Fabian Mansfeld, Chief Acceptance Strategy Officer at the European Payment Initiative (EPI) 
Fabian Mansfeld, Chief Acceptance Strategy Officer at the European Payment Initiative (EPI), outlined the organisation’s goal of creating a unified European payment solution, backed by 14 major banks and payment providers like NEXI and Worldline. EPI is developing a platform for various payment types, using instant payment infrastructure to support multiple European currencies and cross-border transactions. The solution, branded as Wero, aims to be easily recognisable to consumers and merchants.
Mansfeld’s role focuses on engaging with merchants to ensure the product meets market needs. He highlighted the importance of European alternatives to non-European payment solutions and emphasised the need for seamless integration and competitive pricing. The platform will expand to include features like buy-now-pay-later and loyalty programs, with plans to roll out in-store payments and expand into Eastern Europe.
Sandra Mianda, Founder of PayprWork 
Sandra Mianda, Founder of PayprWork, shared insights about her consultancy business, which advocates for merchants in the crowded payments market. PayprWork helps merchants identify and integrate the right payment solutions, while also assisting suppliers in positioning themselves to attract merchants.
At MPE, Sandra highlighted key trends such as the growing focus on fraud optimisation, the rise of alternative payment methods driven by cost and convenience, and the increasing importance of customer ownership through embedded payments. She also discussed the challenge of balancing innovation with regulation in the payments industry.
Regarding merchant challenges, Sandra pointed out the complexity of creating an omnichannel environment that offers visibility and traceability across different touchpoints. She also noted the globalisation of the market, where businesses are increasingly expanding into new regions, but must also manage the security risks associated with this growth.
Sandra also reflected on her recent session with Ecommpay’s CMO Miranda McLean about scaling fintechs. She discussed how the landscape has changed in the last decade, with an increasing focus on solving problems and providing genuine value rather than relying on brand recognition. She stressed the need for smaller fintechs to stand out, position themselves effectively, and secure investment while growing their businesses.
Antony Jordan, Head of Payments and KYC at ODDSET Sportwetten 
Antony Jordan, Head of Payments and KYC at ODDSET Sportwetten, provided an overview of the company, which is a licensed sports betting operator in Germany. ODDSET transitioned from a retail model to fully online sports betting following new regulations in the German gambling market. The company has seen continued growth in the online space.
Jordan discussed the challenges of operating in a heavily regulated market, particularly around payment verification. In Germany, all payments must be made in the user’s name, requiring manual verification for credit and debit card transactions, which creates friction in the payment process. However, open banking and PayPal are popular alternatives in the country.
Looking ahead, Jordan highlighted the trend of digitalising cash, given Germany’s continued reliance on cash for offline payments. ODDSET is exploring ways to enable customers to use real currency in digital formats.
Regarding Wero, the new European Mobile Payment System replacing Giropay in Germany, Jordan expressed interest in its potential for the German and European markets. While unsure if it will be available for gambling transactions, he sees it as an intriguing solution to monitor in the future.
Galit Shani-Michel, VP of Payments at Forter
Galit Shani-Michel, VP of Payments at Forter, shared insights into the company’s work and her session on AI in action at MPE. Forter is a trust platform for digital commerce that uses AI to combat fraud while ensuring legitimate customers have a smooth experience. In her session, Galit discussed the complexities of payment decisions and the use of AI to optimize payment routes, balancing success rates and cost.
She highlighted the importance of using AI to stay ahead of fraud, particularly as fraudsters increasingly use AI themselves. Forter has evolved from using rules to real-time decision-making, leveraging a large network and data to identify legitimate users and streamline the payment process. Galit emphasized that businesses need to understand the identity behind each transaction, not just the payment, to prevent fraud while providing a good customer experience.
The biggest challenge facing merchants today is understanding the identity behind every interaction, as bots and other technologies complicate this process. Galit also mentioned that orchestration is a key trend, with merchants moving to multiple processor strategies to efficiently manage transactions and improve conversion rates.
Kestas Saulis, Head of Payments at Nord Security 
Kestas Saulis, Head of Payments at Nord Security, shared insights on the pros and cons of two payment models: building a local entity versus outsourcing to a third-party merchant of record. He explained that a local entity offers benefits such as increased conversion through localization and reduced fees, while a merchant of record model helps reduce legal, tax, and compliance complexities, and provides easier integration with existing platforms. However, a local entity comes with the challenge of tax complexity and the cost of setup and maintenance, while a merchant of record model may increase technical maintenance as businesses grow.
At Nord Security, they follow a mixed model, operating local entities in key markets but using the merchant of record model in regions where they lack local establishments, such as Canada and Australia. Challenges in these markets include high setup costs, legal burdens, and complex compliance requirements.
Kestas also discussed Nord Security’s main payment challenge this year: improving recurring payment rates and addressing payment declines. As a subscription-based business, cracking the declines puzzle is a top priority. He mentioned AI as a key trend, highlighting how it’s already yielding positive results both internally and with their payment service providers. Looking ahead, he expects AI to elevate the partnership between merchants and payment providers, benefiting both parties.
Aadit Gandhi, VP at Apis Partners 
Aadit Gandhi, VP at Apis Partners, discussed the firm’s focus on investing in payments, embedded finance, and software solutions in financial services. Apis Partners has made over 15 payments investments, including in Kpay, a growing Southeast Asian business.
Aadit shared key takeaways from a panel on M&A funding, noting that while valuations are tough, investors are still active. He highlighted the importance of building relationships with exit counterparties and integrating companies strategically post-acquisition.
He also identified trends like verticalized payments (industry-specific solutions) and B2B payments (expense management tools and e-invoicing) as key areas of innovation. Aadit emphasized the role of strong founders in breaking into competitive markets. Despite lower nominal M&A activity, he’s optimistic about growth and opportunity in fintech and payments.
Aravinda Korala, CEO of KAL 
Aravinda Korala, CEO of KAL, discussed the company’s focus on ATM software and its efforts to innovate in the POS space. KAL’s software is used by major banks globally, and now they’re exploring ways to improve customer engagement through smart POS.
Aravinda emphasized that traditional POS systems, which simply process payments, miss the opportunity to engage customers. Smart POS can enhance loyalty programs, customer service, and even allow for features like video calls or personalized service. For example, a restaurant could offer a POS device at each table, allowing customers to order as they go and interact with the menu in more engaging ways.
He also mentioned that one of the biggest challenges in expanding smart POS is integration. Retailers’ priority is seamless integration, which can be a long, complex process, requiring careful orchestration between different systems. Despite the challenge, KAL is committed to advancing this space.
Arda Cagaptay, former Senior Manager at Delivery Hero 
Arda Cagaptay, former Senior Manager at Delivery Hero, discussed his experience with digital payments and the evolution of merchant wallets. He explained that when he joined Delivery Hero in 2018, the fintech team was small but rapidly grew as the company focused on diversifying revenue streams, including wallet initiatives. Initially, merchant wallets (Wallet 1.0) were simple, closed-loop systems where customers could top up funds and use them for purchases, such as Starbucks’ wallet. Features like fast refunds and cashback incentives helped build value for customers, but customers still wanted more, which led to the development of Wallet 2.0.
Wallet 2.0 emphasizes the need for more engaging use cases. Arda shared that, beyond financial use cases like bill payments, merchants could offer digital goods like gift cards, transportation cards, or even eSIMs, thus encouraging customers to keep funds in their wallets for future use.
He also mentioned the rise of the European Identity Wallet, which would streamline identification processes across various services, benefiting both customers and merchants by simplifying tasks like age verification or account creation.
Finally, Arda shared that he is now starting his own company focused on merchant wallets, aiming to provide value for both merchants and customers by enhancing the fintech and payment ecosystem.
