This article was originally published by HousingWire, an HW Media publication dedicated to serving mortgage and real estate professionals.
Notarize announced Thursday morning it has partnered with payments platform Stripe in order to pay its notaries faster.
The Boston-based digital notary platform has seen demand surge in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this month, Notarize announced that it had closed on a $35 million Series C round of funding in March, bringing its total funding to date to $82 million.
Since that time, Notarize founder and CEO Pat Kinsel said the startup has seen its business surge by more than 400% since March “ as businesses and consumers seek transaction liquidity in this new environment.”
As part of that, the company said it has added 1,600 new notaries to its team to meet demand.
The majority of those notaries are working remotely as contractors, according to Notarize, which only has about 50 employee notaries.
By integrating with Stripe Connect, Notarize can pay those contract notaries “almost instantaneously,” the company said. Previously, payment was sent bi-weekly, every other Friday. Also, because it’s itemized, the process helps make tax preparation easier for notaries, compared to direct deposit, a company spokesperson told HousingWire.
“The novel coronavirus has upended business as usual and left thousands of notaries furloughed or unemployed, unable to reach their clients,” said Pat Kinsel, founder and CEO of Notarize, in a written statement. “By integrating our platform with Stripe Connect, we are giving notaries tools to get back to work, service some of the largest lenders, title companies, and financial institutions, and receive prompt payment.”