BitPay, a global bitcoin payment service provider, has announced the appointment of Jim Aviles to its advisory board. As a board member, Aviles will be working with BitPay’s Latin American manager Alberto Vega to continue bitcoin's growth in the region.

With over 28 years of experience in the payments industry, Aviles brings his extensive knowledge and expertise to BitPay.

“Jim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on payments and the Latin American fintech community, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him on board”, BitPay said in a blog post.

He co-founded Merchant e-Solutions, which was acquired by Latin America's leading payment processor Cielo S.A. for $670M in 2012. Prior to this, Aviles held the position of the Senior Vice President of product, technology, and marketing at Bank of America Merchant Services, Inc. (BAMS). Today he serves as a partner in Avigo Ltd., a firm that provides funding and guidance to early-stage Brazilian startups.

“I have spent virtually my entire 31-year career in financial services and financial technology – the latter 20 years in financial technology. I have been fortunate to see many of the technology shifts that have helped shape our industry, and I feel fortunate to be a part of such a dynamic industry. Interestingly, I started out my career in banking and have seen my career gravitate towards payments and financial technology. The answer to why this happened explains why I am now a part of BitPay”, Aviles said in a statement.

He said that bitcoin is a truly digital financial instrument that represents where the world of financial technology is going. Aviles explained that he joined BitPay because he finds bitcoin technology “compelling”.

“I think it [bitcoin] 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”, Aviles added. “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.”