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Why this Canadian fintech leader is making Miami its new home base

September 12, 2024

Why this Canadian fintech leader is making Miami its new home base

For Miles Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Zūm Rails, the recent decision to move to Miami was very simple. “I realized, wait, none of my clients live here in Montreal,” he told Refresh Miami. “Very few of the employees live here. We have an office in Miami, and everyone wants to meet me there. It was kind of a no-brainer.”

Zūm Rails, founded in 2019, offers a platform that helps businesses manage payments and risk in real-time. While many companies in the space focus on just one aspect – like Know Your Customer (KYC) checks or payment processing – Zūm Rails has integrated everything into a single system.

“We validate the user, ensure there are funds in their account, check for fraud, and move the money all in real-time,” said Schwartz. The company’s solution operates in the background, so customers often don’t even know they’re interacting with Zūm Rails technology when making payments.

Miles Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Zūm Rails

After Zūm Rails gained significant traction in Canada, the team began building a similar platform for the U.S. market. By January, they were live, and the immediate response was overwhelming. “About 40 to 45% of the U.S. clients we talked to were based in Miami,” Schwartz explained. That constant pull toward South Florida made it clear that relocating the U.S. headquarters to Miami – and Schwartz himself – was the next logical step.

Since launching, Zūm Rails has grown to 60 employees and is positioned for rapid expansion. While the Miami office currently has four employees, Schwartz anticipates a big hiring push over the next 18 months. “Our goal is for 50% of our revenues to come from the U.S. and to have close to half our team based here,” he said.

Zūm Rails works with companies in financial services, from fintech platforms and mortgage services to crypto exchanges. The company’s technology allows businesses to move money quickly and securely between accounts while managing risk in real-time. “A lot of companies do real-time payments or identity verification, but no one had put it all together – until we did,” Schwartz explained.

Schwartz sees Miami as a gateway to even broader expansion. “Latin America and Europe are next on our roadmap,” he said. “The platform we’ve built is scalable and can easily be adapted to new markets.”

Schwartz also noted Miami’s emerging status as a tech hub and was pleasantly surprised by the concentration of tech founders and companies already established there. “It’s exciting, and it’s a great place to meet clients face-to-face. What better place to build the U.S. operation?”

As Zūm Rails continues to scale, Schwartz is confident that their U.S. growth will mirror their Canadian success. “We took a product-led approach from the start,” he said, explaining how they recruited top engineering and compliance talent early on to ensure a smooth U.S. expansion. “Now we’re set up to scale quickly here, and all I have to do is get out there and talk to more people about it.”

The company’s next big focus? Banking-as-a-Service, a move that will enable businesses to offer prepaid and digital cards, tying into Zūm Rails’ payment system. “We’re giving large organizations the ability to become banks,” Schwartz said. “It’s all part of making payments as seamless and efficient as possible.”

“We’re building something big here,” he continued. “And Miami is the perfect place to do it.”