Introducing KORT Payments
Where Innovation Meets Seamless Integration
Our Expertise
KORT Payments leverages an innovative full-stack, enterprise-grade platform designed for modern commerce, seamlessly integrating across channels to streamline your payments operations. Beyond payment processing, we specialize in understanding a company’s unique needs to find scalable solutions for growing businesses, including integrated SaaS payments, digital wallets, embedded loans, instant payouts, and more.
With experience across North America, Europe, LATAM, Australia, and beyond, we empower merchants and partners to connect with customers globally, offering locally relevant payment options for a trouble-free user experience in every region.
Leadership With Legacy
KORT Payments is led by the distinguished team that founded and managed Paysafe (NASDAQ: PSFE) for 20 years, organizing its $4B sale to Blackstone and CVC in 2018, and later taking it public in 2021. With over 200 years of combined experience, our leadership has built a legacy in global e-commerce and payments. We are proudly renowned for scaling high-growth businesses and creating repeatable success.
Notable achievements from our leaders include their pioneering of digital wallet solutions with Firepay, Neteller, and Skrill, integrating 200+ local payment methods to serve diverse customer needs, securely and reliably. Our deep expertise across the payments ecosystem—from banks and leading third-party value-added services, to local payment partners—empowers us to support and grow with our merchants.
Our wealth of experience ensures KORT Payments stays at the forefront of industry trends, delivering solutions that remain innovative and reliable.
Our Commitment
Our Values
Value One
All base UI elements are made using Nested Symbols and shared styles that are logically connected with one another.
Value Two
All base UI elements are made using Nested Symbols and shared styles that are logically connected with one another.
Value Three
All base UI elements are made using Nested Symbols and shared styles that are logically connected with one another.
Value Four
All base UI elements are made using Nested Symbols and shared styles that are logically connected with one another.
Value Five
All base UI elements are made using Nested Symbols and shared styles that are logically connected with one another.
Value Six
All base UI elements are made using Nested Symbols and shared styles that are logically connected with one another.
Meet The Team
With over 200 years of combined expertise in risk management and compliance, our leadership team shares a unified vision to streamline transactions and elevate user experiences worldwide. As pioneers in e-commerce and integrated payments, they’ve led over $7 billion in payments industry M&A over the past 20 years. Dedicated to hands-on service and driven by deep industry knowledge, they’re excited to continue to shape the future of payments and seize new opportunities.
Joel Leonoff
CEO
Joel has over 30 years of experience of building and managing multi-billion-dollar rapid growth technology companies with a primary focus on the global electronic commerce and internet banking landscape. Joel was the co-founder of Paysafe which was sold in a privatization in late 2017. He was also the COO of Party Gaming, an industry leader in online gaming. Joel continues to advise and mentor many entrepreneurs in multiple industries.
Danny Chazonoff
Chief Operating Officer
Danny has over 40 years of experience in Fintech and Technology led organizations and held various executive roles within Paysafe since he co-founded the company. His international leadership experience spans bank and partner relations, product and technology strategy, business and sales strategy as well as M&A.
Hiep Tran
Chief Strategy Officer
Hiep was co-founder of Meritus Payments which was sold to Paysafe Group in 2014. Hiep joined the senior executive team at Paysafe until 2017. In 2018 he became the Founder, CEO and Chairman of Amare Global, a global network marketing company focused on mental wellness operating in over 50 countries. He recently sold the majority of his shares of Amare Global in 2023. He is very excited to step back into the payments industry.
Ben Dalfen
Chief Business Development Officer
Doug Lewin
Chief Corporate Development Officer
Ryan Stewart
Chief Product Officer
Since the early 2000s, Ryan has been building payments products and leading high growth, globally dispersed payments platforms and teams at Paysafe, Beanstream, and TD. As MD, Bambora North America, Ryan led the business through a transformative vertical ISV-driven growth strategy and numerous M&A transactions. Most recently, as CCO at jaris, Ryan specialized in next gen embedded finance for SaaS and payments platforms.
Jason Lifson
SVP Operations
Jason has worked in the payments space for close to 25 years and has held a number of positions at other companies in Technology and Fintech over his career. In these roles, he has been involved in various capacities from client facing positions to Development. While at Paysafe, at different times, Jason led the Product Management Team, Operations, and Partner and Vendor Relationships. Jason brings with him, to KORT, a deep knowledge of the payments industry and wide range experience from working in various areas of the organizations in which he has been employed.
James Good
Chief Revenue Officer
James joined Merrco in 2023 with nearly 25 years of experience in organizations including Visa, Mastercard, Interac, TD Canada Trust, and payments start-up Clik2pay. An accomplished business development executive, James created an international consulting & product licensing division at Interac that launched contactless and mobile payment products for domestic payment networks.