Pay Theory, a Cincinnati-based family tech company that provides payment solutions for school districts, childcare, and families, is proud to announce that Brad Hoeweler, its CEO, has been tapped as an advisor to Fintech Frontier, an innovation partnership of Cincinnati-based financial services corporations and fintech entrepreneurs. Led by Cintrifuse, a Cincinnati-area startup hub and incubator, Fintech Frontier aims to make the Queen City a nexus for next-gen financial technology startups and firms.
In addition, Pay Theory is excited to bring on board local business leader Ed Rigaud as an advisor. The first Black line vice president in the history of Procter & Gamble, Rigaud is known as a trailblazer in and a pillar of Cincinnati business.
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Beyond his new role with Pay Theory, Rigaud was the first executive director of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and has served on the boards of such foremost organizations as the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Xavier University, the Cincinnati Zoo, the Ohio Board of Regents, and Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati.
These partnerships between Pay Theory and the Cincinnati business community will help the family tech startup further its goal of leveraging financial technology to help schools and families reach their goals — a mission that dovetails well with that of Fintech Frontier. As part of the industry organization’s efforts to advance Cincinnati as a financial technology hub, Fintech Frontier hosts an annual pitch competition for local startups, with a total of $60,000 awarded to three rising firms.
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One of the themes of the 2020 competition was “Closing the Gap: Enabling financial security for consumers at every life stage and from every walk of life by expanding access and/or affordability of financial tools.” Given Pay Theory’s product and platform, this messaging goes hand-in-hand with Fintech Frontier’s efforts to leverage fintech to benefit the greater good. Given Brad’s role as a fintech entrepreneur, he will shape and inform the group’s efforts to foster fintech as an innovator in the area of social responsibility and economic inclusion.
Some one-third of families with students in K-12 public education are under- or unbanked, making school-related payments difficult and at times uncomfortable for children. Students are left having to bring cash to school, which sparks concerns about bullying and theft. As for schools and school systems, keeping track of cash payments can be burdensome. Yet upgrades to school districts’ incumbent administrative payment software might isolate underbanked families even more, as they are unable to use credit cards and other digital payments online. Amid COVID-19 and virtual learning, this situation has only been exacerbated, as students are left unable to pay school-related expenses in person.
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