Every company will be a FinTech company?

Angela Strange, a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

A provocative and inspiring statement and one that holds substantial truth. We’ve already seen it unfold, particularly in the payments acceptance sector. At Altior, we believe that builders of new products and incumbents with legacy need to embrace the fact they are building new products using financial infrastructure partners or building their own infrastructure.  

Understanding Payment Acceptance

Let’s start by defining Payment Acceptance (PA): the services that enable businesses to accept payments — whether by card, bank transfer, crypto, or other alternative methods — for goods or services, in-person or online.

The payments sector has undergone massive shifts. Giants like Adyen and Stripe have risen to dominate, serving all customer segments: from microbusinesses to enterprises, online and offline. Their secret? A relentless product-centric ethos from the outset.

Meanwhile, legacy incumbents are losing ground. Their response? Predictable M&A plays: think WorldPay/Global Payments, Nets/Nexi, or Barclays offloading its merchant services arm to private equity — an acknowledgment that they simply couldn’t keep pace with modern product expectations.

Beyond payments: Toward financial infrastructure

Both Stripe and Adyen have evolved beyond Payment Acceptance to become financial infrastructure providers. Stripe in particular offers modular, flexible components that new market entrants can use to build and scale their own offerings. That’s why most PA startups choose Stripe or Adyen — they provide the best infrastructure to innovate upon.

The rest of the market? Lagging far behind.

This is why Altior exists

We created altior to help both new entrants and legacy players navigate this dynamic, high-stakes environment.

For new entrants

The PA market is a minefield. We help newcomers launch with confidence — avoiding costly missteps, and building with the right foundations from day one.

We guide across five key pillars:

  1. Feasibility
    Test, iterate, and find out what strategy will actually work — before you build.

  2. Planning
    Develop a detailed, realistic plan that covers product build, operational execution, and go-to-market.

  3. Partnerships
    Picking the right partners is critical — especially in a constantly shifting ecosystem. We bring deep expertise to help navigate this.

  4. Design
    Shape your MVP and future roadmap with a strong product and operational foundation. Often, GTM strategy and business model are the keys to winning share.

  5. Execution
    We stay involved during the build, providing expert guidance and practical support.

For existing players with legacy constraints

Established PA businesses often face deep internal constraints: legacy technology, complex org structures, and slow transformation.

We offer a practical, experience-based approach to help these companies move forward — whether through small wins or end-to-end transformation.

Altior’s focus areas

1. Product-First Organisations
PA businesses must evolve into product-first companies. Think more Amazon, less Barclays. We help organisations adopt a product-led mindset — not just in strategy, but in culture and operations.

2. Embedded Finance Infrastructure
Adding infrastructure offerings (like lending, wallets, or issuing) is essential for PA businesses to retain margin and grow. We help teams implement embedded finance solutions that unlock new business models.

3. Onboarding & Activation Solutions
Deepen your embedded finance play with better onboarding flows. We help PA providers improve user journeys that drive long-term success.