Fintech
The European CEO Awards 2024 have named the best CEO in the fintech sector
In the world of innovative technologies, a rather significant event took place – the European CEO Awards 2024. Only the best CEOs of companies that expand the boundaries of business and generally contribute to the development of scientific and technological progress are nominated for this award.
In the FinTech sector, the title of CEO of the Year was awarded to Sergey Astafjev, CEO and co-founder of Wallester AS, an Estonian financial services provider that allows companies to create their own personalized card programs and payment infrastructure. payment. What is this company and for what merits its creator received such an honorary award, we will now try to understand.
Characteristics and prospects for the development of the sector
The European CEO Awards 2024, by europeanceo.com, were presented with 6 nominations, but we paid attention to the nomination from the Fintech Industry. It is a rapidly developing sector and affects all spheres of human activity. Sergey Astafjev’s company is the European market leader in providing integrated solutions for issuing cards.
The prospects of this sphere are practically limitless. According to modest calculations by experts, by 2025 the global card market will reach a volume of more than 65 billion US dollars. This can be explained by the growing interest of consumers in card products. In payment cards they are attracted by the increased level of payment security and convenience of use. If previously the issuing of cards was entrusted only to banking institutions, today, thanks to companies like Wallester, any organization can market its own cards.
The changes that have occurred in the field of card issuing are enormous. Previously, to create your own card program, it was necessary to collect a huge number of documents, fulfill all the requirements of the Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay payment system or another service chosen by the company, as well as spend large sums of money on development of software and infrastructure to maintain its vitality. To carry out such a project it was necessary to have sufficient experience in going through certain processes and complying with the rules of payment systems.
Wallester solutions allow you to significantly reduce the time it takes to bring your paper project to market. With their help, a company from any industry can start its own card program in the shortest possible time, with minimal costs and without having to find additional highly qualified personnel.
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Wallester: a complete solution for your business
Wallester has created a complete platform and solution for startups and enterprises. It is a multifunctional platform that is easily scalable and customizable for business needs. Its main task is to provide the client with the opportunity to do so issue payment cards and manage the card program independently, without using the services of banks and other financial institutions.
“In an increasingly competitive financial technology environment, the difference between success and failure often depends on one crucial element: the quality of customer service.” (с) Sergey Astafjev, CEO and co-founder of Wallester
By working with Wallester, the customer receives maximum support in all phases of paper product development. They are provided with all the tools and support needed to start an individual payment card program. The company takes care of all issues related to administration, communication with the payment system, payment security, modernization and maintenance of the platform.
With the Wallester platform customers can issue cards independently for any purpose. They can be physical and virtual, debit, credit and prepaid. The White Label solution allows the creation of cards with individual designs. Corporate symbols on payment means and in the mobile application help to make the brand more recognizable and significantly increase its status among competitors.
Wallester’s innovative platform gives corporate clients full control over their card programs. They can independently set card limits, activate and block cards, reissue and replace cards.
Wallester offers ready-made niche solutions for a wide range of industries. The company offers customized products for credit, travel, banking and insurance businesses. It also offers options for businesses involved in e-commerce, P2P lending, and other currently popular businesses. Niche solutions are tailored to a specific industry, but that doesn’t mean Wallester’s platform has a limited scope of use. On the contrary, thanks to its REST API, it can be easily integrated into any existing system and is suitable for use in any industry.
Cards issued via the Wallester platform can be tokenized. It allows them to be connected to digital wallets and significantly increases the security of payments. Additional security measures are observed thanks to the use of the modern 3D Secure protocol. It involves requiring an additional verification step during each transaction.
Wallester solutions are available throughout the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. It is a universal product for a wide range of entrepreneurs, constantly developed and updated to best meet customer needs.
CEO of the Year in FinTech
European CEO is a renowned print and online publication based in London. Senior executives from 28 European countries subscribe to the publication and receive in-depth quarterly analyses, strategies and recommendations to help them make expert business decisions. The publisher has a comprehensive editorial team consisting of many illustrious authors. They cover the most current topics that attract the interest of industry professionals and readers in general.
European CEO Publishing established the annual European CEO Awards to recognize key players in various industries. Readers of the publication can nominate, at their discretion, representatives of companies that follow the standards established by the award and are worthy of the honor. In turn, the judges of the European CEO Awards select the winner who truly pushes the boundaries of business and implements progressive ideas.
In 2024, the European CEO Awards 2024 were presented in 6 categories. The greatest enthusiasm was recorded in the FinTech Industry category. Sergey Astafjev, CEO and co-founder of Wallester, won the award by a huge margin of votes. When making the decision, the judges took into account all the previous merits of the candidate, and there are really a lot of them.
Sergey Astafjev was one of those who founded Wallester in Tallinn in 2016. Under his passionate leadership, the small startup has become one of the market leaders with rapidly growing ambitions. The sphere of influence of this project increased every year, so in addition to the office in Estonia, a division was opened in Valbonne (France).
Under Astafjev’s leadership, Wallester became an official partner and core member of the Visa payment system in 2018, and, in 2023, was ranked among the top 3 best financial institutions in Estonia. Another well-deserved award for Wallester was the win at the Fintech Breakthrough Awards in the “Best Management Platform” category.
According to the jury of the European CEO Awards, no candidate for this award in the Fintech Industry category could compete with achievements like Astafjev’s. He explains his success by putting first not his ambitions but the needs of his clients.
A quote from Astafjev from a recent interview: “In an increasingly competitive financial technology environment, the difference between success and failure often depends on one crucial element: the quality of customer service.”
This increased focus on customer satisfaction became the lever that helped Wallester take a leadership position in the fintech sector and Astafjev himself receive a well-deserved award. We are confident that by following these principles in his work, Wallester will be able to receive many more important awards in the future.