Ben Psillas, founder of the Allpoint ATMnetwork and later, EVP at Cardtronics, has joined Rate Reset, afinancial startup company that uses technology to allow borrowersto reset the interest rates on their loans.

Psillas, who took Allpoint from its founding as an ATM networkfee-free system to the consumer to the point of its purchase byCardtronics, told CU Times he took the positon, in part,to return to the type of innovative and disruptive work he didduring Allpoint's early years.

“Joining a start-up in the financial technology sector was ofgreat interest to me so when the founders of Rate Reset approachedme about being their CEO, I jumped at the opportunity,” saidPsillas, who joined the company in January 2014.

“One of the primary reasons I joined the Rate Reset team wasthat while the products offered by Rate Reset and Allpoint weredifferent, the execution of the business model was very similar, soI knew I could leverage my experience and track record to make animmediate and lasting impact on Rate Reset's success,” headded.

Keith Kelly, co-founder and president of Rate Reset, said thecompany is excited that Psillas accepted the CEO position.

“As we enter the next phase of growth, the time is right tobring in a seasoned executive with Fintech experience and a proventrack record of building successful companies,” Kelly said.

The two companies are similar in that they each have introducedtechnology that did not completely disrupt existing industry butwhich have disrupted aspects of them.

While Allpoint did not completely overturn ATM surcharges, itprovided credit unions and other financial institutions with a wayto remove the surcharge costs from the cardholders. This allowedthem to effectively compete in different ATM markets.

Although Rate Reset does not eliminate mortgage loans, Psillassaid it eliminates a significant portion of the cost of housingfinance.

“The more I learned about Rate Reset, the more surprised I wasto learn that it's not just consumers who find refinancing amortgage loan to be an expensive hassle, the financial institutionsdo too.” Psillas said.

Allowing consumers who qualify for the program to reset theirmortgage rates and refinance their notes means financialinstitutions don't have to worry as much about losing theirborrowers' mortgage business when they want to refinance, heexplained.

Moreover, if the consumer runs into trouble, they might moreeasily remain in their homes, Psillas added.

Psillas said he worked with Rate Reset to change the name whenit became clear, among other things, that Mortgage Harmony limitedtoo much of the company's capabilities. The same technologycan be used to reset the rates of auto loans and home equity linesof credit, not just mortgage notes.

Currently, 30 credit unions use Rate Reset's technology,including the $18.5 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union inAlexandria, Va., and the $1.7 billion GTE Financial, inTampa, Fla., according to the company. Twenty credit unions use therate setting technology in their housing finance programs, 10cooperatives use the auto rate reset technology.