Streamlining the payment process for merchants and consumers has been a passion for SIX Payment Services for more than 15 years. As a leading provider of secure and innovative solutions along the entire value chain of cashless payments for financial institutions and merchants, SIX Payment Services is working with partners and clients to explore new platforms and contactless technologies.
Niklaus Santschi, CEO of SIX Payment Services, spoke to The CEO Magazine about the many evolutions the company and its industry have seen in recent years.
The CEO Magazine: How has your career led you to your current position?
Niklaus: I studied history of economy and European law so Im not the typical MBA career guy. I intended to have a career in diplomacy, but nevertheless I was working in the credit card industry in a part-time job during my studies and I came into contact with the industry. After a certain time, they asked me to take over a few projects so I started some work in the call-centre environment and then I took over a role in product management. I then worked in a few different businesses within the industry, including working on the first international sales proposition for processing services.
By 2004 I was called to Multipay, now SIX Payment Services, to move it from a monopolistic business to a more competition-orientated and margin-driven business. First, I started to transform their business in Switzerland and then I began to build a new strategy and to internationalise it in 2006.