Payment Expert’s ID Check: Payments Professionals offers insight from industry leaders and experts on how they got their start in the financial industry, from their early years in education, to how they have been able to climb the corporate ladder.
This week in the final installment of the series for 2024, Paymentology CEO, Jeff Parker, goes in-depth detailing his career as a payments industry leader, working across a plethora of markets and sharing valuable insights into how the sector has evolved over many years. 

Where did you go to university and what did you study? What impact did this have on your current journey?

I studied Management Sciences at the University of Manchester. If I am being brutally honest, I am not sure the content of the course itself had any impact on my current journey. That’s not to say it wasn’t a great course, it’s just I am not sure that any of the content I learnt was important in shaping my career. 

What did have a huge impact on my journey was the mindset that the course embedded into the students. I didn’t fully realise it at the time – but a huge number of students from that course have since gone on to be very successful in their fields, and I would characterise them as very resilient, proactive and entrepreneurial individuals that find ways to solve problems effectively. 

This was all very fortuitous for me, as I picked the University as I am a Manchester United fan and I wanted to live in Manchester. 

Were you part of any sports clubs or societies at university and has this influenced your educational and professional development?

I played football when I was at University, playing for both the University itself and a local team . I am a big believer that sport in general, and in particular team sports, teaches you many skills that directly or indirectly influence how you develop professionally. 

Learning how to win and lose, learning how to compete, learning how to channel your energies to become a better version of yourself. Sport is also a great leveller regardless of your background, your resources, and the amount of training you have done; at the end of the day, it’s 11 vs 11 and anyone can win.

Did you have any jobs outside of the industry before making your start in it and was this experience a motivation to get into the industry you aspired to be in?

I had many jobs in my life. I started at five or six having to do jobs for my dad every Saturday morning before I was allowed to play. If my friends came round they had to do jobs as well… they soon stopped coming around. I then started doing car washing and paper rounds when I was 12-years-old, and later was a waiter and a barman.  

During my gap year between A Levels and University, I got my first full-time job at Burtons Menswear, selling suits. When I had saved enough money, I went to America to work in a summer camp before travelling around the country for several months. This experience broadened my horizons significantly.  

I wouldn’t say that these jobs influenced my career choice except to say I wanted a job that paid more than I was getting in the jobs I had been doing. My parents instilled in me from a very young age that the only way to be in control of your destiny was to work hard ….. so that’s what I did. 

After I wrapped up my studies in Manchester, I started my career on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s graduate scheme. After six months, I got bored and I transitioned to a role in JP Morgan’s middle office, learning about the operational intricacies of investment banking. This was when I started to put more effort into my career, realising that I needed to be more deliberate and thoughtful if I wanted to make anything of myself. At this point, I decided that I needed to experience a range of different industries and markets, which led me to consult at Accenture. 

This move allowed me to travel extensively across Europe, working with diverse clients and tackling varied business challenges, and I eventually relocated to Australia with the firm.My time at Accenture was vital for my professional development; I had the chance to work in different environments, advising businesses on how to optimise their operations and grow. 

Yet, despite the great learning opportunities, I found myself wanting more ownership over the projects I was working on – I craved a role where I could directly influence outcomes and follow through on long-term goals.

Therefore, I transitioned to Macquarie, where I did a range of consulting assignments before moving into an internal M&A role. It was there that I came across OFX, an emerging online foreign exchange and payments company, and I was directly involved in Macquarie’s investment in OFX. 

Recognising the potential for impact in this space, I was excited to be invited to join OFX as Chief Operating Officer. This marked my true entry into the fintech industry, long before the term “fintech” had gained the notoriety we all know today. 

What was the first job you had in the industry and are there any lessons from this you still draw on?

I joined OFX as Chief Operating Officer at a key juncture in its growth journey, helping to build OzForex’s business beyond Australia’s borders. It was here that I developed a deep passion for the transformative potential of fintech, particularly its impact on businesses struggling to keep up with ever-increasing demands for fast and seamless payments services. 

One of the most valuable lessons I took away from my time at OFX was the importance of building effective teams and putting the right people in the right roles. I quickly learned that a company’s success hinges on its ability to work together towards a common goal. This focus on team dynamics became a core aspect of my leadership philosophy and I believe that empowering individuals, fostering collaboration and aligning personal strengths with organisational objectives are essential for achieving long-term success.

Today, I continue to apply this lesson in my role at Paymentology, where I prioritise creating cohesive, high-performing teams. By nurturing talent, fostering trust and maintaining a clear sense of purpose, I can help Paymentology’s teams work towards a common goal and boost our growth.


Who was your biggest role model outside of the payments industry who continues to inspire you in your current career?

I find this question a little difficult to answer as I have looked up to quite a few role models at different stages in my career many of which have been in the payments industry. My first mentor/inspiration was Simon Lewis, one of my managers at Macquarie who taught me the value of being true to yourself, and that even in the most high-pressure situations you should always treat people with respect, as that legacy will outlast any job or short-term performance. It took me many years to truly grasp the value of this advice but I understand it now. 

Other sources of inspiration (from the payments industry I am afraid) include the CEO of OFX Neil Helm and the Founder and CEO of WorldFirst Jonathan Quinn. They were very different individually but I learnt a huge amount from them both. 

In the past few years, I have become much more of an avid reader and I wouldn’t say there is any individual that has inspired me more than another, but there are a few principles that have stayed close to my heart. I will mention just three here. Of course, some of these are easier said than done, but I constantly use these as reference points when I feel the need. 

The first is that you can only control what you can control so it is not worth stressing about things out of your control. The second is that, when facing a difficult decision, ask yourself whether the decision will make or break the company. If the answer is no (and it will be 99% of the time), don’t over-analyse the decision. If you get it wrong you can likely reverse it and not making a decision is often worse than making the wrong decision. 

Finally, at the end of the day, a job is just one part of life. I have my wife, children, parents and friends, all of whom are far more important to me than anything else. Obviously, I caveat this last principle in that I don’t own my own business. If you are a founder then your reality is very different. 

On a more practical level, at Paymentology we have been influenced by Jeff Bezos and some of Amazon’s ways of working. First, their “Working Backwards” methodology, starting with the customer’s needs and working backwards to create the solution. 

It’s a strategy we’ve recently implemented at Paymentology, where we begin product development by crafting a press announcement and FAQ before launching anything. This ensures alignment from the outset, enabling clarity and focus across teams, and making sure that our innovations are always customer-centric and effective in solving real-world challenges. 

Second, we write in-depth documents instead of powerpoints when analysing strategy and making key business decisions, helping to ensure that all avenues are considered thoroughly. 


When was your first big break in the payments industry? Why was this such a significant moment for you?

I had two big breaks in the payments industry. The first was being offered the role of COO at OFX when I had no experience in payments. This was an incredible leap of faith by the CEO and it gave me the opportunity to learn about a new industry in a business that had already proved product market fit and was growing rapidly. I was also extremely lucky to join a young and dynamic leadership team. 

Three of the leadership team went on to become CEOs of payments businesses around the world and a fourth is at C-suite level at a different payments business – all of whom I am still friends with today and rely on for support and advice on occasion.

My second break was when I joined WorldFirst to lead the Asia business from Hong Kong. Again, this was a leap of faith from the founder and CEO, who gave me an important role in a business he had spent 15 years building from scratch. This was a pivotal moment in my career, as it gave me the opportunity to live and work in a new market and experience the culture and ways of working in China while it was going through a time of incredible growth. 

WorldFirst was the first company in the world to provide Chinese merchants with USD virtual IBAN accounts, helping Amazon to enter the Chinese market, which allowed small Chinese businesses to access American consumers. This was a huge step as it facilitated increased cross-border trade between China and the West, empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses to scale internationally.

This first role at WorldFirst was the first of several before I became CEO which was a huge honour and milestone for me. Until a few months before the promotion, I had never aspired to be a CEO, and count this moment as a pivotal point in my career

Was there a moment you faced in the industry that really challenged you? How did you overcome this?

The two most challenging times I have faced in the industry can both be boiled down to people and culture. At WorldFirst, we had to navigate expansion into China as a Western company. It was clear to me that the only way we would be successful was to hire local people who understood the market and how to do business. 

Whilst both China and the UK operate effectively, the culture, ways of working and communication style vary greatly and trying to navigate these successfully to get the best of both was a significant challenge, which was only multiplied when Ant Group acquired WorldFirst.

The second most challenging time has been this year at Paymentology. Paymentology as is known today is the culmination of 6 acquisitions in a short space of time. The underlying businesses were founded in different countries, had different customer bases, different cultures and different expectations on many dimensions. 

As Paymentology’s new CEO, it was my job to understand these differences, understand how people felt about them, form an opinion myself as to which direction I wanted to go and then clearly communicate the new direction. 

To overcome both of these challenges, I focused on being open and transparent about the obstacles we are facing, being open about the options we have and then being very clear about the decision that has been made and why. This allows people to form their own opinions and decide if they will buy into the direction that has been outlined.  

Lastly, what is some advice you would give to an aspiring person looking to get a start in your respective industry?

The fintech industry can seem daunting from the outside looking in, but prioritising the below qualities would be a good start for anyone looking to gain their first role in fintech:

1. Being passionate and hard-working are fundamental to succeeding in a highly competitive industry like fintech. To be effective you need to love what you do, and without passion and hard work, you will struggle to get through the inevitable hard times.

2. If you’re interested in working in high-growth companies that operate in fast-moving industries, resilience and adaptability are key, as these businesses are always running into obstacles and trying to find a way around them. The ability to stay positive and always find solutions is essential.

3. Finally, when decisions need to be made, being clear about how the decision will be made and who is the final decision maker is crucial. Flexibility is normally a virtue, but when push comes to shove, it’s key that teams know who to look to for a decision, and have confidence in the decision-making process.