Leaders In Payments

Digital commerce security stands at a critical crossroads, with an average of 66 third-party vendors present during the typical e-commerce checkout flow. Each of these represents a potential security vulnerability that could compromise your customers' payment data. Few understand this landscape better than Rui Ribeiro, Co-Founder and CEO of J scrambler . Ribeiro's journey began in Portug...

The future of payments is shifting dramatically as consumers demand more options and businesses seek better ways to assess risk. John Gordon, CEO of ValidiFI , takes us deep into how bank account behavior data is becoming the missing puzzle piece in understanding consumer reliability beyond traditional credit scores. Gordon explains how ValidiFI sits at the critical intersection of compliance and...

Max Galash takes us on a fascinating journey through the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape as CEO of Coinchange , a global crypto brokerage and asset management platform with offices in Warsaw and Toronto. Having pivoted from a direct-to-consumer approach following the collapse of major players like Celsius and BlockFi, CoinChange now focuses exclusively on B2B relationships with crypto op...

We’ve officially reached 400 episodes of the Leaders in Payments Podcast - and what a journey it’s been. I’m incredibly proud of this milestone and truly grateful to our listeners, guests, and community. With over 375 guests featured, we’ve uncovered countless insights from the best minds in the business. To celebrate episode 400, I sat down with Barry McCarthy, President and CEO of Deluxe . Barry...

As CEO & Co-Founder of Sling Money , Mike is transforming how we think about sending funds across borders by making international transfers as effortless as sending a text message. During our conversation, Mike reveals how a personal experience moving USDC between the UK and San Francisco sparked his vision. The transfer itself was instant and free, but everything around it felt clunky – &quot...

Frank Arellano, founder and CEO of Revolv3 , peels back the curtain on a staggering $600 billion problem plaguing the payments industry that few executives fully understand. False declines - legitimate transactions incorrectly rejected by payment processors - account for a shocking two-thirds of all credit card declines. For subscription-based businesses, this translates into devastating levels of...

The world of payments is undergoing a radical transformation, and at the heart of this revolution stands Wix Payments . In this compelling conversation with co-heads Vova Tsukur and Amit Sagiv, we uncover how this powerhouse is reshaping financial services for small businesses across 190 countries. What makes Wix Payments truly special? It's not just another payment processor. By leveraging d...

Darryl Hicks, founder and CEO of FlexPay , takes us behind the scenes of a problem costing subscription businesses millions each month – failed payments and the resulting involuntary customer churn. From his early days cleaning toilets in his parents' commercial cleaning business to consulting for major telecom companies in the Twin Towers, Darryl shares his unique journey to founding a compa...

Dan Battista, CEO and Partner at Factor4 , takes us on an journey through the rapidly evolving gift card landscape. With genuine passion and deep industry knowledge, Dan reveals how Factor4 has grown from just 3 employees to 22 staff serving over 21,000 merchants in just a decade. The conversation illuminates Factor4's remarkable approach to customer service – answering emails within 10 minut...

What happens when you combine identity verification with payment precision? That's the question Ben Turner set out to answer when he founded Verituity , a company transforming enterprise disbursements by focusing on verification at every step of the payment process. Drawing from his experiences at Network Solutions in the early days of e-commerce, Turner recognized that payment fraud and erro...

Ever wondered how pest control, landscaping, and janitorial companies are being transformed through innovative financial technology? Jacob Olins, SVP & GM of Fintech at WorkWave , takes us deep into the world where field service management software meets cutting-edge financial services. WorkWave has positioned itself as the operating system for field service businesses, providing everything fr...

Meet Jeff Shea, the co-founder and CEO of Under who's revolutionizing how payments companies onboard merchants. Drawing from over two decades in payments and fintech, Jeff has created a digital account opening platform that's solving one of the industry's most persistent challenges. Under helps payments companies streamline merchant onboarding through integrated identity verificatio...

What happens when you combine decades of payment industry expertise with a mission to solve one of the most overlooked problems in business banking? Brian Bailey, President of Clip Money , joins us to reveal how his company is transforming the way businesses handle cash deposits. Despite the rapid growth of digital payments, cash still accounts for nearly 30% of all in-store transactions. Yet for...

Mary Kay Bowman takes us behind the scenes of BILL 's mission to transform financial operations for small businesses through an expertly crafted blend of software and financial services. As EVP and GM of Payments and Financial Services, she brings decades of experience from pioneering roles at Amazon, Square, and Visa to tackle the challenges that interrupt the daily flow of small business fi...

Dustin Siner, Chief Revenue Officer at Payarc , brings 27 years of payments industry expertise and a fascinating journey that began with a psychology degree and a brief stint as a rehabilitation counselor. His therapeutic background proved surprisingly valuable in navigating the complex payments landscape, where relationship building remains the cornerstone of success despite technological advance...

Allen Kopelman, CEO and Founder of Nationwide Payment Systems , takes us behind the curtain of the rapidly evolving payments landscape, sharing insights gained from his fascinating career transition from restaurant chef to payments industry leader. Since founding his company in 2001, Allen has navigated multiple industry transformations, positioning his business to thrive amid technological disrup...

Andrew Riabchuk's journey from building a payment gateway prototype as a computer science student in Ukraine to founding Akurateco —a global payment orchestration platform—reveals how technical expertise shapes fintech innovation. During our conversation, Andrew offers a fascinating perspective on what payment orchestration truly means beyond simple transaction routing: it's about creati...

Blockchain technology is finally crossing the threshold from speculative promise to practical implementation, and Will Martino is at the forefront of this transformation. As President and Co-Founder of Kadena , Will brings unique credentials to the blockchain space—having built JP Morgan's first blockchain payment system before leaving to solve the fundamental limitations preventing enterpris...

Joe Mach, CEO of North America at Castles Technology , reveals how this fourth-largest player in payment terminals has captured massive market share while flying under the radar. Their secret? Over 60% of everything they sell doesn't bear their name - it's white-labeled for partners who trust them enough to put their own brands on the technology. Castles ' success stems from their d...

The payments ecosystem is evolving rapidly, creating both challenges and opportunities for every player in the industry. In this thought-provoking conversation with Alexander Renzi and Aleks Teichman of MAPP Advisors, we dive deep into how ISOs, ISVs, banks, and fintechs can navigate this changing landscape. Alexander and Aleks bring unique perspectives from their decades of experience across all...

What happens when you build a payment processor focused on extraordinary customer service and cutting-edge technology? You become the ETA 2025 ISO of the Year. Jared Ronski, co-founder and President of Payarc , reveals the journey from small startup to industry award-winner in this engaging conversation. Ronski shares Payarc 's origin story, which began with a friendship between himself—then...

This episode is sponsored by American Express. In the latest Leaders in Payments episode, Greg Myers speaks with R.J. Ancona, Vice President and General Manager, B2B Product, Partner and Client Management at American Express, about the evolving B2B payments landscape. With 24 years at Amex, R.J. has seen firsthand how digital transformation is reshaping payments, making transactions faster and mor...

This episode is sponsored by American Express. Dean Leavitt, founder and CEO of Boost Payment Solutions, takes us behind the scenes of a revolution happening in enterprise-level B2B payments. Founded to fill a critical gap in the market, Boost has spent 16 years perfecting technology that streamlines how large organizations pay their suppliers. At the center of our discussion is the transformative...

This episode is sponsored by American Express. Cash flow shouldn't be a constant struggle. Yet for many mid-market companies, the path from invoice to payment is filled with unnecessary friction, manual processes, and frustrating delays that hurt both the bottom line and customer relationships. Barrett Smith, Chief Payments and Customer Operations Officer at Versapay, reveals how accounts rec...

Arik Shtilman, CEO of Rapyd , joined the Leaders in Payments podcast to discuss the company’s growth, industry trends, and the impact of AI and crypto on fintech. Over the past two and a half years, Rapyd has shifted its strategy from rapid expansion to profitability, achieving profitability in late 2024. This shift required streamlining operations, focusing on high-margin markets, and reducing he...