PayMongo co-founder and CEO Francis Plaza steps down

Francis Plaza, founder of troubled Philippine fintech firm PayMongo, is stepping down as president and CEO to “pursue other ventures,” the company announced. The move will take effect on November 30.

Francis Plaza / Photo credit: PayMongo

Plaza went on a voluntary leave of absence months ago in August amid an investigation into allegations that he had harassed an employee.

Isabel Ridad, who was appointed as acting CEO after Plaza’s voluntary leave, retains her position. She has been officially serving in the role as of November 10, according to the company statement.

Before the appointment, Ridad had been PayMongo’s COO since February. She joined the company in early 2021 as its chief of staff.

Meanwhile, Plaza will remain as an advisor to the boards of PayMongo Philippines and PayMongo Payments.

See also: Fallout at PayMongo: alleged harassment by CEO, founder departures, growth woes

The development comes after Tech in Asia‘s coverage of Plaza revealed in-fighting between PayMongo’s founders and a general lack of structure within the company.

Backed by big names such as Stripe and Y Combinator, PayMongo already saw two of its four co-founders leave, namely Edwin Lacierda and Luis Sia.

The former was reportedly ousted by his three co-founders. Plaza told Tech in Asia previously that Lacierda left to “focus on public service.”

At the time, PayMongo was already failing to meet performance targets. A presentation seen by Tech in Asia earlier this year revealed that PayMongo’s total payment volume and revenue numbers were short of forecasted figures for all months, except one between October 2021 and March 2022.

See also: What caused PayMongo’s crisis? Insiders tell us