Former RBS tech chief joins MiiCard

By PETER RANSCOMBE
Published on 29/07/2012 00:00

A FORMER group technical director at Royal Bank of Scotland has been signed up as the chairman of a fast-growing technology business in Edinburgh.

Stephen Brannan will help MiiCard gain clients in the financial services industry. The company has also brought in Tim Bullock – who was managing director of personal and retail finance at Lloyds TSB Asset Finance – as a non-executive director.

Brannan, who was previously a non-executive director at the firm, is an adviser to Par Equity, one of the companies that has invested in MiiCard, which makes a “digital passport” for verifying customers’ identities on the internet. Bullock founded New Wave Ventures, another of the company’s shareholders.

IQ Capital, New Wave Ventures and Par Equity together pumped in £1.6 million in second-round funding in April, just seven months after raising £550,000 of seed funding.

Brannan’s other roles at RBS included separation business services director for the takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro.

James Varga, chief executive at MiiCard, said: “Financial services is a hugely important market and, with these two appointments to our board, we’re signalling our intention to become a major player on the global stage. The collective experience and industry knowledge that Stephen and Tim bring to the table will be invaluable.”

Bullock highlighted MiiCard’s other applications in the fields of online dating and social networks.

MiiCard’s other non-executive director is David Ball, a former board member at Tesco Bank. Its advisers include Ian Pearson, a former economic secretary to the Treasury.