Joanne Dewar is a payments technology leader and financial inclusion advocate, actively demonstrating how financial services can bridge to where people are to deliver true financial empowerment for everyone.

As co-founder and Project Lead of Project Nemo, a pro bono grassroots initiative, Joanne is mobilising the fintech industry to accelerate disability inclusion and accessibility. What began as an industry call to action has rapidly built momentum—creating practical resources, influencing leadership agendas, and driving tangible change. This includes the Supported Payments initiative, focused on enabling adults with a learning disability to make safe, independent everyday payments, ensuring that as digital payments evolve at pace, no one is left behind.

This work has been recognised at the highest level, including winning the coveted Global Money Awards Diamond Grand Prix in Las Vegas in October 2025 for driving transformational impact across the industry.

Joanne’s work is grounded in a long-standing belief that financial inclusion is not only about availability of products and services, but about addressing the human capability gap that enables people to participate fully in the digital economy. Alongside Project Nemo, she serves as a Trustee of Street Child, a global charity with a clear mission: to ensure every child is safe, in school and learning - especially the hardest to reach children in the hardest to reach places. This focus reflects her belief that investment in foundational education is the catalyst for both long-term financial independence and generational change.

Prior to this, Joanne was CEO of Global Processing Services (GPS), now Thredd, where she played a central role in the fintech revolution, providing the underlying card processing infrastructure to leading innovators including Revolut, Starling, Monzo, Zilch and Curve. During her tenure, she championed a company mission centred on financial empowerment for all, alongside progressive approaches to diversity, equity and inclusion.