PAYMENT AND LENDING EXPERTS TO JOIN DEKO AND SUPERCHARGE THE DEKO ECOSYSTEM

Ex-Barclays Payment Gateway CTO Tom Myles will lead the acceleration of the technological development of Deko’s ecosystem 

Rob Fernandes, a leading industry advisor, joins as Chief Product Officer with a focus on growing Deko’s offering and widening its appeal

Deko, the leading retail finance ecosystem, today announces the appointment of Tom Myles as Chief Technology Officer and Rob Fernandes as Chief Product Officer, in roles that will drive the expansion of the business as it looks to add value to its users and enhance its product offering.  

Tom joins Deko after over twenty years’ experience in the payments, banking and fintech sector. In his most recent position as Chief Technology Officer of Barclays Payment Gateway, he led the modernisation and delivery of the Bank’s enterprise payment services, which enabled millions of daily transactions for major international brands. Prior to this, Tom led the technology division for The ai Corporation, providing payment and fraud management services to retailers and banks globally, with a particular focus on machine learning advancements. 

As Chief Technology Officer Tom will focus on accelerating the digital development of Deko’s retail finance ecosystem. He will lead the advancement of the Deko platform to improve the consumer credit experience for lenders, merchants and consumers alike. 

Rob Fernandes joins Deko after twenty years leading product and strategy across payments and fintech. He founded the management consultancy Pay2Z, which advised clients including Tink, Pollinate, Vocalink and Paysafe on payments product strategy. Prior to that he had successful exits with Metacharge and WePay, and led product development at PayPoint Plc. Recently he built a brand new payments business as a partner at ClearCourse, a major technology group backed by Aquiline Capital.

As Chief Product Officer, Rob will recruit and lead a team that will establish a clear roadmap for differentiating Deko in the fast growing retail finance sector. His focus will be on delivering products that accelerate distribution of finance among merchants and platforms and enable a unique marketplace of lending that provides payment solutions for every customer and context, driving the expansion of Deko’s offering.

Incoming CTO Tom Myles comments: “I’m very pleased to be joining Deko at such an exciting moment for the company and the wider payments industry. My experience in the banking and payments sector has demonstrated the huge potential of technology in this space, and its unique ability to provide value as services to both merchants and lenders. I’m very much looking forward to accelerating the development of Deko’s technology that can streamline connections across the financial ecosystem.

“The technology that underpins these retail finance systems is primed for innovation. Deko’s multi-lender ecosystem can simplify finance to allow a seamless flow of transactions, and I’m excited to support their expansion through digital enablement that will benefit merchants, lenders and consumers.”

Incoming CPO Rob Fernandes comments: “Deko provides a unique service linking consumers, merchants and lenders, and I am delighted to be joining their team at a time credit finance is establishing itself at the heart of UK retail payments. There is a clear opportunity to unlock flexible products which serve every basket size, every merchant, and every customer, and I’m very much looking forward to establishing strategies that add real value to our new and existing partners.

“My experience in the payments sector has shown an increasing appetite from platforms that offer integrated payments software across previously untapped industries. I am very excited by the prospect of working with the team at Deko to identify these areas of expansion for retail finance and fuel the growth of our innovative multi-lender ecosystem.”

Deko CEO Michael Dawson comments: “We are very pleased to announce the appointments of Tom and Rob, who both have invaluable experience across the finance and payments sectors. They each bring exceptional insights into the industry, and we are certain that Tom’s technological expertise will combine brilliantly with Rob’s product obsession to drive the development of products that can offer the best possible service to our partners.”