A laser-focused, team-based approach is key for Pankaj Verma, Chief Technical Officer at online business account provider Statrys.
The skills he honed as school cricket captain in the Indian state of Bihar have served him well in his career. His work has taken him to Mumbai, Pune, Dunstable, Sheffield, Shenzhen, and now Hong Kong. On the way, he has completed projects for Credit Suisse, Mastercard and UBS.
So what made Verma decide to leave his last role to work for a digital alternative to traditional banks?
Predictably, perhaps, it was the opportunity to build the Asia-focused payment and foreign exchange provider from scratch.
Top talent from the outset
However, what Verma saw as a key differentiator was the company’s strategy to recruit a high-performing team from the outset.
Rather than focusing on cost minimisation at the initial stage and then bringing in experienced hires later on, the vision was to take on the right people from the start and give them the freedom to do their best work – not just on the technical side, but across areas such as foreign exchange, marketing and compliance.
Easy-to-scale technical architecture
Statrys’ emphasis on incorporating good technical architecture design from the beginning, while building in flexibility and resilience, also made sense to Verma. He points out that it is crucial during the early stages to think ahead and ensure that a platform can be easily scaled to accommodate more customers as demand grows.
Multi-currency business account …
Verma says that Statrys’ 11-currency business account is targeted at small- and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) that operate international businesses and want competitive foreign exchange rates.
He explains that Hong Kong banks, which are regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, have implemented stringent due diligence processes in recent years. This has made it particularly challenging for businesses with limited scale or short track records to open accounts.
… addresses Hong Kong SME account opening headache
Statrys, in contrast, is licensed as a money service operator in Hong Kong, as a small payment institution in the UK, and partners with banks in Hong Kong and Europe.
As well as all-important exchange rates, the company competes on speed, ease of use, and the opportunity to speak to a real person.
First XI
Verma’s cricketing days may be over, but he’s confident that he’s picked a winning team.