Former chief executive officer of Visa UK Marc O'Brien is joining mobile crypto bank Crypterium as CEO.

An industry veteran, O’Brien will bring his experience of over 25 years in financial services, fintech and regtech to the startup. He held a number of significant positions at Visa including CEO of Visa UK and Ireland for 6 years. Before Visa, he has been an advisor to MasterCard.

O’Brien has also advised the UK's Royal Mint on the possible creation of a gold-backed crypto token. In addition, he has also been an advisor to the UK-based startup Revolut where he was advising CEO and team on product strategy, growth strategy, and marketing.

"We are genuinely very excited by Marc's appointment. He brings the experience and know-how to build a global banking solution that will have no peers," said Austin Kimm, COO of Crypterium.

In his new role as Crypterium CEO, O’Brien will lead the launch of Crypterium App, which will enable users to pay with cryptocurrencies. Users will be able to issue virtual cards, link them to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Android Pay, bind them to their crypto accounts and pay at any NFC terminal, or via scanning the QR codes, the official release said.

"I am delighted to be joining Crypterium at such an exciting time. I strongly believe that cryptocurrency is about to go mainstream and we can be pioneers to build Crypterium into a terrific business," O’Brien said.