BitPay, a major bitcoin payment processor, today announced a new addition to its advisory board, Jim Aviles, the former Senior Vice President of product, technology, and marketing at Bank of America Merchant Services, Inc.
After leaving Bank of America, Aviles co-founded Merchant e-Solutions, which was acquired by Latin America’s leading payment processor Cielo S.A. for $670M in 2012. Currently Aviles serves as a partner in Avigo Ltd., a firm that provides funding and guidance to early-stage Brazilian startups.
According to BitPay, Aviles will work with our Latin American manager Alberto Vega to continue bitcoin’s growth in the region, which exceeded 1,700% in 2015. The financial services executive apparently brings “a wealth of knowledge and experience on payments and the Latin American fintech community.”
Aviles commented on joining BitPay and the bitcoin ecosystem:
“I joined BitPay because I find bitcoin technology compelling. I think it is going to greatly influence the way we transact and the way we use financial services. BitPay is a company that sees that bitcoin has a very relevant place in financial services, but they also see that bitcoin’s place has to be defined and nurtured. The company has brought in executive talent at all levels to develop bitcoin as a financial instrument and to find its applications for daily life. For me, BitPay is a wonderful combination of practical execution and strategic exploration. There simply are not many companies that offer this kind of opportunity.”
