John de Lavis

Co-Founder and Partner at Fintech and Payment Advisory Network

Speaker

John is a co-founder and partner at Fintech and Payment Advisory Network. It’s a new venture, launched by a group of senior execs from the payment and banking industries in the US and Europe, whose objective is to work with businesses that have the wherewithal to make a useful impact and contribution.

John started his career at Midland Bank/HSBC where he worked for a number of years, and which included the initial development of First Direct (the UK’s first digital only bank), responsibility for the HSBC UK’s branch technology and data systems – and rolling out the first customer information system at a UK bank, running HSBC Group cards, and finally for running the UK payment businesses and future payment technologies.

At his subsequent spell at Mastercard International, he initially had responsibility for global franchise operations and compliance and special projects, which included the development of its chip card programme, its data/information strategy and programme, the formation of Mastercard Advisors, and the acquisition and integration of Europay, before becoming Chief Product Officer.

He then moved on the become Chief Operations Officer of NetSpend in Austin Texas, the first significant prepaid business designed to serve the underbanked which went on to IPO. And then as COO at Metabank/Metapay, where he worked on the development on of one of the most successful new generation payment banks in the USA.

Since then, he has been active as board member, investor or advisor to a number of fintech and payment businesses, ranging from digital banks, processors, data asset management, cybersecurity and organisational development.

John has degrees from Trinity College, Cambridge and MIT, of which he is also a Sloan Fellow. Amongst other activities he is a member of the Cambridge University 1209 Society and a council member of the Burke Neurological Institute at Cornell.

He is married, has two grown-up daughters and spends most of his time in the UK.