Former Trustly, Amazon and Caesars executives join as company scales North American operations
Yaspa, a fintech specialising in payments and identity solutions, has strengthened its North American growth strategy with two senior US appointments and the relocation of its product leadership to the United States.
The company has appointed Peter Kula as US Sales Lead and Jackson Esoda as US Senior Solutions Manager, bolstering its recently established US entity in Atlanta, Georgia. 
Peter Kula brings extensive experience across the iGaming ecosystem, spanning real-money, social and skill-based gaming. His background includes roles with Amazon, Sightline Payments and Caesars, alongside ongoing collaborations with Voltage and Distinction Agency. His expertise in iGaming operations, partnerships and scalability across regulated markets will support Yaspa’s commercial expansion in the US.
Jackson Esoda joins from Trustly, bringing more than a decade of experience in presales technical consulting, solution architecture and implementation. In his new role, he will establish Yaspa’s US technical presales function while providing deep Open Finance and Pay by Bank expertise to customers and internal teams.
In parallel, Yaspa’s Head of Product, Max Collinge, will permanently relocate from London to Atlanta, assuming the new role of Vice President of Product, North America. He will be responsible for leading product innovation, development and delivery across the region, underlining Yaspa’s long-term commitment to the US market.
Yaspa’s international expansion follows strong demand beyond the UK, driven by growing adoption of its open banking and AI-powered payments, identity and account verification solutions. The company has seen particularly strong uptake among gambling operators seeking improved customer experience, lower costs and enhanced financial compliance.
As regulation in North America increasingly favours safer and more transparent payment methods across iGaming and sports betting, Yaspa aims to replicate its European momentum in the US and beyond.
The expansion comes during a period of rapid growth for Yaspa. In 2025, the company won the Real-Time Payments Innovation Award at the Payments Awards and was named one of the CB Insights Top 100 Fintechs. Yaspa has grown its workforce from 15 to 75 employees in 18 months, closed a $12m funding round led by Discerning Capital, opened its Atlanta office, and launched a new technology hub in Leeds, UK.
James Neville, CEO of Yaspa, said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Peter and Jackson as we accelerate our growth in the United States. Their combined commercial, technical and industry expertise will be instrumental in building our US presence.”
“With Max relocating to Atlanta as Vice President of Product, we have the foundations in place to deliver best-in-class payment and identity solutions to the US iGaming market and beyond.”
Yaspa will exhibit at ICE Barcelona 2026 and plans to attend all major iGaming and payments conferences across Europe and North America throughout the year.
