Contis Founder Peter Cox Joins Prepay Services as Chairman to Drive African Expansion

Prepay Services Ltd has appointed industry veteran Peter Cox as Group Non-Executive Chairman, marking a significant leadership milestone for the recently incorporated fintech. The move, paired with a substantial personal investment by Cox, signals a high-stakes entry into the African payments landscape as the firm prepares for its commercial debut in South Africa.

What was announced

Prepay Services Ltd has confirmed that Peter Cox will take the role of Group Non-Executive Chairman. Beyond a standard board appointment, Cox has acquired a substantial shareholding in the company, demonstrating a direct financial commitment to the startup’s long-term trajectory. This leadership change comes at a critical juncture as Prepay Services transitions from its development phase to a full commercial launch.

The company’s primary focus is the optimisation of customer payouts for businesses, a sector often plagued by inefficiency and high costs in emerging markets. The initial rollout is targeted at South Africa, which will serve as the primary hub for a planned expansion across the wider African continent. Cox is tasked with providing strategic direction, enhancing governance, and leveraging his deep-rooted international payment relationships to scale the business.

Furthermore, the company intends to use Cox’s background to pursue an aggressive growth strategy that includes both organic development and the acquisition of synergistic businesses. The firm aims to build a "fit for purpose" payment platform, capitalising on Cox’s established connections with global card schemes including Visa and Mastercard to ensure robust infrastructure and compliance from the outset.

"After deliberately not returning to the payments sector post Contis and taking time to develop my private office Paydyn Financial Ltd and its wide range of hi tech and retail interests, I am delighted to take on the role of Non-Executive Chairman and to deepen my commitment to Prepay Services as a substantial shareholder and the global payments sector as a whole. Prepay has identified a significant opportunity to improve how companies manage customer payouts and as a first step will be launching in South Africa. I have been impressed by Louis’ vision, the strength of the team, and the massive progress made to date. I look forward to further applying my experience in Payments and Financial Technology to support Prepay through its initial go to market launch and future international growth."

Peter Cox, Non-Executive Chairman of Prepay Services.

The companies involved

Prepay Services Ltd is a recently incorporated fintech focused on the customer payout market. By targeting South Africa as its launchpad, the firm is positioning itself within one of the continent's most sophisticated financial ecosystems. The company is led by Founder and CEO Louis Yadgaroff, who is steering the firm toward international expansion.

The appointment brings a wealth of institutional knowledge from the wider fintech sector. Peter Cox is most notably the founder of Contis, established in 2008. Contis became a cornerstone of the European Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) market before it was acquired by the Berlin-based unicorn Solarisbank in 2021. Cox’s influence extends into retail loyalty, having played pivotal roles in the development of Tesco’s Clubcard and the Nectar program. Since his departure from the frontlines of payments, he has managed his private office, Paydyn Financial Ltd. The involvement of Visa and Mastercard is also central to this ecosystem; both global giants provide the underlying rails for the card-based solutions Prepay Services intends to deploy. Visa and Mastercard remain the dominant forces in global transaction processing, and their partnership is essential for any fintech aiming for cross-border scalability.

What this means

This is a major coup for Prepay Services. Attracting a figure like Peter Cox - who has successfully exited a major BaaS platform - suggests that the company’s underlying technology and market strategy for Africa are highly credible. The payout space in South Africa is ripe for disruption, but it is also heavily regulated and operationally complex. Cox’s experience with Solarisbank and Contis provides the "adult supervision" needed to navigate these hurdles.

For the wider market, this signals that veteran fintech capital is looking toward Africa for the next cycle of growth. Watch for Prepay Services to move quickly into M&A activity; with Cox’s backing, they are no longer just a startup, but a potential consolidator in the regional payments space.