Q&A with Julie Guetta, head of payments strategy at RedCompass Labs

The Mojaloop Foundation recently welcomed new Promoter Member RedCompass Labs. As part of the Mojaloop community, RedCompass Labs will assist in the development of inclusive and affordable payment systems and services by allowing banks and payment service providers to leverage Mojaloop software.

Recently, we interviewed Julie Guetta, head of payments strategy at RedCompass Labs, about what she hopes to achieve as a Promoter Member of the Mojaloop Foundation.

Please introduce yourself and your company.

I am the head of payments strategy at RedCompass Labs, a specialized payments consultancy that also develops its own technology and focuses on payments transformation. We accelerate the processing of good payments and stop bad payments.

I joined the company in 2019 after working for a main vendor in the space and learning the mechanics of payments processing. I joined RedCompass Labs because of its drive to improve financial inclusion and eradicate modern slavery, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation.

One thing that RedCompass Labs and I have in common is that we are both passionate about payments! We are keen to help customers develop innovative products, deliver game-changing payments infrastructure and craft realistic payments strategies that really make a difference.

To achieve these goals, RedCompass Labs has its fingers on the market’s pulse and also invests in technology. We have developed a bespoke tool leveraging a range of technologies, including advanced artificial intelligence and data analytics.

Why is the Mojaloop Foundation’s mission of financial inclusion important to your company?

The Mojaloop Foundation and RedCompass Labs share the same drive to solve the problem of financial inclusion by leveraging technology. At RedCompass Labs, we believe that payments underpin commerce. As our CEO Tom Hewson said, “When commerce is inclusive, prosperity increases for all. And when that prosperity is fairly accessed, it brings stability to society and nation-states. Therefore, payments and financial inclusion are key pillars of a fair, peaceful, prosperous society.” That’s why our mission statement is to open the door of finance to all and protect those who enter.

What excites you about joining the Mojaloop Foundation?

What the Mojaloop Foundation is trying to achieve is simply amazing. Not only is it trying to fix the issue of financial inclusion, but it is also leveraging technology in an accessible and usable way – which will, in turn, create a base for building more innovative and inclusive products.

First, it excites me that we align so much with the Mojaloop Foundation — for example, with our vision to improve financial inclusion. Second, I am excited about the way we are achieving financial inclusion. By making payments more efficient, we are creating bridges between payments and closed loops that have never been built before. Third, the Mojaloop Foundation’s vision of the future of payments aligns with our own. For instance, we’re both looking at ISO 20022 and central bank digital currencies as pieces of the puzzle that can help to solve the issue of financial inclusion.

I also think that we can learn from the Mojaloop Foundation’s experience developing open-source technology and working with different types of actors in the industry. It is also exciting to put our knowledge to use in different contexts, as well as being part of a like-minded community that wants to dedicate its time to serving the greater good.

Personally, I am excited about the difference we can make in individual people’s lives. When we started in January 2022, there were 1.7 billion people financially excluded. When we look at this a year later, I’m hoping that we’ll be able to say that we have made a big difference – and that, thanks to Mojaloop’s open-source technology, more people are now financially included, and payments are easier for them.

What will RedCompass Labs contribute to the Mojaloop community?

There are several ways we’re getting involved. For starters, we’ll be part of its Technical Governance Board (TGB). Here, the central idea will be for Mojaloop to leverage our deep payment experience, making sure that the community builds a strong, easy-to-implement and easy-to-leverage product, as well as making sure that the technology is future-proof. Lastly, we will be inviting our developers to contribute to Mojaloop’s open-source code.

Learn more about RedCompass Lab’s work.

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