Pockit has appointed former Mastercard International president and CEO Gene Lockhart to its board as it looks to deploy its scaling plans.
The fintech has set its sights on becoming the go-to financial services provider for what it describes as the “unbanked”.
“Having led some of the world’s largest financial services organisations and been so closely involved with some of the most successful global fintech businesses, I can see [Pockit’s] real potential for further growth and am excited to play my part in that,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart, 74, has also worked as president of global retail banking at Bank of America and the CEO of Midland Bank.
Lockhart, who has also served as a senior advisor at Blackstone, joins Pockit alongside Malcolm Le May, former CEO and executive chairman of Vanquis Banking Group.
“Pockit offers a set of essential products to people who would otherwise risk being excluded from vital financial services,” said Le May.
The appointments follow Pockit’s acquisition of Monese.
The takeover, which followed a debt agreement between the two companies in September, gave Pockit access to Monese’s roughly three million users.
Monese was bought after a difficult period for the company that saw major shareholder HSBC cut the value of its stake to £0, revealed in the accounts of the bank’s investment arm.
“The acquisition of Monese is a game-changer for Pockit, adding real scale to our business and opening up a range of exciting new growth opportunities,” said Pockit founder and CEO Virraj Jatania.
“This is therefore the optimal time for us to be strengthening our corporate governance and building out our board with the addition of two industry stalwarts in Gene and Malcolm.”