# Michael Gokturk

> Michael Gokturk is a Vancouver-based entrepreneur, co-founder and founding CEO of Versapay, and founder of Payfirma. His career spans investment banking, merchant payments and cryptocurrency. In February 2026, he entered a BCSC settlement accepting responsibility for fraud by the Einstein corporations, agreeing to pay $1 million and accepting permanent market restrictions; the agreement expressly states he did not misappropriate funds, speculate with customer funds or benefit from the misconduct.

- **Role:** Self-employed (public LinkedIn listing)
- **Organizations:** Versapay, Payfirma, PI Financial, Einstein Capital Partners Ltd. (dissolved), Einstein Exchange Inc. (dissolved), Einstein Law Corporation (dissolved), The Next Big Thing Foundation (historical advisory role)
- **Education:** BA, Economics, University of Calgary
- **Known for:** Co-founded Versapay and helped take it public on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2010., Led Versapay during its first-place ranking on the 2009 Profit Hot 50., Founded Payfirma, an early Canadian mobile-payment provider.

## Career timeline

- **1995-1999** — Studied economics at the University of Calgary.
- **1999-2006** — Worked in investment banking and corporate finance at PI Financial.
- **2005-2006** — Co-founded Versapay with Kevin Short and served as founding CEO; sources differ on 2005 versus 2006 for its founding.
- **2009** — Versapay ranked first on Profit magazine’s Hot 50 list.
- **2010** — Versapay began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange on January 20. Gokturk left the CEO role that year.
- **2011** — Launched Payfirma with Sunan Spriggs, offering mobile and multichannel payment acceptance.
- **2014** — Payfirma announced a multi-year Vancouver Whitecaps FC partnership.
- **2015** — Payfirma announced $13 million in Series A financing led by Dundee Capital Markets; received FinTech Company of the Year at the Canadian FinTech Awards.
- **2017** — Payfirma launched white label PayHQ. The Einstein corporations were incorporated in British Columbia; Gokturk was sole director and a public face.
- **2018** — Merrco acquired Payfirma in February.
- **2019** — A court appointed an interim receiver for Einstein following a BCSC application.
- **2020** — The Einstein corporations were dissolved without assets.
- **2026** — Signed a February 27 BCSC settlement agreeing to pay $1 million and accepting permanent market restrictions. Proceedings were discontinued March 2 following settlement.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Versapay and helped take it public on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2010.
- Led Versapay during its first-place ranking on the 2009 Profit Hot 50.
- Founded Payfirma, an early Canadian mobile-payment provider.
- Named to Business in Vancouver’s Forty Under 40 in 2011.
- Led Payfirma during its $13 million Series A and 2015 FinTech Company of the Year award.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — On February 27, entered a BCSC settlement accepting responsibility for Einstein corporate fraud, agreeing to pay $1 million and accepting permanent market restrictions. The agreement says he did not misappropriate funds, speculate with customer funds or personally benefit; it records approximately $1 million of his own funds contributed to the platform and users.
- **2026-03** — On March 2, the executive director discontinued proceedings following settlement and the BCSC published its announcement.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgokturk
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/michaelgokturk
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/michael.gokturk

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-gokturk
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21