Breon Corcoran appointed CEO of FinTech start-up WorldRemit

Former Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) chief executive Breon Corcoran has been appointed CEO of WorldRemit, one of the UK’s fastest-growing FinTech companies.

Corcoran will take up the reins this week at WorldRemit, as the digital money transfer group edges towards becoming the UK’s latest tech “unicorn” worth at least $1bn.

A former JP Morgan banker, Corcoran re-joined Paddy Power as a director in 2015, having previously quit in late 2011 to join exchange operator Betfair.

His return to Paddy Power led to the successful £7bn merger with Betfair in 2016, and saw him appointed CEO of the enlarged group.

Breon Corcoran

But in a move that shocked the industry, Corcoran left the Irish bookmaker 18 months after completion of the merger, telling LinkedIn followers that he was “pivoting” to a different sector.

The new sector appears to be FinTech as WorldRemit, coined the “WhatsApp of money”, allows customers to receive WhatsApp notifications about their money transfers in real time.

Corcoran said in a statement: “Across the world, consumers are turning away from cash, towards digital payments solutions.

“With tailwinds like the global adoption of new technologies combined with growing remittance flows, there is enormous potential for WorldRemit’s global expansion.

“I look forward to leading the company through its next evolution,” he added.

Founded eight years ago by Ismail Ahmed, WorldRemit reportedly has more than 800,000 users who use it to send money from more than 50 countries.

“Breon’s reputation for developing a consumer-first culture makes him an ideal candidate to build on our vision,” he said.

“Breon’s global outlook and experience of enhancing the standard of service in the market will enable us to realise our ambitions to find new ways to help customers do more with their money as the company scales.”

Former WorldRemit CEO Ahmed will now become executive chairman with immediate effect.