New management team brought in at rescued FinTech Railsr

by James · April 5, 2023

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A former star of London FinTech has brought in a new management team following its rescue from the brink of collapse.

Railsr, an embedded finance platform, was acquired by a consortium led by D Squared Capital in a prepackaged management deal last month.

The deal, for just £500,000, is a far cry from the $1bn valuation it once sought in funding talks. Last October, the company raised $46 million at a $250 million valuation, and co-founder Nigel Verdon claimed it was on the way to profitability.

Verdon left the role of CEO last month and now Philippe Morel, former CEO of blockchain company SETL – sold in January – has been appointed in his place.

Debbie Lotz joins as CFO and Nick Charteris as COO, while former Mastercard chairman Rick Haythornthwaite, who joined the company in a bid to get it back on track, will remain as chairman.

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Railsr, which claims to have five million end users, has developed APIs that make it easy for developers to integrate banking and card functionality into their products and services.

“This is a pivotal moment for Railsr and we are starting a new phase on the front foot,” said Haythornthwaite. “This triumvirate of leadership appointments brings deep experience and renewed energy to rebuild momentum, drive change and return Railsr to growth.

“Together we will tackle challenges constructively and methodically, embrace opportunities to stabilize the business, strengthen confidence in the market and increase our competitive advantage.

“Philippe brings a potent combination of turnaround, strategic consulting and operational leadership, a skill set that will lead the Railsr team and customers to success. I look forward to working closely with him in the coming months.”

Prior to SETL, Morel was global head of Boston Consulting Group’s capital markets practice, EMEA head of BCG’s Private Equity and Principal Investors Practice, and chairman of Expand.

“I am delighted to join Railsr as the company embarks on its new journey. I was very impressed with the technology, the team both in London and Vilnius and look forward to working with our customers and partners to take Railsr on the road to growth again, he said.

Lotz recently moved from Australia to the UK. She most recently held the role of Senior Lead Data Risk Management at National Australia Bank. She has also held roles at the Commonwealth Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

Charteris spent the last 12 months as managing director of Crypto.com in the UK. He previously held the role of global operations manager.