Toucan Payments: Pioneering Next-Gen Payment Solutions and Fostering Innovation in Fintech

ABOUT TOUCAN PAYMENTS

Toucan Payments, a US-based FinTech founded by Mr. Suresh Kakarla in 2019, aims to revolutionize global payments with secure platforms, including Merchant Acquiring, Switching , and Card Issuance. These platforms offer streamlined merchant services, real-time payments, fraud detection, AML checks, and data privacy compliance. Toucan Payments prioritizes security, utilizes tokenization, and ensures data stays within the country of origin to meet regulations. Kakarla is known for pioneering India’s “FASTag” Electronic Toll Collection system through his previous venture, TollPlus.

WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO?

The Company’s objective is to develop and deliver innovative financial solutions using advanced technology, empowering individuals and businesses with accessible and secure financial products. They have a two-pronged approach: leveraging their PA/PG license to offer niche solutions in the payment industry and introducing a groundbreaking payment platform to create a new industry standard. This platform serves acquirers, payment aggregators, merchants, and third-party entities, addressing current market limitations. Their expansion strategy involves partnerships and local presence in different regions.

TOUCAN PAYMENT USP

Existing players in the payment industry offer outdated solutions with long-term contracts, resulting in higher operating costs. These legacy systems can’t adapt to modern business needs, leading to inefficiencies and limitations like high transformation costs, tech obsolescence, and lack of R&D New players provide fragmented solutions, causing integration and compliance challenges and increased costs.

Toucan, a fintech company, addresses these industry gaps with a futuristic platform for efficient next-gen payments. It replaces fragmented solutions, leveraging industry knowledge, R&D focus, and adaptability to serve acquirers, issuers, and merchants globally. Toucan’s platform powers payments, collection, remittance, reporting, and more with cutting-edge technology.

WHO ARE THEIR CLIENTS?

All entities involved in payment processes, whether directly or indirectly, are their customers. The Company provides a comprehensive and advanced payment platform as a complete product designed for businesses seeking a more convenient, quicker, and secure method of purchasing goods and services.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Toucan Payments, headed by visionary entrepreneur Mr. Suresh Kakarla in the United States, is driven by a strong passion for business and technology. Suresh, who transitioned from a technocrat to an entrepreneur, has a proven track record in global transportation and fintech markets. His mission is clear: to disrupt the payment industry, drawing inspiration from his past success with TollPlus, renowned for introducing FASTag in India. The Toucan leadership team, led by Suresh, brings deep technical and financial expertise to the table, with the goal of replicating FASTag’s transformative impact and reshaping the global payments landscape.

CHALLENGES FACED AND HOW DID THEY OVERCOME?

The Company swiftly shifted to remote work arrangements, facing challenges related to technology, communication, and productivity. To address this, they implemented remote work tools, established virtual communication channels, and provided thorough training on remote collaboration tools for our employees. They further placed a high priority on employee well-being, offering mental health resources, flexible work options, and virtual team-building activities to enhance morale and connectivity.

Adapting to rapidly changing regulations and compliance requirements posed another set of challenges. Toucan Payments responded by closely monitoring regulatory updates, adjusting our operations to meet new compliance standards, and seeking legal guidance as needed.

Additionally, they emphasized scenario planning and made agile decisions based on real-time data and market trends to navigate these challenges effectively.

WHAT ARE THE NEW TRENDS IN THE MARKET AND HOW ARE THEY COPING?

India has become a global model for digital payments adoption, driving financial inclusivity by integrating people into organized financial systems. The surge in digital payments is on the horizon, with innovations such as increased cashless transactions, borderless instant payments, flexible contactless options, enhanced digital identity verification, heightened security and privacy, growing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), evolving compliance requirements, and opportunities in the gift market.

To enhance payment reliability and security for immersive experiences, the company focuses on:

Implementing tokenization and blockchain for enhanced security.
Streamlining payment messages using ISO 20222.
Scaling solutions to combat fraud and money laundering.
Transitioning from legacy physical devices to virtual methods.
Exploring IoT for expanding payment options.
Ensuring flexible and scalable customer access.

FUTURE GOALS

In response to current trends, Toucan Payments recognized the imperative to adapt our fiat currency-oriented platform for digital currencies. Their strategic shift envisions a future where individuals can effortlessly transact using both digital and fiat currencies, with blockchain technology as the central enabler. They’ve actively enhanced the platform to seamlessly integrate blockchain capabilities and are dedicated to streamlining cross-border international remittances using this robust framework. The ultimate aim is to unlock the significant potential presented by this innovative integration of digital and fiat currencies, positioning ourselves at the forefront of evolving financial landscapes.

They emphasize bootstrapping and independence, undergo agile organizational transformation, implement a technology change management framework, prioritize cultural alignment, make strategic regional partnership decisions, ensure robust compliance, and focus on marketing research and branding to enhance our market presence.

HOW DOES TOUCAN PAYMENTS ENCOURAGE THEIR EMPLOYEES?

Toucan Payments emphasizes transparent communication about their goals and offers skill development and advancement opportunities. Their flat hierarchy ensures accessible and supportive leadership. They align projects with employee skills, encourage autonomy, and foster a collaborative and inclusive culture. Regular check-ins help employees track progress, and we value their feedback. The company is proud of their 40% female workforce and promotes women leaders.