Ferhan Patel - Financial Crime Expert


Ferhan Patel, CFCS, AMLCA

CCO, Director of Global Risk and Compliance

As Payza’s Chief Compliance Officer and Director of Global Risk and Compliance, Ferhan oversees the Risk, Fraud and Compliance Departments. Ferhan’s responsibilities include the development and implementation of the company’s AML/CTF, Compliance, Fraud and Risk Mitigation policies.  Ferhan is recognized as a Financial Crime Expert with robust product design knowledge and is actively involved in the product lifecycle ensuring that compliance is built in and not bolted on. 

Most recently, Ferhan Patel held the position of Executive Vice President of Corporate and Product Marketing and led the company’s product development strategies, marketing operations, strategic alliances and new market opportunities. He was responsible for the company’s overall marketing strategies - from product identity, placement and strategic promotion, to corporate, public and marketing strategies and communications.  Ferhan was influential in leading Payza to win the 2013 Paybefore Award for Outstanding Newcomer in Prepaid/Emerging Payments category.

Prior to joining Payza, Ferhan had been the driving force behind many successful e-commerce ventures. As a consultant for TEKsystems, for example, he successfully launched the company’s innovative health insurance portal and oversaw all aspects of the project’s life-cycle. As the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of AlertPay, he was responsible for the company’s operating procedures - from Process, AML, Risk and Compliance, to Fraud Detection, KYC and Verification; as well as the company’s product development strategies and marketing operations. His astute technological and innovative thinking enabled AlertPay to achieve exponential growth and excellence in the industry, earning AlertPay the Quebec Technology Company of the Year award from benefice.net in 2010, and the 2011 Industry Alpha Award for Excellence in Consumer Products from the Ville St. Laurent Chamber of Commerce. 

Thanks to his tactical and progressive insight, Ferhan was instrumental in the integration of the AlertPay platform with the corporate and strategic mandate of the acquiring company, resulting in the successful development and deployment of the new company and online payment processor, Payza.com. 

Ferhan holds a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Concordia University and a Certificate in Project Management from McGill University.

Ferhan is a Certified Financial Crime Specialist (CFCS) and an Anti-Money Laundering Certified Associate (AMLCA).   

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