BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Open banking payments platform, Token.io, has appointed two new executive hires as it continues to strengthen its leadership position in Europe. Charles Damen, Chief Product Officer (CPO), and Artashes Torosyan, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), join Token.io to build out the company’s Account-to-Account (A2A) payment platform, which delivers best-in-class open payment and data connectivity across 16 European countries.
Charles joins Token.io from Worldpay, where he served as SVP of Product Strategy for global Real Time Payments and Open Banking products. He has over 20 years of experience in senior roles at payments, mobile and internet companies, and prior to Worldpay founded and led the global cross border payments division of Thunes, enabling real-time payments to and from emerging markets. He is a member of the European Payments Council (EPC) and was previously a board member for the Merchant Risk Council.
Based at Token’s Berlin office, Artashes brings over 25 years of experience in FinTech and blockchain technology. Previous roles include CTO for the German-based open banking data-driven loyalty and rewards platform, OptioPay, and CTO for Artory, a leading art and objects registry utilising blockchain technology.
“Open banking is a huge opportunity for the financial services industry, enabling the development of innovative payments and data services offering customers secure, fast and frictionless payment experiences at lower transaction costs,” comments Charles Damen, Chief Product Officer at Token.io. “Owning and operating a global open banking network, Token has a highly strategic position in the open banking ecosystem and one that is difficult to replicate. By doing the heavy lifting for many of the leading PSPs, Acquirers, banks and financial institutions, Token is driving the shift from card to bank payments in a way few other players are able to.”
“Token’s history as a pioneer in open banking technology is what first attracted me to the role,“ comments Artashes Torosyan, Chief Technology Officer at Token. “The Token platform already has deep functionality to enable simple and elegant bank-direct payments for a range of use cases, from eCommerce and bill payments, to funding an account or paying off debt via loan or credit card repayments. I look forward to working with the team to build out these capabilities as new use cases continue to emerge.”
“Token’s technology underpins the open banking propositions of some of the world's most respected financial institutions and fintech disruptors,” comments Todd Clyde, Token.io CEO. “We are making account-to-account payments a true competitor to cards and alternative payment methods. With the expertise of Artashes and Charles behind us, Token will continue to push the boundaries of functionality beyond regulation through new open payments and data capabilities, premium APIs and value-added services.”
Token.io processes tens of millions of open payments annually for payment service providers, gateways, banks, wallet providers and large merchants. Customers that plug and play, white-label or have used Token.io’s open banking infrastructure to build their own propositions include BNP Paribas, HSBC, Mastercard, Nuvei, Ecommpay, Rewire, Coingate, Sonae Universo, Volt and Vyne.
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About Token
Token is an open banking platform driving the shift from card to account-to-account bank payments in Europe.
Since 2016, Token has pioneered innovation in payment initiation and data aggregation technology, making history by conducting the first end-to-end payment through a public bank API in the UK in 2018.
Today, Token offers best-in-class open payment and data connectivity in Europe, spanning 16 EU countries, representing over 210 million potential end-users of Open Banking services and over €13tn in customer deposits. All through a single API and interface.
Token’s focus on payments has enabled it to develop deep functionality that makes accepting direct bank payments elegant and simple, while its enterprise-first approach enables other players in the existing payment value chain to bring direct bank payments to their customers. Token processes millions of open payments annually for over 80 payment service providers, gateways, banks and large merchants.
With Token’s complete open banking toolkit, businesses create new capabilities and revenue streams, blending API-based payments and data to reinvent financial experiences faster and more efficiently. Token also provides access to aggregated bank account and transaction data for smarter onboarding, deeper insights and instant authentication.
Based in London, Berlin, and San Francisco, Token’s global team of professionals have deep payment industry experience that its partners rely on to future-proof their payments strategies.
Regulated by the FCA and BaFin, and PCI-DSS Level 1 and ISO 27001:2013 Certified, Token is both bank- and developer-friendly, multi-standard, and channel ready by design.
