Building the payments, contingent, and workforce academy our industry deserves 

If you work in payments, contingent workforce, or global workforce operations, you already know: things don’t stand still. Regulations shift. Technologies advance. The expectations of workers and employers keep rising. In this environment, simply keeping up is no longer enough. We have to invest in our skills — proactively, continuously, and with intention.

That’s why we launched Papaya Academy in the first place — and why we’re now creating the next generation of need-to-know concepts for professionals in the industry.

This Academy is our real commitment to giving professionals practical skills that stand up in the real world. Our industry needs more people who know how to work with change, not get crushed by it. Focused, relevant education is the best way to make that happen.

Three tracks, built for real-world work

We designed the Academy around three essential areas:

• Contingent: From the basics to the messy realities of compliance, vendor systems, payment flows, and working with MSPs. Bryan Peña — who has spent decades building contingent workforce programs — shaped much of this track with hard-earned lessons.
• Payments: This goes far beyond “how to pay employees.” We dig into B2B payments, emerging rails, stablecoins, and financial inclusion — as well as how banking infrastructure is (or isn’t) keeping pace. We even brought in voices from JPMorgan and our own payments expert Jen Tipper to unpack what’s really happening.
• Workforce: Think of this as the backbone of global work: onboarding, EOR models, compliance frameworks, data protection, and the tech that supports it all. These systems usually only get attention when something breaks, but we believe they deserve a place in every learning journey, before mistakes happen.

The Academy is built for people who want to get better. Whether you’re running a team or developing your own skills, these lessons are there to help you make sharper, faster decisions.

Yes, you’ll need to sign up — that’s intentional. We want committed professionals, not passive browsers. And we’ll keep updating the Academy as regulations change and new technology lands, so you can count on it staying relevant.

Backed by experts, not buzzwords

My team — from product to compliance to legal — has poured their experience into these courses. You’ll see honest, grounded frameworks from people who’ve built real systems, not just theory. The same principles that guide how we build Papaya’s own products run through every module.

If you manage a team, I hope you’ll make Papaya Academy part of your onboarding or growth strategy. If you’re developing your own career, explore one module or commit to a whole track. These skills are no longer optional — they’re the difference between companies that thrive and companies that get left behind.

If you’re ready, you can sign up and jump in. I think you’ll find it time well spent.

Explore Papaya Academy