Forbes has recognised Ciaran Savage, founder and Director of UK-based Card Industry Professionals, as one of the ones to watch in Europe in their ‘Class of 2021’.
Forbes have featured Ciaran in the Finance category in this year’s ‘Forbes 30 under 30 Europe’ list.
Being named in such a prestigious title is a testament to the success that Ciaran and the team have had to take the company from inception in 2017 to £1m+ in annual revenue by the 4th year of trading.
Ciaran said, ‘I am proud of the journey that the team and I have been on and I am excited about our future growth.
“It is a real honour to be listed alongside exciting entrepreneurs, emerging talent and innovators within the finance sector in Europe. Thank you to Forbes for the recognition and inclusion in this years’ list and thank you to all the staff at CIP who have contributed to our success.”
The accolade comes close on the heels of a nomination for CIP in two categories at this year’s Card and Payments Awards for ‘Best Payments Industry Newcomer’ and ‘Innovation in Retail Payments’, up against the likes of Barclays, Natwest, Lloyd’s, Mastercard & Square, a further indication of the impact CIP is making in the Fintech arena.
“We are seeing growth month-on-month, and we have diversified into e-commerce gateways, virtual terminals and order and pay platforms,” he said. “We have shifted the business model rapidly to work through the pandemic, but it was always the plan.”
Ciaran Savage founded Card Industry Professionals (CIP) as he wanted to offer merchants a better solution. Having previously worked in the industry in a sales capacity, he despaired at the hidden charges and poor customer service he had witnessed and determined to shake things up.
Since 2017 the company has gone from strength to strength and has seen revenues increase 100% year-on-year.
“We’re looking forward, post-Covid, to a full year of consistent sales and transactions to see where the revenues go then.
“We had the experience of traditional card machines in salons, bars and butchers, we looked at what else there was a need for. There is such a market out there now desperate for help to set up, and I’m a believer that if you get that right, people will remain with you long term.”