This new product will allow businesses to use the same infrastructure that drives their flexible payment capabilities to offer a range of banking services directly to their clients.
The person in charge of this project will be Zūm Rails’ recently hired head of Banking as a Service, Miro Pavletic. Ten years of expertise in guiding fledgling FinTech businesses toward profitable exits and expanding the market for well-established products are brought by Pavletic. Introducing the first AI-powered BaaS platform in North America that uses open banking to help businesses stay ahead of regulatory obligations is his newest task at Zūm Rails.
For businesses in a variety of industries that interact with consumers, the launch of BaaS presents a substantial potential. These services, which banks have historically, consist of identity verification, program administration, transaction settlement, card issuance, and real-time fraud assessment. Providing these services can improve client satisfaction and spur income expansion. But putting BaaS into practice has not been easy; it frequently calls for several integrations, and carrying out risk monitoring at the speed of payments has proven to be difficult.
With a focus on real-time fraud assessment, identity validation, and transaction settlement, Pavletic will lead the development and implementation of Zūm Rails’ BaaS product roadmap. His intention is to include these features into Zūm Rails’ current payment capabilities so that businesses may use AI to manage risk and adhere to open banking deadlines.
Pavletic developed and headed STACK!, a payments startup, until Credit Sesame acquired it in 2020. It was during this time that he introduced Sesame Cash, prior to joining Zūm Rails. In less than five years prior to Bell’s acquisition of Virgin Plus, he helped build the company from its inception to over a million users and $1 billion in revenue. His experience in the industry is further evidenced by his managerial roles at TD Bank, CIBC Capital Markets, and CSAM, where he oversaw digital wallet efforts.
Marc Milewski, CEO at Zūm Rails, said, “Over the past five years, we’ve proven that companies can move forward with any payment rails they want, including instant payments, without waiting for regulators to create the infrastructure for them. Now we’re looking to do the same with bank-like services. Miro is one of few people in our industry who has been able to consistently bring ambitious projects like this to life, and we will lean on his experience as we work to solve the North American market’s most significant challenges.”