Pay-By-Bank Insights and Industry Inspiration with Aeropay’s New CTO, Josh Lockhart

On the heels of a $20M Series B funding announcement, the Aeropay team is excited to welcome Josh Lockhart as the company’s new Chief Technology Officer. 

As a native Chicagoan, Josh is bringing his unique perspectives, talents, and leadership tactics back home as he joins the team at Aeropay’s Chicago headquarters.

Get to know Josh and his mindset for Aeropay, pay-by-bank, and his home city of Chicago.
‍

What gets you up in the morning? 
‍

Josh: Complex problems. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a scientist — I planned to unravel the mysteries of the universe. Engineering is a very practical way to do that.
‍

What led you to Aeropay? 
‍

J: I spent the last 7 years in the payments space at Paypal, Braintree, and most recently as the VP of Engineering at GoFundMe — in one way or another, my background has been helping people move money. 

I always felt like pay-by-bank solutions were overlooked. A big part of that is because no one’s brought the right solution to the wider market yet — so I thought, why not us? 
‍

What sets Aeropay apart? 
‍

J: Years ago, I worked in a physical bank. I learned that our banking system is old — they use paper files to move information around and it requires a lot of manual effort. That’s why card payments feel convenient, they build on additional layers to move money. 

What I see in Aeropay is the ability to strip away the fluff from cards, lean on the strengths of banking, and facilitate a simpler money movement concept that’s actually more convenient. I love how Aeropay makes it cheaper for a merchant to accept payments and easier for a user to pay — with additional benefits like enhanced security, real time payments, reduced fraud, and more. 

It’s about removing layers and simplifying money movement. The result is a faster, more affordable, and more convenient transaction for merchants and consumers.  
‍

What’s the future you see for payments? 
‍

J: The costs associated with moving money will go down. Aeropay’s solution is already more affordable for merchants than most methods of payment. I expect that to continue catching on. 

Also, we’re getting closer to the point where physical cards aren’t even present at checkout. It’s more convenient to pay with your phone instead of carrying a wallet that has 10 different cards. Digital payments are the future. 

Then getting closer to the bank account to understand spending patterns and unlock insights for consumers and merchants is also going to build in importance. People deserve and crave transparency. 
‍

What are your initial goals as Aeropay’s CTO? 
‍

J: Aeropay is already doing a lot of great things. My goal is to help make the good things even better. A lot of this work will be centered around hiring and retaining top talent. We just secured $20M in funding, which is going to accelerate that growth. It’s a great opportunity to level up and become a major player in the payments space.

Last question: What does it mean for you to be in your home city of Chicago with this new role and company?
‍

J: Being in my hometown of Chicago, I’m reminded of what Derrick Rose said before he won league MVP with the Bulls, "Why can't I be the MVP of the league? Why not?" 

That’s the energy I’m feeling at Aeropay. Why can’t we disrupt the payments landscape? Why can’t Chicago lead fintech into the future? Why not us, right? 

We're going to be agile, we're going to move fast, and we're going to make waves. There are a lot of folks who will resonate with that, especially in Chicago, a city that’s already ingrained with this style of leadership, ownership and management.
‍

Welcome to the team, Josh! We look forward to all the incredible things you’re going to accomplish. 
‍

Learn more about Aeropay
‍

Aeropay's platform seamlessly connects bank accounts using Aerosync, a homegrown bank aggregator that facilitates faster, more secure money movement. 

Our platform enables customizable integrations via a full suite of open APIs. The commercial impact for businesses is significant, with industry-high approval rates while minimizing return and fraud risk.

‍Book a demo to see how Aeropay can help your business.