Leading cross-border acquirers align well with Gartner’s 2024 list of top technology trends for payments. AI-based fraud prevention is widely adopted: for example, Nexi has integrated machine learning into its core operations, while Network International has selected Mastercard’s Brighterion platform. Even the retail CBDC, marked as yet to be assessed by CIOs, is already live for select players, such as Halyk Bank, an early-bird acquirer of Eurasia’s first CBDC cards. Beyond product innovation, competition is increasingly fueled by modern, fail-safe architecture. Resilience to regional infrastructure malfunctions and shutdowns has positioned Shift4 as the preferred payment partner for Starlink, Hilton, Kiwi and other marquee international brands.
What technology enables cross-border acquirers to drive new revenue while keeping TCO low? How to overcome the challenges posed by different regulatory frameworks in different geographies? A new case study by OpenWay outlines the best practices of leading global e-commerce processors, PSPs and acquirers.
The cross-border acquiring platform ready for CBDC, GenAI and more
What new challenges are acquirers facing, and what is at the top of their roadmaps?
In some countries, the focus is on real-time payments, while in others it has shifted to CBDC acceptance. Attracting merchants in Europe is becoming difficult without AI-based personalization, while in Asia, delayed implementation of QR and mobile payments poses significant risks. For cross-border acquirers, technological complexity is growing exponentially. To remain competitive, their infrastructure needs to support a wide range of geography-specific innovations within a short span of time.
OpenWay has gathered insights from clients using the Way4 payment software platform who are constantly capitalizing on new, high-margin market opportunities. The best practices of leading cross-border acquirers, including:
Nexi, a Pan-European acquirer undergoing agile digital transformation. Nexi launched a centralized digital commerce system on Way4 for over a million merchants in just 9 months, integrated machine learning into its core operations to improve fraud detection and risk management, and grew its portfolio to 2 million merchants.
A global e-commerce gateway, processing transactions for Kiwi, Wolt, Xsolla, and other high-volume online brands. After being acquired by Shift4 in a $575 million deal, it became a payments partner of Starlink and Hilton.
Halyk Bank in Central Asia, the first financial institution in its region to offer cost-effective QR payments to SMEs and street vendors serving tourists. It is also an early-bird acquirer of Eurasia’s first CBDC cards.
DNA Payments, founded 6 years ago in the UK, now one of the largest PaaS and SaaS service providers to multinational acquirers and banks.
Equity Bank Group, a Pan-African player recognized as the world’s first ATM acquirer of M-PESA e-money. It now serves as a wallet payments hub for various e-money brands across East Africa.
A payment facilitator awarded as the Best International Multi-Currency Business Payments Solution in the US, which has evolved from a freelance marketplace provider into a global B2B acquirer operating across 190 countries.
Planet Payments (formerly Fintrax), initially a DCC provider, now transformed into a full-fledged POS acquirer catering to luxury brands like Gucci, Chanel, and Burberry.
Link to the case study
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OpenWay is the only best-in-class provider of digital payment software solutions for card issuing, digital wallets, merchant acquiring, BNPL, transaction switching, tokenization, and fleet payments, and the best cloud payment systems provider as rated by Aite (Datos Insights) and PayTech. Top-tier banks and processors, as well as ambitious fintech startups, have chosen OpenWay as their strategic partner. Notable among them are Nexi, Enfuce, Shift4 and NBG in Europe; Network International and Equity Bank Group in MEA; Lotte and JACCS in Asia; Comdata, BeePay and Banesco in the Americas; Ampol in Australia, and other leading payment players worldwide.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
