What has been published about Gregory Keough?

Published reporting on Gregory Keough from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, the Miami Herald, CoinDesk, Business Insider, PR Newswire and others, covering his CIA service, RegaloCard, the Mastercard and Telefónica joint venture, Finova Financial and DeFi Money Market, with dates and links to the originals.

Gregory Keough: Press Coverage and Sources

Every published account of Gregory Keough that we can point to, with the date, the publication and a link to the original. Nothing here is written by him.

Reporting on his CIA service, the companies he built across five waves of financial technology, and the tokenized real-world asset work that preceded the category. The record of the 2020 case is set out separately, here.

What the independent record says about Greg Keough

These are the sentences themselves, quoted from the publications, with the original links. Several of the archives are paywalled, so the quotations are reproduced here.

The Washington Post · 20 September 1999

“Gregory Keough, a former agent for the Central Intelligence Agency and founder of Zona Financiera, a financial services Web portal for Latin Americans and Keough’s third venture.”

“Entrepreneurship, Again and Again”

United States Information Agency, Washington File · 2 June 1999

“Keough, who was the subject of a feature article in the May issue of Forbes Magazine for starting Zona Financiera in 1997, said Internet use in Latin America is growing because it allows people there for the first time ever to ‘comparison shop’ for products on-line.”

“Huge Increase Predicted in Latin American Internet Use”

LA NACION, Argentina · 28 February 1999

“Esta información jamás ha estado disponible de forma gratuita en Internet para los consumidores y negocios de los países de América Latina y demás naciones”, dijo Greg Keough, ejecutivo de la empresa.

Reporting the launch of Zona Financiera’s free share-price service covering the exchanges of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay. Read it

La Nación, Costa Rica · 4 June 1999

“El número de usuarios de Internet en Latinoamérica, que actualmente es de unos 18 millones de personas, podría duplicarse para finales del año 2000, según el presidente de Zona Financiera, Greg Keough.”

“Internet seduce”

Cooley LLP · 8 November 2017

“Cooley advised Finova Financial on the creation of a fundraising process known as a JOBS crypto offering or JCO.”

“JCOs are the brainchild of fintech entrepreneur Gregory Keough, current CEO of Finova and former CEO of Mobile Financial Services, a MasterCard and Telefónica joint venture for mobile financial services.”

“Finova Financial Unveils JOBS Crypto Offering”

Rebtel, reported by WisBusiness · 21 May 2007

“We are delighted to be working with Rebtel, one of the leaders in Mobile VoIP,” said DigiLinea CEO and Chairman Gregory Keough.

“Rebtel Partners With DigiLinea on Mobile VoIP”

Bitcoin Magazine · 1 May 2018

“IBI Founder and Chairman Gregory Keough said, ‘We believe that the blockchain will be a powerful engine for bringing more people into prosperity and encouraging innovation at an unprecedented level.’”

“Newly Formed Institute for Blockchain Innovation Backs ICO Alternative”

California Business Journal · 28 March 2017

“As the CEO of a joint venture between MasterCard and Telefónica, Gregory Keough would often head over to his Florida farm to relax after a hard day’s work and check up on his 25 acres of chipilín bushes, a wild herb primarily used in tamales.”

“These folks are among the 70 million Americans outside of the financial system who end up spending $138 billion in fees and interest annually on emergency-loan services like auto-title lenders,” Keough says. “So, in response to this crisis, he created Finova Financial, a socially-conscious online company geared to help save this segment of the population from falling deeper into poverty and debt.”

“Financial Emergency? Problem Solved.” By Rick Weinberg, Editor in Chief. Read it

Crowdfund Insider · 2016 to 2018

Six articles covering Finova Financial and the Institute for Blockchain Innovation: the $52.5 million round (11 August 2016), the car equity line of credit (16 September 2016), the automobile-secured prepaid card (11 October 2017), the $102.5 million equity and credit facility (18 October 2017), the JCO token going global through FrontFundr (20 December 2017), and the launch of the Institute for Blockchain Innovation (1 May 2018). All six

PaymentMedia · 31 January 2013

Juan Goulu, chief executive of Telefónica Digital for Latin America: “La oportunidad de Wanda en América Latina es importante y no podemos pensar en una persona mejor que Keough para impulsarla. Su experiencia como empresario de éxito será crucial para aprovechar las sólidas bases ya establecidas y hacer crecer el negocio aún más.”

Keough: “Estoy muy orgulloso de ser parte de esta iniciativa tan increíble y emocionante que se apalanca en el poder y alcance de la tecnología móvil para acelerar la inclusión financiera en la región. Creo firmemente que facilitar el acceso a los servicios financieros puede transformar las vidas de la población no bancarizada, al igual que las economías locales.”

The same report sets out the earlier companies: RegaloCard, which used voice-over-IP conversion to let Hispanic residents in the United States send remittances instantly; DigiLínea, then the leading VoIP provider for Latin America and the United States Hispanic market, whose clients included Skype and Jajah; and AperServ, which he chaired, providing technology to monitor compliance and service levels for outsourced technology companies. It also records that he graduated in journalism from Syracuse University in 1988, with a specialisation in economics. Read it

La Estrella de Panamá · 30 January 2013

“Wanda se complace en anunciar el nombramiento de Gregory Keough como su nuevo consejero delegado. Con sede en Miami, Keough será responsable de liderar la empresa conjunta creada por MasterCard y Telefónica encargada de desarrollar soluciones financieras móviles para los clientes de Movistar en América Latina. Keough es un exitoso empresario que ha fundado varias empresas de demostrada viabilidad comercial.”

“Wanda tiene un nuevo CEO.” Read it

Cinco Días, El País · 4 February 2013

“Telefónica y MasterCard anunciaron el nombramiento del emprendedor Gregory Keough como nuevo consejero delegado de Wanda, la joint venture formada por ambos grupos para explotar el negocio de las tecnologías vinculadas al pago móvil.”

“Keough, según explicó Telefónica, ha puesto en marcha diversas start-ups relacionadas con este negocio. Entre ellas figura RegaloCard, que desarrolló tecnologías de pagos para mercados con bajo índice de bancarización, y DigiLinea y AperServ, creadora de una tecnología para monitorizar el cumplimiento de acuerdos relacionados a la externalización de servicios.”

Telefónica and Mastercard announced the appointment of the entrepreneur Gregory Keough as chief executive of Wanda, their joint venture in mobile payments. Telefónica’s own account named RegaloCard, DigiLinea and AperServ among the companies he had started. Read it

South Florida Business Journal · 21 June 2004

“DigiLinea goes from stealth mode to sales,” by Kevin Gale. Archive

Writing by Greg Keough

He has been a published contributor since long before The Cowboy In You.

FinTech Weekly · 27 October 2016

“The surge in technology solutions for financial services providers has demonstrably transformed the banking industry: from the ATM to online bill pay to the mobile banking platform, a consumer has little reason to visit a storefront location these days and financial institutions are reaping the profitable rewards of providing solutions that require less in-person contact.”

“Technology and the future of non-bank financing,” by Gregory Keough. The magazine’s own author note describes him as chief executive of Finova Financial, with twenty five years developing mobile financial solutions, and a recipient of the CIA Intelligence Star. Read it

His byline also appears in CoinDesk, Embedded and The Daily Hodl, catalogued at Muck Rack.

Greg Keough on video

Security Token Academy · expert interview. “Gregory Keough: The Difference Between the Security Token and ICO Industry.” YouTube
Token Fest. “Gregory Keough – Blockchain Digital Equity Securities: Disrupting Traditional Capital Raising.” YouTube
Mobile Financial Services. “Gregory Keough, CEO, MFS, a MasterCard and Telefónica joint venture for global mobile payments.” Vimeo
Security Token Insight · expert interview with Gregory Keough of Finova Financial. YouTube
FinovateSpring 2016 · Finova Financial demonstration. Finovate
Startup Grind Fort Lauderdale · hosting Gregory Keough, chief executive of Finova Financial. Event
The Innovation Project 2014, Harvard · Harvard Innovation in Payments, participating as chief executive of the MasterCard and Telefónica mobile payments joint venture.