TerraPay Names Western Union Vet Hassan Chatlia Head of Network

TerraPay has named former Western Union executive Hassan Chatlia to a new leadership role.

Chatlia will serve as vice president, global head of network for TerraPay, the London-based money movement company announced in a Monday (May 6) news release.

“With over 20 years of experience in cross-border payments, Hassan brings with him a rich legacy of leadership and innovation,” the release said.

Prior to coming to TerraPay, Chatlia worked as the global head of Western Union’s Account Payout Network, playing a key part in expanding and optimizing that network “to support seamless global transactions,” the company said.

In addition to Western Union, Chatlia has also held leadership roles at Earthport and Temenos, the release added.

“As an industry expert, he comes with a highly reputable cross-border payment expertise and deep leadership experience,” TerraPay CEO Ambar Sur said in the announcement.

“On TerraPay’s journey of growth, Hassan’s appointment is a critical step in furthering our network expansion goals. I look forward to working together and further deepening TerraPay’s position as a global money movement leader.”

The company’s cross-border payment efforts are happening as these types of transactions continue to present a headache for merchants.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Cross-Border Sales and the Challenge of Failed Payments” found that faulty cross-border payments cost U.S. merchants at least $3.8 billion in sales last year.

And 82% of merchants said they found it difficult to discover the causes of failed payments. Merchants with a high level of cross-border business saw an average failure rate of 11.4%, while those with a lower cross-border focus experienced a failure rate of 10.1%.

“Once the payments fail, other headaches may surface,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this year. “Sixty-seven percent of respondents identified customer recovery as being a challenge. Sixty-two percent said the reputational damage that follows is problematic. Increased workloads after the fact are an issue for 59% of respondents.”

Chatlia’s appointment follows February’s announcement that TerraPay had named former Visa Direct Global Head Ruben Salazar Genovez as president, putting him in charge of the company’s global expansion and the development of its payments infrastructure and non-card network capabilities.

And last month, the company received a major payment institution license in Singapore, allowing it to offer services such as account issuance, domestic and cross-border money transfers, merchant acquisition, and eMoney issuance.