Nasir Zubairi, founding Chief Executive of the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT), will step down this summer to become CEO of Paytm’s newly established European entity.

According to the Luxembourg Times, Zubairi will leave LHoFT after nine and a half years, having helped build the institution from the ground up and establish Luxembourg as a recognised hub for fintech and digital financial services.

The board will begin a formal search for his successor in the coming months.

Zubairi will lead Paytm Europe Payments from Luxembourg, overseeing the company’s European operations.

Paytm, formally One97 Communications, serves around 450 million registered users and 45 million merchants in India and trades publicly with a market capitalisation of roughly US$9.3 billion.

The company incorporated its Luxembourg entity on 12 January as part of its European expansion.

Speaking on his appointment, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma said:

“We have built a strong business model that helps small merchants accept mobile payments at low cost and access digital credit. We believe it can work equally well for small and medium businesses in Europe, starting with Luxembourg.”

Zubairi added:

“Luxembourg has built a reputation as an open, international financial centre with strong expertise in financial services and innovation. It is a natural location from which to build a European platform for a global payments company.”

To operate in Europe, Paytm Europe Payments will require authorisation from Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the CSSF.

The company is preparing for this process, including hiring a Chief Compliance Officer to establish a compliance framework, implement AML/CFT controls, and liaise directly with the regulator.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by mrsiraphol via Freepik