Edinburgh fintech snaps up former Mastercard and Visa execs to fuel growth

A fast-growing Edinburgh fintech has recruited two former Mastercard and Visa executives as part of a major expansion that is expected to see its workforce double this year.

Payment specialist Br-dge, which helps online firms reduce the risk of customers “abandoning” their shopping baskets before making a purchase, has hired Kenny Scott as chief technology officer and Sean Murray as senior product manager.

Mr Scott, who has more than 20 years’ experience of managing technical leadership teams at financial services companies including Mastercard, will lead the Edinburgh firm’s platform-development and operations. Mr Murray, a former product manager at Visa, will help the company innovate to support the needs of an influx of customers.

The business, which has 40 staff, is led by Brian Coburn who joined transport group Stagecoach at 16 and worked his way up to become its chief technology officer.

Br-dge’s platform promises to simplify payment infrastructure and revolutionise the process for online merchants and their customers. It enables clients to access many payment providers and alternative paying methods, increasing the likelihood of customers completing a purchase.

“We are thrilled to have Kenny and Sean join the team at an exciting time for us as we scale and accelerate our product offering whilst onboarding an influx of new customers,” said Mr Coburn.

“[They] bring a wealth of experience and knowledge from the fintech and engineering space and these attributes will no doubt be instrumental in our growth.”

Former Mastercard executive Kenny Scott will help the firm as it targets new markets including the US. Picture: contributed.

In the last year, the firm’s team has grown by 50 per cent and it expects to double again this year on the back of expansion plans that include entering the US market later this year.

Mr Scott said: “Br-dge is shaking up the payments industry with innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing merchants and consumers right now. I am excited to be joining Brian and the team at this key time for the business and look forward to contributing to its success through drawing on my previous experience scaling the product offering of other high-growth fintech.”

Earlier this month industry body FinTech Scotland published an “innovation roadmap” in a bid to drive a fourfold Increase in economic growth and job-creation over the next decade.

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