Entrepreneur Interview: Barnaby Procopiou of FinTech startup, Cashero
We had the pleasure of getting to know, Barnaby Procopiou, Director, Founding Partner and CFO of Cashero, a FinTech startup blockchain-based payment eco-system, that provides a secure platform for high-yield savings, multi-currency wallets and instant, fee-free internal and cross border payments.
Cashero recognises the appeal and requirement for cash savings but that inflation, high remittance fees and payment friction are a problem for individuals and businesses across the globe. Cashero was founded in 2020 following 2 years of idea conceptualisation, research, iteration and development to solve these problems. They are now in Launch phase and will be available for public use later this year.
We chat to Barnaby about how the business started, what makes this FinTech startup unique in the market, as well as future hopes for Cashero. Barnaby also shares some pointers for entrepreneurs thinking about starting their own business.
- How did the idea of Cashero come about?
The idea of Cashero was born out of the desire to streamline payments for individuals and unbanked individuals across sub-saharan Africa. During 2017, the team spent time across Accra and Nigeria working on potential financial products and tax-based structures to assist the country with outside investment. It was here that the team realised the issues faced by the general public when it came to banking and the onerous charges levied on those using mobile phone-based payment systems that would charge for basic internal transactions and cash withdrawals. Following further research and time spent across African territories, the team realised the problem was systemic and by solving the problem for one African territory the idea could be rolled out across the continent. The conception of Cashero sought to improve the system, allowing users with more volatile currencies to convert to more stable currencies like the pound and dollar, whilst earning interest in those currencies. After many iterations, the team quickly realised the product would not only be useful to unbanked populations across the globe, but also banked and underserved populations across the planet.
- What is unique about your business in the market?
The service is all encompassing and offers reach in 4 key services – instant payments, global remittance, high yield saving and multi-currency wallets/fx. Given that we cross or span these 4 markets, the market size is quite huge at over $29trillion. Whilst there are well known competitors in each of these fields, they tend to focus on 1 or 2 core services, meaning that individuals and businesses often have to use a batch of products or providers to achieve their end goal. Whilst this does make us useful, it does not make us truly unique. What makes us unique is the way we conduct the business. As we have incorporated traditional and well-established financial structures and banking ideology and combined it with new age technology – blockchain, we are able to offer many of these services for free or for a fraction of the cost of our competitors. Therefore, whilst we do have competitors, we are a disruptor in these 4 service fields as we do not rely on the charges of these services to thrive and grow our business and profits.
- How has the Coronavirus pandemic affected the business, and what contingency plans were put in place to ensure survival?
The Coronavirus has affected all businesses globally in some way but not in the way, or ways, that we anticipated. Although legal work slowed with advisors and teams working from home, we noticed an increase in e-commerce business, transaction volume and mobile payments over the period. Interestingly, the last 24 months have also been very interesting for the blockchain and crypto currency space with more eyes moving to this newly developing marketplace. Given that our product and service offering spans over 120 territories, assisting with the spread of risk geographically, events like US elections, Brexit and Covid take little effect on our momentum. Furthermore, as people have worked from home and relied more so on internet-based platforms and mobile phone services, we believe this pushes Cashero to be the right product at the right time.
- What two personality traits do you believe make a good business owner and leader?
Belief and sound business ethics. Understanding and clearly defining the core elements of the business has allowed the team and I to cultivate a clear belief and direction for the business. With the business and service offering defined, a leader can (and must) establish a clear and focused commitment to the project and always protect business conduct and ethics: Lead by example and start as you mean to go on. There are hurdles, delays and challenges with every new business so it is easy for doubt to set in, eyes to move to an ‘easier route’ or better offers to land on the table. Belief and sound business ethics will keep new projects and innovators on the right track to build something that will stand the test of time.
- If you had the chance to start Cashero over again, would you do anything differently?
This is a good question. I think that we have stayed true to our course and in ‘downtime’ periods we have focused on improving and refining our offering in order to advance, develop and test our product. One could argue that the product could have been launched earlier had we focused on the crypto market and crypto users. Whilst this would have fast tracked profits, I believe this would have shortened our lifespan and our remit. A move like this may have also alienated regulators and banking partners later on down the line.
- What advice would you give to a young entrepreneur starting up their own business?
Try and define your vision as clearly as possible and understand that progress each day, no matter how small, is still progress. Entrepreneurs should enjoy the journey and as corny as it sounds – learn to ride the wave – because along the journey your idea may be adapted or improved by new knowledge, feedback, criticism or market movements.
- Where do you see your FinTech startup going in the future?
Our first priority is to launch. Once we launch, we will look for strong partners with established user bases to catalyse the user acquisition forecasts.
- How can firms and individuals, who come across Cashero, support the business?
Simply by opening an account and spreading the word.
- Any final words?
I hope I have provided a helpful insight into our business and who we are. If you are interested in finding out more, investing in our vision or becoming a partner, we are open to support and innovative ideas or partnerships.
Contact: Barnaby Procopiou – Director, Founding Partner, CFO
Email: bp@cashero.com
Number: +44 7814 756226
If you’re thinking about raising finance for your business and need some assistance, we would be delighted to have an informal and confidential chat to discuss your options in more detail. Book a call via this link or email us at info@blueboxvelocity.com.