Safwan Shah
Safwan Shah | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pakistan |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Known for | Founder and CEO of Payactiv, Inc. |
Safwan Shah, Ph.D., is an Pakistani-American business executive and entrepreneur[1]. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Payactiv.[2] Safwan founded Payactiv as the first provider of Earned Wage Access services, and is credited with coining the term "Earned Wage Access."
Education and early career
Shah earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from NED University of Engineering & Technology. He later received a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder.[1][3]
Shah has worked in various industries, including time with BioServe Space Technologies, where he worked to support the NASA space program.[4][5]
He has taught classes at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz.[2][4] Shah has spoken at numerous events, including TEDx.[6]
In 1997, he co-founded Chowk, a news website focused on Indian and Pakistani current affairs.[3]
Infonox
Before founding Payactiv, Shah worked in payments technology and founded Infonox, a payments company, where he was CEO from its founding in 1999 until its acquisition in 2008.[3] Infonox was acquired by TSYS for $50 million.[2][7]
Payactiv
Shah founded Payactiv in the 2012 as the first provider of Earned Wage Access.[8] He remains CEO of the company, a role he has held since the company's founding.
In 2024, Fortune reported that Payactiv was had previously been valued at more than $500 million in 2020.[9]
Bibliography
Shah released a book in 2019.[10]
| Title | Publication Date | Pages | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It's About TIME: How Businesses Can Save the World (One Worker at a Time) | April 8, 2019 | 180 | Conscious Capitalism Press | ISBN-13 9781950466023 |
Awards and recognition
In 2019, Shah received the George Norlin Award from the University of Colorado Boulder.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Safwan Shah (PhD AeroEngr'94) | Homecoming | University of Colorado Boulder". www.colorado.edu. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ a b c "Safwan Shah". American Banker. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ a b c "Safwan Shah – Techlogix". Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ a b "Safwan Shah". TEDxWilsonPark. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ "Safwan Shah". Conscious Capitalism, Inc. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ Shah, Safwan (2020-10-21). The surprising link between payroll systems & financial stress. Retrieved 2026-03-13 – via www.ted.com.
- ^ staff, Digital Transactions News. "With Infonox, TSYS Acquiring Gears up for Boom in Transactions". Digital Transactions. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ "U.S. Bank, Payactiv unveil new Earned Wage Access solution for employers". www.usbank.com. 2024-02-07. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ Beltran, Luisa. "Fintech firm Payactiv—valued at over $500 million in 2020—is seeking a minority investor". Fortune. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ "ISBN 9781950466047 - It's About TIME How Businesses Can Save the World (One Worker at a Time)". isbnsearch.org. Retrieved 2026-03-16.