Paysafe to add another floor, ‘double’ Jacksonville footprint (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — One anchor of Jacksonville’s financial technology scene is doubling its Southside presence.
Paysafe has signed a lease that opens the door to another floor at 5335 Gate Parkway, CEO Bruce Lowthers (pictured above) announced at JAXUSA’s Partnership Luncheon Tuesday afternoon.
The London-based global payments firm initially entered the First Coast in 2023, establishing its North American headquarters. It simultaneously brought in Lowthers to lead from the top seat. Before Paysafe, he spent 14 years with Fidelity Information Services, another leading fintech firm headquartered in Jacksonville.
When Paysafe started here, it employed just two or three people in Jacksonville.
Headcount hit 150 by early 2025 and now has reached 200, Lowthers confirmed to the Business Journal on Tuesday. That growth is fueling the need for more space.
“People don’t realize there’s over 55,000 people employed in the fintech industry, right here in Jacksonville,” he said. “When you look at the city construct, it’s the largest fintech community in the state of Florida.”
Lowthers said he expects a roughly $5 million investment in Paysafe’s expansion. When the company initially entered Northeast Florida, it was issued a $1.4 million permit for the build-out.
Step onto the firm’s fourth floor office, and it’s a careful blend of high-level security — an essential piece, particularly for a payments processor — and an inviting, open atmosphere dotted by greenery. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the office with natural light.
Since the company’s migration to Florida, the company has expanded beyond digital wallets and into what Lowthers calls the “experiential economy,” a space that includes video games, travel and hospitality.
Beyond Paysafe’s walls on the Southside, the company is heavily involved in the broader fintech community that now calls Jacksonville home. Paysafe has been the testing ground of a multi-sector partnership announced last year called JAX Hub, and one of its founding partners.
Spearheaded by London-based corporate innovation firm L Marks, the initiative essentially connects start- and scale-ups with Paysafe to develop solutions. Three such companies reached that final phase earlier this year, two from California and one from Florida.