Mario Hernández Takes the Helm as CEO at SaaS FinTech Innovator IMPESA
IMPESA founder — and creator of SaaS FinTech Commercial Banking Innovation, Monibyte — develops Global Expansion Plan
SAN JOSÉ, COSTA RICA, October 11, 2016 (Newswire.com) - IMPESA®, developers of Monibyte®, an innovative SaaS platform for corporate payment methods, and first in a suite of fintech applications, announces the appointment of Mario Hernández as Chairman of the Board and CEO of the company.
While working at the Corporate Headquarters of Scotiabank, in Toronto, Canada; Hernández attended Harvard Business School to further his education, and graduated from the Advanced Management Program. Later, he returned to Costa Rica to become CEO of bank, during which time he simultaneously developed Monibyte out of a growing need he saw for commercial markets.
Since I first conceived of Monibyte, I knew the platform would be unique, and that it had enormous potential for growth well beyond Costa Rica. After only two years in operation, we have licenses with both Visa® and MasterCard®. This is concrete evidence of our success, which will lead to growth on a global scale.
Mario Hernández, CEO
As IMPESA’s new CEO, Hernández is focused on strengthening operations in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, and implementing a global expansion plan to capture new markets.
“Since I first conceived of Monibyte, I knew the platform would be unique, and that it had enormous potential for growth well beyond Costa Rica. After only two years in operation, we have licenses with both Visa® and MasterCard®. This is concrete evidence of our success, which will lead to growth on a global scale”, says Hernández.
Hernández will spearhead strategies to take optimum advantage of opportunities on a national and international scale. The goal is for IMPESA to be operating in a total of eight countries by the end of 2017.
Most recently Hernández was a featured speaker and panelist at the Mobile Payments Latin America Summit in Miami, a prominent conference that brought together over 150 banking leaders to hear top experts in the mobile payments and financial industry share their ideas and solutions for Latin America. IMPESA was the spotlight exhibitor of the event, alongside sponsors Visa and MasterCard, and Hernández, with other key members of the global management team, presented demos of their Monibyte software solution throughout the 2-day conference.
“Contributing to thought leadership in the financial technology landscape, and visibility through educating the banking community by exhibiting at top industry trade shows are part of our global expansion strategy,” said Hernández.
Successful Platform. Today Monibyte is in use in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic. The platform allows corporate customers to customize how they handle their banking operations, maximizing the use of their human and financial resources through a secure, easy-to-use, web-based interface.
Successful case studies of the software include corporations that have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by organizing their travel expenses. In Costa Rica alone, there are more than 600 companies that make more than 50 thousand transactions per month using Monibyte. Regionally, there are approximately 800 customers. For banks, Monibyte can help mitigate millions of dollars in credit and debit card fraud.
New Leadership. IMPESA’s new CEO has a 17-year track record in the financial sector with experience that includes roles as CEO of Banco LAFISE, Credit Card Director for Scotiabank HQ in Canada and Credit Card Director for Banco Interfin. Hernández has held leadership roles in companies in the United States, Canada, Mexico and beyond.
His outstanding achievements include the creation of the Monibyte platform, a tool which has allowed many Costa Rican companies to organize their payment systems with absolute security for their transactions. Monibyte was given International Banker’s Best Innovation in Retail and Commercial Banking Award resulting in an interview featuring Hernández at the London Stock Exchange.
About IMPESA
Founded in Costa Rica in 2013, IMPESA is an innovator of electronic payment solutions, licensed with VISA® and MasterCard®, and compliant with all government banking and card issuer regulations. The company has developed technologies such as card integration with satellite positioning systems (GPS) for large local and multinational distribution companies that use the software to manage their fleets. These technologies are included in IMPESA’s revolutionary flagship SaaS platform, Monibyte. Developed completely in-house by a dedicated team of engineers and programmers, the software has processed millions of transactions with major international corporate clients since launching in 2014, and will expand into US markets in Q4 2016. For banks, Monibyte is an unprecedented addition to their commercial credit card portfolios, and mitigates credit card fraud, potentially saving millions. For companies that are corporate customers of banks that offer Monibyte, it is an invaluable tool that allows 100% control of how every credit or debit card within the organization can be used. From sums of money, to type of currency, days of the week, time of day, geographic location and specific merchant; parameters can be changed instantly from the easy-to-use, web-based interface or smart phone app, without having to contact the bank. Monibyte integrates with most major ERPs, saving time and money on accounting tasks.
IMPESA’s Founder, Chairman and CEO, Mario Hernández, is a known expert in the field of electronic payment innovation. He was honored with International Banker’s Best Innovation in Retail and Commercial Banking award in 2015, interviewed at The London Stock Exchange, and a featured speaker and panelist at the Mobile Payments Latin America Summit in 2016. Upcoming events include Money 20/20 in Las Vegas 10/23–10/26, booth SR19.
IMPESA has offices in San José, Costa Rica and Orlando, Florida. For more information visit impesa.net
Mario F. Hernández Biography
Mario Hernández is founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of IMPESA, an electronic payments solutions company and creator of Monibyte, an innovative SaaS corporate payments platform, and a principal member and issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit cards.
In January 2015, less than a year after Monibyte was released, he received an international award for Best Innovation in Retail and Commercial Banking and was interviewed at the London Stock Exchange.
Mario is an expert in payments solutions focusing on new technologies and innovation. He has had a successful trajectory of more than 17 years in the financial sector in several countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. In 2008, he was transferred to Canada and appointed Credit Cards Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the corporate offices of Scotiabank Toronto.
Mario completed his undergraduate studies at ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, obtaining a degree in industrial and systems engineering. He earned his MBA from Bryant University in 1997, and in 2008 he completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He has been a teacher at the level of graduate studies in several universities and has been invited to participate in lectures, conferences and training courses internationally, including in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, the United States, Chile, Canada and Kazakhstan. He has published numerous articles in leading financial newspapers and magazines, and was recognized as an outstanding 40 Under 40 Leader by El Financiero in 2008.
Source: IMPESA