Google/PayPal Veteran Osama Bedier Joins WePay's Board

Former Google and PayPal payments executive Osama Bedier has joined WePay as the payment company makes a major push to court developers.

Bedier was vice president of wallet and payments at Google between 2011 and May 2013, during which time he introduced Google Wallet to the public. He was previously vice president of platform, mobile and new ventures at PayPal.

While at PayPal, Bedier oversaw PayPal's open global payments platform that allowed independent and enterprise developers to build online and mobile payment applications. After leaving PayPal, Bedier was the subject of a legal dispute between Google and PayPal over mobile wallet technology.

His experience in these earlier roles melds with WePay's focus on expanding its application programming interface (API) outside the United States. A number of other companies, such as Stripe and Dwolla, also provide APIs for payments startups.

"Payments friction is often the major stumbling block," says Bedier in a Feb. 12 release. "WePay is quietly unlocking some of the thorniest issues and empowering these platforms to accelerate growth while doubling down on their own core."

WePay's audience for its API has grown quickly over the past year. The company has also received an investment from Phil Purcell's Continental Investors. Continental's Paul Purcell, Phil's son, recently took a seat on WePay's board.