Get to Know The S.S. Scale Team
Your Strategic Partner
Our Philosophy
As the payment ecosystem expands and complexity of payments evolve, we are driven to help financial institutions navigate the new landscape to bring innovative solutions to their customers.
Our Just Cause
As a female-owned and operated small business, we are passionate about mentorship, advancing women in payments, and improving the economic health and diversity of our communities through access and education.
Meet the Founders
Nicole Slay
Co-Founder
I began my financial services career at a local credit union in my hometown of Alexandria, Louisiana. I moved to Kansas City in 2008 and joined the retail team at a local bank, where a promotion in the bank's purchasing card department sparked my passion for payments. I gained deep experience on commercial and purchasing card solutions and moved with the company to Denver, Colorado.
In 2012, I accepted the newly created Commercial Card Director position at a community bank in Merriam, Kansas, with approximately $650 million in asset size. My vision was to bring a competitive commercial card program downstream to community bank customers. This vision expanded further when the bank merged with a consortium of community banks. I managed the strategic direction and P&L for this high growth department for the next 10 years, providing leadership to over 50 team members and creating a new profitable business line for the bank. Under my direction, the program became a top 50 Nilson rated commercial card program and top 20 Visa issuing program.
I attended Louisiana State University for her Bachelor’s degree and received her Accounts Payable Certified Professional certificate from the Institute of Financial Management.
I am from Kansas City, Missouri, and began my payments career in 2008 as a service and implementation coordinator for a bank's purchasing card department, where I first met Nicole. I enjoyed learning the ins and outs of commercial card products and technology, including expense reporting and single-use virtual cards when they first hit the market. I worked closely with Nicole to help start the bank's account executive team and focus on optimization for current commercial and purchasing card clients. We developed the motto "always be optimizing," an approach focused on continued education and automation that increases sales and deepens client relationships.
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I joined Nicole at a local community bank to become the first commercial card sales consultant. Shortly after joining, the bank merged with a larger consortium of community banks. I have built and led multiple teams including commercial card sales, card product, technical implementation, treasury and payments sales enablement, and fintech partnerships, with a focus on delivering industry leading solutions and excellent customer experience. I handled multi-million-dollar contract reviews, vendor evaluations, and contract negotiations for the program's largest vendors.
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I have a Bachelor's Degree from Northwest Missouri State University and Master's Degree in Communication and Leadership from Park University. I enjoy volunteering at the Women's Employment Network, dedicated to helping advance women in the Kansas City area.
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Julie Schmitz
Co-Founder