PayNet Secures Farhan Ahmad as Its New Group Chief Executive Officer

Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet) announced it has secured Farhan Ahmad as its new Group Chief Executive Officer, effective from 12 April 2022.

In a recent press release shared with Finance Magnates, Farhan Ahmad, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bento for Business, has been appointed by PayNet, the national payments network and shared central infrastructure for Malaysia’s financial markets, as its new Group Chief Executive Officer.

Ahmad brings more than 25 years of financial experience as a senior executive to the role. Effective from 12 April 2022, he will succeed Peter Schiesser. Also, he has extensive experience within the payments and banking services industry from various financial institutions, including Barclays, Discover Financial Services, JP Morgan Chase, Bank One and FirstUSA.

Ahmad’s Vocational Record

Prior to PayNet’s announcement, Ahmad founded Bento for Business in July 2014. As the CEO, he built the company from scratch to become a successful startup Startup A company operating within its first stage of investing is known as a startup. While startups may give the impression that the company must be new, that is not always the case.Many companies can have this designation after nearly three years of existence. Typically, a company exits the startup status after a period between 3 to 5 years or after successful funding rounds where capital is acquired. Startups tend to derive out of the belief that there is a demand for a service or product which is c A company operating within its first stage of investing is known as a startup. While startups may give the impression that the company must be new, that is not always the case.Many companies can have this designation after nearly three years of existence. Typically, a company exits the startup status after a period between 3 to 5 years or after successful funding rounds where capital is acquired. Startups tend to derive out of the belief that there is a demand for a service or product which is c Read this Term in the B2B financial services space. In May 2020, he became the Executive Chairman and was focused on a mission to transform financial services for businesses, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Further, since June 2019, he has been an Official Member of Forbes Finance Council.

Before PayNet and Forbes, Barclaycard utilised his skills as the Managing Director of Head of Digital Consumer Payments for Europe. For more than two years, he was responsible for building, commercializing and monetizing all digital commerce and payment initiatives for Barclaycard across Europe.

In September 2006, he joined the ranks of Discover Financial Services as its Global Head of Emerging Payments. Over the course of six years, he developed and led the Global Emerging Payments business unit for Discover's Payment Services.

Earlier on, he was also a Board Member at Innovative Payments Association for just over two years.

Moreover, JPMorgan Chase recruited Ahmad as its first Vice President of Product Strategy & Development. He spent his time providing oversight and accountability for the top 5 strategic initiatives for Card Services, among other duties.

In October 1999, he became one of the founding partners of Aceva Technologies and was Group Head of Partnership Services. He was in charge of strategic leadership, product development, business development, relationship management, and financial forecasting and valuation for close to two years.

Further, Bank One selected Ahmad as the Assistant Vice President in the summer of 1996.

His first known position was Assoc. Project Director for Consulting Group of IRI, which began back in September 1994.

A Look Back at Schiesser’s Past

Before his last position as Group CEO of PayNet, Schiesser served MyClear as its Managing Director. Located in Malaysia, he spent almost five years in the role.

In October 2006, he was appointed as the General Director of the Cards Division at Sacombank. After three years, he received a promotion to IT Division Director / CIO / Senior Advisor.

He began his career with ANZ as a General Manager of Strategy & Development and Consumer Finance. After just short of a couple of years, he progressed to Managing Director of Cards Asia Pacific. Then in December 2005, he was named Executive Manager of International Partnerships.

During Schiesser’s time, PayNet launched the Real-Time Retail Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term Platform (RPP) in 2019. Thus, the company was awarded the Celent Model Bank 2021 Award for Financial Infrastructure and named the Best in Future of Industry Ecosystems by IDC Malaysia.

Years of Commitment and Admirable Service

Commenting on Peter Schiesser's decision to retire, Datuk Ahmad Hizzad Baharuddin, the Chairman of PayNet Board said: “On behalf of PayNet’s board, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Peter for his years of commitment and admirable service to bring PayNet to what it is today. Under his leadership, PayNet has experienced significant growth and is well-positioned for the future, of which, the board is extremely grateful and wish to record its heartfelt appreciation. The board wishes him all the best for the future.”

Remarking a few words on the appointment of the new CEO, the Chairman of PayNet Board added: “The Board welcomes Farhan as the new CEO of PayNet. As PayNet continues its next phase of growth in fulfilling its mission as a trusted enabler of inclusive and collaborative financial ecosystems, while continuing to create value for the benefit of all our stakeholders, the Board is confident that Farhan is the right candidate to lead PayNet into the future. We are confident that he and the team at PayNet will be able to develop and drive PayNet forward.”