Ozerk Ozan

Ozerk Ozan (born 1979) is a Norwegian fintech entrepreneur,^[1] lecturer,^[2][3] best known as the founder of banking-as-a-service provider OpenPayd, European Merchant Bank (EMBank), and the co-founder of Norsk Ideutvikling AS, the social networking service Biip.no.^[4][5]

Ozerk Ozan
Born	(1979-08-01) August 1, 1979 (age 45) Cyprus
Citizenship	Norway
Alma mater	University of Oslo
Known for	founder of OpenPayd, EMBank and Biip.no

He is a frequent guest speaker at global finance conferences.^[6][7][8]

Early life

Ozan was born in Nicosia, Cyprus,^[9] in 1979.^[10] At a young age, he moved to Norway with his family.^[9] His father, Ozerk Kamil, is a professor at the Department of Education at the University of Oslo.^[11][12][13]

Education

Ozan studied medicine at the University of Oslo from 2002 to 2008.^[14]

Career

In 2002, Ozan founded Norsk Ideutvikling AS. In 2005, the company launched the online community Biip.no,^[15][16] which quickly gained popularity, amassing a user base of 450,000 users within two years.^[17] In 2008, the company were sold to Egmont Group and Nettavisen.^[18] The approximate amount from the share sale was 100 million kroner, as reported by E24 Næringsliv.^[19][20]

In 2018, he consolidated his early companies under OpenPayd, headquartered in London.^[21][22][23] As of 2024, OpenPayd processes over GBP £100 billion in volume annually.^[24]

In November 2018, Ozan founded European Merchant Bank (EMBank).^[25][26] By the end of 2021, EMBank's business loan portfolio reached €29.7 million, and the bank generated an income of €4.3 million.^[27]

Personal views

Financial Inclusion

Ozerk has frequently mentioned the problems of inclusion facing the underbanked and unbanked, citing the problems arising from the reduced use of cash as currency,^[28] the pitfalls of AI that could further discriminate the financially disadvantaged^[29] and the growing worldwide inequality gap between the rich and poor.^[27]

Fintech industry

Ozerk believes regulators are struggling to keep up with innovations in fintech^[30] but that the sector will continue to grow^[31] driven by the necessity for Banking-as-as-Service offerings to bridge the gap between traditional and alternative payment methods^[32] and the difficulty in businesses obtaining financial licenses.^[33] He is similarly bullish on the growth of embedded finance,^[34] citing how it can reduce costs, increase profits and drive customer loyalty,^[35] with UK brands likely to claim the majority of the £619 billion European financial services market in the next 5 years.^[36]