Every new year brings new things, and here at Zenith Payments that couldn’t be truer. Year after year we bring on new people, new products, new enhancements, new partners, new clients, new services and enter new markets and industries in Australia (and as of 2023…internationally too). When you pride yourself on innovation, every year brings a lot of hard work and a lot to be proud of!
Pete Egglestone has been in the CEO seat at Zenith Payments for 6 months now. Andrea Slark passed the baton on in July 2023, to become Executive Chairman and focus on strategic initiatives and partnerships, after being at the helm for seven years.
So, we thought after 6 months of having his feet under the table, it would be a good time to fire some quick questions at him to see what he thinks this year will bring at Zenith Payments.
Pete, you’ve been the CEO at Zenith for 6 months now, what are your observations?
Zenith Payments is a leader and innovator in the payments and prepaid space in Australia. We are a forward thinking and innovative company, and we move quickly and in a number of directions which makes work life exciting. It’s been fantastic working with Andrea again, whom I have known for many years to build on the strong foundation that’s already been built. It has also been a fantastic experience getting to know and working with Kim Harding, Zenith’s founder and owner who is an entrepreneurial powerhouse who has and continues to bring awesome innovation to the Australian market, and the world. The executive team all have extraordinary experience in the payments and prepaid space, and I have learned a lot from them. And across the board, I have been incredibly impressed with the skills and passion of every “Zenstar” who all work together to get it done. Zenith has grown in the time I’ve been here, and I’m looking forward to being a part of the continued growth.
On that note, let’s move to 2024! As you know, we have a solid set of values here at Zenith Payments. So, I thought we could ask you what you think 2024 will bring for each?
Pete: Sounds great! Fire away.
Starting with Z for Zealous?
Pete: As I mentioned just now, the people across Zenith Payments bring high energy and passion in spades. I see this energy translating into a continued growth trajectory in 2024, in terms of developing our platform and products further, launching new things and working with more clients and partners and in more industries and markets.
On to E for Execution?
Pete: What I love about Zenith Payments is that we do what we say we are going to do. And to stay innovative and ahead of the pack, we work at speed. We follow agile development methodology and have done for over a decade. This means fortnightly sprints, which translate into 4-weekly releases to implement enhancements, with additional releases as required. This allows us to respond rapidly to market demands, and ensures our platforms and products continue to improve and evolve.
Now to N for Nice to do business with?
Pete: At the heart of everything we do here at Zenith, it’s about working with people, partners and clients to get projects off the ground and firing with positive commercial outcomes. In terms of what this will bring this year, well we will continue to be a great partner and organisation to do business with, as that is how we have grown and will continue to grow and expand.
Which moves us on to I for Innovation?
Pete: We really are innovators and leaders in payment technology in Australia and deliver an exceptional customer experience too. We are about to launch our PayTo solution, Australia’s new real time direct debit processing solution for fast, easy, and secure bank account payments. We have also just launched the FarePay Card, a single or re-loadable card for company travel including taxis, rideshare services like Uber, hire cars and public transport. That’s just the first few weeks of the year, and I can’t give too much away but we have a lot of game changers coming in 2024.
How about T for Tip Top Quality?
I mentioned earlier that we get things done quickly at Zenith, but we also do things to a very high quality and standard, with a focus on delivering a great customer experience. And of course, security is obviously a paramount in payment technology, and we take it extremely seriously. We are a financial services licence holder, AUSTRAC registered and are the highest level you can reach in terms of PCI compliance, with all our systems hosted onshore. This all takes a lot of work in the background, and we will continue to make sure we maintain our outstanding level of security and compliance in 2024.
And finally, H for a Happy place to work
Zenith is a great place to work, just look at the tenures of many of our staff! Once you are here, you don’t want to leave. We work hard but have a great culture where innovation and ideas are fostered and actioned, and I expect this to be nurtured and continue this year.
Thanks Pete, we are looking forward to a fantastic year at Zenith!
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