Ankur M. — CTO

FINTECH BUSINESS BUILDER | CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS ENTREPRENEUR | 18+ YEARS IN PAYMENTS I build fintech businesses that scale. Currently leading Toucan's cross-border payments initiative—designing and launching a new business division to serve Indian enterprises, exporters, and diaspora. WHAT I DO: ✓ Business Building: Architecting new businesses within larger platforms ✓ Regulatory Strategy: Navigating complex fintech compliance environments ✓ Partnership Development: Building ecosystems around payment infrastructure BACKGROUND: 18+ years building in fintech, digital banking, and payments systems. • Built multiple fintech ventures → exits and acquisitions • Scaled payment operations across India, UAE, international markets • Deep expertise in regulatory frameworks (RBI, FEMA, DTAA, compliance) • Currently: Leading Toucan's cross-border payments business build CURRENT FOCUS: CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS Founding the PA-CB (Prepaid Cross-Border) division for Toucan with mandate to: → Build end-to-end cross-border payment solutions → Establish banking and payment network partnerships → Launch go-to-market strategy for enterprise & diaspora segments → Build high-performing team (sales, BD, operations, product) → Explore international expansion (UAE/GCC particularly) WHO SHOULD REACH OUT: ✓ Banks & NBFCs exploring cross-border partnership opportunities ✓ B2B platforms needing international payment solutions ✓ Payment networks and aggregators interested in collaboration ✓ Fintech founders/leaders working in cross-border space ✓ Potential team members (Sales, BD, Operations, Product, Compliance) I work best with teams that value authenticity, long-term thinking, execution excellence with compliance discipline, and continuous learning. Always happy to discuss cross-border payments strategy, fintech business building, and regulatory strategy. Let's connect if you're building in this space.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Fintech expert with a strong focus on cross-border payments and regulatory strategy.

Location: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Experience: 18 yrs 7 mos

Skills

Business Management
Payment Systems
Sales Operations

Career Highlights

Built multiple fintech ventures with successful exits.
Led cross-border payments initiative at Toucan.
Expert in navigating complex regulatory frameworks.

Work Experience

Toucan Payments LLC

Chief Technology Officer (1 yr 5 mos)

PayNet Systems

Co-Founder & COO (5 yrs 4 mos)

Co-founder & Product Manager (3 yrs 11 mos)

Arttha - An initiative by PureSoftware

Product & Pre-Sales Manager - Arttha Mobile Payments & Banking (4 yrs 7 mos)

Utiba Pte Ltd

Manager Pre Sales (2 yrs 8 mos)

Mahindra Comviva

Pre-Sales Manager (10 mos)

Hewlett-Packard

Engineer (1 yr 2 mos)

Apex Decisions

Data Analyst (5 mos)

Education

Bachelor of Technology - BTech at The ICFAI University, Dehradun

at Seth M.R Jaipuria School, Lucknow

Ankur M.

CTO

Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India18 yrs 7 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

Built multiple fintech ventures with successful exits.
Led cross-border payments initiative at Toucan.
Expert in navigating complex regulatory frameworks.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Fintech expert with a strong focus on cross-border payments and regulatory strategy.

Contact

ankur@toucanus.com LinkedIn

Skills

Core Skills

Business ManagementPayment SystemsSales Operations

Other Skills

Agile MethodologiesBusiness AnalysisCRMConsultingCustomer Relationship Management (CRM)DatabasesE-commerceGSMIVRInternet BankingLeadershipMobileMobile ApplicationsMobile BankingMobile Commerce

About

Experience

Toucan payments llc

Chief Technology Officer

Oct 2024 – Present · 1 yr 5 mos

Leading end-to-end build of Toucan's cross-border payments (PA-CB) business from zero to scale. Full ownership of business strategy, go-to-market, partnerships, product development, and team building.
Key Responsibilities:
Design and execute go-to-market strategy for cross-border solutions
Drive business unit P&L, pricing, and revenue models
Establish strategic partnerships with banks, payment networks, aggregators
Build relationships with RBI, regulators, and compliance bodies
Navigate FEMA, DTAA, and cross-border regulatory frameworks
Own product roadmap for cross-border payments
Design solutions for regulatory compliance
Lead vendor partnerships for payment processing
Build and scale teams across sales, business development, operations, product
Hire and mentor high-performing leaders
Context: My fintech company was acquired by Toucan. I now lead their cross-border payments initiative—essentially building a new business division from the ground up.

Business ManagementPayment SystemsRegulatory StrategyPartnership Development

Paynet systems

2 roles

Co-Founder & COO

Promoted

Nov 2020 – Present · 5 yrs 4 mos

Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer responsible for building and scaling PayNet Systems—a white-label neo-banking platform serving 10+ million users across 15 countries with 1 billion+ transactions.
Key Achievements:
Scaled PayNet platform to process 1 billion+ transactions across 15 countries
Built customer base of 10 million+ users with white-label solutions
Developed modular, cloud-native neo-banking platform with API-first architecture
Established security and compliance frameworks (PCI DSS, ISO 27001)
Grew PayNet as recognized fintech innovation platform featured in The Paypers, Finextra, HackerNoon
Successfully exited via acquisition by Toucan Payments (Nov 2024)
PayNet Solutions Developed:
Mobile Banking: Revolutionizing customer onboarding, engagement, and advice delivery
Digital Wallet: Market-ready white-label mobile wallet platform
Payments & Collections: Ready-to-use payment processing system
Corporate Banking: Fully digital banking experience for enterprises
Conversational Banking: WhatsApp and social channel integration
Leadership & Operations:
Built and managed engineering, product, and business teams
Led product development and go-to-market strategy
Managed cross-functional teams across development, operations, and partnerships
Executed strategic partnerships with banks, fintechs, and payment networks
Platform Highlights:
10x faster time-to-market for banking solutions
SaaS-based pricing model for scalability
Cloud-native architecture powered by AWS
Global reach across India, UAE, and Southeast Asia

Sales OperationsSales EnablementPayment SystemsInternet BankingPayment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)Business Management

Co-founder & Product Manager

Dec 2016 – Nov 2020 · 3 yrs 11 mos

Co-founder and Product Manager responsible for building PayNet Systems' product vision and architecture during the critical growth phase. Led the development of a comprehensive white-label neo-banking platform for digital financial institutions.
Product Leadership Achievements:
Architected core platform modules: Mobile Banking, Digital Wallet, Payments & Collections, Corporate Banking
Designed and launched Conversational Banking feature leveraging WhatsApp and social channels
Established product strategy for Omni-channel Banking with Open API architecture
Developed transaction switching and processing infrastructure
Built branchless banking and money portal solutions
Created modular, API-first platform architecture enabling 10x faster time-to-market
Key Product Features Delivered:
Mobile Banking: Revolutionary mobile-first customer onboarding and engagement
Digital Wallet: Market-ready white-label wallet platform for instant deployment
Payments & Collections: Production-ready payment processing system
Corporate Banking: Full-featured digital banking for enterprise clients
Social Banking: Integration with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Viber
Transaction Switching: Robust multi-channel transaction routing
Platform Development:
Led product development from conception to production at scale
Managed cross-functional engineering, design, and business teams
Implemented security frameworks (PCI DSS, ISO 27001 compliance)
Established product roadmap and release management processes
Executed go-to-market strategy for white-label solutions
Business Impact:
Scaled platform to support 10+ million end-users
Enabled 1 billion+ transactions across 15 countries
Attracted leading fintech companies and banks as platform users
Built sustainable SaaS-based business model for financial institutions

Sales OperationsSales EnablementPayment SystemsInternet BankingPayment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)Business Management

Arttha - an initiative by puresoftware

Product & Pre-Sales Manager - Arttha Mobile Payments & Banking

May 2012 – Dec 2016 · 4 yrs 7 mos · India · Hybrid

Founding member and key architect in building Arttha—a unified Digital Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform from scratch that became the #1 choice for 100+ banks and financial institutions worldwide.
Arttha Platform Impact:
Leading global banking platform serving 150+ million users across 20 markets
Enabled 100+ Banks and Financial Institutions to digitize banking operations
Processes 780+ transactions per second
Facilitates 500,000+ loans monthly and serves 7 million+ merchants
Expanded globally across Southeast Asia, Africa, GCC, and 20 countries
Key Products Developed:
Core Banking Platform, Digital Lending, Payments & Collections
Digital Wallet, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Agent Banking
Merchant Management, SME Banking solutions
Business Development:
Launched Arttha as new business unit within PureSoftware
Built partnerships with 100+ global banks: Absa, Stanbic, Mandiri, BNI, EcoCash, Link Aja!
Architected go-to-market strategy for Banking-as-a-Service model
Awards:
"Best Digital Lending Solution" at The Digital Banker 2023
"Best Banking-as-a-Service Platform of the Year"
Featured in The Paypers, Finextra, HackerNoon
Exit:
PureSoftware acquired by Happiest Minds Technologies, April 2024 (USD 94.5M)
Arttha became flagship product of Happiest Minds' Digital Services portfolio

Sales OperationsSales EnablementPayment SystemsInternet BankingBusiness Management

Utiba pte ltd

Manager Pre Sales

Sep 2009 – May 2012 · 2 yrs 8 mos · INDIA

Global Presales Manager at Utiba, a world-leading mobile financial transaction platform company. Instrumental in managing key enterprise accounts and expanding Utiba's global presence across four continents.
Utiba Company Profile:
Global technology leader in mobile financial transaction systems
Founded in 2001, headquartered in Singapore
Pioneering mobile payments and financial services solutions
200+ million subscribers using Utiba technology
6+ million agents globally serving customers
Acquired by Amdocs in March 2014
Technology evolved into Amdocs Mobile Financial Services platform
Key Responsibilities:
Managed enterprise accounts across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Americas
Led presales strategy and solution design for telecom operators and banks
Drove adoption of mobile financial services across emerging markets
Worked with leading telecom and payments industry leaders globally
Supported deployment of mobile wallet, eTop-up, and money transfer solutions
Major Clients & Implementations:
Globe GCash (Philippines) - pioneering mobile money service
Indosat Dompetku (Indonesia) - mobile wallet for 6M+ agents
True Corporation (Thailand) - telecom mobile payments
Digicel Group (Haiti) - Caribbean mobile financial services
MTS (Russia) - telecom mobile payments
Banks, payment providers, and microfinance institutions globally
Solutions & Technologies:
Electronic Top-up (eTop-up) distribution
Mobile wallet-based fund transfers
Domestic and international remittance
Bill payments and utility collections
Government benefit distribution
Retail merchant payments