Cross-border payments company CurrencyFair, and Zai, its financial technology arm delivering embedded payment orchestration solutions in Australia, have today announced the appointment of Shamus Hodgson as Group CEO.
Launched in Ireland in 2010, CurrencyFair has an established international presence offering more than 20 currencies across 160+ countries in high traffic currency corridors. CurrencyFair recently announced plans to add 25 new currencies in the coming year, representing a growth of more than 100% on its offering in existing markets. Mexican Peso was the first currency launched as part of this product expansion.
Zai is the sister brand to CurrencyFair and is a leading provider of embedded finance orchestration in Australia - supporting businesses in simplifying, streamlining and scaling complex payment workflows across a wide range of industries. Zai was first to market with a real-time payments offering in Australia, and has recently partnered with leading payments provider Cuscal to further accelerate its offering.
Zai's merger with CurrencyFair and subsequent rebrand was recently awarded 'Deal of the Year' by Australia's leading fintech recognition event, the Finnie Awards.
Building on an already solid foundation following this successful merger, and against the backdrop of a global fintech market that continues to disrupt and innovate, Shamus will lead the group as they consolidate and grow their product offerings in key markets.
Prior to this role, Shamus headed up currency exchange business Lumon, where he built a strong and agile leadership team to guide the company through a similar rebrand, consolidation and subsequent high growth period. Lumon went on to post an annual growth of close to 30% in the year following his appointment, as well as a 27% increase in its revenue forecast. This experience will greatly support CurrencyFair and Zai's own accelerated growth plans into 2023 and beyond.
Shamus has significant experience in the finance, tech and fintech spaces, having headed up Moneybarn before his role with Lumon. During his 12 years with Moneybarn he was part of the leadership team that transformed the business from a small, boutique lender into Europe’s largest non-standard auto finance business, including its sale to the FTSE 250 Provident Financial Group. He has also held management positions with Aviva and IBM.
Speaking on the appointment, Shamus said: "This is an exciting time to be taking the helm of the CurrencyFair and Zai group. Having led a newly merged and rebranded fintech to achieve an annual growth of close to 30% in the following year, I'm eager to take up a new challenge with this group and work towards similar results with the goals set by the group's experienced leadership team."
"Both the CurrencyFair and the Zai businesses have already achieved a significant amount this year, growing their offerings in both existing and new markets. I look forward to working with the global teams to continue enhancing their current offering as well as bringing new and innovative products to market."
Chairman of the Board, Gautam Jain, added: “I am delighted to welcome Shamus to CurrencyFair and Zai at this exciting stage for the company. Embedded payments continue to present a huge business opportunity, and our proposition is well positioned to help clients in their digital payments journey. Given his expertise and background, I have no doubt the Shamus will lead the company to new heights. On behalf of the entire board and the team, I welcome him onboard and look forward to working closely with him.”