At this year’s Merchant Payments Ecosystem (MPE) event in Berlin, Vassilina Walford, Director at Payments Consulting Network, sat down with Marius Galdikas, CEO and Co-Founder of ConnectPay. As one of the biggest financial companies in the Baltics, ConnectPay processed over 1.8 million transactions in 2024 alone, with €7.5 billion in payment turnover and €92 million in client funds held. It is one of the fastest-growing EMIs in Lithuania and a reliable embedded finance provider for online B2B and B2C companies across EEA. Marius’ extensive experience in developing B2B products through the entire product development lifecycle, including vision, strategy, roadmap, design and architecture, implementation, and support has been of great value to the company. His journey is defined by experience, a strategic vision for Fintech, and a commitment to excellence in business and tech. 

Their conversation dives into the evolution of embedded finance and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) in Europe and how ConnectPay’s all-in-one platform is helping online businesses grow and scale.

Read the full interview below.

VW: Marius, could you give us an overview of ConnectPay and your geographic coverage. 

MG: We founded ConnectPay in 2017 and acquired our Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Bank of Lithuania in 2018. From the start, our focus has been on providing embedded finance solutions for online businesses across various sectors across the European Economic Area (EEA). That includes marketplaces, platforms in the alternative finance space, sports clubs, and more. We offer embedded accounts, payments, and card services to support their entire financial flow. 

Whether you’re a fintech, a marketplace connecting buyers and sellers, or a sports club looking to engage your fans, we provide the tools to integrate accounts, payments, and cards seamlessly into your existing customer journey. Our business model is Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS): we take full responsibility for regulatory compliance, security, and fraud prevention while our clients focus on delivering their core services. 

VW: Which industry sectors and client types do you focus on? 

MG: We work with a wide range of online platforms and marketplaces, as well as fintechs and neobanks. Our clients include: 

• Retail merchants embedding accounts, payments, and cards into their customer journey. 
• Marketplaces that need to accept payments from merchants through streamlined multiple integrations. 
• Neobanks using our BaaS platform to offer full banking experiences. 
• Wealth management platforms where we simplify client onboarding and account setup. 
• E-commerce businesses that leverage our all-in-one solution, from IBAN accounts to payments. 

We also work in alternative financing – facilitating transactions between bond issuers and borrowers – and in remittance, providing licenses and payment capabilities to onboard individuals in Europe. Sports clubs are another exciting sector. Through embedded accounts in their fan apps, we enable clubs to offer white-label or branded cards, monetise fan data, and create personalised loyalty programs. This deepens fan engagement and opens new revenue streams. 

VW: How do you structure relationships with your clients, especially in B2B2B and B2B2C models? 

MG: Our direct clients are businesses – platforms, marketplaces, and fintechs. But thanks to our BaaS model, we also manage the financial relationship with end-users. For example, in the case of a sports club app, while the fan engages with the club’s brand, they’re also a direct customer of ConnectPay from a regulatory standpoint. We safeguard their funds, manage fraud prevention, and handle all compliance obligations. 

This structure provides clarity and security. If a customer has an issue with their funds, they know they’re dealing with a regulated financial institution. It also frees our partners from regulatory burden; they don’t have to worry about licensing or compliance – we handle it all. 

VW: What would you say are ConnectPay’s key strengths? 

MG: Our biggest strength is the ability to offer fully embedded accounts in the name and ownership of the end consumer. These are not pass-through accounts or pooled funds. They are safeguarded accounts regulated by the Bank of Lithuania. 

We go beyond just embedding payments. Our clients can issue cards – virtual or physical – linked to these accounts, which can be used inside or outside the platform. The user can receive funds, make payments, and use their cards directly from their account, without waiting for settlements or transfers. It creates a seamless experience that feels native to the platform. 

Unlike many competitors focusing on payment processing and batch settlements, we enable a true banking experience within the client’s ecosystem. 

VW: How does your model differ from competitors? 

MG: Our main competitors in this space, especially with their offerings for marketplaces and platforms, focus more on payment facilitation. For example, funds are collected and then paid out to merchants on a scheduled basis. 

We offer pure embedded accounts. Funds don’t have to leave the platform to be usable. They sit in a fully-fledged account that can be spent immediately via cards or transferred directly from within the platform. This reduces friction, improves cash flow management, and offers more monetization opportunities. 

Plus, we handle all compliance, fraud prevention, and regulatory reporting. Our partners don’t need to worry about KYC, AML, or transaction monitoring – we take care of everything. 

VW: What makes your embedded compliance approach different? 

MG: We embed compliance within our services through APIs. From the merchant’s point of view, they’re simply making API calls. But behind the scenes, we handle sanction checks, address verification, user behavior analysis, and ongoing monitoring. 

There’s zero compliance obligation on the platforms for our clients. They don’t have to manage fraud prevention or regulatory reporting – we take full responsibility. This makes it easy for them to integrate our services without additional compliance burdens. 

VW: What are some of the most innovative use cases you’ve seen recently with digital wallets and super apps? 

MG: A great example is our work with sports clubs. We enable them to offer fans digital wallets inside their apps. Fans can use these wallets to pay for merchandise, tickets, or concessions inside stadiums. These are instant internal payments between the fan’s wallet and the club’s wallet – no card rails, no interchange fees, and no settlement delays. 

Beyond the stadium, clubs can extend wallet usage through partnerships – gyms, sports shops, even transportation services. This deepens engagement and opens new monetization streams. Clubs can analyse fan behavior and personalise offers, increasing customer lifetime value. 

VW: How do these wallet solutions help merchants build loyalty? 

MG: It’s about creating seamless experiences where customers already are. When financial services are embedded into apps or platforms, it makes payments frictionless. No need to leave the app, no need for bank transfers – just instant transactions from a stored value account. 

This drives repeat usage and loyalty. For example, in sports, fans are more engaged when they can use their club app for everything from ticketing to buying merchandise. The club gains valuable data insights and new opportunities for cross-selling. 

VW: What are some product innovations on your roadmap for the next 12 months? 

MG: We’ve recently launched Connect with ConnectPay, which simplifies strong customer authentication (SCA). Smaller platforms often lack the technical resources to implement SCA themselves. We provide a seamless authentication solution where ConnectPay manages the entire process – onboarding, authentication, and payment confirmations. 

We’re continuously looking at new value-added services, mainly focused on making it easier for businesses to integrate our financial tools. While we’re not moving into lending or insurance, we aim to enhance the embedded finance experience for our clients. 

VW: What trends do you see shaping the industry over the next few years? 

MG: Embedded finance is poised to grow exponentially—it could quadruple in size in the coming years. Businesses want to offer seamless financial services within their platforms, and embedded solutions are the key. 

As for AI, I’m sceptical of its near-term impact on fintech. There’s still a long way to go before machine learning becomes transformative. The energy consumption alone to train these models is staggering, and AI can be a black box – not something regulators are comfortable with. 

VW: You recently published the European Fintech Index. What was the motivation, and what insights can you share? 

MG: The last comprehensive Global Fintech Report was released back in 2021, and since then, there haven’t been any significant updates. Yet, the payments ecosystem continues to evolve rapidly. As part of our strategic planning at ConnectPay – whether that’s deciding which markets to enter next or what products to prioritise – we needed a clear, objective picture of where we stand within the European fintech landscape. 

That’s what led us to create the European Fintech Index. It’s built entirely on publicly available data, with no internal ConnectPay inputs, ensuring it remains an unbiased benchmark. Initially, it was designed to support our own strategic discussions, particularly in conversations with policymakers in Lithuania and beyond. However, we realised it could be valuable to the broader fintech community as well, so we decided to make it publicly accessible. 

Our goal was to offer a transparent, data-driven view of the European fintech ecosystem to help businesses and decision-makers across the industry make informed strategic choices – just as it has helped us. 

VW: Marius, thank you for sharing your insights! It’s clear ConnectPay is driving some exciting developments in embedded finance. 

MG: Thank you! It’s been a pleasure discussing how we’re shaping the future of financial services. 

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Author: Vassilina Walford, Director, Payments Consulting Network 

As a seasoned former Head of Payments in luxury retail, now turned entrepreneur, Vassilina brings 20+ years of international experience in retail and payment industries. With a deep understanding of the multifaceted nature of payments, merging technology proficiency with financial expertise, customer-centricity and data analytics, Vassilina helps retail merchants transform, build and scale their payment capabilities. 

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