CEO Today United Kingdom Awards

59 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today United Kingdom Awards 2018 FINANCIAL SERVICES stop shop disruptive technology provider. In the early days, traction in the company was closely linked to a culture shift in thinking to embrace the power of prepaid and the need for tangible outcomes in business. “My dream came very close to never becoming a reality and I recognise that a successful business is all about facing obstacles. A crucial part of being a blue sky thinking entrepreneur is about being able to overcome challenges. I knew back then that there were only a few companies beginning to dabble in prepaid cards, so there were multiple opportunities out there for a product that I firmly believed in. At the start, I had very little money, but I knew I would need an office address to look professional. I signed a lease on a very nice office. I had agreed with the landlord to get the first few months rent-free and the following few months at half the rent. This gave Valerie and me a three-month runway to get some business before having to pay rent. The offices eventually helped us to attract clients and gave the impression we had money. However, one of the toughest and lowest points in my career came shortly after this, when we were three days away from closing down the business and walking away. Valerie and I had agreed to wrap up the business the following Wednesday if we didn’t get a client as we had stretched things out as far as we could, and the landlord was knocking on the door for his rent. Wednesday came and went but a client didn’t. I remember walking back from lunch that day knowing we had less than 24 hours left as we had no rent money. But the entrepreneurial spirit kicked in again and I decided to hang out for as long as I could and try to avoid the landlord for a few more days. The following Friday, we signed our first client who luckily agreed to pay up front for 5,000 cards, which saved us,” said Noel Moran. Cultivating Disruptive Innovation 2010 • PFS launched the first instant issue prepaid programme in France to start the sea change. 2014 • PFS launched the world’s first Mastercard prepaid multi-currency card that had 15 currencies on the one card. 2015 • First-time prepaid cards used as a means of providing benefit payments to claimants in the UK via the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). • PFS launched Ireland’s first Contactless Mastercard prepaid card with Three Ireland. 2016 • BACS supported PFS to become the first non- traditional banking entity to enable Current Account payment switching. • PFS selected to provide first prepaid Mastercard product line to Belgian Cooperative Society NewB with innovative eco cards made from corn. • PFS enabled a customer called Cloud Payments, now known as Cheetah Money, to become the first FinTech to offer IBAN Current Accounts to customers in Ireland. 2017 • The first prepaid campaign of its kind with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). • PFS launches the €1,000,000 FinTech Innovation Fund for Entrepreneurs, SMEs, and schools. • PFS becomes the largest individual manager of prepaid card programmes for the distribution of Government solutions in the UK. 2018 • PFS launches Spain’s first Google Pay prepaid solution with the national post office network, Correos. • PFS & Mastercard achieved their goal of donating the value of 200,000 schools meals to the United Nations World Food Programme - £40,000. • KPMG named PFS a Headline Company 2017 in the TechIreland Innovation Nation 2018 report. Standing Out from the Crowd Fresh from emerging as the Best in Europe in terms of Digital Technology from 112,000 European Business Awards entries, PFS is in a unique position to be able to revolutionise and redefine the FinTech developmental roadmap, especially via mobile payments. Big data (AI/Machine Learning) allows us to predict trends and pivot faster than ever before. In addition, the PFS €1 Million FinTech Innovation Fund has been a huge success with some winners already in the marketplace and others on the brink of launching. Across Europe, millions of e-money account holders have benefitted from our innovative payment solutions over the years. It is also important to note that PFS’ sophisticated back-end systems successfully delivered 63% more projects in 2017 than the previous year. The 2018 growth hacking figure looks set to exceed expectations as the company keeps pace with an ambitious cadence to maintain a rhythm of consistent fast-growth and desire to work with more clients with ambitions to span hyperlocal to global within the vibrant FinTech ecosystem. PFS’ Secrets to Success Noel Moran added, “I believe that the most important asset we had when setting up the business was a product that was badly needed with the bandwidth to expand. This bird’s eye view created the instant demand and start-up traction that we required to get us off the ground. While we are primarily a B2B, we consistently help our clients deliver world-class products for consumers and we continue to be ambassadors to streamline the Financial Technology industry in general and the prepaid industry in particular. The second most important asset is the staff. You need to build a good team around you to succeed and we have done that at PFS. All our senior staff know prepaid inside out. They are experts in the industry. Some of them are entrepreneurs like me. I expect them to know the fine detail of what they are responsible for because unless they know it they cannot expect the staff they manage to know it.” The Financial Services sectors mains ripe for continued disruption. In Conclusion It has been fascinating to look back at the momentum achieved by PFS in a short space of time. In 2010, the company issued 16,000 cards. This year, PFS issued its five millionth card. Now, it is issuing one million cards per year with a record 2018 predicted. With its HQ in London and offices in Ireland, Malta, and Cheshire, recent traction would suggest that PFS’ light is about to become one of FinTech’s true success stories.