Ed Chandler Named Equals Chief Operating Officer
Equals has named Ed Chandler as its new Chief Operating Officer, a move that signals the company is preparing for its next phase of international expansion. The appointment lands at a time when businesses are increasingly looking for payment infrastructure that supports cross-border growth without adding a layer of operational complexity. Chandler’s role is intended to strengthen the link between commercial strategy, customer delivery, and day-to-day operations as the platform scales its capabilities for high-growth firms.
Background in Global Payments
Chandler brings more than 25 years of experience across payments and financial services to the table. He has held senior roles at major organizations including Visa, Mastercard, Barclaycard, and OKTO Payments. His career has involved leading commercial and operational teams in both established global institutions and high-growth businesses.
His expertise spans operational transformation, commercial growth, and long-term value creation. These are capabilities that the company views as central to its current trajectory. He isn’t just joining a stable firm; he is entering a platform that is actively trying to scale its customer base and technical reach.
It’s rare to see a hire with this specific blend of legacy card network experience and fintech speed. While many operators come from pure software backgrounds or traditional banking, Chandler’s path through Visa and Mastercard suggests a deep familiarity with the regulatory and operational guardrails that global payments require. This background is likely why the company placed such emphasis on his operational expertise during the announcement.
Leadership on the Next Phase
Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of Equals, stated that the appointment comes at an important stage in the company’s growth. “Ed’s appointment comes at an important stage in our growth as we partner with more businesses to solve their global payments problems with our flexible, AI-native technology platform and human-led service model,” Strafford-Taylor said. He added that Chandler’s operational expertise and commercial leadership are critical as the team builds foundations for the next phase of growth.
The new COO’s focus is on ensuring operations provide exceptional support to customers as they grow globally. “By bringing our commercial and operations teams closer together, we are ensuring that our customers are supported by experts who understand their business at every stage of their payments journey, from onboarding and implementation to new market entry,” Chandler said.
This shift toward tighter integration between sales and operations is a practical response to the complexity of global commerce. When a client expands into a new jurisdiction, the friction points usually appear in compliance and onboarding, not just in software code. By aligning these teams, the company aims to reduce the time it takes for a client to move from initial contact to full operational capability in a new market.
Platform Scale and Reach
Chandler’s appointment follows a successful rebrand and integration that brought together payments, accounts, compliance, and servicing capabilities under a single proposition. The company delivered another year of significant double-digit growth in the 2025/26 period. During that time, annual transaction volume reached £60bn ($81.1bn). These figures provide the backdrop for the company’s next stage of development, which targets further international expansion.
The platform is built on more than 18 years of payments technology innovation. It enables businesses to operate across more than 30 markets and access more than 140 currencies. This reach is designed to address persistent challenges associated with international expansion, including currency conversion, cross-border collections, and payment execution.
For small and medium-sized businesses, the platform offers access to capabilities that might otherwise require several specialist providers. For larger strategic businesses, the infrastructure offers a route to embedding payment and account functionality directly into existing products. The company’s proposition combines modern payments technology with compliance capabilities and premium servicing.
The focus on human-led support reflects the operational demands of global payments. Customers often need guidance that goes beyond a software interface. Chandler’s mandate is to ensure that this guidance is consistent and expert-led as the company continues to deepen relationships with businesses operating across multiple markets. The goal is to maintain high levels of customer experience while scaling the underlying infrastructure.
