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If you follow the world of business you’ve likely heard the name Oleg Firer. The Executive Chairman of Net Element has a long history of leading transformative business ventures and finding success at the highest levels of state. In this capacity, he’s helped to change the face of the mobile payment industry and also serves as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Grenada. His current work now serves as an instructive way for people to better understand how modern business and diplomacy is conducted. Read on for a look at the businessman’s professional life and the work he’s achieved with his current venture.
Professional background
Born in city of Odessa in the USSR (now part of Ukraine), Oleg Firer learned early in life about the value of perseverance over one’s obstacles. Though his family’s refuge to the U.S. was characterized by plenty of sacrifice, it also served as a springboard for opportunity. Growing up in a new culture, speaking a new language, meeting new people, these were all early positive influences on the future businessman’s view of the world at large. The experience would also allow him to develop an inner strength upon which he would draw later in life when necessary.
That drive would eventually push him to attend the CUNY New York City College of Technology. Entering school just as the internet was finding acceptance amongst wider society, the entrepreneur found himself passionately interested in computers and the ways in which they could change modern life. He majored in computer science during his time at the university, keeping an eye towards how he could contribute to the substantial innovation that was taking place in the field.
His studies were also supplemented by later time at the University of Phoenix, which he attended to study business management. These studies along with the experience allowed the entrepreneur to take his skill with computers and apply it to the global market. It also helped inform his ability to lead large organizations and craft strategy for his business ventures. With an underlying understanding of technology and leadership, the entrepreneur was ready to bring his set of skills to the larger economy.
Mobile payments
This work eventually motivated him to get into the field of mobile payments, seeing an opportunity to improve the range of services being offered to the public. The mobile payment industry is one that has seen rapid expansion over the last two decades, as smartphones and other connected devices have become more connected. This expansion has not only made it easier for consumers to pay for goods and services, it has also opened the door for small businesses to more easily engage in commerce. Rather than needing a brick and mortar location with a dedicated credit card hookup, business owners can now sell their products anywhere that a mobile connection can be found.
While that expansion of availability has been a major focus of the mobile payments industry as a whole, there have also been plenty of other areas of improvement within different sections of the field. These efforts to create “value-added” products have been a central tenant of the work engaged in by Net Element under the businessman. In fact, the firm is specifically known as a technology-driven group specializing in mobile payments and value-added transactional services. It focuses these services on improving consumer experience and achieving growth in the U.S. and emerging countries.
Innovative offerings
As a group of companies, the firm is able to build off the core offerings of a number of different services. Aptito is one of the holdings of the group that has helped establish it as a leader in the space. The company’s iOS cloud-based restaurant management and payment acceptance software is designed to empower service industry operations to bring their efforts into the new technological age. This offering includes digital menus and kiosks that can be easily customized on iPad displays. This allows businesses to easily interact with their customers in a seamless and intuitive process.
The company’s retail offerings have also turned heads in the mobile payment world. Aptito’s retail offerings are again cloud-based and offer versatile compatibility for both iOS and Android devices. The software integrates fully with a business cash drawer and can handle receipt printing, barcode scanning, and barcode printing. The software can also accept information from scales or a self-service and fast-track system. It also allows consumers to make payments with both Apply Pay and Android Pay.
Added offerings
The ability to accept and facilitate payment transactions is just one focus of the group’s software products. It also seeks to provide additional value to businesses by tracking sales and creating actionable reports on the data that it stores. This work is designed to give businesses a more complete view of their operations and highlight where they are thriving and where there may be room for improvement. It can also help business owners notice trends that can be useful for informing important decisions.
The group also utilizes cryptocurrency technology to help improve the speed and security of certain offerings. The solution, offered through its Netevia brand, incorporates API support to allow businesses to integrate the product with existing software solutions they already use. By embracing this new method for transferring funds, the group is illustrating the premium it places on staying current with emerging technologies. It’s also showcasing its focus on innovation and on pushing the limits of its field in order to deliver the best possible product to consumers, businesses, and others in the economy.
Though Oleg Firer has long been celebrated for his ascension in the worlds of business and diplomacy, it can still be informative to highlight the work he does as CEO and Executive Chairman. The businessman’s tireless efforts to improve his group’s holdings through technological achievement is indicative of his strong foundation in computer science and business management. It also shows the entrepreneur’s broader life philosophy and outlook on taking challenges head on — a viewpoint informed by obstacles faced in his own life. For those interested in trying their hand in the world of business, the entrepreneur makes for an instructive case study from which to draw insight.
