About ShipMoney Maritime Payment Solutions LLC

Years ago, when cruise workers received their wages in cash delivered to ships by armored truck, Stuart Ostrow saw an opportunity to innovate. This old system was archaic, inefficient and risky, with billions of dollars in cash floating the oceans. Forced to protect their money on densely populated ships, with no chance of sending money home until a port was reached, crew members were both burdened and powerless.

This was the inspiration for ShipMoney. Stuart teamed up with talented digital experts and leveraged the emerging use of prepaid payroll cards, adapting them to the unique needs of the cruise industry. The new payment platform they created allowed seafarers to receive their wages digitally and send money home while still onboard.

As with all innovations, ShipMoney faced resistance. Industry gatekeepers knew relying on cash was unsustainable, but the thought of change brought its own risks. Slowly, more and more companies gave digital payments a chance, and in time the concept took hold, creating a win-win situation for both cruise lines and crews that changed how an entire industry administered payments to workers and ships worldwide.

“The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new”–SOCRATES

Who’s on the Bridge

As an international company that is exclusively focused on maritime payments, we have expert team members spanning the globe, from Greece to the Philippines, and the United States to Spain and the UK. We bring both a diverse global perspective and a unique sensibility for all things maritime.

Innovation is in our DNA. We continuously seek to find new and better ways of simplifying the lives of our clients and their crews, introducing first-in-class services and tools.

Stuart Ostrow, CPA
Founder and President of ShipMoney

Mr. Ostrow has over 30 years in business development, financial and operational management across a broad spectrum of industries.

He was directly responsible for, and instrumental in the initial development and adoption of the prepaid payroll card programs for the cruise line industry.

Since then Mr Ostrow has launched a next-gen maritime payments platform, ShipMoney, that has been at the forefront of digitizing payments across both the cruise and commercial shipping industries. Mr. Ostrow started his career as a manager at Deloitte & Touche, an international accounting and consulting firm.

Mr. Ostrow earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Tulane University and a graduate degree in business management and taxation from Florida International University.

Robert Merrick, CPA
Founder and Chairman

Robert Merrick, CPA, the Co-Founder of ShipMoney, began his business career as a CPA and practiced public accounting for ten years.

He then spent the next twenty-five years as the chief financial officer of a diversified business enterprise focused on the development and management of commercial real estate and hotels which included a buyout of Kaiser Steel Company.

Since then he’s been primarily involved in the financial processing business by: (a) founding FSV Payment Systems in 1998, which became one of the leading processors of prepaid paycards in the United States, serving clients such as McDonalds, Walgreens and Darden Foods, and was sold to U.S. Bank in 2012 for $210 Million; (b) founding Global Client Solutions in 2003, which became the leading provider of prepaid account management services for more than 400,000 U.S. consumers and (c) founding GTP in 2004, which now operates domestically and internationally as a MasterCard and Visa prepaid TTP for over 75 banks in more than 25 countries and as the prepaid processor and, through Maritime Payment Solutions, as the program manager for the ShipMoney maritime payroll platform.

Jennifer Ray
EVP of Operations

As EVP of Operations at ShipMoney, Jennifer manages and oversees the entire operations group, as well managing vendor and client services, and account management.

The Operations Group encompasses a broad range of functions and services including reconciliations, settlement, and reporting to clients, vendors, bank partners, Visa/MasterCard, networks.

Joining the company in 2006, she has been an integral force in helping to drive its dynamic growth and evolution. Jennifer believes that it is essential every team member in her department always place themselves in the position of the cardholder, treating “issues that arise as if they are their own.” She encourages her team to always ask questions, take every possible opportunity to learn, and thoroughly understand the process of what ShipMoney does and why.

Prior to joining ShipMoney, she worked for FSV, one of the first prepaid payments companies in the U.S. that helped develop the industry providing business card programs and payroll services for hundreds of companies.

Megan Cook
Chief Accounting Officer

As Chief Accounting Officer, Megan manages Accounting, Reporting, Treasury, and Human Resources for ShipMoney.

She began working for Global Holdings, LLC in 2006 as an Accounting Clerk, was promoted to Assistant Controller in 2008, and transitioned into the Controller role for Global Technology Partners LLC and Maritime Payment Solutions LLC in 2012. She became Chief Accounting Officer in 2018.

Megan began her career in a privately held company and worked with the transition to becoming publicly traded. Growing up in a small rural town in Northeastern Oklahoma, she began her studies at Missouri Southern State University, then transferred and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.

Megan lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with her husband, two sons, and three dogs. Megan’s favorite place is Walt Disney World, which she truly believes is the happiest place on earth! Megan is Native American and is a Cherokee Tribal member.

Raj Ganesan
EVP of IT and Product Development

As the Director of IT & Product Development Raj is responsible for the continual enhancement of the ShipMoney platform. His team work on a combination of product development projects responding to evolving client needs, while managing ShipMoney platform integrations with clients, third-party partners and affiliates.

Raj leverages business intelligence tools and his custom Data-warehouse solution to identify industry leading business insights and trends.

Raj has over 15 years of experience in developing solutions for prepaid card payment processing platforms.

Raj began his career in the Telecoms industry, where he worked for more than 10 years providing IT solutions to deliver digital content over fiber networks.

Raj is a 10-handicapper golfer and loves playing tennis with his friends.

Matt Sankary
EVP Account Management

As Director of Account Management Services, Matt manages the Client Manager team, leveraging more than 15 years in the financial services and payment industry. He joined ShipMoney in 2018 where he is dedicated to ensuring a positive customer experience for crew members and admin teams.

The team works hand-in-hand with clients to customize the implementation of ShipMoney programs. Utilizing data-driven decision and dynamic project management skills, the client management team helps clients improve and streamline their payroll processes and payment solutions.

Previously Matt worked at American Express and as a fixed income trader with a proprietary hedge fund in Spain.

Originally from California, Matt moved to Europe in 2003 where he was a professional basketball coach in Germany of the Bundesliga. He is married with two amazing and energetic daughters and enjoys camping in Spain’s spectacular natural parks. He is also the biggest USC and Dallas Cowboy fan outside of the US!

Lee Ann Brinkley
Chief Compliance Officer

As EVP of Compliance, Information Security Officer and Data Protection Officer for ShipMoney since 2015, Lee Ann manages the Organization’s AML/CTF Compliance and Risk programs, information security, data privacy and protection governance, interfacing with third-party vendors and auditors, outside data security companies and managing the Compliance Team.

Lee Ann grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she graduated first in her class from West-Tulsa High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration from Northeastern State University. After graduation Lee Ann embarked upon a successful career in Information Technology and Telecommunications before joining Global Holdings, LLC in late 2009. Since then her leadership roles in the Legal & Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management within Banking have been wide ranging. Outside of the office, Lee Ann enjoys traveling, nature hiking, yoga and watercolor painting. She is an avid reader and soon-to-be ‘empty nester’.

Colby Rogers
Manager of Customer Service/Vendor Management

As Manager of Vendor Relations and Customer Support, Colby responsibilities run 24/7. Colby and his Customer Success Team play a pivotal role in ShipMoney’s success, interacting with cardmembers, clients and third-party vendors, while supporting technical development.

His career at ShipMoney began in Customer Service from which he was promoted to a position within the management team. Colby greatly enjoys the multi-cultural aspects of working with cardmembers worldwide and providing constant support wherever the customer might be.

Prior to joining ShipMoney, Colby began his career in accounting. He attended Oklahoma State University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in marketing and rooting for the Pokes!

Colby lives in the country with his beloved wife, dog and cat. He loves the outdoors and enjoys planting trees, mowing the yard, cutting up brush, and other such activities. He is also a Disc Golf and Frisbee Golf aficionado and has personally developed and maintained a full disc golf course.

Waypoints

This is the story of ShipMoney.
Join us on the journey of how a simple idea
launched maritime payments into the digital world.

Breakthrough for Cruise Line Industry Stuart Ostrow created OceanPay to provide a fast and safe digital alternative to paying crew in cash using prepaid payroll cards.

Wire Service Innovation We were the first company in the world that integrated a wire service enabling crew to send money home while onboard.

Onboard Printing Pioneer We solved the problem of card logistics by developing onboard card personalization, eliminating the mailing of cards.

Setting the Industry Standard The first maritime card program to be introduced by a major cruise line, setting the standard for industry-wide adoption.

ShipMoney Launches Targeting both the cruise and commercial industries, ShipMoney is founded using a state-of-the art digital platform.

First Cruise Client We successfully acquire a major cruise line as our first Cruise client, based on our experience, vision and technology platform.

Leading in Security ShipMoney is the first company to introduce account security enhancements using one-time passwords and Visa security codes.

Synchronized Data In another industry first, ShipMoney develops real-time bi-lateral data synchronization with a client.

Supporting Crew We innovate again, with a secure, integrated, PCI compliant two-way, customer service messaging platform.

Mobile Phone Top-ups ShipMoney introduces the first integrated mobile top-up service, enabling crew to add funds to 1,000+ mobile operators worldwide.

An App Advance We are the first company to develop a responsive website and integrated mobile app ending the need to push app updates.

On-us Processing We developed an “on-us” authorization and settlement solution for a major partner, saving them over $1 million a year in processing costs.

PIN Updates ShipMoney is the first company to deploy proprietary push technology that updates PIN changes to card chips via ATMs.

Solving with Virtual Cards We were the first maritime program to introduce Visa branded Virtual Cards as an industry solution.

Commercial Industry Adoption The first card program to be introduced by a major ship management company, setting the standard for industry-wide adoption.

Creating the Transfer Marketplace We created a digital marketplace for money transfers, offering real-time cost comparisons across different companies and modalities.

Protecting with Device Registration ShipMoney is the first company to offer device registration as a further security enhancement to protect crew funds.

A Scheduling Innovation We created a universal scheduler, enabling crew to schedule card-to-card transfers, remittances, cash payouts and mobile top-ups.