CEO Today Global Awards

CEO Today Global Awards 2020 UNITED KINGDOM 63 www.ceotodaymagazine.com • PFS became Brexit-ready after receiving a license from the Irish Financial Regulator, the Central Bank of Ireland. This was a significant boost for one of Europe’s leading payment operators which is also licensed by the UK Regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. • Customers in the UK can add their PFS card to Google Pay and start using the payment method in stores, online and with Google products. The fast and simple way to pay brings together everything customers need at the checkout while keeping payment information safe in Google Accounts until users are ready to pay. • A first for Scotland, PFS delivered a disability-friendly (WCAG) accessibility portal for Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care Partnership. • PFS announced its partnership with Garmin Pay allowing for cards issued and managed by PFS in the UK to be used on compatible Garmin smartwatch devices. • PFS’ first Fitbit pay solution for cards issued and managed by the FinTech in the United Kingdom successfully went live. • Figures released revealed that PFS experienced a record-breaking financial year in 2018. Powered by innovation and acquisitions, revenue had risen to over €72 million. This resulted in year-on-year sales growth of 43%+ and EBITDA reaching in excess of €11 million. It was the 11th consecutive year of profitability. • PFS was named the Business of the Year in the United Kingdom in the 2019 European Business Awards, one of the world’s largest business competitions. • PFS was pleased to announce it had entered into a binding agreement to sell 100% of the share capital of the company to EML payments Ltd for an upfront enterprise value of £226 million excluding cash on hand (the Acquisition) plus an earn-out component of up to £55 million. • PFS was successful in the tender process undertaken by The Home Office, through the Crown Commercial Services Framework for Prepaid Cards, for the payment services under the Support Payment Card contract. You launched a series of cool tech wearable payment solutions – tell us more. PFS develops a range of mobile payment solutions securely and seamlessly. Mapping physical card numbers to virtual accounts (tokens) stored in mobile devices and used for Contactless, in-app and online transactions - never passing personal credentials. Using our strong partnerships with third parties, we provide quick and easy integrations into mobile payment applications. Our capabilities extend to providing Host-card Emulation (HCE) solutions making it possible to transform mobile apps into Contactless payment applications leveraging a device’s NFC capability. What sets Prepaid Financial Services apart from your competitors? PFS is an agile and Dual Regulated FinTech that delivers robust payment technology solutions and offers world-class innovation in electronic money. A pioneer in the evolution of the FinTech ecosystem, PFS’ award-winning solutions include eWallets, physical and virtual prepaid cards and current accounts in the UK and Europe. The company has a long history of being first-to-market with a list of FinTech innovations including the first Contactless prepaid card in the UK. PFS is one of Europe’s largest eMoney issuers and has returned profits for 11 consecutive years. With programmes active in 24 countries and growing, the company has the ability to transact in 23 currencies. PFS’ products and state- of-the-art technology platforms are trusted by Governments, Local Authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Traditional Banks and a comprehensive list of Corporates. Tell us about the developments you’re working on currently. What can we expect from PFS in the next 12 months? We anticipate a strong 2020 where our innovative, first-to- market solutions will continue to ignite and lead the way in the FinTech industry. Lately again, we have been expanding our workforce across the UK, Ireland and Malta to keep pace with the growth of new and existing business. In addition, following our success in becoming Brexit-ready and also Authorised and Regulated in Ireland (as well as the UK), PFS aims to expand into North America and Australia as a result of the exciting EML acquisition.