Fintech
A Lifetime Achievement: Arik Shtilman
Arik Shtilman, CEO and co-founder of Rapyd, launched the company after identifying a critical gap in global commerce: the need for a unified platform to manage international payments.
This insight led to the creation of Rapyd, a scalable fintech infrastructure designed to help businesses integrate and simplify their financial operations around the world. Shtilman explains the origins of his journey, stating, “Before Rapyd, I wasn’t in payments or fintech, I was a cloud expert and an entrepreneur. After three years in the military, I decided to leave college and start my own company. I and three other co-founders started the business and grew it into a multi-million dollar organization. The company ran for 10 years and we sold it in 2013.
Under Shtilman’s leadership, Rapyd made major strategic acquisitions, such as Neat in Hong Kong and Valitor in Iceland, expanding the company’s global reach and capability. The acquisition of PayU for $610 million significantly expanded Rapyd’s capabilities in more than 100 countries and enriched its offerings to include 1,200 payment types.
Reflecting on the company’s growth, Stilman says, “We continue to go from strength to strength, despite current economic conditions. I’m proud of that. While many other fintech organizations have had to recede and slow their growth, Rapyd has continued to expand globally .”
Challenges and innovations
Rapyd has faced numerous challenges, particularly in addressing compliance and regulatory issues. “Early on, as we were building Rapyd, we learned that dealing with compliance and regulation was a bigger hurdle than we expected,” he recalls.
His solution was to make Rapyd the solver of compliance and regulatory problems for other companies, simplifying these issues to facilitate cross-border operations.
Rapyd has also ventured into supporting fintech startups through its investment arm, which focuses on growing early-stage companies from seed to Series B funding.
On the technology front, Rapyd has significantly advanced the digital payments industry by launching end-to-end card acquisition capabilities in Europe and expanding its e-wallet services. These developments provide seamless access to a wide range of payment methods, meeting the diverse needs of global consumers and businesses.
Global reach and vision
Rapyd operates as a global payments platform that simplifies how businesses manage financial transactions around the world. It provides a single, unified API that allows businesses to incorporate a variety of local payment methods and financial services into their applications.
This approach allows businesses to efficiently access a wide range of payment capabilities, improving their ability to quickly adapt to different financial environments.
Shtilman’s accomplishments and the milestones Rapyd has achieved under his leadership reflect a fearless drive and commitment to excellence.
He is proud of Rapyd’s resilience and its ability to thrive even in challenging conditions, such as its game-changing expansion into the United Arab Emirates, making Rapyd the first regulated Israeli fintech to operate there: “The opening of our tech hub in Dubai was an incredible feat for our entire team because we were the first Israeli organization to be regulated in the UAE. This was no mean feat.
“We launched in Dubai, covering every single billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road – and now everyone in the city knows our name.”
Arik Shtilman’s leadership has brought Rapyd to the forefront of the fintech industry and established a model for dynamic and resilient global business practices in the digital age: “We are incredibly proud to build the future of fintech in Dubai and open the doors to other organizations, from Israel and beyond, to put down roots in one of the most influential tech regions in the world.”
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