Acquiring Partner Spotlight Series: PAYSTRAX

In today’s payments landscape, merchants need more than a provider. They need a trusted payments partner capable of navigating complexity, managing risk, supporting growth, and delivering reliable payment acceptance across multiple markets.

At Axcess, delivering that support means partnering with some of the most innovative and capable acquirers in the industry. As part of our series introducing the banks, acquirers, and payment institutions behind the payment solutions we deliver, we spoke with PAYSTRAX, one of Europe’s fastest-growing payment acquirers and a key strategic partner within the Axcess ecosystem.

Together, Axcess and PAYSTRAX help merchants across the UK and Europe access secure, scalable and flexible payment solutions, combining consultative expertise, local support and world-class acquiring infrastructure.

Founded in 2018, PAYSTRAX has established itself as a solution-driven payment acquirer specialising in risk management, fraud prevention, merchant support and direct acquiring services across the UK and Europe. Today, the company serves more than 1,500 merchants through a network of over 50 partners, helping businesses accept payments securely, efficiently and at scale.

A different approach to acquiring

PAYSTRAX was founded by payments industry veterans Jóhannes Ingi Kolbeinsson and Gunnar Már Gunnarsson with a vision to simplify payment acceptance for merchants while retaining full control over the acquiring process.

Unlike many providers that operate through intermediary banking relationships, PAYSTRAX sits close to the card schemes themselves. As a direct Visa and Mastercard acquirer, the company can offer merchants greater transparency, faster decision-making, streamlined onboarding and a more flexible approach to supporting complex business models.

For Axcess merchants, this direct acquiring capability delivers tangible benefits. By combining PAYSTRAX’s scheme-level expertise with Axcess’s consultative approach to payments, businesses gain access to tailored solutions, simplified implementation and the confidence that comes from working with trusted industry specialists.

At its core, PAYSTRAX combines the capabilities of a regulated financial institution with the agility and innovation typically associated with fintech providers.

“We started PAYSTRAX with a simple idea, that complex payment acceptance shouldn’t be complicated for the merchant. As a direct Visa and Mastercard acquirer, we take on that complexity ourselves so our partners and their merchants can focus on growing their business.”

Jóhannes Ingi Kolbeinsson, Co-Founder and CEO, PAYSTRAX

Built for growth

The PAYSTRAX growth story has been remarkable.

After securing its Payment Institution licence and scheme memberships, the company spent its first three years building the technology, controls and operational infrastructure required to support acquiring at scale. Acquiring operations launched in 2021, achieving profitability within just five months and remaining cash-flow positive ever since.

Since then, PAYSTRAX has expanded rapidly:

• More than 170 employees internationally
• Six offices across Europe and the UK
• Over 1,500 merchants supported
• More than 50 partner organisations
• FCA authorisation secured in 2023
• Acquisition of UK payments provider Nochex in 2025
• Recognition in the Financial Times FT1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2026 ranking

The FT1000 recognition was particularly significant, with PAYSTRAX ranking 148th overall and achieving the second-highest position among Lithuanian companies listed.

For Axcess, partnering with a fast-growing, forward-thinking acquirer such as PAYSTRAX ensures merchants have access to innovative payment capabilities, robust acquiring infrastructure and a partner committed to long-term investment in technology and service excellence.

Supporting businesses across multiple markets

PAYSTRAX serves merchants throughout the UK, EU and wider EEA, helping businesses navigate the challenges of operating across borders, currencies and payment environments.

Its customer base ranges from traditional retailers and hospitality businesses to more specialist sectors such as:

• Financial brokerage
• Forex and CFD trading
• Gaming and gambling
• E-commerce
• Restaurants and hospitality
• Retail

What these organisations often have in common is the need for a payment partner that understands complexity, whether that involves international payments, regulatory requirements, multiple currencies or sophisticated fraud prevention.

Through its partnership with PAYSTRAX, Axcess helps merchants identify and implement the payment solutions best suited to their business needs. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, Axcess works closely with merchants to understand their requirements, growth ambitions and operational challenges before recommending the most appropriate acquiring strategy.

This collaborative model enables businesses to benefit from PAYSTRAX’s international reach and specialist expertise while enjoying the personalised service and ongoing support that Axcess is known for.

A comprehensive payments platform

PAYSTRAX offers a broad range of payment capabilities designed to support businesses both online and in-store.

Its services include:

• PCI DSS-compliant online payment gateway
• Retail and hospitality POS solutions
• Visa and Mastercard acceptance
• Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Click to Pay
• OCT (pay-to-card) capabilities
• Stablecoin settlements
• Merchant Portal and Business Intelligence Dashboard
• PayFac solutions for platforms and marketplaces
• Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce

These capabilities complement Axcess’s commitment to providing merchants with flexible, future-ready payment solutions that can scale alongside their business.

One of PAYSTRAX’s strongest differentiators is its international capability. The company supports payment acceptance in all ISO currencies while offering settlement in 17 fiat currencies and selected stablecoins, including EURC and USDC. This flexibility enables merchants to support customers in multiple regions while maintaining operational efficiency and simplifying reconciliation.

The platform also provides real-time visibility into payment performance through advanced reporting and analytics tools, helping merchants make better-informed decisions and continually optimise payment performance.

Innovation with security at its core

Innovation remains central to the PAYSTRAX strategy, particularly as the payments industry continues to evolve.

The company is investing heavily in:

• AI-assisted customer due diligence
• AI-driven data insights for the merchants
• Enhanced payment acceptance through PAYSTRAX’s proprietary Payment Gateway
• Stablecoin settlement capabilities
• Payment Facilitator infrastructure
• Marketplace and platform solutions

However, innovation never comes at the expense of security or compliance.

As a regulated payment institution operating under both FCA and Bank of Lithuania oversight, PAYSTRAX maintains rigorous governance standards. The business combines PCI DSS compliance, multi-layer fraud prevention technology, dedicated risk teams, tokenisation technology and continuous monitoring to ensure secure payment processing.

This commitment to trust and security aligns closely with the Axcess approach. Both organisations recognise that merchants depend on stable, secure and reliable payment processing as a critical part of their day-to-day operations, making compliance, resilience and risk management fundamental to long-term success.

Why the PAYSTRAX and Axcess partnership works

One of the key reasons Axcess has chosen to work with PAYSTRAX is a shared belief that complex payment challenges should have simple, practical solutions.

The partnership combines Axcess’s merchant-focused consultancy, payments expertise and market knowledge with PAYSTRAX’s direct acquiring capabilities, regulatory credentials and advanced risk infrastructure. Together, the two organisations provide merchants with a powerful combination of strategic guidance and robust payment processing.

For merchants, this means access to:

• Direct Visa and Mastercard acquiring
• Faster and more efficient onboarding
• Multi-currency payment solutions
• Advanced fraud prevention and risk management
• Dedicated support from payment specialists
• Flexible solutions designed around business growth

Rather than simply providing payment acceptance, Axcess and PAYSTRAX work together to help businesses optimise payment performance, reduce operational friction and expand into new markets with confidence.

“At Axcess, our role is to help merchants navigate an increasingly complex payments landscape and connect them with the solutions that best support their growth ambitions. PAYSTRAX has become an important strategic partner because they combine strong regulatory foundations, market-leading acquiring capabilities and a genuine commitment to customer success.

Together, we’re able to provide merchants with the security and reliability of a leading direct acquirer alongside the personalised consultancy, support and expertise that Axcess is known for. It’s a partnership built around delivering long-term value for our clients.”

Nick Fox, CEO, Axcess Payments Group

Looking to the future

The payments sector continues to evolve rapidly, driven by shifts towards digital wallets, embedded payments, subscription models, alternative payment methods and cross-border commerce.

PAYSTRAX believes the biggest opportunity lies in helping merchants grow internationally while reducing complexity behind the scenes.

Whether through multi-currency settlement, digital wallets, stablecoins, marketplace infrastructure or advanced risk management, the company’s focus remains the same as it was when it launched in 2018: making complex payment acceptance feel simple.

“What makes PAYSTRAX different in today’s payments landscape is that we combine the strength of a direct Visa and Mastercard acquirer with the agility and service mindset of a specialist fintech. We are close to the schemes, close to the regulation, and close to our merchants, which means we can move quickly, solve complexity properly and support businesses with transparency, reliability and genuine expertise.”

Tom Suter, Regional Sales Director, PAYSTRAX

As PAYSTRAX continues to expand across the UK and Europe, the partnership highlights the value of the Axcess approach to payments. By bringing together best-in-class acquiring partners with expert consultancy and personalised support, Axcess helps merchants access enterprise-grade payment capabilities without the complexity traditionally associated with large-scale payment operations.

PAYSTRAX provides the direct acquiring infrastructure, regulatory expertise and international reach, while Axcess acts as the strategic partner helping merchants select, implement and optimise the right payment solutions for their business.

Together, Axcess and PAYSTRAX are helping businesses simplify payment acceptance, unlock new growth opportunities and confidently serve customers across multiple markets.