Flagship Advisory Partners is a payments and fintech advisory firm dedicated to helping fintechs succeed in an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving payments landscape. Throughout 2025, we published a wide range of insights exploring topics around challenger wallets, AI in payments, ledger-as-a-service (LaaS), and notable M&A activity across the ecosystem. Below are our five most-read insights of 2025:
Links to our 5 most read insights here:
In our most-read insight, we examined Wero, an account-to-account (A2A) digital wallet developed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI). Wero aims to deliver a pan-European instant payments solution as a homegrown alternative to international card schemes.
The article explores how Wero operates today, including its initial peer-to-peer (P2P) payment use cases, and outlines its planned expansion into additional consumer and merchant payment scenarios. It also examines Wero’s broader ambition to become a unified, digital wallet and what that could mean for the broader European payments landscape.
Link: Wero: The European Challenger Digital Wallet
This article kicked off a multi-part series examining the impact of AI in payments and fintech and how the technology shapes the industry. The introductory piece establishes a foundational understanding of AI, reviews its historical adoption within financial services, and outlines the key ways AI is beginning to influence payments and fintech, including automation, fraud management, and customer experience.
Link: AI’s Impact on Payments & Fintech, Part 1: Introduction
In this article we analyzed the trend of payment service providers (PSPs) buying software platforms (ISVs or SaaS or SW companies). Software platforms are rapidly expanding into payments and embedded finance, capturing more and more of the fintech value chain. In response, PSPs and fintechs are evolving their strategies, increasingly focused on acquiring commerce software to control the full SMB product bundle.
In this article, we review M&A activity in the US and Europe, exploring the strategic rationale and challenges for PSPs acquiring software assets.
Link: PSPs Buying Commerce Software Accelerating in Europe
In this article, we unpack why application ledgers are essential for banks, fintechs, and any other company moving money, explore the growing ecosystem of Ledger-as-a-Service (“LaaS”) providers, and highlight how LaaS is emerging as a core infrastructure layer enabling the next wave of fintech innovation.
Link: Ledger-as-a-Service: An Emerging Infrastructure Layer Powering Fintech Innovation
Finally, a popular article analyzed one of the largest fintech acquisitions during the year: Global Payments acquisition of Worldpay. Global Payments announced its acquisition of a 100% ownership stake in Worldpay for $24.25 billion on April 17, 2025. As part of the transaction, FIS will receive Global Payments' Issuer Solutions business, allowing FIS to sharpen its focus on core banking and issuer services, while Global Payments deepens its commitment to merchant acquiring and payment acceptance.
Investor reactions were mixed: Global Payments' stock fell 17% following the news, reflecting concerns over integration risks and the company’s already complex M&A track record — having completed more than 20 acquisitions across merchant, issuer, and ISV segments. In contrast, FIS shares rose by 9%, signaling investor confidence in its streamlined strategic direction.
Link: Global Payments to Acquire Worldpay in Landmark $24 Billion Deal
We look forward to delving into more diverse topics that generate debate and challenge perspectives in the coming year. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Amilee Huang at Amilee@FlagshipAP.com or Abigail Karl at Abby@FlagshipAP.com with any comments or questions.