2014
Founded in Charlestown, Nevis
Three partners, a single private payments desk and one ambitious FX brokerage as the founding client.
Our story
A house built quietly, at the edge of payments.
The Payments House LLC was founded in 2014 by treasury, acquiring and regtech veterans who believed the most ambitious merchants deserved better than templated risk decks and faceless support queues.
Origins
From a single trading desk to a global operating company.
What began as a private payments desk serving a handful of FX brokerages has, over a decade, become a global acquiring and gateway business processing in excess of fourteen billion dollars per year across more than nineteen-hundred merchants in 190 countries.
We are deliberately small at the top. Every merchant has a named risk officer, a named treasury liaison, and a named integration engineer. No tickets, no triage, no waiting in a queue beside a Shopify store selling t-shirts.
By the numbers
- Founded in Charlestown, Nevis
- 2014
- Active merchants
- 1,900+
- Annual GMV
- $14B
- Countries served
- 190
- Specialists worldwide
- 240
- Licensing jurisdictions
- 12
Operating values
The four principles that govern every decision we make.
Discretion
We protect our merchants the way private banks protect their clients. Information is currency.
Patience
We underwrite for the long arc. Some of our oldest accounts have been with us for over a decade.
Precision
From settlement files to chargeback alerts, the details are where reputations are won.
Independence
We are privately held and unencumbered. We say no when others can't, and yes when others won't.
Footprint
Headquartered in Charlestown, Nevis — serving merchants worldwide.
North America
LATAM
EEA
UK
MENA
APAC
Milestones
A decade, condensed.
2016
First regulatory authorisation
Recognised as a Class 4 financial institution — the regulatory foundation everything else is built on.
2018
European risk & treasury desk
Risk and treasury capabilities established to serve Europe's most demanding payments markets.
2020
Crypto desk launched
VASP registrations across Lithuania and Estonia. First card-to-crypto on-ramp goes live with a top-20 exchange.
2022
UK EMI authorisation
Full UK EMI licence granted, expanding direct GBP settlement and Faster Payments rails.
2024
APAC & MENA expansion
New regulatory coverage and banking partnerships for APAC and MENA; these regions become full operating markets.
2025
$14B annual GMV
Crossed fourteen billion dollars in processed volume across 1,900+ merchants in 190 countries.
2026
MiCA-ready
Among the first specialist acquirers to operate fully under MiCA in the EEA; bridge VASPs in MiCA-transition jurisdictions.
Leadership
A small senior team, present in every account.
Chief Executive
Two decades at the intersection of acquiring, treasury and offshore banking. Former MD at a top-10 European EMI.
Chief Risk Officer
Built risk frameworks at two tier-1 card schemes before founding a specialist underwriter acquired in 2019. MLRO-qualified.
Chief Compliance Officer
Former regulator at the MFSA, qualified barrister, advises three industry bodies on MiCA and PSD3.
Chief Technology Officer
Built three payment platforms processing over $1B annually. Distributed-systems specialist; co-author of two open-source ledger libraries.
Head of Treasury
Former FX trader at a top-tier investment bank. Runs our internal hedging desk; balances book exposures across 14 held currencies.
Head of Underwriting
Twelve years of high-risk acquiring underwriting. Personally approves every Sovereign-tier merchant.
In the press
A discreet house, occasionally on the record.
The Banker
Specialist acquirer of the year — high-risk
2024
Financial Times
Quoted on the operational realities of MiCA transition
2025
Bloomberg
Cited on stablecoin settlement adoption among offshore brokers
2025
Reuters
Commentary on VAMP and the future of chargeback monitoring
2026
Ready when you are