Samuel Appadoo is the Founder and CEO of Fintech & Innovation Ltd, a boutique consulting firm specializing in the Fintech sector. With a wealth of experience in the industry, Samuel has held several top managerial positions in banks and Fintech companies across Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, India, and more.
In various countries, he has successfully implemented e-wallets, Neo Banking services, Cross Border Payment solutions, Prepaid Card solutions, and Payment Gateway systems.
With his expertise, Samuel has built a reputation for delivering tailor-made solutions for his clients. Check out our interview with Samuel Appadoo below to learn more about his journey in the Fintech industry.
Explain the background of you and the company in detail.
I am Samuel Appadoo, and I am the Founder & CEO of Fintech & Innovation Ltd.
As an experienced banker and payment expert, I have held several top managerial positions in banks across Mauritius, India & Indonesia.
Fintech & Innovation Ltd is a boutique consulting firm specializing in the Corporate & Financial sector.
We assist both startup companies and established entities including financial firms in setting up and expanding their businesses across several jurisdictions. Our services include company formation and licensing process facilitation.
We provide company formation in Mauritius, Seychelles, India, UAE, UK, USA, Canada, Malta, Belize, St Kitts & Nevis, Singapore, Hong Kong and much more.
We also help Money Service Businesses (MSO/MSB), Payment Companies, Forex, Crypto, and Gaming companies obtain licenses in several jurisdictions, such as Canada, USA, UK, the EU, Asia (including Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, and more), United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
With 50+ banks worldwide within our network, we facilitate corporate bank account openings, including for UAE companies (e.g., RAK ICC and other offshore or free zones in the UAE).
Additionally, we are a MasterCard and Visa card worldwide issuer via our USA based group company. We can deliver tailor-made card programs to our financial clients like banks, forex, gaming and money service businesses. We are one of the few that can provide worldwide issuing because of the unique features of our MasterCard/Visa bin and card management platform; which will feature a complete treasury module in the next month to offer multi-currency cards.
What are your goals?
To become one of the leaders in our field and help businesses grow.
Our 600+ clients are always coming back to us for additional services and we are always there to listen, advise and deliver.
We are expanding our footprint in the UAE and the GCC this year to cater for the demand of our existing and new clientele.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of your company right now?
Our strength is our experience and exposure in the market.
Plus, our creativity and flexibility allow us to provide innovative products and services for our very demanding clientele.
What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?
We have been very active in building our reputation over the years, delivering tailor-made solutions for our clients.
Starting with a small team of consultants, we are now a team of over 40 across several countries such as Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, UAE and UK.
Why did you start this company?
We founded our company to fill a gap in the market for comprehensive services that our clients need. By delivering these solutions under one umbrella, we are able to provide a seamless and streamlined experience, resulting in greater efficiency and value for our clients.
Tell us about a project that forced you to be innovative and creative.
We have seen a lot of growth in the financial services sector in Africa.
However, in some of those African countries, Payment Service Providers (PSPs) had difficulty paying their merchants overseas because bank fees were either too high, exchange control, or lack of foreign currency.
We had to come up with a strategy to help those PSPs, which we did brilliantly. And now, we are able to provide a USDT solution to them by collecting local currency in those respective countries and making USDT payouts. Thus, those PSPs can now clear their merchant’s sales proceeds in USDT.
Our turnover for USDT transactions has grown to approximately USD 30 million per week and is still growing with new PSPs and other financial companies using our services for their cross-border transactions.
How do you stand unique from your competitors?
Our innovative and tailor-made solutions is what makes us unique.
And our team of experts is one of our greatest asset to deliver those solutions across all continents.
What are the key values which helped you to overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership.
Having grown up in Mauritius, I had the opportunity to travel extensively for business and to work as a Director, VP, or CEO for various financial organizations in different countries. Although this involved some challenges for my family life, I relished the opportunity to tackle new and exciting projects. One experience that stands out was when I was working as VP for a Shanghai-based company and was tasked with setting up a branch in the Tonga Islands for six months. This was a life-changing experience, as I had to adapt to living without the family, and cooking all by yourself on a remote island where a two-hour car ride would take you on a complete tour.
Small anecdote is that I love cooking and enjoy being a part-time chef for private events when my schedule allows for it.
How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
We have ambitious plans for our company, which include obtaining our own digital banking license. This has been a long-term goal of mine, and we are now at a stage where we are ready to make it a reality. This will be a significant milestone for us, as we have noticed a growing demand from our clients for bank account services, and we want to be able to provide these services. We want to approach banking in a different manner and not be a copy-paste of what is already on the market.
What are the services/solutions or products offered by your company as par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services.
At Fintech & Innovation Ltd, we offer businesses a range of Corporate Management and Financial Technology solutions.
Our Corporate Management team provides administrative, accounting, and financial services to help manage your company efficiently.
Our Financial Technology team specializes in solutions like Banking as a Service, Corporate Prepaid Card programs, and Payment Gateways to help streamline your financial operations.
We are a privately held company led by Senior Professionals and Partners in the field of Banking, Finance, Corporate Management & Fintech.
We also offer other services like Compliance as a Service and Accounting as a Service to provide a comprehensive solution to all your financial needs.
Connect with Samuel Appadoo on LinkedIn.
Find Fintech & Innovation Ltd on www.fintechinnovation.io & on LinkedIn