The 18th Merchant Payment Ecosystem (mpe) awards in Berlin was a night to remember, filled with celebration, innovation, and recognition of the finest achievements in the payments industry.
The mpe awards are not just about recognising achievement—they are about fostering collaboration, celebrating progress, and inspiring the future.
To all finalists and winners: congratulations! Your work is shaping the payments landscape. To our sponsors, judges, and organising team: thank you for your trust and support. And to everyone who joined us in Berlin: we can’t wait to welcome you back for mpe 2026.
Let’s keep building this community together.
thank you to mpe awards categories sponsors
mpe awards media partners
- featuring 12 categories
Winners will be selected by the panel of independent expert judges.
- featuring 1 category
mpe influencer of the year
The winner will be determined via public online voting.
- featuring 1 category
best start-up innovation award
Winner will be determined by Innovation hub judges & mpe audience
Kamil Hanáček, Executive Director of Switchio @ Monet +
This award recognises excellence in direct merchant payment acceptance partnerships. The winner will have cultivated successful, sustainable, and mutually advantageous relationships with their merchant customers, demonstrating a proven track record of fostering strong connections, delivering value, and supporting the growth of their merchant partners in the payment acceptance ecosystem.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Market Pay was announced as the winner in the "merchant payment acceptance of the year" category.
According to the criteria, in the " merchant payment acceptance of the year " this award recognizes excellence in direct merchant payment acceptance partnerships. The winner has cultivated successful, sustainable, and mutually advantageous relationships with their merchant customers, demonstrating a proven track record of fostering strong connections, delivering value, and supporting the growth of their merchant partners in the payment acceptance ecosystem.
"The judges were thoroughly impressed by Market Pay’s outstanding pan-European unified payment platform that demonstrated remarkable excellence in execution, reliability, and innovation. They particularly admired how it seamlessly combines technical prowess with deep market expertise. The panel noted that this solution offers exceptional interoperability through industry standards and broad acceptance across multiple payment environments, truly empowering merchants with a transformative, customer-centric approach. The judges were especially appreciative of its strong connections to international and domestic European payment methods, recognising how this revolutionary platform is setting impressive new standards in the payments industry."
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
Petri Ahti, Sales Executive, Merchants & Distributors, Market Pay
“We are truly honored to receive the ‘merchant payment acceptance of the year’ award at MPE 2025.
At Market Pay, we are committed to delivering a seamless, secure, and innovative payment experience through our Omnichannel Unified Payment Platform.
Our success is built on deep market expertise, technical excellence, and a commitment to understanding and addressing our clients' needs across Europe. This award reaffirms our mission to set new standards in the payment industry, and we couldn’t have achieved this without the strong collaboration we have with our partners. We look forward to continuing to empower our clients with cutting-edge payment solutions.”
Category sponsored by:
This award recognises the most forward-thinking payment solution that showcases groundbreaking payment technology or business flow, and delivers actual benefits, value, and differentiation to merchants while enhancing the payment experience for customers. Open to PSPs, ISOs, PayFacs, Aggregators, Orchestrators, Acquirers, Embedded Finance providers, crypto merchant solutions, instant payment providers, and other payment service companies.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Paynt was announced as the winner in the " most innovative payment solution" category.
According to the criteria, in the " most innovative payment solution"
This award recognises the most forward-thinking payment solution that showcases groundbreaking payment technology or business flow, and delivers actual benefits, value, and differentiation to merchants while enhancing the payment experience for customers.
Open to PSPs, ISOs, PayFacs, Aggregators, Orchestrators, Acquirers, Embedded Finance providers, crypto merchant solutions, instant payment providers, and other payment service companies
"This category proved both exciting and challenging, as entries tackled industry issues with innovation and creativity, bringing value throughout the payment ecosystem. The judges were impressed by a complete digital tipping solution that revolutionises how businesses handle gratuities. Fair tip distribution is vital - especially in hospitality. This innovative solution simplifies tip management, boosts tipping rates, reduces costs, and creates an effortless customer experience. It ensures staff receive 100% of gratuities while eliminating administrative burdens. The winning solution addresses a complex issue with user-friendly technology benefiting businesses, employees, and customers alike.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
“Win-Win-Win: Paynt’s innovative payment and tipping solution benefits businesses, employees, and customers alike—seamless, fair, and fully compliant, redefining payments for everyone!”
Stewart Sime, CTO, Paynt
Category sponsored by:
This award goes to the company that consistently demonstrates excellence through advanced technologies to enhance merchant operations, excluding fraud prevention. The winner exhibits the use of innovative solutions in areas like customer loyalty, engagement, support, or optimisation, empowering merchants to improve decision-making and customer experiences.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Celeris was announced as the winner in the "best use of data analytics” category.
According to the criteria, in the " best use of data analytics"
This award goes to the company that consistently demonstrates excellence through advanced technologies to enhance merchant operations, excluding fraud prevention. The winner exhibits the use of innovative solutions in areas like customer loyalty, engagement, support, or optimisation, empowering merchants to improve decision-making and customer experiences.
"The judges were impressed by this Celeris’s ingenious application of data analytics, transforming payment orchestration through AI-powered intelligence. The solution brilliantly converts fragmented payment data into actionable insights, addressing critical merchant challenges with remarkable precision. The judges noted how their AI-powered engine analyses six business-critical areas, delivering immediate value as evidenced by the provided case study, which demonstrated a 17% increase in conversions and 8% improvement in acceptance rates. The compelling metrics, 95% customer retention and 52% year-over-year growth, sealed the decision, showcasing how data analytics can revolutionise payment processing while enhancing customer experience.
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
"Data is powerful when it tells a story, and at Celeris, we’ve mastered the art of turning complex payment data into success stories. Winning the 'Best Use of Data Analytics' award at MPE 2025 reflects our dedication to reimagining how merchants harness insights to drive results. This recognition is a testament to our vision—to make payment orchestration smarter and truly transformative. We’re proud to see our solutions and features making a significant impact on businesses worldwide."
Chinmay Jain, CTO, Celeris
This award goes to the solution provider that excels in empowering merchants to expand their global reach and increase revenue. The winner demonstrates outstanding commitment to accountability and transparency, while effectively minimising risks and complexities associated with cross-border sales.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, BVNK was announced as the winner in the "best cross-border merchant solution” category.
According to the criteria, in the "best cross-border merchant solution "
This award goes to the solution provider that excels in empowering merchants to expand their global reach and increase revenue. The winner demonstrates outstanding commitment to accountability and transparency, while effectively minimising risks and complexities associated with cross-border sales.
"The judges were impressed by this groundbreaking stablecoin-based global payout system enabling instant transactions across 150+ countries. They appreciated how it offers seamless access to leading stablecoins whilst eliminating merchants' need to hold or be licensed for crypto. The panel was particularly struck by its ability to process payouts 24/7/365, bypassing traditional banking delays and reducing settlement times from days to under two minutes—all whilst cutting costs by up to 8x compared to Swift. The judges noted how major organisations leverage this platform for high-volume international payouts, applauding its exceptional scalability, efficiency and compliance-driven approach.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
"Stablecoins are the new frontier for cross-border payments. But businesses are still figuring out how to plug in. At BVNK we're focused on making traditional and stablecoin payments infrastructure truly interoperable, enabling more businesses to accelerate their global money movement. Whether that’s by paying out stablecoins internationally from a fiat balance on the BVNK platform or using our payments orchestrator Layer1 to combine the best of fiat and stablecoin rails.”
Jesse Hemson Struthers, Co-Founder & CEO, BVNK
Category sponsored by:
This award goes to the company that most effectively leverages open banking data for payment initiation, facilitating seamless transactions between end-users and merchants. The winner demonstrated how their solution enhances the customer experience throughout the payment process, streamlining transactions and adding value for both consumers and businesses.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Brite Payments was announced as the winner in the "best use of open banking for payments” category.
According to the criteria, in the "best use of open banking for payments"
This award goes to the company that most effectively leverages open banking data for payment initiation, facilitating seamless transactions between end-users and merchants. The winner demonstrated how their solution enhances the customer experience throughout the payment process, streamlining transactions and adding value for both consumers and businesses.
"The judges were thoroughly impressed by this Swedish-founded open banking solution that enables instant payments with guaranteed security and simplicity for both merchants and consumers. growth in 2022, reaching profitability, a testament to its market acceptance. The judges also noted its ambitious vision to expand internationally whilst enhancing the technological performance of its already robust products and services.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
“Recognition from MPE is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, as well as our unwavering focus on delivering open banking-powered instant payments that transform the way people pay. We empower merchants to offer customers a seamless payment experience, while also improving operational efficiency and increasing security. This award validates our vision and strengthens our commitment to driving innovation in the payments sector.”
Lena Hackelöer, Founder and CEO, Brite Payments
Category sponsored by:
This award goes to a technology solution that significantly enhances regulatory compliance and/or operations for merchants, issuers, or acquirers. The winner demonstrates innovative solutions that streamline adherence to regulations and industry standards, including areas such as regulatory reporting, risk management, identity control, compliance monitoring, fraud prevention, or security measures.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, VIXIO REGULATORY INTELLIGENCE was announced as the winner in the "best regtech solution” category.
According to the criteria, in the "best regtech solution"
This award goes to a technology provider solution that significantly enhances regulatory compliance and/or operations for merchants, issuers, or acquirers. The winner demonstrates innovative solutions that streamline adherence to regulations and industry standards, including areas such as regulatory reporting, risk management, identity control, compliance monitoring, fraud prevention, or security measures.
"The judges were collectively impressed by this year's standout regulatory solution that truly removes the heavy lifting from compliance monitoring. The winning platform's comprehensive coverage of 180+ jurisdictions from 1,300 regulatory bodies makes complex updates easily actionable through seamless API integration. What captivated the panel was how effectively this solution translates regulatory requirements into digestible, user-friendly formats. Despite fierce competition, this innovator has delivered impressive investment returns whilst building a remarkable blue-chip client base. This powerful combination of comprehensive coverage and user-centred design exemplifies excellence in modern RegTech innovation.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
“We are honoured to receive this recognition from the MPE Awards, which reflects both the strength of our technology and the trust our clients place in Vixio to help them navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment,” said Mike Woolfrey, CEO at Vixio. “At a time when regulatory change is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, we remain committed to delivering the actionable intelligence compliance teams need to reduce risk and drive innovation.”
This award goes to the organisation that has developed/deployed the best omni-channel payments acceptance solution, providing value and differentiation for merchants and a great payments experience for users.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Lloyds Bank Merchant Services was announced as the winner in the "best omni-channel payment solution” category.
According to the criteria, in the "best omni-channel payment solution"
This award goes to the organisation that has developed/deployed the best omni-channel payments acceptance solution, providing value and differentiation for merchants and a great payments experience for users.
The judges were impressed by how this financial institution evolved its Merchant Services from an acquiring platform into a true omni-channel one-stop-shop for merchants of all sizes. Its investment in cutting-edge technology and value-added services has made meaningful differences to 34,000 businesses. The panel was particularly swayed by impressive metrics demonstrating incremental revenue through higher authorisation rates, lower costs and exceptional customer support. The judges praised the breadth of its omni-channel solution, seamlessly integrating payments acceptance with merchant cash advances, commercial card products and 12-month fee-free business accounts.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
"We are incredibly proud to be recognised as the Best Omni-Channel Payments Solution at the MPE Awards 2025. This award is a testament to our commitment to innovation and delivering seamless, secure, and flexible payment experiences for our customers across all channels. In an evolving payments landscape, we remain dedicated to driving forward solutions that empower businesses and enhance customer convenience. Thank you to our clients, partners, and team for making this achievement possible."
Melinda Roylett, Managing Director, Lloyds Merchant Services.
Category sponsored by:
This award goes to the organisation offering the best, most comprehensive, and most beneficial platform or marketplace that supports merchants or other players in the merchant payments ecosystem, such as banks, PSP, service providers, and consumers, with solutions in any area of the ecosystem.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Mangopay was announced as the winner in the " best marketplace/platform provider” category.
According to the criteria, in the "best marketplace/platform provider"
This award goes to the organisation offering the best, most comprehensive, and most beneficial platform or marketplace that supports merchants or other players in the merchant payments ecosystem, such as banks, PSP, service providers, and consumers, with solutions in any area of the ecosystem.
“The judges were captivated by this revolutionary platform provider offering an ingenious e-wallet-based infrastructure that masterfully handles multi-party payments whilst unlocking fresh revenue streams. They were particularly impressed by its flexible, white-label wallet system that empowers platforms to control funds, customise payment flows, and deliver user-centric experiences. The panel praised its standout features including programmable wallets and global payouts that cleverly reduce costs outside traditional banking systems.
With compelling success stories from major marketplaces, this solution demonstrated remarkable ability to drive business growth, enhance customer loyalty, and streamline operations without compromising security.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
"A wallet infrastructure improves the user experience by offering a unified interface and opens new revenue opportunities for platforms. We see proof of this every day through the success of our clients, discussions with platforms, and trends in the market itself. Receiving the award for ‘best marketplace/platform provider at MPE is an honor and strong validation from industry experts that our wallet infrastructure brings real, meaningful impact."
Jonathan Greenland, Sales Director, Mangopay
This award goes to the most innovative solution that demonstrates exceptional benefits in fraud prevention, identity verification, or authentication management, significantly enhancing digital transaction security, delivering tangible protection for merchants and customers.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Riskified was announced as the winner in the "most innovative fraud prevention solution” category.
According to the criteria, in the "most innovative fraud prevention solution"
This award goes to the most innovative solution that demonstrates exceptional benefits in fraud prevention, identity verification, or authentication management, significantly enhancing digital transaction security, delivering tangible protection for merchants and customers.
“The judges were thoroughly impressed by this year's standout fraud prevention solution that delivered remarkable quantifiable achievements, such as significantly lower chargeback rates and dramatically reduced manual fraud detection efforts. What truly captivated the panel was the solution's recognition that fraud prevention isn't static. The winning technology continuously evolves through sophisticated machine-learning whilst providing comprehensive omnichannel coverage with a 360-degree view of customer behaviour across all touchpoints. The flexibility to customise detection rules to merchants' specific needs demonstrated exceptional adaptability. This approach ensures businesses remain protected despite constantly evolving threats. This powerful combination of measurable results and forward-thinking innovation exemplifies excellence in modern fraud prevention.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
“We are incredibly proud to be honored by the MPE as the winner of the Most Innovative Fraud Solution,” said Eido Gal, CEO of Riskified. “This recognition underscores not only the talent and dedication of our team, but also our deep collaboration with merchant clients, whose ingenuity inspire and empower us. Together, we are developing solutions that outpace fraudsters, safeguard online transactions, and enable ecommerce growth.”
This award goes to the most effective Payments Orchestration Solution that seamlessly integrates and optimises multiple payment providers and methods, ultimately empowering businesses to streamline their payment processes and enhance overall financial operations.
This award goes to the most innovative or successful new B2B or B2C embedded finance project, recognising excellence in integrating financial services into non-financial brands, companies, or platforms. The winning entry should showcase a specific implementation that seamlessly incorporates financial products such as lending, payments, cards, accounts, or insurance into a customer journey.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Unipaas was announced as the winner in the "best embedded finance/ baas solution” category.
According to the criteria in the "best embedded finance/ baas solution" category, this award goes to the most innovative or successful new B2B or B2C embedded finance project, recognising excellence in integrating financial services into non-financial brands, companies, or platforms. The winning entry should showcase a specific implementation that seamlessly incorporates financial products such as lending, payments, cards, accounts, or insurance into a customer journey.
“The judges were impressed by this exceptional embedded finance solution that enables SaaS platforms across multiple sectors to offer seamless payment capabilities through a single contract and integration. They appreciated how it bridges the gap between basic integrations and costly custom solutions whilst streamlining all major payment methods. The panel commended its AI-powered marketing features that drive adoption through tailored outreach. They valued how this fully managed approach reduces complexity, enhances user experience, and maximises monetisation, allowing businesses to create personalised payment offerings with minimal effort.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
“We’re truly honoured to receive this award. It’s a powerful validation of our vision to make embedded payments not just seamless, but a real growth engine for SaaS platforms. At Unipaas, we’ve set out to remove the complexity from payments—so our partners can stay focused on what they do best: building great software and serving their customers. This recognition belongs to our amazing team and the clients who trust us to power their payment journeys.”
David Avgi, CEO at Unipaas
Category sponsored by:
Open to any payments businesses with a clear and well-developed ESG strategy who can demonstrate how their strategy is making a substantial positive impact in any of the E,S,G pillars, particularly when supported by technology. This will show evidence of how progress is being made against specific near and long-term objectives such as net-zero, carbon offsetting, UN Sustainable Development Goals, social purpose and supply chain transparency goals. Entries should include a case study of a live initiative or programme as well as up-to-date supporting data/evidence of its impact against the set objectives and a clear definition of KPIs.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Greenspark was announced as the winner in the "chairman’s award – best esg initiative in payments” category.
According to the criteria, in the "chairman’s award – best esg initiative in payments"
This award goes to payments business with a clear and well-developed ESG strategy who can demonstrate how their strategy is making a substantial positive impact in any of the E,S,G pillars, particularly when supported by technology. This will show evidence of how progress is being made against specific near and long-term objectives such as net-zero, carbon offsetting, UN Sustainable Development Goals, social purpose and supply chain transparency goals. Entries should include a case study of a live initiative or programme as well as up-to-date supporting data/ evidence of its impact against the set objectives and a clear definition of KPIs.
“Greenspark’s Impact-as-a-Service platform transforms payments into planet-saving power – 3.4 million trees planted, more than 30 tons of CO₂ erased, and 8 million plastic bottles rescued through everyday transactions. By merging commerce with community empowerment and airtight accountability, they’ve boosted partner revenues up to 21% – proving ethics and economics are allies, not adversaries.”
Neira Jones, the chairman of the mpe 2025 awards judging panel
“We’re incredibly honoured to receive the Chairman’s Award for Best ESG Initiative in Payments at MPE 2025. This award is a fantastic validation of Greenspark’s core mission: proving that payments and sustainability can not only coexist, but thrive together. It underscores the amazing achievements of our partners, our dedicated team, and our shared commitment to embedding meaningful climate action into every single transaction. We’re excited to continue empowering businesses worldwide to drive positive change, one payment at a time.”
Lenny Leemann, CEO & Co-founder, Greenspark
This award will go to the winner of the Innovation hub competition for the most innovative start-up company in merchant payments ecosystem.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Securely Group was announced as the winner in the " best start-up innovation award” category.
According to the criteria, in the "best start-up innovation award" This award will go to the winner of the Innovation hub competition for the most innovative start-up company in merchant payments ecosystem.
"We’re absolutely thrilled that an Aussie startup from Noosa Heads can come to Europe, stand toe-to-toe with the best startup tech and innovation in global payments, and take home the top prize. Winning Best Startup Innovation at MPE 2025 proves that world-class fintech can come from anywhere—and Securely is just getting started. This is a win not just for us, but for paytech innovation on the global stage.", said Rob Neely, MD, Securely Group.
“The winner of the Best Startup Innovation Award is revolutionizing digital security with its innovative social media identity securitization tech. By linking online profiles to banks for real- time verification, this startup effectively zaps scammers. Positioned as a fully regulation- friendly alternative to PayPal, it ensures secure digital shopping experiences across peer-to- peer marketplaces and social platforms. Its groundbreaking approach to fraud prevention sets a new standard for the future of secure, seamless digital transactions. ”
Andy Ivanis, Managing Partner, mpe 2025
To be awarded to the individual (or team) who has provided a significant contribution to the development of the merchant payments ecosystem either on a domestic or international basis.
During the prestigious mpe awards gala ceremony, part of the annual merchant payments ecosystem (mpe 2025) conference, Kamil Hanáček was announced as the winner in the "mpe influencer of the year” category.
According to the criteria, in the "mpe influencer of the year" This award goes to the mpe influencer of the year, and the winner is determined by online public voting through the mpe website.
Kamil Hanáček, Executive Director of Switchio by Monet+: “This recognition wouldn’t have been possible without the trust and support of the people at Monet+. At Switchio, we’re focused on building technology that gives businesses real freedom to shape their own payment ecosystems, keep transactions secure, and scale with confidence. Innovation has always been a natural part of how I think and work, and Switchio is a reflection of that mindset. Being recognised for helping shape the future of the payments industry is professionally validating.”
There are 13 categories which can be entered by any merchant, acquiring bank, non-bank acquirer, network service provider, payment service provider, mno, scheme, processor, payment method or solution provider focused on payment industry.
You can enter a maximum of three categories in a particular year, however not with the same entry into 3 different categories.
Solutions must be live and out of the test phase at the time of submission. Pilot programmes will be accepted but must clearly be described as such, and the judges will be looking for evidence of success in the pilot.
Yes, you can enter the same category/categories with the same or different product/service. you can also enter category/categories you have not entered before with a product/service you have submitted before. winners from the previous years should refer to the next rule.
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.
You can submit your nominations from November 4 – February 7. Please note that no further extensions will be permitted unless by prior written agreement from the mpe awards organiser team.
The mpe team will contact the finalists on March 4. The mpe 2025 awards ceremony and gala dinner will be a part of the mpe 2025 conference and exhibition, March 18-20, Berlin. The winners will be announced at the gala dinner on March 19.
Companies sending the submissions must specifically address the key criteria set out in the relevant category. When preparing your submission, please review the criteria carefully, then ensure that it contains sufficient robust information for a specific category.
