Emerging Payments

Since its inception in 1991, First Annapolis has advised its clients in the emerging payments area. From the introduction of prepaid in the mid-90s, through the internet boom early this decade, to the current mobile revolution, we help established and start-up companies identify, validate, and launch payment offerings and services to capture growing demand in emerging environments. Our in-depth knowledge of traditional issuing and acceptance markets, coupled with expertise in the latest payment technologies, allows First Annapolis to bring unparalleled capabilities and insights to clients in pursuit of emerging payments opportunities.

Our clients emerging payments clients include major e-commerce payments providers, new payment networks, mobile technology vendors, and established payments companies seeking to address new product opportunities. We have experience across multiple emerging channels (e.g., e-commerce, mobile), product segments (e.g., P2P, B2C), and alternative payment types (e.g., account transfers, transactional credit, ACH). Additionally, First Annapolis understands the authentication, fraud prevention, gateway, loyalty, and other “surround services” that are critical to the success of new payment offerings.

Services Offered

Strategy Development: 
Our strategy development services involve helping clients evaluate new product market opportunities, define product attributes, and, if warranted, craft the most effective go-to-market strategy. By leveraging years of industry insight, First Annapolis plays an objective, guiding role in the creation and successful launch of new payment products. More importantly, we are objective – we view advising our clients on what not to pursue as being as providing guidance on what to pursue.

Market Research: 
Understanding the market need for emerging payment products is essential for any new payment offering. First Annapolis helps clients build an objective view of the market opportunity by researching market trends, assessing competing products, and synthesizing retailer and consumer attitudes. Additionally, we can conduct insightful, primary research targeting financial institutions, issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and other industry constituents in order to understand market sentiment related to new offerings.

Business Case Development & Implementation Planning: 
Management, investors, and prospective customers of emerging payments providers often seek validated financial models and realistic implementation plans for new payments offerings. First Annapolis has extensive experience in leveraging company and market data to model the expected adoption rate and financial performance of an emerging payments company or product. Furthermore, we can help “translate” internal plans into coherent, structured business plans to support communication needs related to management, investors, and customers.

M&A Advisory Support: 
First Annapolis provides a broad range of M&A services in the emerging payments segment. Our support includes assisting start-ups with structuring creative relationships with more established providers, valuing and selling new technologies and related assets, and providing negotiations and diligence support for complex transactions. Similarly, First Annapolis helps companies prospect for and acquire emerging payments providers and technologies to help create an integrated product portfolio.

Products Covered

The products we cover range from entire new payment offerings to add-on technologies for existing products. More specifically, First Annapolis provides support in the areas of e-commerce, mobile commerce, P2P, alternative payment networks, micropayments, etc. Furthermore, we evaluate authentication technologies, plastic card alternatives (e.g., NFC, mobile phones, chip cards), new POS technologies (e.g., IP, wireless), and new electronic payment market segments (e.g., QSR, large ticket, recurring payments).

Clients Served

First Annapolis supports a range of clients on matters related to emerging payments. In particular, we work with start-up providers of new payment products, vendors supplying new payment technologies (e.g., mobile banking / payments), established industry players, and venture capital / private equity companies and other investors considering providing financing to emerging payments companies. One of our primary areas of expertise is helping new market entrants understand and successfully navigate the complex payments industry landscape. Equally, we provide services to established issuers, networks, processors, and service providers that are actively investing in new payment technologies.