Boku welcomes Stuart Neal as new CEO

By Gloria Methri

Boku Inc, the global network for localized payment solutions, has appointed Stuart Neal as Chief Executive Officer, and as Director of the company.

Boku is a global network of localized payment solutions, which includes Direct Carrier Billing (DCB), digital wallets and Account-to-Account (A2A) connections giving people the freedom to pay using their preferred payment method anywhere. Boku’s customers are global merchants including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Spotify, Tencent and Sky.

Stuart Neal brings more than 20 years of payments, banking, and innovation leadership experience to Boku, combined with a deep understanding of the business. He previously served as Boku’s Chief Financial Officer between 2011 and 2014 and again between 2017 and 2019, seeing the company through soaring demand and its IPO.

Neal returned to the company in 2022, where, as Chief Business Officer of the Identity Division, he led the division’s growth and acquisition by Twilio. He re-joined Boku as CEO Designate in July 2023 after Jon Prideaux announced his plans to retire. During his career, Neal has also held senior leadership positions at companies including Barclaycard, Featurespace, VocaLink, GlaxoSmithKline, and Virgin Media.

As CEO and company director, Neal will continue to build on Boku’s commercial momentum and drive innovation.

“I am excited to return to Boku as CEO at such a dynamic and promising time for the payments industry,” commented Stuart Neal, CEO, Boku. “Our mission at Boku is to empower people everywhere to pay for the services they love the way they want and allow global merchants to seamlessly offer localized payment choices and unlock new growth. I look forward to leading the phenomenal Boku team as we continue to innovate and forge new partnerships, creating a global network of localized payment solutions and giving both merchants and consumers real payment choices.”

Jon Prideaux, Non-executive Director and former CEO at Boku, said, “We have secured partnerships with all the major tech players, successfully expanded beyond carrier billing and established ourselves as a global force in local payments – driven initially by e-wallets and later by account-to-account payments. It is the perfect time to pass the baton to someone who can lead the Company into its next chapter. Knowing Stuart well, I believe he is the ideal candidate to continue the strategy we have set out.”