Payment fragmentation has become a silent brake on growth for modern online businesses, forcing leadership teams to manage a patchwork of disconnected providers rather than focusing on strategy. PayDo aims to solve this by replacing complexity with a single, unified ecosystem.
This week, we speak to Serhii Zakharov, CEO of PayDo, about the heavy operational burden of managing multiple counterparties, the company’s evolution into a full-scale ecosystem, and its vision to become the definitive payment backbone for global business.
Processing over €5B annually, the UK-based Electronic Money Institution offers a comprehensive suite of services—from multi-currency accounts and direct SWIFT/SEPA transfers to merchant acquiring and Open Banking collections. By securing direct memberships with major global payment rails, the company bypasses intermediaries to deliver faster, more reliable transactions for clients across industries ranging from iGaming to IT services.
Tell us more about your company and its offering
PayDo is a unified payment ecosystem designed to eliminate the complexity and high cost of payment fragmentation for modern online businesses. We are a fully regulated Electronic Money Institution that provides a comprehensive suite of services—including multi-currency accounts, international transfers via SWIFT/SEPA, merchant acquiring, card issuing, and C2B collections account via Open Banking – all through a single contract, one onboarding, and one integration.
Our platform processes over €5B annually and is built on direct infrastructure memberships, including being a direct SWIFT and SEPA member and a VISA & Mastercard Principal member. This allows us to bypass intermediaries, reducing costs and increasing transaction speed and reliability for our clients. We serve a diverse range of industries, from e-commerce, digital goods marketplaces and IT services to gaming and fintech, providing them with the control, clarity, and efficiency they need to scale globally.
What problem was your company set up to solve?
We set out to solve the massive burden of payment fragmentation. Businesses were being held back by having to manage a dozen different payment providers—one for acquiring, another for bank transfers, a separate one for fraud management, and so on. This fragmentation led to operational inefficiency, strategic distraction for leadership, overloaded financial teams dealing with disparate data, and a significant compliance burden.
PayDo was built to replace this complexity with a single, unified ecosystem. We consolidate all major payment flows into one platform, allowing businesses to focus on scaling their revenue and brand, rather than managing multiple counterparties at their own expense.
Since launch, how has your company evolved?
We have evolved from a single innovative solution into a comprehensive, ecosystem-driven platform. We started by pioneering first in the industry Non-redirect E-Wallet, but our vision quickly expanded. We architected PayDo into a full-scale ecosystem that now processes over €5B annually.
This evolution is underscored by key strategic milestones: we secured three key EMI licenses in the UK, Canada, and the EU, became direct members of critical payment networks like SWIFT and SEPA, and achieved principal membership with VISA and Mastercard. We then leveraged this solid regulatory and infrastructural foundation to launch direct acquiring services and pioneer innovative C2B collections accounts via Open Banking. This direct access is core to our value proposition, eliminating intermediaries and giving our clients unprecedented control over their payment operations.
What has been the biggest challenge or most ‘tricky moment’ to overcome?
One of the toughest challenges has been successfully guiding the company through a period of consecutive global disruptions, including Brexit, Covid-19, and geopolitical shifts. These events tested our operational resilience and forced us to navigate a rapidly changing regulatory landscape while maintaining seamless service for our clients.
This environment highlighted the inherent weaknesses of a fragmented payment model. Our response was to double down on our vision of a unified ecosystem. We invested heavily in building our own direct infrastructure and licenses, ensuring that our clients had a stable, reliable, and efficient partner they could count on, regardless of external volatility.
What are your biggest achievements or ‘proudest moment’ so far?
Our proudest achievements are the milestones that validate our ecosystem model. Securing direct memberships with SWIFT, SEPA, VISA, and Mastercard placed us among an elite group of fintechs with unmediated access to global payment rails. Processing over €5B annually for thousands of clients is a figure that speaks for itself and proves the market’s need for a unified solution.
However, the most rewarding feedback is hearing from clients that PayDo has replaced 10+ providers, eliminated their operational nightmares, and allowed their leadership to refocus on strategic growth. That is the ultimate proof that we are solving a critical problem.
How would you describe the culture of your company?
Our culture is built on a foundation of ownership, clarity, and speed. We are a team of problem-solvers and ecosystem architects, driven by a mission to eliminate complexity for our clients. Having navigated significant challenges, we’ve cultivated a resilient and innovative mindset where every team member is empowered to think like a builder. We are deeply committed to transforming the payment experience from a burdensome necessity into a powerful engine for business growth.
What’s in store for the future?
The future of PayDo is the continued expansion of our ecosystem to further resolve complexity and drive innovation based on specific industry demands. We are deepening our capabilities in embedded finance, enhancing our API-first solutions, and advancing our open direct systemic payment integrations.
Our vision is clear: to be the definitive payment backbone for any online business with global ambitions. We will continue to invest in direct infrastructure and unified solutions, ensuring that modern businesses can access banking-level control with fintech speed and agility. The future of payments is ecosystem-driven, and we are at the forefront of making that a reality for our clients.
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