#1 Fastest Growing Private Company
PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL / BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES
By Lara Schwartz | Special Projects Editor | October 22, 2026
PowerPay was founded in 2017 by Mike Petrakis as a way to provide financing for home remodeling projects. After finding success during the Covid-19 pandemic when homeowners were increasingly looking to remodel their homes, their growth hasn’t wavered.
Since its humble beginnings, which saw its founders working from the café seating area of a Whole Foods, PowerPay’s point-of-sale lending model for home improvement, recreational vehicles and healthcare has expanded to more than 15,000 merchants. The Wayne company has built a $500 million lending pool funded by multiple financial institutions, providing the capital for customer loans.
PowerPay has also expanded into patient financing, allowing consumers to pay medical bills through monthly installments instead of a single upfront payment. Patient financing makes up about 5% to 7% of its revenue pie.
The company achieved an average annual growth rate of 108.4% from 2023 to 2025, securing the No. 1 private company and No. 2 spot overall on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2026 Fast 50 List.
PowerPay processed $5 billion in loan applications last year and is projecting to close 2026 with around $7.5 billion.
It has also brought on various partners over the past few years, including KeyBank, Synovus Bank and Aflac, which provided about $500 million in capital on PowerPay’s balance sheet.
“Bringing in those partners helped really solidify our position as a prime lender in our space,” Petrakis said.
PowerPay has maintained a commitment to achieving measured growth, and Petrakis largely credits his roughly 200-person team for what the company has achieved.
“It’s not about hiring for the sake of hiring. It’s about hiring the right personnel, bringing in the right technology and making sure we have the right workflows,” he said. “For our size, it’s pretty impressive and it doesn’t get done without the people. The personnel we have here are unlike anything else I’ve come across in my career.”
PowerPay at a Glance
2-year growth rate: 108.44%
2025 total employees: ~250
Industry: Fintech
Headquarters: Wayne
Top executive: Mike Petrakis
PowerPay has embedded new technologies, including AI, into its systems to improve efficiency as it has grown.
At the end of the third quarter, PowerPay set a company record by clearing $1.26 billion worth of trades.
“I’m overwhelmed sometimes at what we can accomplish here with not having to have unlimited resources,” he said. “We’re not Rocket Mortgage; we’re not a multibillion-dollar enterprise. But what we do have is we are quick, we are nimble and we are scrappy. It allows us to think outside the box and always look out for our relevant counterparties and put together a transaction that’s beneficial for both sides.”
As it grows its residential mortgage and secured home equity lines of business, the company plans to place additional investment in its insurance division.
Further down the line, Petrakis sees PowerPay emerging as a traditional lender/insurance company with a strong technology presence.
“Insurtech and fintech I think will be the driving force five, 10 years from now,” he said.
PowerPay recently moved to a new office in Wayne and continues to add to its team, though Petrakis said as technology is further integrated into its workflows, hiring will likely slow.
As PowerPay kicks off the fourth quarter of 2026, it expects to stage roughly $1.2 billion worth of transactions in the next three months, Petrakis said.
“It’s sometimes emotional when you start to look at where we were back then. It sometimes feels like a lifetime ago,” he said. “And we see what we’ve built and the endearment we get from the people around us. It’s rewarding. I didn’t think I would ever be here.”