The shortlist for the 15th annual Payments Awards has been revealed, recognising companies and individuals across the payments sector for excellence and innovation ahead of this year's awards ceremony organised by FStech and Retail Systems.

The awards celebrate achievements across the payments ecosystem, with categories spanning digital payments, merchant acquiring, fraud prevention, artificial intelligence, payments infrastructure, open banking and cross-border payments. Winners will be announced at the Payments Awards ceremony later this year, marking the 15th anniversary of the event.

Ecommpay, payabl. and Paynetics are among this year's most shortlisted organisations. Ecommpay received nominations for Best Online Payments Solution Merchant, Best Merchant Acquirer or Processor, Cross-Border Payments Solution of the Year, AI-Driven Fraud Prevention Platform of the Year, Best Use of AI and Data in Payments and the Women in PayTech Award. Payabl. was shortlisted across six categories, including Corporate Financial Management Award, Merchant Anti-Fraud Solution of the Year and Payment Technology Provider of the Year SME, while Paynetics secured nominations covering digital payments, customer experience, embedded finance and Payments Innovation of the Year.

Several of the programme's flagship categories have attracted strong competition. Cross-Border Payments Solution of the Year features contenders including Corpay, MiFinity, RTGS.global, Thunes and Worldline, while Payments Innovation of the Year includes Littlepay, Mastercard Global Customer Delivery & Care, Nayax, Paynetics, Prommt and Yaspa. Companies including Form3, Verifone, Chargebacks911, Dojo, Paymentology and Mastercard Global Customer Delivery & Care are also shortlisted across multiple categories.

Individual achievement will be recognised through the Women in PayTech Award and the Payments Leadership Award, with finalists including Monica Eaton of Chargebacks911, Alpa Jotangia and Miranda McLean of Ecommpay, Sheryll Ricketts of Littlepay, Jodie Anne Taylor of Moorwand, Ugne Buraciene of payabl. and Paul Kavanagh of MiFinity. Several categories, including Best In-store Payments Solution, Payments Startup of the Year and the Sustainability, Inclusion & Social Impact Award, will be decided by the judges and announced on the night.

Jonathan Easton, group editor at FStech and Retail Systems, said: "The standard of entries this year has been exceptionally high and reflects the breadth of innovation taking place across the payments industry. Congratulations to every company and individual who has made the shortlist. We look forward to celebrating the sector's achievements at the 15th annual Payments Awards."

The full shortlist is available here. To secure your place at the ceremony, book your table via the Payments Awards website.

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