Finaro names former Mastercard, Citi, DIMOCO and P3 Financial Group executives to lead ambitious sales and growth strategies in three of Europe’s fastest-growing eCommerce regions

With Finaro’s $575 million acquisition by Shift4, new appointments will identify and generate enhanced seamless payment opportunities for merchants and shoppers across Europe

Finaro, the global cross-border payment provider and fully licensed bank empowering international commerce through brilliantly simple payments, has today announced a significant expansion of its management team to capitalize on rapid ecommerce growth in three of the fastest-growing eCommerce regions of Europe.

Ruben Frimand Nielsen joins Finaro as Vice President of Sales and Business Development for the Nordic region to lead Finaro’s growth plans in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. Prior to joining Finaro, Ruben was responsible for international portfolio management, sales and product strategy and overall finances for the international payments division in Mastercard.

In the DACH region, Finaro has appointed Clemens Leitner as Vice President of Sales and Business Development to lead Finaro’s expansion in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Before joining Finaro, Clemens was responsible for business development, carrier management and product marketing management at renowned payment and messaging innovator DIMOCO Carrier Billing.

Or Frankenstein Paran has joined Finaro as Vice President of Sales & Business Development in the UK, leading Finaro’s growth in Europe’s largest eCommerce market. With a background in strategic business development encompassing fintech, trade and treasury solutions at Citi and d-local, Or brings vast experience in identifying commercial opportunities and complex project management to Finaro.

Itamar Kummer joins Finaro as Director of Sales & Business Development, overseeing the expansion activities of Finaro in Israel. Itamar’s wealth of expertise in securing lucrative, long-term business opportunities includes stints at P3 Financial Group in Finland and AGT International in China, making him ideally-placed to drive new global growth initiatives for Finaro.

With their wealth of experience and successful management track records, Ruben, Clemens, Or and Itamar are primed to bring Finaro’s brilliantly simple multi-dimensional payments solutions to merchants and help them connect to more customers both at home and abroad.

German, Austrian and Swiss consumers spent a combined €100 billion in 2020, a record spending milestone driven by the online buying shift during the pandemic. Germany has the biggest ecommerce market in the DACH region, with consumers there spending over €83 billion in 2020 (up 14.6% from 2019), Austrian consumers spent €8.5 billion (+17.4%), while Swiss online shoppers racked up €11.9 billion (+27.9%) in spending in 2020, up 27.9% from 2019.

Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish consumers spent a combined €46.5 billion online in 2020, with 19% of Nordic shoppers making cross-border online purchases. In Denmark, over 90% of consumers shopped online in 2020, followed by 87% in Norway and 86% in Sweden. 

In the UK, eCommerce turnover hit €236 billion in 2020, making it the largest eCommerce market in Europe, driven by an online shopping penetration rate of 92%. The growing importance of eCommerce in overall retail sales is shown by the fact that in 2020, eCommerce comprised 9.92% of GDP, up from 6.17% in 2015.

These figures are set to surge in 2022 as merchants and consumers across the Nordic, DACH and UK regions embrace new ways to make and accept payments, and increase usage of mobile commerce like digital wallets and in-app payments. 

Achiya Fried, Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at Finaro, comments: “I am pleased to welcome such key talent to the growing Finaro family. We have ambitious growth plans across Europe, and their dynamic expertise and proven management success will certainly be a catalyst for Finaro’s growing momentum and I look forward to seeing what they will do for the team and the company.”

Igal Rotam, CEO at Finaro, says: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining Finaro and to be part of its stellar growth and ambitious plans for the future. We’re thrilled that these men are joining us to support this growth and expand merchants’ access to the innovative, cutting-edge payment solutions they need to serve their own growing global customers.”

In March 2022, Finaro was acquired by US payment processor Shift4 in a ground-breaking $575 million deal, highlighting the strength of Finaro’s cutting-edge payment solutions and hyper-personalized customer-centric service. Shift4 will utilize Finaro’s market-defining infrastructure and products to embark on its global expansion plans.

These appointments follow Finaro’s recent rebranding from Credorax, to reflect its new identity and commitment to realizing its vision for payments, where commerce is untethered and free from technological, physical and geographical limitations.

After an incredibly successful 2021, with over $10 billion in total processed volume for more than 5,000 merchants, Finaro is dedicated to making complex payments simple, combined with its innate passion for customer service that goes above and beyond.