and damage our reputation.

We store and/or transmit sensitive data, such as mobile phone numbers, and we have ultimate liability to our consumers for our failure to protect this data. If breaches occur our encryption of data and other protective measures may not prevent unauthorized disclosure of data. Unauthorized disclosure of data or a cybersecurity breach could harm our reputation and deter clients from using electronic payments generally, our kiosks and our products and services specifically, increase our operating expenses in order to correct the breaches or failures, expose us to uninsured liability, increase our risk of regulatory scrutiny, subject us to lawsuits, result in the imposition of material penalties and fines by state authorities and otherwise materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Customer complaints or negative publicity about our customer service could affect attractiveness of our services adversely and, as a result, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Customer complaints or negative publicity about our customer service could diminish consumer confidence in, and the attractiveness of, our services. Breaches of our consumers’ privacy and our security systems could have the same effect. We sometimes take measures to combat risks of fraud and breaches of privacy and security, such as freezing consumer funds, which could damage relations with our consumers. These measures heighten the need for prompt and attentive customer service to resolve irregularities and disputes. Effective customer service requires significant personnel expense, and this expense, if not managed properly, could impact our profitability significantly. Any inability by us to manage or train our customer service representatives properly could compromise our ability to handle customer complaints effectively. If we do not handle customer complaints effectively, our reputation may suffer, and we may lose our customers’ confidence, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our payment system might be used for fraudulent, illegal or improper purposes, which could expose us to additional liability and harm our business.

Despite measures we have taken and continue to take, our payment system remains susceptible to potentially illegal or improper uses. These may include use of our payment services in connection with fraudulent sales of goods or services, illicit sales of prescription medications or controlled substances, software and other intellectual property piracy, money laundering, bank fraud and prohibited sales of restricted products. In the past there have been news articles on how organized crime groups have used other payment services to transfer money in the course of illegal transactions.

Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal activities such as counterfeiting and fraud. It is possible that incidents of fraud could increase in the future. Our risk management policies and procedures may not be fully effective to identify, monitor and manage these risks. We are not able to monitor in each case the sources for our counterparties’ funds or the ways in which they use them. Increases in chargebacks or other liability could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, an increase in fraudulent transactions or publicity regarding chargeback disputes could harm our reputation and reduce consumer confidence in the use of our kiosks and electronic wallets.

We may not be able to successfully protect the intellectual property we license or own and may be subject to infringement claims.

We rely on a combination of contractual rights, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws to establish and protect our technology and the technology that we license and/or that we develop in the future. We and our subsidiary have applied for trademark protection for certain marks (notably IPSIPay), but there is a risk that such trademarks will not be approved, which could leave us without important protections for our brand.

Also, we customarily require our employees and independent contractors to execute confidentiality agreements or otherwise to agree to keep our proprietary information and the information we license confidential when their relationship with us begins. Typically, our employment contracts also include clauses requiring our employees to assign to us all the inventions and intellectual property rights they develop in the course of their employment and to agree not to disclose our confidential information. Nevertheless, others, including our competitors, may independently develop similar technology to that licensed by us, duplicate our services or design around our intellectual property. Further, contractual arrangements may not prevent unauthorized disclosure of our confidential information or ensure an adequate remedy in the event of any unauthorized disclosure of our confidential information. We may have to litigate to enforce or determine the scope or enforceability of our intellectual property rights (including trade secrets and know-how), which could be expensive, could cause a diversion of resources and may not prove successful. The loss of intellectual property protection could harm our business and ability to compete and could result in costly redesign efforts, discontinuance of certain service offerings or other competitive harm. Additionally, we do not hold any patents for our business model or our business processes, and we do not currently intend to obtain any such patents in the United States or elsewhere.

We may also be subject to costly litigation in the event our services or the technology that we license are claimed to infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate any third party’s intellectual property or proprietary rights. Such claims could include patent infringement, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation or breach of licenses. We may not be able to successfully defend against such claims, which may result in a limitation on our ability to use the intellectual property subject to these claims and might require us to redesign affected services, enter into costly settlement or license agreements, pay costly damage awards, or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from marketing or selling certain of our services. In such circumstances, if we cannot or do not license the infringed technology on reasonable terms or substitute similar technology from another source, our revenue and earnings could be adversely impacted. Additionally, in recent years, non-practicing entities have been acquiring patents, making claims of patent infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies in our industry. Even if we believe that such claims are without merit and successfully defend these claims, defending against such claims is time consuming and expensive and could result in the diversion of the time and attention of our management and employees.

We may use open-source software in a manner that could be harmful to our business.

We use open-source software in connection with our technology and services. The original developers of the open source code provide no warranties on such code. Moreover, some open source software licenses require users who distribute open source software as part of their software to publicly disclose all or part of the source code to such software and/or make available any derivative works of the open source code on unfavorable terms or at no cost. The use of such open source code may ultimately require us to replace certain code used in our products, pay a royalty to use some open source code or discontinue certain products. Any of the above requirements could be harmful to our business, financial condition and operations.

We do not have and may be unable to obtain sufficient insurance to protect ourselves from business risks.

While we hold certain mandatory types of insurance policies, we do not currently maintain insurance coverage for business interruption, property damage or loss of key management personnel, as we have been unable to obtain these on commercially acceptable terms. We do not hold insurance policies to cover for any losses resulting from counterparty and credit risks or fraudulent transactions. We also do not generally maintain separate funds or otherwise set aside reserves for most types of business-related risks. Accordingly, our lack of insurance coverage or reserves with respect to business-related risks may expose us to substantial losses, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on certain key personnel and in a dynamic industry like ours, the ability to attract, recruit, retain and develop qualified personnel is critical to our success and growth.

We rely substantially on the efforts of our current senior management, including our Chief Executive Officer, William Corbett, and our President and Chief Financial Officer, Richard Rosenblum. Our business would be impeded or harmed if we were to lose their services. In addition, our business functions at the intersection of rapidly changing technological, social, economic and regulatory developments that require a wide-ranging set of expertise and intellectual capital. In order for us to compete and grow successfully, we must attract, recruit, retain and develop the necessary personnel who can provide the needed expertise across the entire spectrum of our capital needs. This is particularly true with respect to qualified and experienced software engineers and information technology staff, who are highly sought after. The market for such personnel is highly competitive, and we may not succeed in recruiting additional personnel or may fail to replace effectively current personnel who depart with qualified or effective successors. Our efforts to retain and develop personnel may result in significant additional expenses, which could adversely affect our profitability. We cannot assure you that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Failure to retain or attract key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic may impact our operations in future.

Future outbreaks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response of local and federal government to a future outbreak may result in lockdowns and restrictions on business operations. This may have an adverse impact on our consumers and future consumers and impact on our ability to generate revenues which could lead to material adverse impacts on our company.

Risks Relating to Our Securities

There is currently a limited public trading market for our common stock and one may never develop.

There currently is a limited public trading market for our securities, and it is not assured that any such public market will develop in the foreseeable future. Moreover, there can be no assurance that even if our common stock is approved for listing on an exchange or is quoted in the over-the-counter market in the future, that an active trading market will develop or be sustained. Therefore, we cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade in the future, if at all. As a result, our investors may have limited or no ability to liquidate their investments.

Trading in our common stock is conducted on the OTCQB, as we currently do not meet the initial listing criteria for any registered securities exchange. The OTCQB and OTC Markets are less recognized markets than the registered securities exchanges and is often characterized by low trading volume and significant price fluctuations. These and other factors may further impair our stockholders’ ability to sell their shares when they want to and/or could depress our stock price. As a result, stockholders could find it difficult to dispose of, or obtain accurate quotations of the price of our securities because smaller quantities of shares could be bought and sold, transactions could be delayed and security analyst and news coverage of our Company may be limited. If a public market for our common stock does develop, these factors could result in lower prices and larger spreads in the bid and ask prices for our shares of common stock.

Because our common stock may be a “penny stock,” it may be more difficult for investors to sell shares of our common stock, and the market price of our common stock may be adversely affected. 

Our common stock is deemed to be a “penny stock” if, among other things, the stock price is below $5.00 per share, it is not listed on a national securities exchange, or it has not met certain net tangible asset or average revenue requirements. Broker-dealers who sell penny stocks must provide purchasers of these stocks with a standardized risk-disclosure document prepared by the SEC. This risk-disclosure document provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks involved in investing in the penny-stock market. A broker must also give a purchaser, orally or in writing, bid and offer quotations and information regarding broker and salesperson compensation, make a written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and obtain the purchaser’s written agreement to the purchase. Broker-dealers must also provide customers that hold penny stock in their accounts with such broker-dealer a monthly statement containing price and market information relating to the penny stock. If a penny stock is sold to an investor in violation of the penny stock rules, the investor may be able to cancel its purchase and get their money back.

If applicable, the penny stock rules may make it difficult for stockholders to sell their shares of our common stock. Because of the rules and restrictions applicable to a penny stock, there is less trading in penny stocks and the market price of our common stock may be adversely affected. Also, many brokers choose not to participate in penny stock transactions. Accordingly, stockholders may not always be able to resell their shares of our common stock publicly at times and prices that they feel are appropriate.

Our stock price has been subject to significant volatility, and future volatility may result in our investors incurring substantial losses.

Our stock price has fluctuated in the past, has been subject to volatility and may be volatile in the future. We may incur rapid and substantial decreases in our stock price in the foreseeable future that are unrelated to our operating performance. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, rising inflation and recent bank failures have caused broad stock market and industry fluctuations. Furthermore, the market prices for companies operating in our industry have experienced extreme volatility. As a result of this volatility, investors may experience losses on their investment in our common stock. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including the following:

These and similar market and industry factors may seriously harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. Since the stock price of our common stock has fluctuated in the past, has been recently volatile and may be volatile in the future, investors in our common stock could incur substantial losses. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. There can be no guarantee that our stock price will remain at current prices or that future sales of our common stock will not be at prices lower than those sold to investors.

Because we became public by means of a reverse merger, we and our shareholders may be faced with regulatory constraints, and we may not be able to attract the attention of brokerage firms.

Additional risks may exist because we became public through a reverse merger. For example, our status as a former “shell company” may limit the ability of shareholders to utilize SEC Rule 144 to sell their shares. Further, as we did not become a public company via a traditional, underwritten initial public offering, securities analysts of brokerage firms may not provide coverage of our company since there is little incentive for brokerage firms to recommend the purchase of our common stock. In addition, institutional investors may have limitations on investing in reverse merger companies, which could limit the universe of potential investors for our company. No assurance can be given that brokerage firms will want to conduct secondary offerings on our behalf in the future. In addition, if we were to attempt to up-list the listing of our securities on a national securities exchange we will likely be subject to additional listing requirements applicable to entities that became public through a reverse merger.

Compliance with the reporting requirements of federal securities laws are expensive and time consuming.

We are a public reporting company in the United States, and accordingly, subject to the information and reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and other federal securities laws, and the compliance obligations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The costs (in terms of expenses and the required dedication of management’s time and attention) of preparing and filing annual and quarterly reports and other information with the SEC and furnishing audited reports to stockholders are substantial. If we do not provide current information about our company to market makers, they will not be able to trade our stock. Failure to comply with the applicable securities laws could result in private or governmental legal action against us or our officers and directors, which could have a detrimental impact on our business and financials, the value of our stock, and the ability of stockholders to resell their stock.

Our investors’ ownership will likely be diluted in the future.

In the future, we will likely issue additional authorized but previously unissued equity securities, resulting in the dilution of ownership interests of our present stockholders. We expect to need to issue a substantial number of shares of common stock or other securities convertible into or exercisable for common stock in connection the conversion or exercise of outstanding convertible notes and warrants (including, potentially, up to 306,528,740 shares registered for resale pursuant to a recent registration statement filed on February 3, 2023) as well as in connection with hiring or retaining employees, future acquisitions, raising additional capital in the future to fund our operations, and other business purposes. Additional shares of common stock issued by us in the future, including shares issued upon exercise of the warrants and the outstanding notes, will dilute an investor’s investment in the Company.

Our Board of Directors has historically had significant control over us and we have yet to establish committees comprised of independent directors.

Each of our board members has significant control over all corporate issues. In addition, two of our five directors serve as our senior officers. We have not established board committees comprised of independent members, and we do not have an audit or compensation committee comprised of independent directors. Our six directors performed these functions, despite not all being independent directors. Thus, there is potential conflict in that two of our directors were also engaged in management and participated in decisions concerning management compensation and audit issues that may affect management and our performance.

We do not have an independent compensation committee, which presents the risk that compensation and benefits paid to those executive officers who are board members and other officers may not be commensurate with its financial performance.

A compensation committee consisting of independent directors is a safeguard against self-dealing by company executives. Our Board of Directors is comprised of two executive officers and four other directors, and absent an independent compensation committee currently determines the compensation and benefits of our executive officers, administers our employee stock and benefit plans, and reviews policies relating to the compensation and benefits of our employees. Our lack of an independent compensation committee presents the risk that our executive officers on the board may have influence over their personal compensation and benefits levels that may not be commensurate with its financial performance.

Limitations on director and officer liability and indemnification of our officers and directors by our articles of incorporation, as amended, and by-laws may discourage stockholders from bringing suit against an officer or director.

Our articles of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws provide, with certain exceptions as permitted by Nevada law, that a director or officer shall not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer, unless the director or officer committed both a breach of fiduciary duty and such breach was accompanied by intentional misconduct, fraud or knowing violation of law. These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing suit against a director or officer for breach of fiduciary duty and may reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation brought by stockholders on behalf of us against a director or officer.

We are responsible for the indemnification of our officers and directors.

Should our officers and/or directors require us to contribute to their defense in an action brought against them in their capacity as such, we may be required to spend significant amounts of our capital. Our articles of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws also provide for the indemnification of our directors, officers, employees, and agents, under certain circumstances, against attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred by them in any litigation to which they become a party arising from their association with or activities on behalf of us. In addition, we have entered into an indemnification agreement with our Chief Executive Officer. This indemnification policy could result in substantial expenditures, which we may be unable to recoup. If these expenditures are significant or involve issues which result in significant liability for our key personnel, we may be unable to continue operating as a going concern.

We do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

We have not paid cash dividends on our common stock to date and we do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, and we may never pay dividends. Consequently, the only opportunity for investors to achieve a return on their investment may be if an active trading market develops, and investors are able to sell their shares for a profit or if our business is sold at a price that enables investors to recognize a profit, neither of which we can guarantee will ever take place. Our payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors after taking into account various factors, including but not limited to our financial condition, operating results, cash needs, and growth plans. for more information.