Early Life and Education
Guillaume Pousaz was born in Switzerland in 1981. He displayed early signs of brilliance, driven by curiosity and a love for both art and mathematics. After studying mathematical engineering at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, he enrolled in economics at HEC Lausanne with dreams of becoming an investment banker. He received a job offer from Citibank London. However, his life took an unexpected turn when his father was diagnosed with cancer. Pousaz moved to California to pursue surfing.
Rise to Success
Pousaz's career in the payments industry began in 2006 when he joined International Payments Consultants (IPC). Recognizing the potential for innovation in the field, he co-founded NetMerchant, a US to Europe money transfer service. The company ran until 2009. In 2009, Pousaz purchased Mauritius-based SMS Pay to build a next-generation payments gateway. That same year, Pousaz founded Singapore-based Opus Payments. Opus Payments rebranded and became Checkout.com in 2012.
Key Business Strategies
Checkout.com was founded to solve the problem of online payment processing for merchants and their customers. Pousaz is the CEO of Checkout.com and owns an estimated nearly two-thirds of the company. In 2019, Checkout.com raised a $230 million funding round at a valuation just shy of $2 billion. In January 2021, Checkout.com raised a further US$450 million at a valuation of US$15 billion.
Philanthropy
Pousaz is also actively involved in philanthropic endeavors. He founded Pousaz Philanthropies in 2022 to support the safety and education of children worldwide.
