December 4, 2025 • 22 mins
Bruce Lowthers is the CEO and Executive Director of the Board at Paysafe, where he has led a successful transformation of the company since his appointment in May 2022. Under his leadership, Paysafe streamlined its operations, recalibrated its growth strategy, and returned to growth by focusing on innovation, customer experience, and a sales-driven culture. A former CPA and entrepreneur, Bruce co-founded multiple startups and payments industry associations, including ATPC and P20, and serves on the board of the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA). Prior to Paysafe, he spent 15 years at FIS, ultimately serving as President. He has been recognized with numerous industry awards and accolades for his leadership and contributions to the payments and fintech sectors. In addition, Bruce is an active philanthropist, supporting multiple causes, including cancer, education, and public health in the U.S. and in the UK.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
iHeartMedia presents CEOs you Should Know, shining a spotlight on
decision makers throughout Central Florida, showcasing the leaders and companies
that drive our local economy.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let's meet Bruce Lothers.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
He is the CEO for pace Apeg, global payment network
that provides online and in person payment solutions for both
customers and businesses.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Before we talk more about Bruce's.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Company, I first asked him to talk a little bit
about himself, where he's from and his origin story.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
I grew up in a city just outside of Boston
called Everett. Went to college at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Speaker 5 (00:34):
So a proud Riverhawk.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Outstanding and when it came to school, what did you
want to do and what did you do when you
went out there in the real world.
Speaker 5 (00:43):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
So my godfather, my uncle, was a big influence in
my life, and I wanted to be just like him
as probably many kids growing up do, and wanted to
be an engineer. I started out in engineering and and
then somehow made the transition into accounting, and at my
(01:08):
uncle's influency, it was really very instrumental and kind of
the decisions I was making at the time back then.
Speaker 5 (01:16):
And he was very bullish.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
On accounting for some reason and got me to switch
into that, and I went into a career of public accounting,
which really set me up in a lot of ways
for success in my career and was really foundational for
me of understanding how financial statements work.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Well, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together for
me because as I took a look at your resume
and why you're explaining your engineering and your accounting, that
leads right into Paysafe and we're going to ask about
mission and vision and all the great things and capabilities
and programs that you offer your clients. But I'm curious
about joining the company as CEO. And obviously I can
see why the company Paysafe with interested in you, But
(02:00):
why were you interested in joining them after all the
things that you had done.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Yeah, I was very fortunate in my career that started,
as I mentioned as CPA and worked at Deloitte and
Ernst and Young really loved it.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
Went into, like so many people do, into the.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Startup world where I had a client that had some
technology that led me to four startups, the last one
being acquired by a company called FIS, which really at
the time was a mid size company. We were about
three billion in revenue, and over the next fifteen years,
(02:41):
I had the opportunity to do a lot of different
things at that company, and then ultimately became president of
the company, running the company at a fifteen a little
over fifteen billion dollar revenue company. So I had the
opportunity to do things really small, from you know, right off,
as the story goes, right off the kitchen table, to
(03:04):
a fifteen billion dollar, seventy thousand employee company. And it
was really at that time that I had the opportunity
to say, well, Okay, that's probably doesn't sound great, but
I was getting older, and so I had the opportunity
to say, well, how do I want to end up.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
My career, my corporate career.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
And I decided that after a lot of discussion, talking
with my wife and just thinking it through, that I
really wanted to get back to building something. And that
really led me to the opportunity at pay Safe. They
had gone public. They had had some troubles posts going
(03:46):
public from a series of macroeconomic issues that really put
the company in dress, and it seemed like it would
be a great challenge to see if I could come
in and help turn the company around and set the
company up for successes and then you know, be able
to go on to whatever's next for me at that point,
(04:09):
but I had never done kind of a turnaround before,
and I was intrigued whether.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Our team would be able to do.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
That outstanding well.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
One of the common themes we have in the series
is that challenges ahead of entrepreneurs out there, and if
you can do me a favor and indulging me just
for a second before we talk specifically about pay Sape Bruce,
because we do have a lot of current CEOs and leaders,
but we also have a lot of future entrepreneurs that
are listening to this series and seeing how everybody has
done it. Now, I realize that your journey is very
specific to you, But in general terms, when it comes
(04:42):
to startups, what are the exciting things about that? But
what are also the pitfalls? Because I know there's both.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Yeah, there's a lot of exciting things about it. I
think for me, what I realized later on, you know,
I wasn't dialed into kind of how I was thinking
about it as I was doing it, But it really
started with trying to help people. I think as I've
gone back and reflected on it, and I think about
the products.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
That we created.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
It was really about going to friends and saying, Hey,
what are the challenges that you're having, and then we
built things to solve for that problem.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
And then we sold that company, we went to the
next one, and I.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Always joke I wasn't smart enough to just come up
with a cool new product. I just went back out
and asked people, Hey, you what do you need? What
are you struggling with and then tried to solve that.
And so that really has kind of been the key
to success for us. As we came into these things,
we did have thought process around being in particular verticals
(05:43):
things that were things we felt good about. Fintech for me,
was always one that I loved because of just a
pace of change. It was really dynamic space and you
were really only limited by your own imagination, and so that.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
Was really something that was very attractive to me.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Is to have the opportunity to go in work with people,
help them make their lives better and just a little
bit on an.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
Every single day basis.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
And that's what we've really tried to do and still
trying to do it all these years later.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Well, I appreciate you sharing that, and as you tell
that story, it always reminds me. Whether it's my career
in sports with television, radio or what you do, there's
a couple things that come to mind. Crowdsourcing people to
find out what they want and then to making their
lives a little bit better, a little easier, and that
really can go for any business model, can it?
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (06:33):
Sure, Ken, and it can take you a long way, right.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
I think it's one of the great things about what
people do is really taking the opportunity to help a person,
a business, a community, and I think if he keeps
that at the heart of things, things generally work out
pretty well.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
All right, Well, let's talk about pace Safe and all
the incredible things that are going on before we get
into programs, capabilities and all the cool products you have.
I do want to talk about mission and vision because
I know they're always important to leaders out there and
your team members too. So when I ask you about
mission and vision when it comes to pay Safe, what
are those yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
For us?
Speaker 4 (07:08):
As I came in, we really tried to hone in
on what was going to be important for us and
a lot of when you're doing starting these companies or
taking over a company. It's about galanizing people around a
particular mission. For us, we really looked at the experiential economy.
When you look at what pay safe does, eighty percent
(07:31):
of our business was in verticals that would be defined
as experiential economy. So this is gaming, restaurants, travel, those
kind of verticals.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
So it was a natural place to say, Okay, these
are the.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Verticals we're really going to focus in on this experiential
economy and we want to be a leader, global leader
in that in that space.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
And so that really became something that we've centered on.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
We talk about it every day in what we're doing
and how do we get better And again you'll see
the theme there of how do we make people's lives
a little better in every day, So whether it's buying
that next skin for your.
Speaker 5 (08:13):
Video game or.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
Having the enjoyment of buying a ticket for a game
that you're going to take your family to and creating
those wonderful memories, that's where we're trying to focus.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Very good, well, Bruce, let's do this.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
There's a lot of people that know what paysafe does
and is, but there's a lot of our listeners are
being introduced to the company for the first time. So
if you were to give kind of a thirty thousand
foot view and a short version to tell them this
is what we do, what would you tell them?
Speaker 4 (08:41):
I would tell you that we are a global payments provider.
We do business in over one hundred different countries. The
business is actually quite simple. We have a merchant acquiring business,
which that's where we process payments.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
If you go into any store and you use your debit.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Card or credit card, we're the people that process those
payments for that retailler, whether that's online or physically in
a storefront. The second part of our business is really
a digital wallet business, and so this is really a
consumer centric wallet, much like PayPal or any of your
(09:21):
probably every consumers get at least five different wallets on
their phone. We would be one of those, and that
is phenominally in Europe and most recently we just launched
a national wallet in Peru called Pago Effectivo and so
very very excited about that recent launch. That's really what
(09:42):
we do, payment processing for merchants and moving money for consumers,
allowing people to buy.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
What they want to buy, to create great.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Memories and without any assumptions that there are other companies
that do exactly what you, your team and pay Safe do.
How do you differentiate yourself from said cup addition.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
I think a couple of places.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
One, we're twenty nine years old and we really have
created a tremendous risk framework. So in our business, there's
a tremendous amount of regulatory.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
Changes that happen.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
There's a lot of licensing that's required to actual process
payments and move money around the globe, and we've kind
of led in that area. So that really creates a
mode around the business of what we do and how
we do it. I think also our distribution channels really
set us apart. When you look in Europe, for example,
(10:36):
we have over a million storefronts that you can go
in with our pay safe card and use that, and
there's not a lot of people out there that have
a million storefronts where you can go buy something or
use a product. So that distribution channel and scale that
we have in the US on our merchant acquiring side
(10:59):
is really what's set As a part.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
I know what technology and the world we're living in
right now. Things are moving very quickly and the company
is doing well but are there any current challenges for you,
your team members, and your clients right now that you're
working through.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
I think in our business is kind of I alluded
to you earlier with fintech, there's a lot of changes.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
That they're always going on, right, so there's.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Always the regulatory change is happening. I think now as
I think about it versus earlier in my career, you're
just seeing the pace of play be much faster. So
the regulatory changes, technology changes, really consumer behavior is changing
(11:41):
at a lightning pace compared to what it was ten, fifteen,
twenty years ago. I think those are really the three
common things that I see. It doesn't really matter whether
you're in Europe or the US or Latin America.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Those things are the.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Things that really create a lot of challenges for anybody.
And probably the fourth I would add is just the
more recently is probably just the geopolitical pressures that every
CEO faces.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
On a daily basis now.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
And I think in all of the CEO meetings that
I have, geopolitics always seems to come up. Of late,
there was always those three of regulatory, tech, and consumer behavior,
and now I would say the geopolitics is coming up.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
More and more so, Bruce, one of my favorite questions
in this series is talking about the cool things that
happen out there with your clients and making a difference.
And and my question to you as well, I'm sure
you've got handfuls of different stories. Whether it's a small, medium,
large business, or a client. It's about you know, this
is why we get up every day kind of thing,
because we're making a difference. Is there a story that
you can share with us and you don't have to
(12:51):
mention the client or the person to something that.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
You know, we really we made it.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
We made a difference at day, the team and I
did and it turned out really well for them and
it was really cluel And this is why we get up.
Do you have a short story you can share with us?
Speaker 5 (13:03):
I think we have those stories every day, right.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
So there's always a consumer that has run into problems
one way or another and either the money didn't get
to where they thought it was going to get to
or and our team has really done a great job.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
I'm really proud of.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
The evolution of the team over the last few years
bringing the customers to the center of what we're trying
to do right and help them, So you see that
quite a bit.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
What our team has really been focused on has been
on that.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
Engagement improvement, so building out systems so that we can
respond faster, move to being proactive versus reactive to events
that happen in the movement of money. You know, fraud
is a big issue that we're all combating. We've made
some choices to speed things up, but also do it
in a way that the payments remain safe and people
(13:59):
can trust that the money's getting to where they think
it's going and executing a transaction at a high level.
So I feel very good about the energy that the
team has poured into improving experiences for consumers and merchants,
and I think we've really come a long way in
that regard.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Well, just a moment, I'm going to talk to you
about leadership and ask you a few things about that,
because I think it's important this series. But I also
want to talk about communication. And I talk to a
lot of CEOs. Whether it's a medium, large, small company,
doesn't matter what the size is about making sure that
the mission, the vision, and all the communication that you
need to do for your team members is funnel down
(14:40):
and you have a pretty big wide net that you
cast with all your clients out there. So when it
comes to communication with you and your team members, the execution,
and also making sure that the company's always getting better,
how do you do.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
That well, it's a great question, Dennis. I think one
of the things.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
That you learn over the years is just that you
can't communicate enough and it can't be just in one format.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
So you have to.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Be aware that people absorb information differently, and so it's
really important to kind of layer out your communication.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
And do it in a variety of different ways. So internally,
we do a.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Lot to make sure people understand why we made decisions
and how we made those decisions. I've always believed in
just being transparent about those things, and it's really kind
of helped. You may not agree with like how I
got or what I ultimate decision was, but you always
understand how I got there. And because I'm always been
(15:41):
very transparent about just saying here's the fact pattern that
I had, this is what led me to that decision,
and I found that to be very helpful. We do
a tremendous amount whether it be town halls or roundtables
and off site meetings with our teams to make sure
that we all are bought in on what the vision is,
(16:01):
how we're executing against that vision, where we stand what
needs to be worked on. And I think that's really
been successful because of the team is willing to do
that and willing to take the time to invest in
the others within the organization and really take time explaining
(16:22):
what we're trying to do.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You know, Bruce, there is one thing that really caught
my attention that I have subscribed to a long time
ago after I learned a hard lesson as a young manager,
and you were talking specifically about this, and I think
this is a good lesson for anybody, whether you're going
to be a future leader or you're a current leader.
And I think the people appreciate in the end being
appropriately candidate and just giving them the truth, because if
(16:43):
you start dancing around things, it muddles things up and
it puts everybody in trouble. So that's something that I
want to make sure that you kind of expounded on
a little bit, because in the end, I think people
just want the truth, whether they like it or not,
so they can move on with things and know exactly
and how their leader stands.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Yeah, I think it's important.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
And again, for me, that's always worked, and I don't
know if that's because of the being counter in me
that just wanted to share the numbers and and say, look,
this is what I'm looking at. So obviously I'm a
very data centric person, but I have just found that
it's massively helpful.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
If you just are open about it.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Everybody understands here's where we sit, these are the decisions
we're facing, and this is you know, how I got
to where we got through. And so I think that's
really just something I was just speaking yesterday at the
University of North Florida as something I mentioned there as
well as just this is really important as you're coming out.
(17:44):
These are all young kids coming out and starting their career.
Transparency is so important to build trust with your team,
and you can get through a lot if you have
trust with your team.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Yeah, I couldn't have said it better. I really appreciate that.
And I think this is a good segue to talk
a little litle bit about leadership. And once again, we
have so many leaders that listen to this series, Bruce,
but also a lot of future leaders, and I know
that everybody's going to roll a little different when it
comes to what they think leadership is and then how
to execute it. But as I mentioned the word leadership
to you and your team and in your life, how
do you execute it and what does the leadership mean
(18:17):
to you?
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Yeah, I think it's one of those questions that comes
up quite a bit. And I always go back early
on and I'll share a brief story please. Yeah, that
my grandfather was you know, older guy. I was in
high school and at the time, and its story always
(18:38):
just stuck with me, and that we went over to
see him. He was kind of restricted to bed at
the time, and I was just a young kid, thought
I was going to be captained of the football team.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
I didn't get it.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
I was like every eighteen year old kid, kind of
down in the dumps about, you know, the plate that
I was now facing the horrors of not getting what
you wanted, and I never forget.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
He asked me why I was upset.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
Now, this is a guy that was literally dying, and
he was more worried about me and why I was upset.
And I shared with him that, you know, I didn't
get what I thought I was going to get, and
he said, oh, he said, well, you know, when you
run out onto the field next week and you go
(19:28):
to practice, do you have to be.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Captain to be first?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
And I looked at him like he was, you know,
crazy old guy, and I said, well, no, of course,
you don't.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Have to do that. And he said, oh.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
He said, well, when you start doing all your drills,
I guess you have to be captain to go first there.
And I said, well, no, grandfather, I don't. I don't
have to be captain like whoever's first is first. And
he just said, well, you know, why not just be first? Yeah,
and you can still lead like it.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Didn't matter, smart man.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
And I kept that my whole life, and it's really
served me well throughout my career because you didn't need
to be CEO to set the vision of what you
were trying to do or set the pace or cadence
of what the team.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
Was trying to accomplish. You just had to be willing to.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Step out there and give direction and be willing to
be accountable for what was happening. And I really it's
probably a silly story.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
But I've not at all that. I love that smarty
life and really grateful for that that little lesson.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, it's a great one too.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
And I think the other thing, I'm sure you subscribe
to this to Bruce, We're all going to make mistakes.
You are, I am, your team members are, but I'm
always that person to see if you make a mistake
or you trip up, how do they respond, because that really,
in the end, is what it's all about. Is it
to see if somebody can be a future leader or not?
Speaker 5 (21:03):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (21:03):
And you know, especially you know, I think back to
the startup days.
Speaker 5 (21:08):
It was all about a series.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Of mistakes, right, you know, we always used to talk
about we were just bumping into the wall looking for
the crack to run through.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
So it was just a series of mistakes till you
found something that worked.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
And it was all about just being fast, make the
mistake didn't matter, learned something and move on and really
have kept that and that transferred whether I was in
a startup or in a super large.
Speaker 5 (21:36):
Company or in a company like we here at PA Safe.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
All right, well let's do this. I really enjoyed the conversation.
I want to get some final thoughts from you, Bruce,
and then we're also can get of the website anything
else you'd like to talk about. As we wrap up,
but just maybe recap what we've chatted about. The floor's yours, sir,
go ahead.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
Look, I appreciate the opportunity to be here.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
I think you know when we talk about pace, if
I would just invite anybody who's interested to come check
out PASAF dot com.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
We're always hiring, so please feel free to reach out.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
We love creative people that are curious, want to learn
and try to be something part of something that's special,
and I think that's really what we're focused on here
is creating a world class payments organization.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
So we want to be part of our communities, want
to be good corporate citizens, and we're looking for all
kinds great people. So please feel free to reach out
and we'd love to chat.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
With you at Stanley Bruce, I can't tell you how
much I appreciate your time. I'm glad we could feature
you on CEOs you Should Know. Continued success and thanks again.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Well, thank you, I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
CEOs You Should Know is an exclusive presentation of Iheartsmedia Orlando.
You can hear more interviews with other Central Florida leaders
by searching Orlando CEOs under podcast in the iHeartRadio app
iHeartMedia presents CEOs you Should Know, shining a spotlight on
decision makers throughout Central Florida, showcasing the leaders and companies
that drive our local economy.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let's meet Bruce Lothers.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
He is the CEO for pace Apeg, global payment network
that provides online and in person payment solutions for both
customers and businesses.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Before we talk more about Bruce's.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Company, I first asked him to talk a little bit
about himself, where he's from and his origin story.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
I grew up in a city just outside of Boston
called Everett. Went to college at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Speaker 5 (00:34):
So a proud Riverhawk.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Outstanding and when it came to school, what did you
want to do and what did you do when you
went out there in the real world.
Speaker 5 (00:43):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
So my godfather, my uncle, was a big influence in
my life, and I wanted to be just like him
as probably many kids growing up do, and wanted to
be an engineer. I started out in engineering and and
then somehow made the transition into accounting, and at my
(01:08):
uncle's influency, it was really very instrumental and kind of
the decisions I was making at the time back then.
Speaker 5 (01:16):
And he was very bullish.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
On accounting for some reason and got me to switch
into that, and I went into a career of public accounting,
which really set me up in a lot of ways
for success in my career and was really foundational for
me of understanding how financial statements work.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Well, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together for
me because as I took a look at your resume
and why you're explaining your engineering and your accounting, that
leads right into Paysafe and we're going to ask about
mission and vision and all the great things and capabilities
and programs that you offer your clients. But I'm curious
about joining the company as CEO. And obviously I can
see why the company Paysafe with interested in you, But
(02:00):
why were you interested in joining them after all the
things that you had done.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Yeah, I was very fortunate in my career that started,
as I mentioned as CPA and worked at Deloitte and
Ernst and Young really loved it.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
Went into, like so many people do, into the.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Startup world where I had a client that had some
technology that led me to four startups, the last one
being acquired by a company called FIS, which really at
the time was a mid size company. We were about
three billion in revenue, and over the next fifteen years,
(02:41):
I had the opportunity to do a lot of different
things at that company, and then ultimately became president of
the company, running the company at a fifteen a little
over fifteen billion dollar revenue company. So I had the
opportunity to do things really small, from you know, right off,
as the story goes, right off the kitchen table, to
(03:04):
a fifteen billion dollar, seventy thousand employee company. And it
was really at that time that I had the opportunity
to say, well, Okay, that's probably doesn't sound great, but
I was getting older, and so I had the opportunity
to say, well, how do I want to end up.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
My career, my corporate career.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
And I decided that after a lot of discussion, talking
with my wife and just thinking it through, that I
really wanted to get back to building something. And that
really led me to the opportunity at pay Safe. They
had gone public. They had had some troubles posts going
(03:46):
public from a series of macroeconomic issues that really put
the company in dress, and it seemed like it would
be a great challenge to see if I could come
in and help turn the company around and set the
company up for successes and then you know, be able
to go on to whatever's next for me at that point,
(04:09):
but I had never done kind of a turnaround before,
and I was intrigued whether.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Our team would be able to do.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
That outstanding well.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
One of the common themes we have in the series
is that challenges ahead of entrepreneurs out there, and if
you can do me a favor and indulging me just
for a second before we talk specifically about pay Sape Bruce,
because we do have a lot of current CEOs and leaders,
but we also have a lot of future entrepreneurs that
are listening to this series and seeing how everybody has
done it. Now, I realize that your journey is very
specific to you, But in general terms, when it comes
(04:42):
to startups, what are the exciting things about that? But
what are also the pitfalls? Because I know there's both.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Yeah, there's a lot of exciting things about it. I
think for me, what I realized later on, you know,
I wasn't dialed into kind of how I was thinking
about it as I was doing it, But it really
started with trying to help people. I think as I've
gone back and reflected on it, and I think about
the products.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
That we created.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
It was really about going to friends and saying, Hey,
what are the challenges that you're having, and then we
built things to solve for that problem.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
And then we sold that company, we went to the
next one, and I.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Always joke I wasn't smart enough to just come up
with a cool new product. I just went back out
and asked people, Hey, you what do you need? What
are you struggling with and then tried to solve that.
And so that really has kind of been the key
to success for us. As we came into these things,
we did have thought process around being in particular verticals
(05:43):
things that were things we felt good about. Fintech for me,
was always one that I loved because of just a
pace of change. It was really dynamic space and you
were really only limited by your own imagination, and so that.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
Was really something that was very attractive to me.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Is to have the opportunity to go in work with people,
help them make their lives better and just a little
bit on an.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
Every single day basis.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
And that's what we've really tried to do and still
trying to do it all these years later.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Well, I appreciate you sharing that, and as you tell
that story, it always reminds me. Whether it's my career
in sports with television, radio or what you do, there's
a couple things that come to mind. Crowdsourcing people to
find out what they want and then to making their
lives a little bit better, a little easier, and that
really can go for any business model, can it?
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (06:33):
Sure, Ken, and it can take you a long way, right.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
I think it's one of the great things about what
people do is really taking the opportunity to help a person,
a business, a community, and I think if he keeps
that at the heart of things, things generally work out
pretty well.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
All right, Well, let's talk about pace Safe and all
the incredible things that are going on before we get
into programs, capabilities and all the cool products you have.
I do want to talk about mission and vision because
I know they're always important to leaders out there and
your team members too. So when I ask you about
mission and vision when it comes to pay Safe, what
are those yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
For us?
Speaker 4 (07:08):
As I came in, we really tried to hone in
on what was going to be important for us and
a lot of when you're doing starting these companies or
taking over a company. It's about galanizing people around a
particular mission. For us, we really looked at the experiential economy.
When you look at what pay safe does, eighty percent
(07:31):
of our business was in verticals that would be defined
as experiential economy. So this is gaming, restaurants, travel, those
kind of verticals.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
So it was a natural place to say, Okay, these
are the.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Verticals we're really going to focus in on this experiential
economy and we want to be a leader, global leader
in that in that space.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
And so that really became something that we've centered on.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
We talk about it every day in what we're doing
and how do we get better And again you'll see
the theme there of how do we make people's lives
a little better in every day, So whether it's buying
that next skin for your.
Speaker 5 (08:13):
Video game or.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
Having the enjoyment of buying a ticket for a game
that you're going to take your family to and creating
those wonderful memories, that's where we're trying to focus.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Very good, well, Bruce, let's do this.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
There's a lot of people that know what paysafe does
and is, but there's a lot of our listeners are
being introduced to the company for the first time. So
if you were to give kind of a thirty thousand
foot view and a short version to tell them this
is what we do, what would you tell them?
Speaker 4 (08:41):
I would tell you that we are a global payments provider.
We do business in over one hundred different countries. The
business is actually quite simple. We have a merchant acquiring business,
which that's where we process payments.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
If you go into any store and you use your debit.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Card or credit card, we're the people that process those
payments for that retailler, whether that's online or physically in
a storefront. The second part of our business is really
a digital wallet business, and so this is really a
consumer centric wallet, much like PayPal or any of your
(09:21):
probably every consumers get at least five different wallets on
their phone. We would be one of those, and that
is phenominally in Europe and most recently we just launched
a national wallet in Peru called Pago Effectivo and so
very very excited about that recent launch. That's really what
(09:42):
we do, payment processing for merchants and moving money for consumers,
allowing people to buy.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
What they want to buy, to create great.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Memories and without any assumptions that there are other companies
that do exactly what you, your team and pay Safe do.
How do you differentiate yourself from said cup addition.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
I think a couple of places.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
One, we're twenty nine years old and we really have
created a tremendous risk framework. So in our business, there's
a tremendous amount of regulatory.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
Changes that happen.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
There's a lot of licensing that's required to actual process
payments and move money around the globe, and we've kind
of led in that area. So that really creates a
mode around the business of what we do and how
we do it. I think also our distribution channels really
set us apart. When you look in Europe, for example,
(10:36):
we have over a million storefronts that you can go
in with our pay safe card and use that, and
there's not a lot of people out there that have
a million storefronts where you can go buy something or
use a product. So that distribution channel and scale that
we have in the US on our merchant acquiring side
(10:59):
is really what's set As a part.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
I know what technology and the world we're living in
right now. Things are moving very quickly and the company
is doing well but are there any current challenges for you,
your team members, and your clients right now that you're
working through.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
I think in our business is kind of I alluded
to you earlier with fintech, there's a lot of changes.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
That they're always going on, right, so there's.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Always the regulatory change is happening. I think now as
I think about it versus earlier in my career, you're
just seeing the pace of play be much faster. So
the regulatory changes, technology changes, really consumer behavior is changing
(11:41):
at a lightning pace compared to what it was ten, fifteen,
twenty years ago. I think those are really the three
common things that I see. It doesn't really matter whether
you're in Europe or the US or Latin America.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Those things are the.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Things that really create a lot of challenges for anybody.
And probably the fourth I would add is just the
more recently is probably just the geopolitical pressures that every
CEO faces.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
On a daily basis now.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
And I think in all of the CEO meetings that
I have, geopolitics always seems to come up. Of late,
there was always those three of regulatory, tech, and consumer behavior,
and now I would say the geopolitics is coming up.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
More and more so, Bruce, one of my favorite questions
in this series is talking about the cool things that
happen out there with your clients and making a difference.
And and my question to you as well, I'm sure
you've got handfuls of different stories. Whether it's a small, medium,
large business, or a client. It's about you know, this
is why we get up every day kind of thing,
because we're making a difference. Is there a story that
you can share with us and you don't have to
(12:51):
mention the client or the person to something that.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
You know, we really we made it.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
We made a difference at day, the team and I
did and it turned out really well for them and
it was really cluel And this is why we get up.
Do you have a short story you can share with us?
Speaker 5 (13:03):
I think we have those stories every day, right.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
So there's always a consumer that has run into problems
one way or another and either the money didn't get
to where they thought it was going to get to
or and our team has really done a great job.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
I'm really proud of.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
The evolution of the team over the last few years
bringing the customers to the center of what we're trying
to do right and help them, So you see that
quite a bit.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
What our team has really been focused on has been
on that.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
Engagement improvement, so building out systems so that we can
respond faster, move to being proactive versus reactive to events
that happen in the movement of money. You know, fraud
is a big issue that we're all combating. We've made
some choices to speed things up, but also do it
in a way that the payments remain safe and people
(13:59):
can trust that the money's getting to where they think
it's going and executing a transaction at a high level.
So I feel very good about the energy that the
team has poured into improving experiences for consumers and merchants,
and I think we've really come a long way in
that regard.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Well, just a moment, I'm going to talk to you
about leadership and ask you a few things about that,
because I think it's important this series. But I also
want to talk about communication. And I talk to a
lot of CEOs. Whether it's a medium, large, small company,
doesn't matter what the size is about making sure that
the mission, the vision, and all the communication that you
need to do for your team members is funnel down
(14:40):
and you have a pretty big wide net that you
cast with all your clients out there. So when it
comes to communication with you and your team members, the execution,
and also making sure that the company's always getting better,
how do you do.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
That well, it's a great question, Dennis. I think one
of the things.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
That you learn over the years is just that you
can't communicate enough and it can't be just in one format.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
So you have to.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Be aware that people absorb information differently, and so it's
really important to kind of layer out your communication.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
And do it in a variety of different ways. So internally,
we do a.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Lot to make sure people understand why we made decisions
and how we made those decisions. I've always believed in
just being transparent about those things, and it's really kind
of helped. You may not agree with like how I
got or what I ultimate decision was, but you always
understand how I got there. And because I'm always been
(15:41):
very transparent about just saying here's the fact pattern that
I had, this is what led me to that decision,
and I found that to be very helpful. We do
a tremendous amount whether it be town halls or roundtables
and off site meetings with our teams to make sure
that we all are bought in on what the vision is,
(16:01):
how we're executing against that vision, where we stand what
needs to be worked on. And I think that's really
been successful because of the team is willing to do
that and willing to take the time to invest in
the others within the organization and really take time explaining
(16:22):
what we're trying to do.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You know, Bruce, there is one thing that really caught
my attention that I have subscribed to a long time
ago after I learned a hard lesson as a young manager,
and you were talking specifically about this, and I think
this is a good lesson for anybody, whether you're going
to be a future leader or you're a current leader.
And I think the people appreciate in the end being
appropriately candidate and just giving them the truth, because if
(16:43):
you start dancing around things, it muddles things up and
it puts everybody in trouble. So that's something that I
want to make sure that you kind of expounded on
a little bit, because in the end, I think people
just want the truth, whether they like it or not,
so they can move on with things and know exactly
and how their leader stands.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Yeah, I think it's important.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
And again, for me, that's always worked, and I don't
know if that's because of the being counter in me
that just wanted to share the numbers and and say, look,
this is what I'm looking at. So obviously I'm a
very data centric person, but I have just found that
it's massively helpful.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
If you just are open about it.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Everybody understands here's where we sit, these are the decisions
we're facing, and this is you know, how I got
to where we got through. And so I think that's
really just something I was just speaking yesterday at the
University of North Florida as something I mentioned there as
well as just this is really important as you're coming out.
(17:44):
These are all young kids coming out and starting their career.
Transparency is so important to build trust with your team,
and you can get through a lot if you have
trust with your team.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Yeah, I couldn't have said it better. I really appreciate that.
And I think this is a good segue to talk
a little litle bit about leadership. And once again, we
have so many leaders that listen to this series, Bruce,
but also a lot of future leaders, and I know
that everybody's going to roll a little different when it
comes to what they think leadership is and then how
to execute it. But as I mentioned the word leadership
to you and your team and in your life, how
do you execute it and what does the leadership mean
(18:17):
to you?
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Yeah, I think it's one of those questions that comes
up quite a bit. And I always go back early
on and I'll share a brief story please. Yeah, that
my grandfather was you know, older guy. I was in
high school and at the time, and its story always
(18:38):
just stuck with me, and that we went over to
see him. He was kind of restricted to bed at
the time, and I was just a young kid, thought
I was going to be captained of the football team.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
I didn't get it.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
I was like every eighteen year old kid, kind of
down in the dumps about, you know, the plate that
I was now facing the horrors of not getting what
you wanted, and I never forget.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
He asked me why I was upset.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
Now, this is a guy that was literally dying, and
he was more worried about me and why I was upset.
And I shared with him that, you know, I didn't
get what I thought I was going to get, and
he said, oh, he said, well, you know, when you
run out onto the field next week and you go
(19:28):
to practice, do you have to be.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Captain to be first?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
And I looked at him like he was, you know,
crazy old guy, and I said, well, no, of course,
you don't.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Have to do that. And he said, oh.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
He said, well, when you start doing all your drills,
I guess you have to be captain to go first there.
And I said, well, no, grandfather, I don't. I don't
have to be captain like whoever's first is first. And
he just said, well, you know, why not just be first? Yeah,
and you can still lead like it.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Didn't matter, smart man.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
And I kept that my whole life, and it's really
served me well throughout my career because you didn't need
to be CEO to set the vision of what you
were trying to do or set the pace or cadence
of what the team.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
Was trying to accomplish. You just had to be willing to.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Step out there and give direction and be willing to
be accountable for what was happening. And I really it's
probably a silly story.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
But I've not at all that. I love that smarty
life and really grateful for that that little lesson.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, it's a great one too.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
And I think the other thing, I'm sure you subscribe
to this to Bruce, We're all going to make mistakes.
You are, I am, your team members are, but I'm
always that person to see if you make a mistake
or you trip up, how do they respond, because that really,
in the end, is what it's all about. Is it
to see if somebody can be a future leader or not?
Speaker 5 (21:03):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (21:03):
And you know, especially you know, I think back to
the startup days.
Speaker 5 (21:08):
It was all about a series.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Of mistakes, right, you know, we always used to talk
about we were just bumping into the wall looking for
the crack to run through.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
So it was just a series of mistakes till you
found something that worked.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
And it was all about just being fast, make the
mistake didn't matter, learned something and move on and really
have kept that and that transferred whether I was in
a startup or in a super large.
Speaker 5 (21:36):
Company or in a company like we here at PA Safe.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
All right, well let's do this. I really enjoyed the conversation.
I want to get some final thoughts from you, Bruce,
and then we're also can get of the website anything
else you'd like to talk about. As we wrap up,
but just maybe recap what we've chatted about. The floor's yours, sir,
go ahead.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
Look, I appreciate the opportunity to be here.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
I think you know when we talk about pace, if
I would just invite anybody who's interested to come check
out PASAF dot com.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
We're always hiring, so please feel free to reach out.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
We love creative people that are curious, want to learn
and try to be something part of something that's special,
and I think that's really what we're focused on here
is creating a world class payments organization.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
So we want to be part of our communities, want
to be good corporate citizens, and we're looking for all
kinds great people. So please feel free to reach out
and we'd love to chat.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
With you at Stanley Bruce, I can't tell you how
much I appreciate your time. I'm glad we could feature
you on CEOs you Should Know. Continued success and thanks again.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Well, thank you, I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
CEOs You Should Know is an exclusive presentation of Iheartsmedia Orlando.
You can hear more interviews with other Central Florida leaders
by searching Orlando CEOs under podcast in the iHeartRadio app
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