Splitit hires payments exec Nandan Sheth as new CEO

New York-headquartered payments company Splitit has appointed Nandan Sheth, the co-founder of Harbor Payments which he later sold to American Express, as its new CEO.

Sheth will take on the role from 28 February 2022, while interim CEO John Harper, who joined Splitit in August 2021 to lead the company during the search for a permanent appointment, will stay on for a period of time to help with the transition.

Most recently, Sheth served as head of global digital commerce at Fiserv and head of Fiserv’s Carat business, described as “an ecosystem of omnichannel commerce solutions for large multinational merchants”.

Prior to that, he was president of Acculynk, a company he co-founded in 2008 and sold to First Data in 2017.

Among his other roles are GM at American Express, co-founder of Harbor Payments and he has also worked at e-Debt.

“Nandan brings more than 20 years of relevant experience and a powerful network within the payments and fintech space to Splitit,” said Dawn Robertson, chair of the board of Splitit.

“Given his background and experience as a leader across business development, production strategy, and his ability to successfully develop and launch partnerships, we’re confident that he will unlock the growth potential of the company.”

Sheth said he was joining the fintech “at an inflection point”.

“There is unparalleled demand for its innovative payment option letting consumers use their existing credit, rather than new financing, for spreading out large purchases,” he said.

“Additionally, Splitit is the most merchant-friendly BNPL platform in the market, allowing merchants to maintain a direct relationship with their customers, while supporting the highest BNPL approval rates in the industry. The global opportunity for Splitit is tremendous, and I’m excited to be part of the journey that impacts consumers, merchants and shareholders.”

Splitit, which has an R&D center in Israel and offices in London and Australia, is a credit card-based instalment solution.

Robertson also thanked Harper for his “leadership and guidance” as interim CEO.

“Having a veteran retail executive at the helm over the past six months has helped us better understand merchants’ needs and expectations and develop our business in ways that help our partners take full advantage of the market opportunities in front of them,” she added.