Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one) 

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal period ended December 31, 2021

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________ to ________

Commission File Number – 000-55648

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

56B 5^th Street, Lot 1, AT#

Carmel by the Sea, CA 93921

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(866) 477-4729

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Act: Common Stock, $0.0001 par value

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐  No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐  No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the issuer: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ Yes  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every interactive data file required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer, “accelerated filer” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.:

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐  No ☒

As of June 30, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $28,155,012 (based upon the closing sale price of the registrant’s common stock reported on June 30, 2021 of $0.098 per share). This calculation excludes shares held by the registrant’s current directors and executive officers and stockholders that the registrant has concluded are affiliates of the registrant.

As of March 29, 2022, the issuer had 367,901,679 shares of common stock outstanding.

Documents incorporated by reference: None

FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Unless the context requires otherwise, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company” “IPSI” and “Innovative Payment Solutions,” refer to Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

CAUTIONARY Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Many of the matters discussed within this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) which do not expressly relate to historical facts, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), on our current expectations, intentions and projections about future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” and similar expressions. These statements are based on our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control, that could cause actual results (including, without limitation, the results of our digital payment product launches and other strategic plans and initiatives) to differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. Such significant risks and uncertainties include the risks noted under Part 1. “Business”, and Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, Part II, Item 7”, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations” but are also contained elsewhere. We do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. Considering the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. We do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. 

SUMMARY RISK FACTORS

Our business faces significant risks and uncertainties of which investors should be aware before making a decision to invest in our common stock. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. The following is a summary of the more significant risks relating to the Company. A more detailed description of our risk factors set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in Item 1A in Part I of, and elsewhere in, this Annual Report.

Risks Relating to our Company

Risks Relating to our Business

Risks Related to our Plans to Launch Various Digital Payment Products

General Risk Factors

Risks Relating to our Securities

Item 1. Business

Company Overview

We are a provider of digital payment solutions and services to businesses and consumers. We are focused on operating and developing “e-wallets” that enable consumers to deposit cash, convert it into a digital form, and remit the funds to Mexico and other countries quickly and securely. Our first e-wallet, the Beyond Wallet, is currently operational. Our flagship e-wallet, IPSIPay, was soft launched in December 2021 and will be fully launched during the second quarter of 2022.

Previously, we intended to invest in physical kiosks which required the user presence at digital payment kiosk locations, and we still intend to use our existing kiosks in certain target markets within Southern California.

We acquired a 10% strategic interest in Frictionless Financial Technologies, Inc. (“Frictionless”), on June 22, 2021. 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 that enables payments within the United States and abroad, including Mexico, together with a service agreement providing a full suite of product services to facilitate our anticipated product offerings. We have an irrevocable right to acquire up to an additional 41% of the outstanding common stock of Frictionless at a purchase price of $300,000 for each 1% acquired.

On August 26, 2021, we formed a new majority owned subsidiary, Beyond Fintech Inc. (“Beyond Fintech”), in which we own a 51% stake, with Frictionless owning the remaining 49%. Beyond Fintech acquired an exclusive license to our Beyond Wallet offering to further its objective of providing virtual payment services allowing U.S. persons to transfer funds to Mexico and other countries.

Our Strategy and Market

We offer a simple digital e-wallet and digital payment solution for consumers and businesses. We soft launched our IPSIPay app in December 2021 and plan to fully launch our IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet e-wallet brands in the second quarter of 2022. As a California based fintech company, our initial launch will be in the Central Valley region in California, which is the largest agricultural belt in the U.S. Our platform (which can be used both business-to-business and business-to-consumer) will facilitate the transfer of funds in digital form to other countries, initially Mexico but also, India and the Philippines, primarily from hand-held devices as well as on desktop or laptop computers.

Our launch plan for IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet is to target lower income, migrant communities in California (notably in the agriculture industry), and expanding to other states with large migrant populations such as Texas and Florida. According to the American Immigration Counsel, in 2018, 10.6 million immigrants (foreign-born individuals) comprised 27 percent of the population of California, and the top country of origin for immigrants was Mexico, at 38 percent of immigrants. According to The Wilson Center Mexico Institute, the market for money remittance from California to Mexico during 2021 was estimated to be approximately $16.25 billion. We therefore believe our market is not only large and growing, but that servicing this market is socially responsible. We believe our digital payment facilitation platform and related apps will empower and enable the unbanked and under-served and payment providers who service these users, acting as a bridge to provide access to comprehensive and easy to use payment solutions. Given the large size of our addressable market, our ability to capture even a very small share of the market represents a significant revenue opportunity for our company.

Previously, we intended to provide digital payment solutions via kiosks, as part of our strategy. However due to the delays experienced with the COVID-19 pandemic, we pivoted to a mobile platform, we believe will offer our users more convenience, security and efficiency through hand-held mobile devices, while significantly reducing our capital expenditures.

Services and Business Model

Our primary sources of revenue is commissions and fees from the use of our digital suite of products without physical custody of customer funds. Our fully functional apps includes the ability to use an e-wallet, Visa debit cards, bill payment platform, e-commerce and the ability to buy gold and silver. We believe we have the ability and technology to add micro-loans, tele-medicine services as well as payroll services to our apps in the future.

In addition to these revenue generators, we intend releasing our BeyondAgro software to enable growers to improve business management and management of contract employees, particularly migrant workers. This will be offered as a monthly fee-based SaaS platform.

Our revenue will include fees derived from the use of debit cards, ATM fees, merchant processing fees, money transfer fees, commissions on international bill payments and, in the near future micro-loans and tele-medicine.

Marketing

We intend to initially focus on the underserved labor markets, initially focusing on the Californian agriculture industry to acquire customers for our IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet apps. We will use direct social media marketing strategies to the business to consumer market.

Our marketing effort will be directed towards businesses, initially towards agricultural businesses. In marketing our software platform, we believe we have a differentiated product that will allow agricultural companies to pay their laborers with e-wallet money transfers instead of traditional check payments. The laborers will then be able to transfer funds, pay utility bills and send money abroad cheaper and more conveniently with instant settlement, a product offering that, we believe, does not exist at present.

Competition

The payment service business is highly competitive and continued growth depends on our ability to compete effectively. Companies like Western Union, Money Gram, Paypal, and Venmo, dominate the money remittance business, and most of our competitors have far greater sources of financing, greater name recognition and have been engaged in the industry longer than we have.

We believe, however that the differentiator with the IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet apps is our ability to provide the unbanked and under-served the ability to transact without the use of a traditional bank account, with greater convenience, lower costs and instant settlement, and with free wallet-to-wallet transfers, and the ability to upload funds onto Visa debit cards across borders. We believe the design of our apps will be highly attractive to our initial target communities, thus allowing our product to compete effectively.

Intellectual Property

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 presently have three trademark applications on file and under review, and our 51% subsidiary Beyond Fintech has an additional three trademark applications on file and under review.

Government and Environmental Regulation and Laws

We act as a facilitator between consumers and finance product providers, and therefore operate in a highly regulated industry. While we do not believe that our core business as a facilitator presently is subject to significant government regulation our finance product providers are 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 and therefore may expect to experience periodic investigations by various regulatory authorities in connection with the same, which may sometimes result in monetary or other sanctions being imposed upon them. 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 may indirectly increase our operating costs and legal risks (or directly should it be determined that our business model is or becomes subject to more extensive regulation). In particular, there has been increased public attention and heightened legislation and regulations regarding money laundering and terrorist financing. Our providers may have to make significant judgment calls in applying anti-money laundering legislation and risk being found in non-compliance with such laws, and these judgement calls, to the extent they curtail the availability of the applicable financial product, could harm our business.

To the extent our business is or will be involved in the utilization of blockchain or cryptocurrency, the regulatory regime governing these sectors is highly uncertain, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect our business plans. Regulation of cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies and cryptocurrency exchanges, 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.

In addition, any violations of laws and regulations relating to the safeguarding of private information in connection with IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet, could subject us to fines, penalties or other regulatory actions, as well as to civil actions by affected parties.

Any violations of any of the foregoing or similar laws, rules or regulations could adversely affect our ability to maintain IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet, 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.

Human Capital/Employees

As of December 31, 2021, we had 6 full time employees, including our Chief Executive Officer and President or Chief Financial Officer and 4 employees. None of our employees are represented by a labor union, and we consider our employee relations to be good.

Our Corporate History and Background

We were incorporated on September 25, 2013 under the laws of the State of Nevada originally under the name Asiya Pearls, Inc. On May 27, 2016, Asiya Pearls, Inc. filed a Certificate of Amendment to its Articles of Incorporation to change its name from Asiya Pearls, Inc. to QPAGOS.

On May 12, 2016, we (at that time, under the name QPAGOS), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Qpagos Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Qpagos Corporation”), and Qpagos Merge, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of our company (“Merger Sub”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, on May 12, 2016, the merger was consummated, and Qpagos Corporation and Merger Sub merged (the “Merger”), with Qpagos Corporation continuing as the surviving corporation of the Merger.

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, upon consummation of the Merger, each share of Qpagos Corporation’s capital stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Merger was converted into the right to receive two shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”). Additionally, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, upon consummation of the Merger, we assumed all of Qpagos Corporation’s warrants issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Merger, which were exercisable for approximately 621,920 shares of Common Stock, respectively, as of the date of the Merger. Prior to and as a condition to the closing of the Merger, the then-current stockholder of 500,000 shares of Common Stock agreed to return to us 497,500 shares of Common Stock held by such holder and the then-current stockholder retained an aggregate of 2,500 shares of Common Stock and the other stockholders retained 500,000 shares of Common Stock. Therefore, immediately following the Merger, Qpagos Corporation’s former stockholders held 4,992,900 shares of Common Stock which represented approximately 91% of the then outstanding Common Stock.

The Merger was treated as a reverse acquisition of our company, which was then a public shell company, for financial accounting and reporting purposes. As such, Qpagos Corporation was treated as the acquirer for accounting and financial reporting purposes while IPSI was treated as the acquired entity for accounting and financial reporting purposes.

Qpagos Corporation was incorporated on May 1, 2015 under the laws of the state of Delaware to effectuate a reverse merger transaction with Qpagos, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“Qpagos Mexico”) and Redpag Electrónicos S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“Redpag”). Each of the entities were incorporated in November 2013 in Mexico.

Qpagos Mexico was formed to process payment transactions for service providers it contracts with, and Redpag was formed to deploy and operate kiosks as a distributor. 

On June 1, 2016, our board of directors of changed our fiscal year end from October 31 to December 31.

On November 1, 2019, we changed our name from QPAGOS to Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc. Additionally, and immediately following the name change, we filed a Certificate of Change with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada to affect a reverse split of the Common Stock at a ratio of 1-for-10, effective on November 1, 2019 (the Reverse Stock Split”). As a result of the Reverse Stock Split, each ten pre-split shares of Common Stock outstanding automatically combined into one new share of Common Stock without any further action on the part of the holders, and the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock was reduced from 320,477,867 shares to 32,047,817 after rounding for fractional shares.

On December 31, 2019, we consummated the disposal of Qpagos Corporation, Qpagos Mexico and Redpag in exchange for 2,250,000 shares (the “Vivi Shares”) of common stock of Vivi Holdings, Inc. (“Vivi” or “Vivi Holdings”) pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement dated August 5, 2019 (the “SPA”). Of the 2,250,000 shares of Vivi, nine percent (9%) was allocated as follows: Gaston Pereira (5%), Andrey Novikov (2.5%), and Joseph Abrams (1.5%). The SPA closed on December 31, 2019 after the satisfaction of customary conditions, the receipt of a final fairness opinion and the approval of our shareholders. As a result of this transaction, we no longer has any Mexican subsidiaries.

We acquired a 10% strategic interest in Frictionless on June 22, 2021. 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 that enables payments within the United States and abroad, including Mexico, together with a service agreement providing a full suite of product services to facilitate our anticipated product offerings. We hold an irrevocable right to acquire up to an additional 41% of the outstanding common stock of Frictionless at a purchase price of $300,000 for each 1% acquired.

On August 26, 2021, we formed a new subsidiary, Beyond Fintech to acquire a product known as Beyond Wallet from a third party, together with the logo, use of name and implementation of the product into our technology. We own 51% of Beyond Fintech with the other 49% owned by Frictionless.

Corporate Information

Our principal offices are located at 56B 5^th Street, Lot 1, AT#, Carmel by the Sea, CA, 93921, and our telephone number at that office is (866) 477-4729. Our website address is www.ipsipay.com. Information contained in our website does not form part of this Annual Report and is intended for informational purposes only.

Available Information

We have included our website address as a factual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to our website. We make available on our website, www.ipsipay.com., our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. These reports are available free of charge through the investor relations page of our internet website as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports are filed with the SEC. 

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Risks Relating to our Company

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

In December 2019, we sold our Mexican subsidiaries and are now focused on developing our U.S. based business. To date, as a result of COVID-19 business closures and the resultant impact on being able to travel and meet suppliers and customers, in person, the launch of our e-wallets and the installation of a limited network of kiosks in Southern California has been delayed. 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 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 no assurance that our activities will be successful or will result in any revenues or profit, and the likelihood of our success must be considered in light of the stage of our development. There can be no assurance that we will be able to consummate our 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 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 successfully address these risks.

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

For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we incurred a net loss of $14,494,915 and $5,444,544, respectively. We have an accumulated deficit of $42,111,701 through December 31, 2021. 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 next twelve months, 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.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused and may continue to cause a delay in our roll out plans, which has negatively impacted our ability to generate revenue and operations and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has required our management to focus their attention primarily on responding to the challenges presented by the pandemic, including ensuring continuous operations, and adjusting our operations to address changes in the virtual payments industry. Due to measures imposed by the local governments in areas affected by COVID-19, businesses have been suspended due to quarantine intended to contain this outbreak and many people have been forced to work from home in those areas. As a result, development of our e-wallets and the limited installation of our network of kiosks in Southern California has been delayed, which has had an adverse impact on our business and financial condition and has hampered our ability to generate revenue and access usual sources of liquidity on reasonable terms. As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we may face similar challenges in the future which could lead to material adverse impacts on our company.

We will need additional funding and may be unable to raise capital when needed, which would force us to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts.

As of December 31, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of $5,449,751. We believe that based on our current operating plan, our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to enable us to fund our operations and our debt and other obligations for the near term. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” below. However, we will need additional funds to 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 unsuccessful in achieving profitability, and we cannot obtain additional funds on commercially reasonable terms or at all, we may be required to significantly reduce or cease our operations, which could result in the loss to investors of their investment in our securities.

We 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. We have identified material weaknesses in our internal controls. As of December 31, 2021, 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. As a result of these weaknesses, we are faced with the risk that we may not always be able to detect errors or omissions in our financial reporting. We may be unable to satisfactorily remediate our internal control weaknesses, and if we fail to comply with the rules under Sarbanes-Oxley related to disclosure controls and procedures in the future, or, if we continue to have 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 additional 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 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. 

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

As of December 31, 2021, we had outstanding convertible debt in the principal amount of $2,044,000. 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 and from time to time at the election of the holder after certain periods of time into shares of our common stock at discounts to the market price of our common stock. 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 could 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 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. 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, the Company will 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.

Risks Related to Our Business

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 are subject to the economic risk and business cycles of our merchants, agents and 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 revenue and profits. If our merchants make fewer sales of their products and services using our services or consumers spend less money per transaction, we will have fewer transactions to process at lower amounts, resulting in lower revenue. Weakening in the Mexican economy could have a negative impact on our merchants, as well as consumers who purchase products and services using our payment processing systems, 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. In addition, these factors could force some of our merchants and/or agents to liquidate their operations or go bankrupt, or could cause our agents to reduce the number of their locations or hours of operation, resulting in reduced transaction volumes. We also have a certain amount of fixed costs, including salaries and rent, which could limit our ability to adjust costs and respond quickly to changes affecting the economy and our business.

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 all of our revenues from our businesses operating from these migrant states and expect to continue to derive a significant portion of our revenue from customers in these migrant states for the near future. Therefore, our business is exposed to adverse regulatory and competitive changes, economic downturns and changes in political conditions in these migrant states. Moreover, due to the concentration of our businesses in these 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 have to make significant judgment calls in applying anti-money laundering legislation and risk being found in non-compliance with such laws. The cryptocurrency business is subject to extensive regulation, see Risks Related to our Plans to Launch Various Digital Payment Cryptocurrency Products-The regulatory regime governing blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies is evolving and uncertain, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect our business in the future.

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.

Risks Related to our Plans to Launch Various Digital Payment Products

There can be no assurance that we will be successful in launching digital payment products.

We have developed and will launch various digital payment products in the second quarter, including, IPSIPay and Beyond Wallet. No assurance can be given that we will be able to successfully launch 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.

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.

The regulatory regime governing digital assets and offerings of digital assets is uncertain, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect the development and the value of the 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 the ability of the Company 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.

General Risk Factors

The laws and regulations indirectly affecting our industry is 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 BSA and could be subject to regulatory oversight and enforcement by 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 PSD/PSD2, the Dodd-Frank Act 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 not be able to complete or integrate successfully any potential future acquisitions, partnerships or joint ventures.

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.

A significant change or disruption in international migration patterns could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. 

Our money transfer business relies in part on international migration patterns, 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. Changes in immigration laws that discourage international 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 or work abroad could adversely affect our money transfer remittance volume or growth rate. Specifically, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have initiated, resumed or extended social distancing rules, lockdowns or shelter-in-place orders resulting in the inability of many individuals to migrate or work abroad, which has impacted our business. The resulting economic impact of prior and ongoing COVID-19 governmental lockdown orders could continue to negatively impact our business. Furthermore, continuing increases in COVID-19 cases occurring now or in the future could result in a return to lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders by governments which could negatively impact our business. 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.

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:

If financial liquidity deteriorates, there can be no assurance we will not experience an adverse effect, which may be material, on our ability to access capital and on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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. Our systems and operations, or those of our third party providers, 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 IT 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.

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 fluctuated in the past, and has been subject to 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 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict has 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 broad 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 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 six directors serve as our 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 IPSI’s performance.

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. See Item 5 “Dividend Policy.”

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 it 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.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None

Item 2. Properties

The Company operates out of leased premises in Carmel by the Sea, California. The lease commenced on March 22, 2021 and terminates on April 1, 2022, monthly rental expense is $4,800 per month with no escalations during the term of the lease.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings which arise in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business.

On October 20, 2021, a complaint was filed against our company and certain of its officers and directors with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United Stated Department of Labor, captioned Naum Voloshin, Yulia Rey, Alexander Voloshin, Andrey Novikov, and Frank Perez v. Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc., William Corbett, Richard Rosenblum, Madisson Corbett, Jim Fuller, Cliff Henry and David Rios. The complaint generally alleges that complainants, former employees of our company, did not receive compensation to which they claim they were entitled and that they were wrongfully terminated for engaging in protected activities in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A, including reporting concerns about the adequacy of our internal controls. The complaint seeks reinstatement of complainants’ employment, monetary damages including back pay, raises, bonuses, benefits, overtime, emotional distress and loss of reputation, orders of abatement and injunctive relief, and costs of litigation. While the outcome of this action is presently uncertain at this point, we intend to vigorously defend against the action. To date, this matter has proceeded in the ordinary course of litigation. We may engage in alternative dispute resolution with the plaintiffs but there can be no assurance that these efforts will be successful.

Other than as set forth above, we are not presently a party to any legal proceedings that, if determined adversely to us, would individually or taken together have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition or cash flows.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchase of Equity Securities

From November 3, 2014 to July 4, 2016, our common stock traded on the OTC Pink Markets under the symbol “ASYP” but no trading took place during this time. Since July 5, 2016 our common stock has traded on the OTCQB Market, and our symbol was changed to “QPAG” on June 2, 2016 and to “IPSI” on December 3, 2019.

The last reported sale price of our common stock on the OTCQB on March 29, 2022, was $0.0189 per share. As of March 29, 2022, there were approximately 65 holders of record of our common stock. 

Dividend Policy

We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date, and we have no intention of paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Whether we declare and pay dividends is determined by our Board of Directors at their discretion, subject to certain limitations imposed under Nevada corporate law. The timing, amount and form of dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The purpose of our equity incentive plans is to promote the interests of our company and our stockholders by providing directors, officers, employees and consultants of our company with appropriate incentives and rewards to encourage them to enter into and continue in the employ or service of our company, to acquire a proprietary interest in our long-term success and to reward the performance of individuals in fulfilling long-term corporate objectives.

On June 18, 2018, we established our 2018 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan terminates after a period of ten years in June 2028. The Plan is administered by our board of directors or a committee appointed by our board of directors who have the authority to administer the Plan and to exercise all the powers and authorities specifically granted to it under the Plan.

The maximum number of securities available under the Plan is 800,000 shares of Common Stock. The maximum number of shares of Common Stock awarded to any individual during any fiscal year may not exceed 100,000 shares of Common Stock.

On October 22, 2021, our board of directors and stockholders established our 2021 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”). The 2021 Plan terminates after a period of ten years in August 2031.

The maximum number of securities available under the 2021 Plan is 53,000,000 shares of Common Stock.

Under the 2021 Plan, we may award the following: (i) non-qualified stock options; (ii)) incentive stock options; (iii) stock appreciation rights; (iv) restricted stock; (v) restricted stock unit; and (vi) other stock-based awards.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

On February 3, 2021, we closed a transaction with Cavalry, pursuant to which we received net proceeds of $150,500, after an original issue discount of $21,500 in exchange for the issuance of a $172,000 Senior Secured Convertible Note, bearing interest at 10% per annum and maturing on February 3, 2022. The Note is convertible into shares of common stock at an initial conversion price of $0.045 per share, in addition, we issued a warrant exercisable for 3,822,223 shares of common stock at an initial exercise price of $0.05 per share.

On February 3, 2021, we closed a transaction with Mercer, pursuant to which the Company received net proceeds of $250,250, after an original issue discount of $35,750 in exchange for the issuance of a $286,000 Senior Secured Convertible Note, bearing interest at 10% per annum and maturing on February 3, 2022. The Note was convertible into shares of common stock at an initial conversion price of $0.045 per share, in addition, we issued a warrant exercisable for 6,355,556 shares of common stock at an initial exercise price of $0.05 per share.

On February 3, 2021, we closed a transaction with Iroquois Master Fund Ltd., pursuant to which we received net proceeds of $199,500, after an original issue discount of $28,500 in exchange for the issuance of a $228,000 Senior Secured Convertible Note, bearing interest at 10% per annum and maturing on February 3, 2022. The Note was convertible into shares of common stock at an initial conversion price of $0.045 per share, in addition, we issued a warrant exercisable for 5,066,667 shares of common stock at an initial exercise price of $0.05 per share.

On February 16, 2021, we closed a transaction with Cavalry, pursuant to which we received net proceeds of $500,500, after an original issue discount of $71,500 in exchange for the issuance of a $572,000 Senior Secured Convertible Note, bearing interest at 10% per annum and maturing on February 16, 2022. The Note is convertible into shares of common stock at an initial conversion price of $0.23 per share, in addition, we issued a warrant exercisable for 2,486,957 shares of common stock at an initial exercise price of $0.24 per share.

On February 16, 2021, we closed a transaction with Mercer, pursuant to which we received net proceeds of $500,500, after an original issue discount of $71,500 in exchange for the issuance of a $572,000 Senior Secured Convertible Note, bearing interest at 10% per annum and maturing on February 16, 2022. The Note is convertible into shares of common stock at an initial conversion price of $0.23 per share, in addition, we issued a warrant exercisable for 2,486,957 shares of common stock at an initial exercise price of $0.24 per share.

On February 16, 2021, we closed a transaction with Bellridge Capital LP., pursuant to which we received net proceeds of $180,250, after an original issue discount of $25,750 in exchange for the issuance of a $206,000 Senior Secured Convertible Note, bearing interest at 10% per annum and maturing on February 16, 2022. The Note was convertible into shares of common stock at an initial conversion price of $0.045 per share, in addition, we issued a warrant exercisable for 4,577,778 shares of common stock at an initial exercise price of $0.05 per share.

On February 16, 2021, we closed a transaction with Bellridge Capital LP., pursuant to which we received net proceeds of $787,500, after an original issue discount of $112,500 in exchange for the issuance of a $900,000 Senior Secured Convertible Note, bearing interest at 10% per annum and maturing on February 16, 2022. The Note is convertible into shares of common stock at an initial conversion price of $0.23 per share, in addition, we issued a warrant exercisable for 3,913,044 shares of common stock at an initial exercise price of $0.24 per share.

In terms of debt conversion notices received between January 5, 2021 and February 23, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 61,793,616 shares of common stock for the conversion of $2,259,221 of convertible debt and interest thereon, realizing a loss on conversion of $5,498,820.

In terms of warrant exercise notices received between February 18, 2021 and June 23, 2021, the Company issued 60,186,982 shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $3,009,349.

On March 17, 2021, we entered into Securities Purchase Agreements with several institutional investors, pursuant to which we agreed to sell to the Investors in a private placement (i) 30,333,334 shares of its common stock; and (ii) warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 15,166,667 shares of its common stock for gross proceeds of approximately $4,550,000. In addition, we agreed to issue to placement agent warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 2,426,667 shares of the Company’s common stock. The Placement Agent Warrants have an exercise price of $0.1875.

On April 5, 2021, we awarded four advisory board members, each 2,000,000 restricted shares of common stock, the restricted shares of common stock vest as to 75% on the effective date and 25% on the anniversary date of the agreement.

On July 22, 2021, we awarded 7,000,000 shares of common stock to board members that were appointed during the year. In addition, a further 300,000 shares of common stock were issued to an employee and a further 3,650,000 shares of common stock were issued to various consultants.

On August 9, 2021, we awarded 2,000,000 shares of common stock to a third party vendor.

Other than as previously disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, we did not sell any equity securities during the year ended December 31, 2021 in transactions that were not registered under the Securities Act.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

There were no issuer purchases of equity securities during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

Item 6.  Reserved

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by, our audited annual financial statements and the related notes thereto, each of which appear elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as described under the heading “About Forward-Looking Statements” in this Annual Report. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties. The Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations below is based upon only the financial performance of Innovate Payment Solutions.

Overview and Financial Condition

Recent Developments

Repayment and extension of convertible notes

Previously, we entered into separate Securities Purchase Agreements, each dated February 16, 2021 (the “Securities Purchase Agreements”), with each of Bellridge Capital, LP (“Bellridge”), Cavalry Fund I LP (“Cavalry”), and Mercer Street Global Opportunity Fund, LLC (“Mercer”), pursuant to which we received $787,500, $500,500 and $500,500 from the Investors, respectively, in exchange for the issuance of: (i) Original Issue Discount 12.5% Convertible Notes in the principal amounts of $900,000 issued to Bellridge and $572,000 to each of Cavalry and Mercer.

On February 3, 2022, we extended our indebtedness to Cavalry and Mercer from February 16, 2022 to August 16, 2022 in consideration of increasing the principal amount outstanding and due to each of Cavalry and Mercer under their notes by a penalty amount plus an additional 10%. The aggregate principal amount of each of the Cavalry and Mercer Note after extension is $866,242.

Additionally, on February 4, 2022, we paid in full our indebtedness of $1,235,312.50 (inclusive of early settlement penalty and accrued interest) to Bellridge.

Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, of Innovative Payment Solutions, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of any contingent liabilities at the financial statement date and reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. On an on-going basis we review our estimates and assumptions. The estimates are based on our historical experience and other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results are likely to differ from those estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Results of Operations for the years Ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020

Net revenue

We did not have revenues during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.We anticipate that we will recommence generating revenue when we launch our e-wallets once we have determined our deployment strategy, the timing of which is uncertain.

Cost of goods sold

As we did not have revenues during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we anticipate that we will begin to recognize cost of goods sold when we launch our e-wallets once we have determined our deployment strategy.

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses were $10,284,815 and $1,742,008 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, an increase of $8,542,807 or 490.4%. The increase is primarily due to the following;

Depreciation

Depreciation was $17,935 and $12,500 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, an increase of $5,435. Depreciation during the current period represents depreciation on the kiosks received from Qpagos Mexico and miscellaneous assets acquired during the current year. Depreciation in the prior year is related to kiosks acquired from Mexico.

Investment impairment charge

Investment impairment charge was $0 and $1,019,960 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, the Company raised an impairment charge against the investment in Vivi Holdings Inc, as Vivi continues to not meet any of its indicated milestones concerning its proposed IPO and fund-raising efforts.

Loss on debt conversion

Loss on debt conversion was $5,498,820 and $433,610 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, an increase of $5,065,210. The loss on debt conversion during the current year represents a loss realized on the conversion of convertible notes, into equity at fixed conversion prices which ranged from $0.035 to $0.045 per share, when the stock price ranged from $0.05 per share to $0.238 per share, resulting in a significant loss. A total of $2,259,221 was converted from convertible debt to equity during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Loss on settlement of liabilities

Loss on settlement of liabilities was $0 and $95,082 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The loss on settlement of liabilities represents the settlement of certain promissory notes during the prior period by the issuance of 1,692,764 shares of common stock at a discount to current market prices resulting in a loss on settlement of $50,082 and the issuance of 1,500,000 shares of common stock to a previous note holder in settlement of a dispute over the repayment of a convertible note during the current period, at the market value of the shares of $45,000, on the date of settlement.

Debt extension fee

Debt extension fee was $0 and $40,000 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, we incurred a debt extension fee of $40,000 in the prior year, on a convertible note which was maturing, this note has subsequently been repaid.

Forgiveness of federal relief loan

Forgiveness of federal relief loan was $60,292 and $0 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. During the current period the company applied and was granted on the PPP loan advanced by the federal government during the prior year.

Interest expense

Interest expense was $228,240 and $381,034 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, a decrease of $152,794 or 40.1%. The decrease is primarily due to a penalty interest expense in the prior period of $238,080 related to the settlement of convertible debt prior to conversion by the note holders offset by the increase in the principal outstanding of convertible debt from $1,505,000 in the prior period to $2,044,000 in the current period.

Amortization of debt discount

Amortization of debt discount was $3,653,652 and $1,065,879 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, an increase of $2,587,773 or 242.8%. The increase is primarily due to the accelerated amortization of debt discount related to notes converted to equity during the first quarter of the current year, in addition, the increase is also due to the increase in the debt discount of $2,569,000 associated with the increase in convertible debt over the prior year.

Derivative liability movements

Derivative liability movements were $5,128,255 and $(654,471) for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The derivative liability arose due to the issuance of convertible securities with variable conversion prices and no floor conversion price. The credit during the current year represents the mark-to-market of the derivative liability outstanding as of December 31, 2021, primarily as a result of a decrease in the share price over the prior year.

Net loss

We incurred a net loss of $14,494,915 and $5,444,544 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 respectively, an increase in loss of $9,050,371 or 166.2%. The increase is due to the increase in general and administrative expenses, the loss realized on the conversion of convertible debt and the amortization of debt discount, offset by the movement in derivative liabilities, discussed in detail above.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

To date, our primary sources of cash have been funds raised primarily from the sale of our debt and equity securities.

We incurred an accumulated deficit of $42,111,701 through December 31, 2021 and incurred negative cash flow from operations of $2,608,118 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Company’s focus on operating and developing e-wallets that enable consumers to deposit cash, convert it into a digital form and remit the funds to Mexico and other countries quickly and securely, will require us to spend, substantial amounts in connection with implementing our business strategy, including our planned product development.

To meet our financing needs, we have raised net convertible debt funding of $2,048,000, received proceeds from warrant exercises of $3,009,349 and additional gross proceeds $4,550,000 from a private placement of equity securities, we believe we have sufficient funding to implement our business strategy.

At December 31, 2021, we had cash of $5,449,751 and working capital of $2,701,065, including a derivative liability of $407,161. After eliminating the derivative liability our working capital is $3,108,226.

We utilized cash of $2,608,118 and $1,256,279 in operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Overall cash utilized in operations increased by $1,351,839, primarily due to the increase in corporate overhead as we ready ourselves for our new technology platform.

We invested $500,000 in the common stock of Frictionless which has been contracted to develop our payment platform for the Mexican and other markets. This is a strategic investment and we expect a platform to be ready to utilize within the current year. We also invested a further $625,000 in the acquisition of a license and services for the Beyond Wallet software in the furtherance of our objectives.

Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily comprised of gross proceeds of $4,550,000 from the private placement on March 17, 2021, $3,009,349 from warrants exercised and a net $2,048,000 from convertible debt issued, net of convertible debt repayments of $521,000. We utilized $501,100 for share issue expenses.

At December 31, 2021, we had outstanding notes in the principal amount of $2,044,000. The notes were issued on February 16, 2021 and may be prepaid at any time for the first 90 days in an amount equal to 115% of the principal amount plus accrued interest. From day 91 through day 180, the Notes may be prepaid in an amount equal to 120% of the principal amount plus accrued interest. From day 181 through day 365, it may be prepaid in an amount equal to 125% of the principal amount plus accrued interest. The notes contain certain covenants, such as restrictions on: (i) distributions on capital stock, (ii) stock repurchases, and (iii) sales and the transfer of assets. The notes mature in 12 months, bears interest at a rate of 10% per annum, and are initially convertible into our common stock at a conversion price of $0.23 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock combinations, dilutive issuances and similar events). Upon the occurrence of an event of default under the notes, the respective holder has the right to be prepaid at 140% of the outstanding principal balance and accrued interest, and interest accrues at 18% per annum (or the maximum amount permitted by law). In addition, if an event of default under a note has occurred, regardless of whether it has been cured or remains ongoing, such Note will thereafter be convertible at 65% of the lowest closing price of our common stock for the last 10 consecutive trading days.

Other than amounts owed under convertible notes, we have a commitment for a property lease which expires in April 2022.

The amount of future minimum lease payments under operating leases are as follows:

Capital Expenditures

Our capital expenditure is expected to be less than $100,000 during the next twelve month period.

Critical Accounting Policies

Preparation of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of certain assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, as well as related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Significant accounting policies are fundamental to understanding our financial condition and results as they require the use of estimates and assumptions which affect the financial statements and accompanying notes. See Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10- K for further information.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information regarding recently issued accounting standards.

Contractual Obligations

We have contractual obligations in the form of convertible notes which are described in the financial statements presented below.

Inflation

The effect of inflation on the Company’s operating results was not significant.

Interest rate sensitivity

We are not subject to interest rate sensitivity; our only debt consists of fixed rate convertible debt.

Cybersecurity

We believe we employ industry standard cybersecurity protocols and tools, which are constantly evolving, to protect our apps and software. While we are not aware of any cybersecurity breaches or similar issues relating to our company, there is a risk that our efforts will be insufficient to defend against all cybersecurity threats.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Not applicable because we are a smaller reporting company.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplemental Data 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the related consolidated statements of operations, equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis

for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Assessment of Derivative Liabilities- Refer to Note 10 of the consolidated financial statements

Certain of the short-term convertible notes disclosed in note 9 and certain warrants disclosed in note 11 to the consolidated financial statements, have variable priced conversion rights with no fixed floor price and will re-price dependent on the share price performance over varying periods of time and certain notes and warrants have fundamental transaction clauses which might result in cash settlement, due to these factors, all convertible notes and any warrants attached thereto are valued and give rise to a derivative financial liability, which was initially valued at inception of the convertible notes and warrants using a Black-Scholes valuation model. The value of this derivative financial liability was re-assessed at December 31, 2021.

We identified the accounting for derivative liability for short term convertible notes and warrants as a critical audit matter. Our principal considerations included the existence of subjective judgments related to certain provisions of the convertible notes and warrant agreements in connection with the determination of the classification of the notes and warrants, including provisions related to market volatility. Auditing these elements required especially challenging auditor judgment and significant audit effort, including the need for specialized knowledge and skill in assessing these elements of the agreements.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these audited consolidated financial statements.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these audited consolidated financial statements.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY 1, 2020 TO DECEMBER 31, 2021

 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these audited consolidated financial statements.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these audited consolidated financial statements.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

On May 12, 2016, Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc. (formerly known as QPAGOS and Asiya Pearls, Inc.), a Nevada corporation (“IPSI” or the “Company”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Qpagos Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Qpagos Corporation”), and Qpagos Merge, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of IPSI (“Merger Sub”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, on May 12, 2016, the merger was consummated, and Qpagos Corporation and Merger Sub merged (the “Merger”), with Qpagos Corporation continuing as the surviving corporation of the Merger. 

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, upon consummation of the Merger, each share of Qpagos Corporation’s capital stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Merger was converted into the right to receive two shares of IPSI common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”). Additionally, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, upon consummation of the Merger, IPSI assumed all of Qpagos Corporation’s warrants issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Merger, which were exercisable for approximately 621,920 shares of Common Stock, respectively, as of the date of the Merger. Prior to and as a condition to the closing of the Merger, the then-current IPSI stockholder of 500,000 shares of Common Stock agreed to return to IPSI 497,500 shares of Common Stock held by such holder to IPSI and the then-current IPSI stockholder retained an aggregate of 2,500 shares of Common Stock and the other stockholders of IPSI retained 500,000 shares of Common Stock. Therefore, immediately following the Merger, Qpagos Corporation’s former stockholders held 4,992,900 shares of IPSI common stock which represented approximately 91% of the outstanding Common Stock.

The Merger was treated as a reverse acquisition of IPSI, a public shell company, for financial accounting and reporting purposes. As such, Qpagos Corporation was treated as the acquirer for accounting and financial reporting purposes while IPSI was treated as the acquired entity for accounting and financial reporting purposes.

Qpagos Corporation (“Qpagos”) was incorporated on May 1, 2015 under the laws of the state of Delaware to effectuate a reverse merger transaction with Qpagos, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“Qpagos Mexico”) and Redpag Electrónicos S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“Redpag”). Each of the entities were incorporated in November 2013 in Mexico.

Qpagos Mexico was formed to process payment transactions for service providers it contracts with, and Redpag was formed to deploy and operate kiosks as a distributor. 

On May 27, 2016 Asiya changed its name to QPAGOS.

On June 1, 2016, the board of directors of QPAGOS (the “Board”) changed the Company’s fiscal year end from October 31 to December 31.

On November 1, 2019, the Company changed its name from QPAGOS to Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc. Additionally, and immediately following the name change, the Company filed a Certificate of Change with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada to effect a reverse split of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “common stock”) at a ratio of 1-for-10, effective on November 1, 2019 (the Reverse Stock Split”). As a result of the Reverse Stock Split, each ten pre-split shares of common stock outstanding automatically combined into one new share of common stock without any further action on the part of the holders, and the number of outstanding shares of common stock was reduced from 320,477,867 shares to 32,047,817 after rounding for fractional shares.

On December 31, 2019, Innovative Payment Solutions consummated the disposal of Qpagos Corporation, Qpagos Mexico and Redpag in exchange for 2,250,000 shares (the “Vivi Shares”) of common stock of Vivi Holdings, Inc. (“Vivi” or “Vivi Holdings”) pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement dated August 5, 2019 (the “SPA”). Of the 2,250,000 shares of Vivi, nine percent (9%) was allocated as follows: Gaston Pereira (5%), Andrey Novikov (2.5%), and Joseph Abrams (1.5%). The SPA was closed on December 31, 2019 after the satisfaction of customary conditions, the receipt of a final fairness opinion and the approval of the Company’s shareholders. Innovative Payment Solutions no longer has any business operations in Mexico and has retained its U.S. operations based in Calabasas, California.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Subsequent to the merger of Qpagos Corporation into IPSI and until the divestiture of Qpagos Corporation, Qpagos Mexico and Redpag, the Company’s focus was on the operations of Qpagos Corporation in Mexico. The Company’s current focus is on providing payment services to allow US persons to transfer funds to Mexico and other countries.

The Company is focused on operating and developing e-wallets that enable consumers to deposit cash, convert it into a digital form and remit the funds to Mexico and other countries quickly and securely. The Company’s first e-wallet, the Beyond Wallet, is currently operational. The Company’s flagship e-wallet, IPSIPay, is in final stages of development and testing. Previously the Company intended to invest in physical kiosks, which required the user presence at the kiosk location. The Company still intends to use its existing kiosks in certain target markets within Southern California.

The Company acquired a 10% strategic interest in Frictionless on June 22, 2021. Frictionless agreed to deliver to the Company, a live fully compliant financial payment Software as a Service solution for use by the Company as a digital payment platform that enables payments within the United states and abroad, including Mexico, together with a service agreement providing a full suite of product services to facilitate the Company’s anticipated product offerings. The Company has an irrevocable right to acquire up to an additional 41% of the outstanding common stock of Frictionless at a purchase price of $300,000 for each 1% acquired.

On August 26, 2021, the Company formed a new subsidiary, Beyond Fintech, in which its owns a 51% stake, with Frictionless owning the remaining 49%. Beyond Fintech acquired an exclusive license to a product known as Beyond Wallet, to further its objective of providing virtual payment services allowing US persons to transfer funds to Mexico and other countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has required the Company’s management to focus its attention primarily on responding to the challenges presented by the pandemic, including ensuring continuous operations, and adjusting its operations to address changes in the virtual payments industry. Due to measures imposed by the local governments in areas affected by COVID-19, businesses had been suspended due to quarantine intended to contain this outbreak and many people had been forced to work from home in those areas. As a result, development of our e-wallets and the limited installation of our network of kiosks in Southern California had been delayed, which has had an adverse impact on our business and financial condition and has hampered our ability to generate revenues. As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we may face similar challenges in the future which could lead to material adverse impacts on our company.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”).

All amounts referred to in the notes to the consolidated financial statements are in United States Dollars ($) unless stated otherwise.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiary in which it has a majority voting interest. All significant inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidated financial statements.

The entities included in these consolidated financial statements are as follows:

Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc. - Parent Company

Beyond Fintech Inc., 51% owned. 

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions, which are evaluated on an ongoing basis, that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that it believes are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the amounts of revenues and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates and judgments. In particular, significant estimates and judgments include those related to, the estimated useful lives for plant and equipment, the fair value of long-lived investments, the fair value of warrants and stock options granted for services or compensation, estimates of the probability and potential magnitude of contingent liabilities, derivative liabilities, the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets due to continuing operating losses and the allowance for doubtful accounts.

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the consolidated financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from our estimates.

Certain conditions may exist as of the date the financial statements are issued, which may result in a loss to the Company, but which will only be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur.

The Company’s management assesses such contingent liabilities, and such assessment inherently involves an exercise of judgment.

If the assessment of a contingency indicates that it is probable that a material loss has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be estimated, then the estimated liability would be accrued in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. If the assessment indicates that a potential material loss contingency is not probable but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be estimated, then the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss if determinable and material would be disclosed. Loss contingencies considered to be remote by management are generally not disclosed unless they involve guarantees, in which case the guarantee would be disclosed.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Company adopted the guidance of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820 for fair value measurements which clarifies the definition of fair value, prescribes methods for measuring fair value, and establishes a fair value hierarchy to classify the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1-Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities available at the measurement date.

Level 2-Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, and inputs derived from or corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3-Inputs are unobservable inputs which reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions on what assumptions the market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best available information.

The carrying amounts reported in the balance sheets for the investment in Vivi Holdings Inc., was evaluated at fair value using Level 3 Inputs based on the Company’s estimate of the market value of the entities disposed to Vivi Holdings, Inc. Vivi Holdings Inc., does not have sufficient information available to assess the current market price of its equity.

The carrying amounts reported in the balance sheets for cash, accounts receivable, other current assets, other assets, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and notes payable, approximate fair value due to the relatively short period to maturity for these instruments. The Company has identified the short-term convertible notes and certain warrants attached to certain of the notes that are required to be presented on the balance sheets at fair value in accordance with the accounting guidance.

ASC 825-10 “Financial Instruments” allows entities to voluntarily choose to measure certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value (fair value option). The fair value option may be elected on an instrument-by-instrument basis and is irrevocable, unless a new election date occurs. If the fair value option is elected for an instrument, unrealized gains and losses for that instrument should be reported in earnings at each subsequent reporting date. We evaluate the fair value of variably priced derivative liabilities on a quarterly basis and report any movements thereon in earnings.

The Company’s operations will be subject to significant risks and uncertainties including financial, operational, regulatory, and other risks, including the potential risk of business failure. The recent global Covid-19 breakout has caused an economic crisis which may result in a general tightening in the credit markets, lower levels of liquidity, increases in the rates of default and bankruptcy, and extreme volatility in credit, equity and fixed income markets. These conditions may not only limit the Company’s access to capital, but also make it difficult for its customers, vendors and the Company to accurately forecast and plan future business activities. In addition, businesses have been suspended due to quarantines intended to contain this outbreak and many people have been forced to work from home in those areas. As a result, installation of the Company’s network of kiosks, terminals and payment channels in Southern California has been delayed, which has had an adverse impact on its business and financial condition and has hampered the Company’s ability to generate revenue and access usual sources of liquidity on reasonable terms.

The Company’s results may be adversely affected by changes in governmental policies with respect to laws and regulations, anti-inflationary measures, and rates and methods of taxation, among other things.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

In November 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2021-10, Disclosures by Entities about Government Assistance (Topic 832), the update increases the transparency of government assistance, including the following disclosures: (1) the types of assistance, (2) an entity’s accounting for the assistance, and (3) the effect of the assistance on an entity’s financial statements.

This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021.

The effects of this ASU on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is currently being assessed and is not expected to have an impact on current disclosure.

The FASB issued several additional updates during the period, none of these standards are either applicable to the Company or require adoption at a future date and none are expected to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements upon adoption.

No segmental information is required as the Company has not generated any revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 and only has one operating segment.

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, the Company had no cash equivalents.

The Company minimizes credit risk associated with cash by periodically evaluating the credit quality of its primary financial institution in the United States. The balance at times may exceed federally insured limits. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the balance exceed the federally insured limit by $5,117,551 and $0, respectively.

Accounts receivable are reported at realizable value, net of allowances for doubtful accounts, which is estimated and recorded in the period the related revenue is recorded. The Company has a standardized approach to estimate and review the collectability of its receivables based on a number of factors, including the period they have been outstanding. Historical collection and payer reimbursement experience is an integral part of the estimation process related to allowances for doubtful accounts. In addition, the Company regularly assesses the state of its billing operations in order to identify issues, which may impact the collectability of these receivables or reserve estimates. Revisions to the allowance for doubtful accounts estimates are recorded as an adjustment to bad debt expense. Receivables deemed uncollectible are charged against the allowance for doubtful accounts at the time such receivables are written-off. Recoveries of receivables previously written-off are recorded as credits to the allowance for doubtful accounts. There were no recoveries during the period ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Company’s non-marketable equity securities are investments in privately held companies without readily determinable market values. The carrying value of our non-marketable equity securities is adjusted to fair value for observable transactions for identical or similar investments of the same issuer or impairment (referred to as the measurement alternative). All gains and losses on non-marketable equity securities, realized and unrealized, are recognized in other income (expense), net. Non-marketable equity securities that have been remeasured during the period are classified within Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy because the Company estimates the value based on valuation methods using the observable transaction price at the transaction date and other unobservable inputs including volatility, rights, and obligations of the securities the Company holds. The cost method is used when the Company has a passive, long-term investment that doesn’t result in influence over the Company. The cost method is used when the investment results in an ownership stake of less than 20%, and there is no substantial influence. Under the cost method, the stock purchased is recorded on a balance sheet as a non-current asset at the historical acquisition/purchase price, and is not modified unless shares are sold, additional shares are purchased or there is evidence of the fair market value of the investment declining below carrying value. Any dividends received are recorded as income.

The Company recorded an impairment charge of $0 and $1,019,960 on its non-marketable equity securities for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The impairment charge was based on management’s determination that due to the lack of ability, to date, by Vivi Holdings (“Vivi”) to fulfill its capital raising requirements and implement its business strategy that there is a significant risk that Vivi may not be able to meet its obligations. 

Plant and equipment is stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Plant and equipment with costs greater than $1,000 are capitalized and depreciated. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The estimated useful lives of the assets are as follows:

The cost of repairs and maintenance is expensed as incurred. When assets are retired or disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts, and any resulting gains or losses are included in income in the year of disposition.

Assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Company’s revenue recognition policy is consistent with the requirements of FASB ASC 606, Revenue.

The Company’s revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services are transferred to a customer, in an amount that reflects the consideration that the Company expects to receive in exchange for those services. The Company derives its revenues from the sale of its services, as defined below. The Company applies the following five steps in order to determine the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as it fulfills its obligations under each of its revenue transactions:

The Company had no revenues during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. 

Generally, all forms of share-based payments, including stock option grants, restricted stock grants and stock appreciation rights are measured at their fair value on the awards’ grant date, based on the estimated number of awards that are ultimately expected to vest. Share-based compensation awards issued to non-employees for services rendered are recorded at either the fair value of the services rendered or the fair value of the share-based payment, whichever is more readily determinable. The expense resulting from share-based payments is recorded in operating expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.

Prior to the Company’s reverse merger which took place on May 12, 2016, all share-based payments were based on management’s estimate of market value of the Company’s equity. The factors considered in determining managements estimate of market value includes, assumptions of future revenues, expected cash flows, market acceptability of our technology and the current market conditions. These assumptions are complex and highly subjective, compounded by the business being in its early stage of development in a new market with limited data available.

Where equity transactions with arms-length third parties, who had applied their own assumptions and estimates in determining the market value of our equity, had taken place prior to and within a reasonable time frame of any share-based payments, the value of those share transactions have been used as the fair value for any share-based equity payments.

Where equity transactions with arms-length third parties, included both shares and warrants, the value of the warrants have been eliminated from the unit price of the securities using a Black-Scholes valuation model to determine the value of the warrants. The assumptions used in the Black Scholes valuation model includes market related interest rates for risk-free government issued treasury securities with similar maturities; the expected volatility of the Company’s common stock based on companies operating in similar industries and markets; the estimated stock price of the Company; the expected dividend yield of the Company and; the expected life of the warrants being valued.

Subsequent to the Company’s reverse merger which took place on May 12, 2016, the Company has utilized the market value of its common stock as quoted on the OTCQB, as an indicator of the fair value of its common stock in determining share- based payment arrangements.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ASC 815 generally provides three criteria that, if met, require companies to bifurcate conversion options from their host instruments and account for them as free standing derivative financial instruments. These three criteria include circumstances in which (a) the economic characteristics and risks of the embedded derivative instrument are not clearly and closely related to the economic characteristics and risks of the host contract, (b) the hybrid instrument that embodies both the embedded derivative instrument and the host contract is not re- measured at fair value under otherwise applicable generally accepted accounting principles with changes in fair value reported in earnings as they occur and (c) a separate instrument with the same terms as the embedded derivative instrument would be considered a derivative instrument subject to the requirements of ASC 815. ASC 815 also provides an exception to this rule when the host instrument is deemed to be conventional, as described.

The Company is based in the US and currently enacted US tax laws are used in the calculation of income taxes.

Income taxes are computed using the asset and liability method. Under the asset and liability method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using the currently enacted tax rates and laws. A full valuation allowance is provided for the amount of deferred tax assets that, based on available evidence, are not expected to be realized. It is the Company’s policy to classify interest and penalties on income taxes as interest expense or penalties expense. As of December 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, there have been no interest or penalties incurred on income taxes.

Comprehensive income is defined as the change in equity of a company during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances excluding transactions resulting from investments from owners and distributions to owners. The Company does not have any comprehensive income (loss) for the periods presented.

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified for consistency with the current year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on the reported results of operations.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Company has incurred net losses since its inception and anticipates net losses and negative operating cash flows for the near future. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company had a net loss of $14,494,915 and had $5,449,751 in cash. In connection with preparing the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, management evaluated the extent of the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business and its future liquidity for the next twelve months through March 31, 2023. 

The Company had a cash balance of $5,449,751 available as of December 31, 2021. Management has determined that this cash balance is sufficient to meet its expected cash requirements until at least March 31, 2023.

If the Company is required to raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, its stockholders would experience dilution. Additional debt financing, if available, may involve covenants restricting its operations or its ability to incur additional debt. Any additional debt financing or additional equity that the Company raises may contain terms that are not favorable to it or its stockholders and require significant debt service payments, which diverts resources from other activities.

Based on this current business plan, the Company believes its existing cash is sufficient to conduct planned operations for one year from the issuance of the December 31, 2021 financial statements.

On August 26, 2021, The Company formed a new subsidiary, Beyond Fintech. to acquire a product known as Beyond Wallet from a third party for gross proceeds of $250,000, together with the logo, use of name and implementation of the product into the Company’s technology. The company owns 51% of Beyond Fintech with the other 49% owned by Frictionless.

During the year, the Company paid gross proceeds of $375,000 to frictionless for the development of the IPSIPay wallet, which is now complete.

Investment in Frictionless Financial Technologies Inc.

On June 22, 2021, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “SPA”) with Frictionless, to purchase 150 common shares for gross proceeds of $500,000, representing 10.0% of the outstanding common shares. In terms of the SPA, Frictionless agreed to deliver to the Company on or before August 30, 2021, a live fully compliant financial payment Software as a Service solution for use by the Company as a digital payment platform that enables payments within the United states and abroad, including Mexico, together with a service agreement providing a full suite of product services to facilitate to Company’s anticipated product offerings.

The company has undertaken to issue Frictionless a non-restricted, non-dilutable 5 year warrant to purchase 30,000,000 shares of common stock in the Company at an exercise price of $0.15 per share, upon delivery of the financial payment software. Frictionless delivered the software subsequent to year end and the warrants will be issued in accordance with the agreement.

The Company has the right to appoint and has appointed, one member to the board of directors of Frictionless, which appointee will remain on the board as long as the Company is the holder of the Frictionless common stock.

The Company has an irrevocable right to acquire up to an additional 41% of the outstanding common stock of Frictionless at a purchase price of $300,000 for each 1% acquired.

The shares in Frictionless are unlisted as of December 31, 2021.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Investment in Vivi Holdings, Inc.

Effective December 31, 2019, the Company sold 100% of the outstanding common stock of its subsidiary, Qpagos Corp, together with its 99.9% ownership interest of Qpagos Corporations’ two Mexican entities: QPagos S.A.P.I. de C.V. and Redpag Electrónicos S.A.P.I. de C.V, to Vivi.

As consideration for the disposal Vivi issued an aggregate of 2,250,000 Shares of its common stock as follows: 2,047,500 Shares to the Company; 56,250 Shares to the Company’s designee, Mr. Andrey Novikov; 33,750 Shares to the Company’s designee, the Joseph W. & Patricia G. Abrams Family Trust; and 112,500 Shares to the Company’s designee, Mr. Gaston Pereira.

Due to the lack of available information, the Vivi Shares were valued by a modified market method, whereby the value of the assets disposed of were determined by management using the enterprise value of the entire Company less the liabilities and assets retained by the Company.

As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company impaired the carrying value of the investment in Vivi Holdings, Inc by $0 and $1,019,960, respectively, based on Vivi’s indicated timeline for its proposed IPO and fund raising activities, largely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The total impairment as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $1,019,960.

The shares in Vivi Holdings, Inc., are unlisted as of December 31, 2021.

The Company entered into a real property lease for office and warehouse space located at 19355 Business Center Drive in Northridge California, Los Angeles County. The lease commenced on February 15, 2020 and expires on February 28, 2022, monthly rental expense is $3,945 per month with no escalations during the term of the lease.

The initial value of the right-of-use asset was $86,741 and the operating lease liability was $86,741. The Company monitors for events or changes in circumstances that require a reassessment of its lease. When a reassessment results in the remeasurement of a lease liability, a corresponding adjustment is made to the carrying amount of the corresponding right-of-use asset unless doing so would reduce the carrying amount of the right-of-use asset to an amount less than zero. In that case, the amount of the adjustment that would result in a negative right-of-use asset balance is recorded as a loss in the statement of operations.

Effective June 1, 2021, the Company entered into a Mutual Termination of Lease Agreement with the landlord. The security deposit of $4,000 was forfeited.

On March 22, 2021, the Company entered into a real property lease for an office located at 56B 5^th Street, Lot 1 Carmel By The Sea, California. The lease commenced on April 1, 2021 and is for a twelve month period, terminating on April 1, 2022. The Company applied the practical expedient whereby operating leases with a duration of twelve months or less are expensed as incurred.

Discount Rate

To determine the present value of minimum future lease payments for operating leases at February 15, 2020, the Company was required to estimate a rate of interest that it would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment (the “incremental borrowing rate” or “IBR”).

The Company determined the appropriate IBR by identifying a reference rate and making adjustments that take into consideration financing options and certain lease-specific circumstances. For the reference rate, the Company used the 5 year ARM interest rate at the time of entering into the agreement and compared that rate to the Company’s weighted average cost of funding at the time of entering into the operating lease. The Company determined that 10.00% was an appropriate incremental borrowing rate to apply to its real-estate operating lease.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Right of use assets

Right of use assets are included in the consolidated Balance Sheet are as follows:

Total Lease Cost

Individual components of the total lease cost incurred by the Company is as follows:

Other lease information:

Maturity of Operating Leases

The amount of future minimum lease payments under operating leases are as follows:

Payroll Protection Program loan

On May 7, 2020, the Company received a Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”) loan through its bankers, Wells Fargo Bank, amounting to $60,292 earning interest at 1% per annum, maturing on May 5, 2022 and repayable in installments of $2,538 commencing on November 5, 2020. The Company has applied for the loan to be forgiven in whole or in part based on the loan being utilized for payroll costs, continuation of healthcare benefits, mortgage interest payments, rent, utility and interest payments on any other debt obligation.

The company has not made any payments on this loan, of which $60,292 was forgiven on June 7, 2021.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Small Business Administration Disaster Relief loan

On July 7, 2020, the Company received a Small Business Economic Injury Disaster loan amounting to $150,000, bearing interest at 3.75% per annum and repayable in monthly installments of $731 commencing twelve months after inception with the balance of interest and principal repayable on July 7, 2050. The loan is secured by all tangible and intangible assets of the Company. The proceeds are to be used for working capital purposes to alleviate economic injury caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company has accrued interest of $8,353 on this loan as of December 31, 2021.

Loans payable consisted of the following:

Interest expense totaled $134 and $1,558 for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Stanislav Minaychenko

On December 17, 2019, in terms of a settlement agreement entered into between the Company, Qpagos Corporation and Stanislav Minaychenko, the Company issued a promissory note to Mr. Minaychenko in settlement of $23,893 owing to him in terms of a service agreement dated September 1, 2015. The promissory note bears interest at 4% per annum, is unsecured and matures on June 16, 2020.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company repaid the aggregate principal sum of $13,893 and interest thereon of $717, thereby extinguishing the note.

Maxim Pukhoskiy

On December 17, 2019, in terms of a settlement agreement entered into between the Company, Qpagos Corporation and Maxim Pukhoskiy, the Company issued a promissory note to Mr. Pukhoskiy in settlement of $17,856 owing to him in terms of a service agreement dated May 1, 2015. The promissory note bears interest at 4% per annum, is unsecured and matures on June 16, 2020.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company repaid the aggregate principal sum of $7,656 and interest thereon of $429, thereby extinguishing the note.

Dieter Busenhart

On July 17, 2020, the Company issued a promissory note to Dieter Busenhart in the aggregate principal amount of $50,000 for net proceeds of $50,000, bearing interest at 10% per annum and maturing on January 17, 2021.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company repaid the aggregate principal sum of $500.

The balance remaining on the promissory note consists of accrued interest of $571 was recorded under accrued liabilities.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Convertible notes payable consists of the following:

Interest expense, including penalty interest totaled $221,930 and $366,964 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Amortization of debt discount totaled $3,653,652 and $1,065,879 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The convertible notes have variable conversion prices based on a discount to market price of trading activity over a specified period of time. The variable conversion features were valued using a Black Scholes valuation model. The difference between the fair market value of the common stock and the calculated conversion price on the issuance date was recorded as a debt discount with a corresponding credit to derivative financial liability.

INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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