NomuPay’s Acquisition of Total Processing
Merger Overview: NomuPay, an Irish payments platform, acquired Manchester-based fintech company Total Processing for $35 million (£28 million). This strategic move is significant for NomuPay, which emerged from the remnants of the collapsed German fintech company Wirecard.
NomuPay’s Background: NomuPay was formed from the healthier assets of the failed German fintech Wirecard, focusing on creating better economies of scale in the fintech sector.
Pre-Acquisition Funding: Before acquiring Total Processing, NomuPay raised $53.6 million in Series A funding, demonstrating a consistent valuation uptrend, countering the trend of down-rounds in the tech industry.
Total Processing’s Expertise: Total Processing is known for its intuitive merchant services, including recurring payment collections, risk management, PCI compliance, and payment integrations. Their customer service dedication attracted NomuPay’s interest.
Strategic Expansion: The acquisition allows NomuPay to expand into Southeast Asia, Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East, and gives Total Processing access to markets in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the EU.
Enhanced Customer Services: The merger will focus on gateway-agnostic scalable payment solutions, robust data management, and cross-border disbursement capabilities.
Technological Synergy: NomuPay’s Unified Payments Platform will be combined with Total Processing’s technology, simplifying fragmented payment infrastructures and accelerating tech innovation.
Future Growth Plans: NomuPay plans to scale Total Processing’s tools in Southeast Asia and leverage its presence in the UK and UAE to bolster European operations and grow market share in the Middle East.
OCC Scandal and Congressional Inquiry
The OCC Scandal: Prashant Bhardwaj, the first Chief Financial Technology Officer of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), was found to have a fabricated resume. This led to a congressional inquiry into the oversight.
OCC’s Role: The OCC regulates and supervises all national banks and federal savings associations in the U.S. The formation of the Office of Financial Technology in March 2023, which Bhardwaj was to lead, was part of its adaptation to technological changes in banking.
Bhardwaj’s Appointment: Announced in March 2023, Bhardwaj’s appointment came with high expectations, but by September 2023, his tenure ended amid questions about his resume’s authenticity.
Resume Fabrication Exposed: An investigation revealed that Bhardwaj had fabricated parts of his employment history, falsely claiming C-level roles at several large banks.
Impact on OCC: This discovery raised serious questions about the OCC’s hiring processes and due diligence, damaging the credibility of the OCC’s vetting procedures.
Industry Reaction: The incident shocked industry observers and experts, highlighting vulnerabilities in the OCC’s vetting processes and raising concerns about its ability to attract top technological talent.
Background Scrutiny: Further scrutiny of Bhardwaj’s background revealed more discrepancies, including a more junior role at Accenture than claimed and a questionable senior vice president role at Das Gemacht.
Congressional Inquiry Focus: The inquiry will focus on the OCC’s hiring and vetting process and how Bhardwaj was appointed despite his dubious background.
Broader Implications: The incident has profound implications for the OCC and financial regulation, suggesting potential systemic issues within the agency’s hiring processes.
Importance of Transparency: The controversy underscores the need for rigorous vetting processes and transparency in government agencies to maintain trust in financial regulatory institutions.
