A Mobile Payments Veteran Steps in to Back Checkout.com

A major roster move recently arrived for Checkout.com, one of the world’s leaders in payment processing technology. Seeing a need to expand its operations in the United States, the firm turned to Cyndi Hoddinott, a 15-plus year veteran of the payments industry. With Hoddinott in place, Checkout.com has a real chance to advance in one of the—in some cases the outright—biggest markets on Earth.

Hoddinott was dispatched by Checkout.com to investigate and launch new business opportunities, while also engaging in close collaboration with technology teams and merchant-facing operations. All of this has one main goal: to build the brand in the US.

Hoddinott’s new position makes her vice president of commercial development, which is actually closely in line with her previously-held positions over the last several years. Previously, she was head of global payments for Dropbox, and director of global payments for SurveyMonkey, ACN, and Expedia. That kind of experience should make her a good fit for Checkout.com, and put her in a good position to drive the company’s brand growth.

Hoddinott will be working out of the West Coast—handy for a Pacific Northwest native—and she offered word on her career move, saying “Checkout.com’s reputation as a technology leader has been growing across the payment ecosystem for some time, and I’m excited to join at such a pivotal moment in their growth. Their eagerness to hear my input and perspective resonated as to how service providers should build products and work closely with their customers.”

The move comes at a good time; with businesses increasingly interested in stepping up their checkout functions and bringing more mobile payments options into the game, Hoddinott will likely find fertile ground waiting. The problem with fertile ground, though, is that it brings a lot of farmers in. The payments market in the US is pretty well packed with competitors, and trying to make a novel proposition—and one that will draw customers—out of Checkout.com might be too big an order for even Hoddinott.

However, with her experience in the field, she’ll likely be best-placed to know where the competitors are falling down on the job, and tailor her propositions accordingly. That should put her—and Checkout.com—in an excellent position.