CAB Payments confirms new boss less than a year after disastrous London float

Neeraj Kapur served as chief financial officer of Provident Financial, later Vanquis Banking Group, between April 2020 and August 2023.

CAB Payments has confirmed that veteran banker Neeraj Kapur has taken over as its new chief executive after its previous boss quit just months after the fintech’s disastrous London float last year.

The company announced that Kapur had received the necessary regulatory approval and would immediately take over from Bhairav Trivedi, who will remain as a senior adviser to the board.

CAB Payments said Kapur and Trivedi had been working closely together since February to ensure a smooth transition.

Trivedi remains a shareholder of CAB Payments, and his new role will see him “building and strengthening important relationships with central banks, regulators, and current and prospective strategic clients”, the firm said.

The announcement of his departure in February came after Trivedi floated CAB Payments to much fanfare last July at a valuation of £800m.

However, the firm fired out a profit warning in October after it was caught up in a major foreign currency policy shift from the Nigerian central bank, which hammered its revenues and sent shares plummeting.

CAB Payments’ stock price remains down 59 per cent from its IPO.

Kapur served as chief financial officer of Provident Financial, later Vanquis Banking Group, between April 2020 and August 2023.

He was previously CFO of Secure Trust Bank for nine years, listing it on the London Stock Exchange in 2016.

Kapur originally qualified as a chartered accountant in 1992 before entering the banking sector in 2001 with a stint at RBS.

Ann Cairns, CAB Payments’ chair, touted Kapur’s credentials as “an experienced PLC director with the right skills to take the business forward”.

“I took this role because I strongly believe in the purpose of the group and its long-term future especially in delivering international aid throughout hard-to-reach markets,” Kapur added.

“The success of the business to date has been impressive and I am now looking forward to working with my executive team to ensure CAB Payments takes advantage of the unique growth opportunity ahead of it, executing our strategy and delivering our purpose to parts of the world where it is much needed.”