Joust

Joust was a financial technology company that developed a banking platform for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and self-employed workers in the United States. Founded in October 2017 by Lamine Zarrad and George Kurtyka, the company aimed to address the specific financial challenges faced by the gig economy, such as income volatility and late payments. The name 'Joust' was an allusion to the origin of the word "freelancer," referring to a mercenary warrior whose lance was not sworn to any lord.

The company's primary offering was a mobile application that combined an FDIC-insured business bank account with a merchant account, allowing users to accept various forms of payment, including credit and debit cards, into a single platform. A key feature was PayArmour™, an invoice guarantee product that provided users with cash advances on unpaid invoices to mitigate cash flow problems. For a fee, users could receive a portion of their invoiced amount immediately, protecting them from client non-payment and long payment cycles. The platform also included tools for creating and managing invoices, an analytical dashboard, and a Visa debit card.

Joust operated on a subscription-based model, offering different tiers of service. Its revenue was generated through these monthly subscriptions as well as fees from payment processing and its PayArmour invoice financing service. In July 2020, Joust was acquired by ZenBusiness, a platform that helps micro-businesses start, run, and grow. Following the acquisition, Joust's services were integrated into the ZenBusiness platform and set to be relaunched as ZenBusiness Money, with former Joust CEO Lamine Zarrad leading the financial services division at ZenBusiness.

Keywords: freelancer banking, gig economy finance, invoice financing, self-employed banking, fintech, mobile banking, business bank account, payment processing, cash flow management, neobank, PayArmour, Lamine Zarrad, ZenBusiness Money, contractor payments, small business finance