“ I think the big differentiator for Koin over companies competing for attention in the cashless environment today is the fact that we ’ re steeped in payments domain expertise . Our leadership is unquestionably sound , proven , experienced and capable of bringing change .”
— Gary Larkin , President , Koin
ous process of developing the technology needed to issue cashless credit , which was an especially difficult task at that time given that traditional cashless payment systems and digital wallets were also still in the early stages .
As it turns out , Ellis had long been contemplating the totality of cashless play , and had another idea to help supplement Marker Trax ’ s development . So he made another call , this time to Australian financial veteran Gary Larkin , a close friend with a bevy of global financial and credit experience . Larkin then joined the Marker Trax team before splitting off to head up its sister company , Koin , in 2021 .
“ Having met Gary Larkin through another business venture , I knew he was intimately knowledgeable about digital wallets ,” Ellis says . “ We joined together and created Koin . We ’ re aware that customers are now accustomed to the digital wallet experience , making nearly every part of their lives easier , and we wanted to incorporate this state-of-the-art technology into an enhanced experience for our gaming customers .
“ Gaming operators know that the more convenience you provide your customers , the more loyalty you develop . So we began to develop Koin to bring that wallet experience to the gaming environment , to improve both the customer and operator experience .”
In the same vein as credit , casinos have also been one of the last sectors to adopt digital wallets and cashless payments , given the previous reliance on cash . As Ellis alluded to , though , casino customers have now become accustomed to such technology in other aspects of their everyday lives , meaning that the opportunity is there for those who have the expertise to bring the right platform to the industry .
But this development was also not exactly linear , as Larkin debated whether or not to jump back into a world he had already spent so much time in , for so many industries and markets around the world .
“ I ’ ll be perfectly honest , my first reaction was , ‘ No , I don ’ t want to do that ,’” he reflects . “ I ’ ve been doing that for years . I ’ m kind of over it . It ’ s a tough field , a lot of cost to customer acquisition . And then I went home , and I thought , ‘ What an idiot I am .’” He explains that he had never been presented with such a payment-starved industry like gaming , “ where the operators would actually pay you to come and get the customer relationship . I said , ‘ I think we better go take a look at this .’”
By April 2023 , both Skinner and Larkin were appointed president of their respective companies , signaling a new chapter for the venture that at times seemed so far away .
A Little Help from Our Friends
Since their initial inception , both companies have worked to build out their products while also landing top-tier talent and securing vital partnerships . Perhaps the most valuable partner for the two teams has been Euronet , the global payment provider and fintech giant that first invested in March 2022 and then again in December 2023 .
Skinner notes that because Marker Trax ’ s cashless credit technology is so
unique , the Euronet relationship has been especially helpful in getting access to a new set of data tools .
“ As we started bringing on more players into the system , there were key things that we wanted to understand ,” he says . “ It was taking such a long time to have our analysts go through the numbers and run Excel models . So we went to our partners at Euronet a couple years ago and said , ‘ We ’ re getting this data in , but we need a way to get it out in a seamless , frictionless manner .’
“ So over the last 15 months , they rebuilt our data warehouse , our business intelligence tools . Now , our analytics are probably one of the strongest parts of our business . And in terms of underwriting and issuing credit , the data and the analytics are everything . How we underwrote three years ago is way different than how we underwrite today , and that continues to evolve and get better as more data comes into the system .”
From Larkin ’ s perspective , the investment has been instrumental in helping to bolster Koin ’ s security and privacy capabilities while also giving the brand an international credibility that is hard to come by organically . These two factors have gone a long way to build trust with operators , which is an ultimate goal for any payment provider .
“ Bringing ( Euronet ) into the frame , allowing them to help us improve security over every aspect of our solution top to bottom , was a big part of getting large operators comfortable with sharing data with us ,” he notes . “ Knowing that we are living to GDPR standards for Europe , well above anything we ’ re required to do ( in the U . S .), it ’ s allowed us to have conversations with foreign regulators because they ’ re very comfortable that we ’ re well-founded . Not just because we have good tech supporting us , but because we have true security data — data security as a corporate culture . It can ’ t be just a process . We think it ’ s a never-ending journey .”
In addition to third parties , both Marker Trax and Koin have also benefited tremendously from the unique perk of having Ellis Island as essentially an in-house property where they can test and refine their products and overall strategies , which is a huge advantage in a sector where operators are hesitant to turn over the keys .
“ Having Ellis Island as a platform to launch and refine our technologies has been invaluable ,” Ellis contends . “ Rather than just tests , though ,
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