Press releases

Paysafe appoints Richard Swales as Chief Risk Officer

Sep 05, 2019

 

London, UK: Global payments provider, Paysafe Group (Paysafe), announces the appointment of Richard Swales as its Chief Risk Officer, effective October 14, 2019. Swales will be based in the company’s Dublin office in Ireland, which opened earlier this year.

Swales, who will report to Paysafe CEO Philip McHugh, will assume overall responsibility for the group’s global risk strategy, comprising its enterprise, merchant and consumer risk functions.

Swales is a seasoned leader who brings over 30 years’ experience of the risk industry to the role. He joins Paysafe from PayPal, where he spent the last nine years in various roles, leading its global risk, compliance and governance strategy. During this time, he served on a number of boards of PayPal regulated entities and was instrumental in supporting significant growth for PayPal’s business. Swales started his career working in the public sector as an officer for the UK’s HM Customs & Excise before moving on to leadership roles in high-profile banking, commercial finance, insurance, telecoms and payments organisations based in Europe, Asia and the US. 

Philip McHugh, CEO of Paysafe, commented: “Paysafe has a strong track record of specialising in niche, highly regulated segments and verticals. This is something that differentiates us, and it also means we need to continue our laser focus on maintaining an industry-leading risk strategy. I am delighted that someone of Richard’s calibre and experience is joining our leadership team and I’m confident that he will be a huge asset as we continue to grow and focus on accelerating our strategy as the global, specialised payments provider.”

Richard Swales added: “I am delighted to be joining Paysafe at such an exciting time in its growth journey. Paysafe has a fantastic track record of serving specialised verticals and offers one of the most differentiated payments portfolios in the industry. On top of this, the chance to work with Philip and such an ambitious and focused team presents a truly exciting opportunity. I am very much looking forward to playing a role in the ongoing growth of the Paysafe business.”

Notes to Editors:

Richard Swales’ biography in full

Richard Swales has a career spanning over 30 years in the international risk and compliance industries. He joins Paysafe Group from PayPal where he spent nine years leading risk and compliance, in all its forms, at regional and group level, as well as chairing and serving on many boards of its regulated entities around the world. Richard’s PayPal journey saw him lead several key strategic projects and support significant growth for the business, forging strong partnerships between sales, operations and risk functions and services.  

Richard’s career began with a role in the Public Sector working for HM Customs & Excise followed by more than 25 years in Banking, Commercial Finance, Insurance, Telecoms and Payments with a focus on Risk Management, Compliance, Operational Effectiveness, Strategy and Business Development. Richard, who has lived and worked in several locations in Europe, Asia and the US throughout his career, has also led initiatives in developing markets with an emphasis on financial inclusion.

About Paysafe Group

Paysafe Group (Paysafe) is a leading global provider of end-to-end payment solutions. Its core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet, card issuing and online cash solutions. 

With over 20 years of online payment experience, an annualised transactional volume of over US $85 billion, and approximately 3,000 employees located in 12+ global locations, Paysafe connects businesses and consumers across 200 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world.

Delivered through an integrated platform, Paysafe solutions are geared toward mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics and the convergence between brick-and-mortar and online payments.

Visit us at www.paysafe.com.

For Media Inquiries:

Kate Aldridge: SVP, Corporate Communications, Paysafe Group

Phone:  +44 750 079 754/Email: kate.aldridge@paysafe.com