Programmable money startup Pave Bank has moved out of stealth with a $5.2 million funding round and a digital commercal banking licence in Georgia.
Alongside multi-currency operating accounts and global payment connectivity, Pave Bank is also promising a regulated platform for businesses to transact in stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies, and tokenized Real World Assets.
The startup is founded by seasoned banking and fintech executives, Salim Dhanani (CEO), Simon Vans-Colina (CTO) and Dmitry Bocharov (COO).
Dhanani was at the World Bank before moving to Carta Worldwide and then co-founded fintech lender and payments business BigPay in Southeast Asia. Vans-Colina was at Citibank and Vocalink before moving to set up Starling Bank. He left with Tom Blomfield and Paul Rippon to build Monzo as a member of the founding team. Bocharov was a member of the management team at Ferratum, a DAX-listed bank operating across Europe. Nine years ago, he moved to Vietnam and assumed the role of chief digital officer at VP Bank.
Dhanani says: "We are championing a new path where Pave Bank customers will get access to the financial products that they are used to, but also a range of digital asset enabled products which will help them bank more efficiently within a regulated and secure environment.
"Programmable banking represents the next stage in financial evolution. With more businesses thinking and operating globally, the solutions that can be built with programmable money promise to transform banking, treasury, credit products, along with opening up a host of new products and services.”