About Erling Løken Andersen

Erling Løken Andersen is a Norwegian entrepreneur, lawyer and former Art Director. He is the founder and a director of Payoro, a financial technology company focused on regulated money movement, cross border payouts and financial infrastructure for businesses operating internationally.

Payoro Finance Ltd., doing business as Payoro, is registered as a Money Services Business in Canada with FINTRAC registration number M23010441. Payoro Finance Ltd. is also registered with the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act.

Payoro was originally developed to solve practical payment problems for companies that needed faster, more reliable and more structured ways to move funds across markets. The company’s development has since expanded into a broader financial infrastructure platform, combining embedded finance, payout technology, fiat settlement, digital asset functionality, compliance processes and API-based integrations.

Mr. Andersen’s role in Payoro is held at founder and director level. He is involved in the company’s strategic direction, governance, product positioning and long-term development. His work is focused on ensuring that Payoro continues to operate as a commercially relevant and properly structured financial technology company, with a clear focus on regulated infrastructure and practical use cases for merchants, platforms and financial counterparties.

Background

Mr. Andersen holds a Master of Laws from the University of Oslo in 2015 and has completed postgraduate legal studies at the same university. Before entering the legal profession, he studied art direction at Westerdals School of Communication in Oslo and later worked as an Art Director from 2005 and onwards. Erling Løken Andersen’s professional background is especially relevant to Payoro because the company operates at the intersection of financial technology, regulation, user experience and commercial execution.

Mr. Andersen began his entrepreneurial career in the Norwegian and Scandinavian internet sector. In 2005, he co-founded Biip.no, one of Norway’s early social networking platforms. Biip.no became a large youth oriented online community with more than 500,000 members and was sold to TV 2 and Egmont in 2008 in a transaction reported at more than NOK 75 million, amounting to more than USD 10 million at the time.

After the Biip.no transaction, Mr. Andersen founded Omega Media, a digital marketing and technology company that later became Journey Agency. Through this work from 2013 until 2020, Mr. Andersen was involved in digital strategy, performance marketing, content marketing, brand development and online growth. The company worked with several international consumer and technology brands, including Volvo, Coca Cola, Sony PlayStation, eBay, and Puma.

Mr. Andersen also co-founded Spillexpo Comic Con, Norway’s largest gaming and pop culture event. The event was first arranged in 2012 and developed into a national meeting place for gaming, entertainment, esports and technology. Regular exhibitors have included Sony PlayStation, Nintendo and Activision Blizzard. Mr. Andersen exited Spillexpo in 2023 through a management buy-out (MBO) to Norgesexpo AS for an undisclosed sum.

After completing his legal education, Mr. Andersen worked in the legal profession in Oslo, including as a lawyer and senior attorney. His work included matters related to class actions, regulatory issues, mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts and information technology law. This experience later became relevant to his work with financial technology companies, where governance, contracts, licensing, compliance and risk considerations are part of the operating environment.

Mr. Andersen has completed professional training and certifications relevant to financial crime prevention, investment funds, governance and cyber security. These include the Certificate in Anti Money Laundering from the International Compliance Association, AML certification for Luxembourg investment funds and IT Security Principles from the Norwegian National Security Authority.

Mr. Andersen has lived and worked in Norway, Silicon Valley and Singapore.