TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 4, 2024 / Hank Payments Corp. ("Hank" or the "Company") (TSXV:HANK), an emerging North American leader in the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) market with a platform that modernizes budgets and payments for enterprises and consumers wishes to respond to the press release that was issued by Melrose Ventures (the "Melrose Group") on November 4, 2024.

The Company believes that the take-over offer is without merit and the claims made by the Melrose Group in the press release are baseless and defamatory.

The Melrose Group are not the business founders of Hank. Hank does not owe any debts to the Melrose Group, as is evidenced in the Company's financial statements. There have been no insider reports, early warning reports or press releases filed regarding the Melrose Group's claim of an ownership position exceeding 10% of the Company. These are regulatory requirements, and their statement of a greater than 10% ownership of Hank is in violation of the regulations given no filings have been completed. The Melrose Group have been informed of these requirements by the Company in the past and they have not provided any proof of ownership of shares of Hank. The Group states that their intention is to purchase a minimum of 8.5 mm shares of the Company to "bring our stake above 51%" does not make any sense based on the number of issued and outstanding shares of the Company being 132,720,376 as of November 1, 2024. On Saturday, November 2, 2024, the Melrose Group sent an email to the Company of its intention to submit a takeover bid and then on November 3rd they sent another email threatening to issue a news release. There was no formal take-over offer provided to the Company on November 2nd. The Melrose Group attempted to extract non-public information regarding the Company and its ongoing transaction announced in September 2024. To be clear, no formal takeover bid has been provided by Melrose Group and they have not adhered to any of the rules and regulations required in order to make a proper takeover bid to Hank's shareholders.

The Company will only respond to a bona fide takeover bid that is in accordance with the rules and regulations that govern such a transaction. This is not that and the Company will not respond further to baseless press releases provided by the Melrose Group.

The Company is continuing with the acquisition announced in August, has grown revenues meaningfully and has early interest from customers in using the technology being acquired and the Company believes that in time the transaction will create meaningful value.

About Hank Payments Corp.

Hank Payments Corp (the Company or "Hank") is a North American leader in consumer Fintech Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platforms that manages consumer cash flow and budgets on an automated basis using proprietary algorithms that collect, store and disburse cash as required to discharge obligations in a timely fashion. The Hank stack provides for several vertical market applications of the technology, with features specific to channels and enterprise accounts ("Partners") that allow those partners to operate new lines of business and revenue streams, using Hank. The Partners benefit from new revenue streams and powerful insights that open up additional opportunities for Partners to grow assets using Hank. The Company operates exclusively across the USA, with certain leadership and technology functions in Toronto. Hank houses the complex technology, banking, treasury, customer service, sales and operations teams that acquire and service consumers. Hank currently charges upfront enrolment/setup fees and recurring monthly fees based on the types and quantity of payments that Hank Payments administers for the consumer (the "Users"). The Company acquires Users through various channels including (i) small to medium sized enterprises (the "SME Partners") and (ii) large enterprise businesses (the "Enterprise Partners"). The Company's BaaS model is emerging which is expected to add additional fees including software licensing and usage fees. For more information visit our website at .

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate" and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company's expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the future success of the Company's business. Financial performance figures in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise indicated by "U" representing United States Dollars.

The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions. The forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

For more information regarding Hank Payments Corp., please contact: Jason Ewart, EVP Capital Markets, at 416-580-0721. For Investor Relations please contact ir@hankpayments.com and visit the Company's website at

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Hank Payments Corp.