25 February 2026, Australia – Zepto, a leading Australian innovator in real‑time account‑to‑account payments, today announced the creation of a new executive role, Chief Business Resilience Officer (CBRO), and the promotion of Mariana Paun to lead it effective 23 February 2026.
As Australia’s real-time payments ecosystem continues to evolve, resilience has never been more critical. The new CBRO role brings together Information Security, Operations, and Risk & Compliance under unified executive leadership, reinforcing Zepto’s long-standing commitment to governance, protections for businesses and their customers, and operational excellence as it continues to scale.
Zepto Co-founder and CEO Matt Cheers said the creation of the CBRO role reflects Zepto’s proactive approach to change and its belief that resilience must be embedded at the core of the business. “As Zepto continues to scale and power mission-critical payments, resilience and trust are fundamental to everything we do,” said Cheers. “We’ve created this role to ensure we continue to lead from the front — bringing together the capabilities needed to manage risk holistically, strengthen protections for businesses and their customers, and support the long-term resilience of Australia’s real-time payments infrastructure.”
The appointment comes at a critical time for the payments sector, with major industry and regulatory initiatives underway, including the introduction of the Scam Prevention Framework and the evolution of PayTo liability settings. These reforms are reshaping how responsibility for fraud, scams and payment protections is shared across the ecosystem, requiring deeper coordination across technology, operations, risk and compliance.
“Resilience is not just about managing risk — it’s about enabling innovation safely and maintaining trust with customers, partners and the broader ecosystem,” said Mariana Paun, Chief Business Resilience Officer, Zepto. “At Zepto, security and compliance aren’t just obligations — they’re fundamental to how we build trust and deliver value to our customers. Strong security foundations are essential to supporting payments infrastructure and protecting the flow of client funds — and that’s non-negotiable.”
Her appointment also reflects Zepto’s strong culture of developing internal talent and empowering leaders to grow alongside the business. Mariana’s progression from Zepto’s first security hire to Chief Business Resilience Officer demonstrates the company’s commitment to recognising leadership from within and embedding resilience into its strategy, operations and culture.
“Mariana has been instrumental in building our security and operational foundations, and she is a deeply respected leader across the organisation. Her experience and leadership make her the ideal person to step into this role, and I’m delighted to welcome her to the executive team. Her journey also reflects the kind of culture we’re building at Zepto — one where leaders grow with the company and help shape its future,” said Cheers.
Zepto continues to help power real-time, account-to-account payments and bring innovative capabilities such as PayTo to market. Solutions such as Zepto Validate, which uses Confirmation of Payee, are helping prevent fraud and scams before they occur and strengthening trust across the ecosystem.
“As payments and identity become more closely connected, resilience becomes even more critical,” Paun said. “This role ensures we continue to embed security, risk management and operational excellence into everything we build.”
Paun joined Zepto more than three and a half years ago as the company’s first dedicated security hire, building its security function from the ground up. She later expanded her remit to lead Operations, overseeing service delivery, disputes and incident management. Prior to Zepto, Paun held senior security governance, risk and compliance leadership roles at Afterpay, Block and Littlepay, where she helped scale critical infrastructure and security capabilities during periods of rapid global growth.
About Zepto
Zepto pioneers real-time, account-to-account merchant payment solutions for the on-demand digital economy. Its API connects merchants directly to customers’ bank accounts in simple, data-rich, and cost-effective ways. Founded in Byron Bay in 2017, Zepto now processes over $90 billion in account-to-account payments annually.
