Kooltra Appoints Stephen Best as President to Lead U.S. Expansion

TORONTO — September 22, 2026 — Kooltra, a financial technology company that helps banks and credit unions launch and operate foreign exchange (FX) and cross-border payments in-house, today announced the appointment of Stephen Best as President. Best will lead the company’s expansion into the United States.

Best joined Kooltra as a Strategic Advisor in 2024, where he helped shape the company’s U.S. strategy and build relationships across the market. He brings a career spanning more than three decades in foreign exchange, electronic trading, and financial markets technology.

Best has held senior roles at leading global banks including RBC, State Street, and J.P. Morgan, where he served as Global Head of eCommerce. He was CEO at FX Bridge, an FX technology company serving banks and broker-dealers, and led complex FX and derivatives initiatives at major market infrastructure companies, including EBS BrokerTec, CME Group, and LSEG, where he was Head of Product for FX and President of Refinitiv US SEF LLC. 

The appointment reflects a broader shift in the market. As commercial customers increasingly expect multi-currency accounts, currency conversion, and risk-management tools from their financial institutions, banks and credit unions that offer these capabilities in-house can grow non-interest income, and win and retain deposits.

“Stephen’s banking and FX background and his lean approach to building financial services businesses are exactly what we need to support U.S. financial institutions launching FX and cross-border payments in-house,” said Adam Katz, Founder and CEO of Kooltra. “Every financial institution will need to offer multi-currency accounts, conversions, and risk management as a core competency, it’s not a bolt-on product, it’s foundational to attracting and retaining commercial customers. Combined with Kooltra’s technology, Stephen’s experience will help institutions across the United States build FX capability in-house, increase non-interest income, and outperform their peers in the coming decade.”

“I couldn’t be happier to join the Kooltra team,” said Stephen Best, President of Kooltra. “In an environment characterized by rapid change, Kooltra has assembled an innovative, highly skilled team that will allow financial institutions to rapidly adopt cross-border payments and FX trading capabilities with minimal operational and technological disruption. I’m very excited about what we will accomplish together.”

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About Kooltra

Kooltra is a financial technology company that helps banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions launch and operate foreign exchange and cross-border payments in-house. Kooltra’s cloud-based platform digitizes the FX and global payments workflow, from trade execution and risk management to compliance and settlement, enabling institutions to offer multi-currency capabilities to their commercial customers, grow non-interest income, and reduce their reliance on third parties.

Connect with our team to learn more.