ANNOUNCEMENTSBlackhawk Network reached a philanthropic milestone in 2024, donating $2.7 million to 73 global charities. BHN's Giving Good Gift Cards, launched in 2020, have driven impactful contributions, including $1 million each to Habitat for Humanity and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The cards, BHN reported, donate 3 percent of their value to select charities, resonating with 60 percent of consumers who favor giving-focused gift cards. BHN's Tango division enhances charitable giving through its platform, facilitating over $12 million to nonprofits, BHN stated, adding that it also promotes employee volunteerism and donations.
Fintech Connect returned to London’s ExCel for its 11th year, gathering over 2,000 attendees and 100+ speakers to explore the future of finance. Highlights included a Winter Olympics-themed VR skiing challenge hosted by SkyParlour, where fintechs narrowly triumphed over banks. Standout performer Muhammad Syed of Cartiac Capital scored an impressive 1606. The event featured two streams, Innovation and Implementation, with insights from leaders like HSBC, Starling Bank, and the Bank of England. Key topics included AI, open banking, fraud prevention, and the evolving fintech-bank partnership.
Maverick Payments was named the third Fastest Growing Private Company in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal as part of the 2024 Disruptor Awards. This accolade highlights Maverick’s commitment to innovation in delivering cutting-edge, customizable payment solutions for ISOs, ISVs and small businesses, award judges stated. Known for its white-label sales enablement platform, Maverick offers partners a streamlined way to monetize payments with advanced tools like fraud protection and analytics. Family-owned and customer-centric, Maverick prides itself on reshaping the payments industry with its transformative technologies and hands-on service.
Weave, a customer experience and payments platform for small and midsize healthcare businesses, was named a 2024 Top Workplaces Culture Excellence winner in five categories: Innovation, Employee Appreciation, Well-Being, Compensation & Benefits, and Leadership. Based on employee feedback, these awards highlight Weave’s commitment to fostering a people-first culture, award judges noted. Chief People Officer Brooke Shreeve credits this recognition to the company’s dedication to supporting employees, enabling innovation and driving customer success. This honor adds to Weave’s numerous accolades, including top workplace rankings in Utah and nationwide recognition, she added.
RESEARCHClear Junction’s research revealed that payments industry leaders face significant challenges in complying with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), introduced in June 2023. A poll of 150 executives during a MiCA Masterclass webinar identified key obstacles: 37 percent struggle to determine applicable regulatory requirements, 24 percent find the authorization process difficult, and 20 percent are unclear on Grandfathering period compliance. MiCA’s strict stablecoin rules, inflexibility and challenges for non-EU companies require businesses to adapt quickly, Clear Junction noted.
Kuady, launched in 2024 to revolutionize financial management through innovation, inclusion and seamless global commerce, forecasts a transformative year for digital payments in 2025. The firm emphasized the rise of super-apps, AI-driven fraud prevention and cross-border payment innovations. While Asia embraces multiservice super-apps, Europe favors specialized apps, presenting opportunities to bridge the gap with integrated solutions. AI will combat rising cyber threats like deepfake fraud, requiring robust, real-time detection tools and compliance with evolving regulations like the EU AI Act.
NCR Voyix Corp. was named the world’s largest provider of POS software for the eighth consecutive year in the Global POS Software 2024 study by RBR Data Services. NCR Voyix leads in the Grocery+ segment globally and remains a key player in the Hospitality+ sector. This achievement reflects the company’s dedication to software innovation and its role in empowering retailers and restaurants to improve efficiency and customer experiences, researchers stated. The study analyzed 2,600 global projects, showcasing NCR Voyix’s impact on nearly 9.5 million POS setups across 48 countries.
The U.S. Payments Forum highlights the underutilized potential of Payment Account Reference (PAR), introduced in 2016, in a new white paper, Role of the Payment Account Reference (PAR) within the Payments Lifecycle. PAR links tokens and reissued card numbers to a single payment account, offering benefits like reducing fraud, improving decision-making, and streamlining processes such as returns and loyalty tracking, researchers noted. The paper outlines PAR’s use cases, network specifications and stakeholder responsibilities. As digital transactions grow, PAR promises to enhance payment security and efficiency across the evolving payments landscape.
PARTNERSHIPSAllegion US became the first security solutions provider to support mobile credentials in Google Wallet on Wear OS smartwatches. Starting Dec. 9, 2024, Wear OS users began accessing Schlage mobile credentials, including student IDs and employee badges, offering enhanced security, convenience and seamless access, Allegion stated. Users can tap their smartwatch to unlock Schlage electronic locks, eliminating the need for physical cards or keys. This innovation, Allegion added, was developed in collaboration with Google Wallet and reflects Allegion's commitment to secure, cutting-edge access solutions and expands its leadership in mobile credential technology since 2019.
Nayax Ltd. expanded its collaboration with Discover Global Network to accept Discover, Diners Club International and network alliance cards across its payment devices in EMEA. This partnership enables 345 million Discover cardholders to access Nayax’s automated self-service payment devices, supporting over $589 billion in global spending in 2023. Discover is accepted at 70 million merchant locations worldwide. Nayax Chief Commercial Officer Oren Tepper emphasized the goal of enhancing payment flexibility for consumers, while Discover’s Rajiv Gupta highlighted the importance of expanding global cardholder options.
On Me, a personalized digital gifting platform, emerged from stealth with $1.7 million in pre-seed funding from Lerer Hippeau and Focal.VC, alongside a five-year partnership with Mastercard. Co-founded by former Google Product Managers Darragh Meaney and Sitar Harel, On Me aims to revolutionize the $200 billion gift card industry by replacing plastic cards with mobile wallet integration for Apple Pay and Google Pay. Offering 70+ interest-based cards valid at 2,000+ retailers, On Me combines sustainable digital solutions, enhanced security and personalized experiences to create meaningful, eco-friendly gifting for the modern consumer, On Me stated.
Plume Network partnered with Credible Finance, a payfi platform leveraging Plume's RWAfi blockchain infrastructure, aiming to process $500M in transactions by 2025. Credible integrates stablecoins, debt tokenization and AI-powered credit scoring to transform decentralized finance. Backed by investors like Outlier Ventures and Circle, it offers innovative solutions such as defi collateral management, compliant lending frameworks and AI-driven on-chain credit scoring. Since its launch, Credible has facilitated $6 million in loans and plans a mainnet launch. This partnership showcases Plume's commitment to scalable, transparent DeFi solutions and global financial innovation, the partners stated.
ACQUISITIONSLexisNexis Risk Solutions has agreed to acquire IDVerse, an AI-driven provider of automated document authentication and fraud detection. Founded in 2018, IDVerse uses deep neural networks to verify identity documents and match consumer faces with biometric algorithms, detecting deepfakes and fraudulent submissions. Its technology authenticates over 16,000 global ID types across industries and the public sector. The acquisition will enhance LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ global fraud prevention capabilities, combining IDVerse’s AI-powered solutions with its existing offerings to combat AI-generated fraud and promote financial inclusion, LNRS stated. The transaction is expected to close in early 2025.
Mambu, a cloud-banking platform, acquired French payment technology provider Numeral to enhance its payment capabilities and drive market expansion. Founded in 2021, Numeral processes over €10 billion ($10.5 billion) annually and offers banks and fintechs a modern payments hub with robust integrations and instant payment support, Mambu noted, adding that this acquisition aligns with its long-term growth strategy, providing advanced tools for seamless end-to-end payment workflows. With partnerships with major European banks and a modular API, Numeral empowers Mambu to modernize payments, improve customer experiences, and capitalize on the €191 trillion ($201 trillion) Eurozone bank payments market, the company added.
APPOINTMENTSAurora Payments tapped Derek Dean for the position of chief revenue officer and head of commercial. With over 25 years of experience in the technology and software sectors, Dean has a proven track record of driving revenue growth and leading high-performing teams, Aurora stated. Previously, he scaled commercial operations at Syndigo as president and CRO and grew revenue by 60 percent at Evercommerce while integrating nine acquisitions. Dean’s early career at RELX saw him rise to vice president of sales, overseeing a team of 150. He will lead Aurora’s sales and marketing efforts to drive growth in SMB-focused payment solutions.
Rod Katzfey was named chief strategy officer at PayCompass, bringing over 32 years of payments industry expertise to the company. Starting as a commission-based sales rep in 1996, he is now known for his leadership and integrity, having held key roles at Global Primex, Nuvei, Credorax, Comdata and Elavon. Reporting to CEO Justin Volrath, Katzfey will lead PayCompass’ strategic initiatives, focusing on innovation, operational efficiency and partner success. Katzfey also serves as president of the Midwest Acquirer's Association, where he fosters education and inspiration within the ISO and MSP communities.
Bluefin appointed Andrew Monroe as chief revenue officer and Cheng Chieh Chen as senior vice president, Europe, to drive global growth and partnerships. Monroe, with 17 years in fintech and 20+ years in ecommerce, previously served as vice president sales and managing director at Worldline, where he led revenue acceleration. Chen brings extensive experience from roles at Shopware, Checkout.com and Klarna, focusing on sales and partnership growth in Europe. CEO John M. Perry praised their expertise in navigating complex ecosystems and international markets, positioning Bluefin for continued expansion and innovation.
Jeremy Siegel signed on with Arteria AI as strategic account director to drive growth strategies and enhance client engagement. With over 20 years of experience in financial technology and banking, Siegel previously served as CEO and senior advisor at Portfolio BI and managing director at Credit Suisse. At Arteria, he will leverage his expertise to help clients streamline documentation processes and maximize data opportunities using AI. Siegel expressed excitement about joining Arteria’s innovative team, recognizing its potential to transform financial documentation.
Aleksandra Teichman joined MAPP Advisors as senior vice president of embedded finance and banking. With 20 years of experience in payments, fintech and banking, Aleksandra has held senior roles at Cross River Bank, American Express and Pathward, driving transformative growth and strategic partnerships. Recognized among American Banker's Most Influential Women in Payments and ETA TRANSACT's Forty Under 40, she brings expertise in embedded finance, regulatory environments and network partnerships to her new role. Teichman is expected to expand MAPP Advisors’ sponsor banking and fintech practice, delivering innovative strategies to empower clients and drive sustainable growth.
SingleStore, a real-time database platform, appointed Andy Wild as chief revenue officer following a year of record growth. With 35 years of experience, Wild has led go-to-market strategies for companies like Planet Labs, Mirantis and IBM. At SingleStore, he will drive global sales and expansion, building on the company’s achievements, including surpassing $100 million in annual recurring revenue in 2023. CEO Raj Verma praised Wild’s expertise at a pivotal time for the company, while Wild expressed excitement about extending SingleStore’s innovative database solutions to a broader user base. 
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