# Michael Faye

> Michael Faye is an economist and entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of Taptap Send and co-founder and Executive Chair of GiveDirectly. He also co-founded and led Segovia, whose payment technology was acquired by Crown Agents Bank. His work connects direct cash transfers, international payment infrastructure and remittances to a wider goal of reducing poverty and increasing access to capital.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Taptap Send; Co-founder & Executive Chair at GiveDirectly
- **Organizations:** Taptap Send, GiveDirectly, Segovia Technology, United Nations, World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders
- **Education:** PhD in Business Economics, Harvard University, Undergraduate studies in Mathematics and Classics, Harvard University
- **Known for:** Co-founded GiveDirectly, which delivers unconditional cash transfers to people living in poverty., Co-founded and led Segovia before its payment technology acquisition by Crown Agents Bank., Co-founded and leads Taptap Send.

## Career timeline

- **Early 2000s** — Worked at the United Nations after school; later described how aid-conference discussions prompted questions about direct cash transfers.
- **2004** — Began graduate study at Harvard.
- **2008-2009** — Helped start the giving circle that became GiveDirectly, alongside Paul Niehaus, Rohit Wanchoo and Jeremy Shapiro; public accounts use both 2008 and 2009 for its beginnings.
- **2013** — Named among Foreign Policy’s 100 leading Global Thinkers.
- **2014** — Co-founded Segovia, developing payment and field-operation technology.
- **2018** — Taptap Send launched its consumer remittance service.
- **2019** — Crown Agents Bank acquired Segovia’s payment technology; the remaining business formed a separate Taptap Send company.
- **2022** — Moved to Executive Chair of GiveDirectly as Rory Stewart became President/CEO.
- **2026** — Continued as Taptap Send CEO; co-led a 17 Rooms proposal for a national-scale cash-transfer test.

## Achievements

- Co-founded GiveDirectly, which delivers unconditional cash transfers to people living in poverty.
- Co-founded and led Segovia before its payment technology acquisition by Crown Agents Bank.
- Co-founded and leads Taptap Send.
- Named a Foreign Policy Global Thinker in 2013.
- Published work in the American Economic Review, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity and Foreign Affairs.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Co-led the 17 Rooms memo End of extreme poverty: A case for action and a plan to start with Homi Kharas, proposing a rigorously evaluated national cash-transfer program.
- **2026-07** — Taptap Send announced three Central Bank of UAE licenses to expand payments services; Faye commented publicly on the announcement.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-faye-6518893
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/MichaelLFaye

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-faye
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11