Foreword by Ms.Neira Jones

Chair of the judging panel, independent advisor & international speaker

WELCOME TO THE MPE 2023 AWARDS!

As the MPE 2023 Awards Chair, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the prestigious Merchant Payment Ecosystem Awards for the 16th Annual Conference for the Payments Industry, organised by the Empiria Group.

Last year, we had our first in-person event since the start of the pandemic, and you could feel the energy and buzz in the air of finally being able to get to see each other again. I am delighted that we can do this again this year and I look forward to welcoming you all in person in Berlin!

We remain committed to our “Guiding Hand” awards concept, and even as the world continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic, we have entered a new phase of economic, regulatory, and geo-political challenges. These will continue to test us for a while yet, and the payments industry will be right in the middle of it. Last year, the theme for our awards was “Growing Faster” and the 2022 award winners demonstrated that the best of the best can certainly do that. As more obstacles have been thrown our way, it is therefore fitting that our underlying theme for this year’s awards is “Sustaining Growth” and our popular statuette will reflect this.

In the face of adversity and competition, merchants continue to focus on the customer experience and payments providers continue to be more and more innovative in this space. Increasingly, businesses now demand the very same experiences that consumers have been enjoying for a while, and the B2B payments space is showing much innovation and growing at a rapid pace. Multi-rail, cross-border, Open Banking, payments orchestration are terms that no longer need explaining. We can also observe that socially conscious ecosystem players are developing and implementing strategies trying to make a positive impact on all the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) pillars. Of course, the MPE Awards continue to honour their commitment to diversification: we have a 50/50 balance between ladies and gents on our judging panel, and our judges come from 6 countries!

As market consolidation continues and competition intensifies, regulatory pressures are numerous. We’re already talking about PSD3 and its impact on the ecosystem, but we also have the new proposed EU Artificial Intelligence regulation, the focus worldwide on trying to regulate Big Tech – especially in the payments space - and AML regulations showing an increased focus on virtual assets. These are only a few examples, but automation is now a necessity and the booming RegTech industry demonstrates this.

It is amazing how the payments industry never disappoints and continues to rise to these challenges.

Now more than ever, we’re looking for those that have been remarkable: those that have identified and capitalised on opportunities, those that have been outstanding in their markets, those that have made a substantial positive impact socially, those that have created successful partnerships making them much more than the sum of their parts, and for those that were exemplary in serving their customers.

The history of MPE Awards began more than ten years ago where we were first to recognise the outstanding role of card acquirers, processors, PSPs and other solutions and services providers, as well as to honour companies and individuals who made an impact on the evolution of this fascinating industry. Constantly reflecting market changes, the MPE Awards recognise the best payment companies & individuals in 15 categories divided into three groups:

The Judge’s Choice Awards featuring 12 categories. All shortlisted parties and winners will be selected by the panel of independent expert judges.

The Best Startup Innovation Award: at the MPE 2023 conference our judges will be busy drawing up a shortlist of start-ups who will compete in live semi-finals, dragon’s den style during the conference (Innovation Hub). The finals will take place on Day 2, where the audience will get the opportunity to vote for their favourite. The winner will be announced at the Awards Ceremony.

The People’s Choice Award: MPE Influencer of the Year, where the winner will be determined via public online voting.

It is also my privilege to select the Chairman’s Award, and this year, it will go to the Best ESG Initiative in Payments.

The MPE Awards remain an important benchmark of global excellence in merchant payments, and I wish the best of luck to all competitors! This year, the glittering evening ceremony will take place on 29th March 2023 at the fabulous InterContinental Hotel Berlin and we can’t wait to see you all in person there!

Judge's Choice Awards

- featuring 12 Categories

Winners of the Judge’s Choice Award will be selected by the panel of independent expert judges.

Submit your entry

People’s Choice Award

- featuring 2 Categories

MPE Influencer of the Year
The winner will be determined via public online voting.

Submit your entry

Best Start-Up Innovation Award
Winner will ber determined by MPE audience.

Submit your entry

Why submit your nomination?

Here is what Candice Pressinger, winner of “Influencer of the Year” 2022 award thinks

Candice Pressinger

Director of Customer Data Security, Elavon Europe

Q1: Why should payments influencers consider competing for the MPE 2023 personality of the year award?

I think that it is a great opportunity to be chosen as an ambassador for your industry and to showcase the work your payment organisation does, especially if you are very passionate about helping customers and bringing innovative solutions to the market.

Q2: What are your goals and priorities for 2023 and onwards?

My goal is to continue to be an Elavon brand ambassador supporting our merchants and bringing innovation to the payments ecosystem and our customers.

Q3: Which are the key traits of a successful industry leader and/or influencer?

Being passionate about the industry and being an active part of change and innovation to benefit our collective customers and being authentic. It is important to think of the greater good and to believe in what you are doing to inspire others.

Q4: Tell us about your proudest and biggest career accomplishment.

Delivering Elavon’s advanced fraud service that has helped many merchants manage the new regulatory requirement for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)

Q5: What is going to be the ultimate growth driver in payments this year?

In terms of a driver that will impact payments the most overall I would have to say customer experience. Payments are getting more complex for consumers with multiple factors such as the number of available payment options, the rise of POS credit applications, the increase level of security around payments following PSD2. We have seen the impact of these changes to the payment process and conversion rates. We’re also seeing payments become a pain point for emerging sectors such as Electric Vehicle charging where customer journeys are not yet established. The payment providers and merchants that can deliver seamless checkout experiences whilst maintaining the benefits that come with greater choice and heighted security will see the highest levels of growth. If it is growth in specific areas of payments, then I would say digital wallets and open banking will be major drivers of growth in the payments arena.

Q6: If you had to sum up 2022 in one sentence, what would you say?

A year of innovation and market changes with opportunities being presented with Open Banking.

Q7: What advice would you give to people that are just getting started in the payments industry?

It is an amazing industry with so many diverse roles and opportunities. Build your network as it will be your greatest gift. Nurture it and be part of it, as we are all in it together. I have found that collaboration is the key to innovation and success on a personal, as well as commercial level.

F.A.Q.

MPE Awards - are The Only European Awards recognizing TOP merchant payments acceptance companies and their achievements.

With a category for each player of the merchant payment ecosystem, the Awards are all-inclusive. No other European awards program provides such industry-wide recognition in true reflection of the breadth and strength of our industry.

MPE Award winners will be able to promote their accomplishment all year long.

All winners will be given a MPE 2023 Awards logo and jury testimonials to be used in their PR & marketing activities in addition to special coverage from Merchant Payments Ecosystem Awards & conference. Winners will record personal acceptance video that will be uploaded on MPE Awards website and MPE TV YouTube channel and further promoted through MPE channels.

See MPE 2022 Awards Winners testimonials here

You can enter the contest until Feb 10, 2023.

Important note: Contestants enrolling for the Innovation Hub at MPE, aspiring to win the „MPE Innovator of the Year“ award, should submit their entries also until Feb 28, 2023. Also, their submission process and overall management differs from the rest of the award categories. Please refer to the MPE Innovation Hub section to see the steps and eligibility to enter.

Any company qualifying as part of the payment acceptance value chain worldwide.

Anybody working as part of a team or department responsible for a particular solution/service (one to become a subject of the entry), a marketing, communication or PR specialist whom has been appointed this task or who is generally responsible for awards submissions.

The sole process of sending the application is done via an online form and is thoroughly described in the next section as well as the steps you need to do before you actually submit anything.

You can enter maximum of three categories.

Yes, you can enter the same category/categories with the same or different product/service. You can also enter category/categories you have not attended before with a product/service you have previously used. However, if you previously won any of the categories, please also refer to the next point.

Definitely, the only condition here is that you cannot enter neither the same nor the rest of the categories with the same product/service you won with previously. However, you can enter the same category you won previously with a different product/service.

MPE Awards is very prestigious and unique in its concept. Therefore, you should carefully consider your choice. The awards ceremony traditionally takes place on the second night of the three day conference. Since the conference itself is attended by senior representatives, there is a pretty good chance you already have the right person on spot. As winning parties are notified several days prior to the ceremony, you will have enough time to appoint the proper member of your crew to pick up your prize. If you won the „Acquiring Personality of the Year“ category, well, it is your call to take what is yours :-)

Recognition and prestige. You being the winner, it is our commitment to make sure your name is spelled in the organizer.
The major card and payments acceptance media after the conference. A separate PR campaign utilizing the world-class media distribution companies follows your success hand-in-hand with social media coverage performed by us.

The MPE went the more challenging way of finding highly skilled and reputable artists to create unique Guiding Hand statuettes, using valuable materials with designs changed from year to year, reflecting the current trends and important happenings in the payment industry.

In 2014 we started our cooperation with renowned Croatian artist Gordana Turuk. Gordana creates all her masterpieces by skillfully mixing organic glass and precious metals.

She continues to design the MPE statuette also for 2023...