Creating the environment for women to thrive: Interview with Antonina Martinova, CEO at Paynetics

By Gaia Lamperti

With over 20 years of experience working in banking and FinTech, Antonina Martinova, CEO at regulated e-money service provider Paynetics, is very passionate about the role women will play in the future of the payments industry.

In an interaction with IBS Intelligence, Martinova remarked how, while more women are now entering the FinTech industry, she believes that more can be done to bridge the gender gap and International Women’s Day offers a great opportunity to reflect on that.

Could you please retrace your career path in banking and financial technology?

What I love about this industry is that it’s made up of people from many different disciplines. I did my undergraduate degree in engineering before doing finance for my Master’s degree.

My professional career started in the banking sector, where I was for 25 years before joining Paynetics. I was determined to explore what was beyond traditional banking and recognised that the fintech industry was where a lot of exciting innovation was happening.

What have been some of your biggest achievements?

Throughout my career, I have had the pleasure of working for companies at the forefront of innovation. In 2005, while at Allianz Bank, I helped launch the first chip card in Bulgaria. Then in 2012, we launched the first V Pay card in Europe that did not have a magnetic stripe, making it the most secure card at the time. When I joined Paynetics we became the first Bulgarian payments institution certified for Apple and Google Pay.

Last but not least, I am proud to have worked on the innovative Digital First card with Phyre, Mastercard and VIVACOM, which directly responds to consumers’ demands for safer and more convenient payment methods.

The percentage of women covering c-level roles in the FinTech space is still disproportionately lower than men – do you think the industry is failing women? What are some of the barriers they face?

For many women, the biggest challenge they face in this industry is balancing work and family. Women with children have to navigate a busy tech work schedule and the responsibility of picking up their kids from school/taking them to after school activities.

Some organisations don’t have flexible working options available to staff. This, therefore, makes it particularly challenging for women to feel like they can thrive in the tech industry. Luckily at Paynetics, 51% of our staff are women and 4o% of the board are women. This reflects the work we’ve done to make our company as welcoming to all people as possible.

Did you ever face bias or discrimination because of your gender in the course of your career? How did you overcome it?

I previously worked at a steel company in a c-suite level position. As you can imagine, working in a senior position in an industry that is overwhelmingly run by men did come with its challenges from time to time. This of course was earlier in my career, and I’m glad to say that things have improved significantly over the years.

The key is to trust your conviction and never question if you belong in the room. You have to take space, because it won’t always be given. If you have this mindset, then it makes it easier to handle the unsavoury comments you might get occasionally.

How can female leaders in the industry help to advance inclusion and representation across verticals?

The environment created within the company is key to encouraging more women into the industry. It is important to have policies in place that allow for remote working, flexible hours, and other accommodations. Education is also key. There are many gateways into this industry, so more needs to be done to make students and people with established careers in other sectors see that they can still move into tech.

At Paynetics, we are still a relatively small team of 58 people. So, we feel like a family. We have created a healthy, nurturing, and transparent work environment that puts staff at the heart of the organisation.

What piece of advice would you offer to aspiring female tech entrepreneurs?

Confidence is the name of the game. This applies to anyone that’s going into any industry, you have to believe that you belong in that room. Otherwise, it can become easy to get lost in the machine or lose yourself and your voice in the shuffle.

Also, set goals for yourself and map out a plan for how to achieve them. People often say ‘you must follow your dreams’, but your ‘dreams’ thrive or die depending on how strong the plan you have to achieve it actually is.