Payments built by merchants, for merchants.
Cardflo was founded by operators who spent over a decade running high-risk merchant businesses. That first-hand experience is the reason our platform, partner network and commercial approach are all designed around the practical realities of getting approved, staying live and improving performance.
- Founded
- 2021
- Acquiring partners
- 50+
- Regions
- UK, EU, MENA
Today we help merchants across the UK, EU, LATAM, APAC and MENA find the right acquiring partner, route transactions intelligently and keep their payment stack stable as they scale.
Our story
Before Cardflo, our founders spent more than ten years operating merchant businesses in high-risk verticals. They lived through terminated MIDs, opaque acquirer processes, sudden reserve calls, rolling reserves and frozen funds, poorly configured 3DS flows and pricing that quietly drifted upwards.
Cardflo exists to fix those gaps for other operators.
We started by asking a simple question: why should a merchant need five acquirer relationships, three reporting portals and an internal risk team just to keep payments stable? The answer was that the industry was built around acquirers, not merchants.
We built Cardflo to put the merchant back in control.
Our first live MID was delivered in 2022 through a licensed acquiring partner. Since then we have grown into a network of 50+ acquiring partners across the UK, EU, LATAM, APAC and MENA.
We have offices in Wilmslow and Málaga, and a platform that handles orchestration, reporting, risk tooling and integrations so merchants can focus on revenue rather than payments plumbing.
Working with our acquirer partners
Cardflo is not an acquirer and does not underwrite merchants. We work alongside licensed acquiring partners who assess and board every merchant.
Our platform sits on top of that partner network, routing volume, unifying reporting and giving merchants one point of contact across the partners that fit their model.
This matters because every merchant is different. A subscription SaaS business in London has a different risk profile from a nutraceutical brand in Dubai or a travel agency in São Paulo.
We use our partner network and our own risk tooling to match each merchant to the acquirers whose appetite and capabilities fit their model.
You get one point of contact, one reporting layer and a curated partner network, backed by regulated acquiring partners.
What we believe
Four principles shape how we build, sell and support the platform.
Built by merchants
We have been on the merchant side of the table. Every product decision starts with what makes a merchant's life easier, not what makes our internal reporting cleaner.
Operator-led
Risk, commercial, implementation and support are all led by people who have boarded merchants and handled chargeback disputes.
Acquirer-agnostic
We do not push a single acquirer. We model the best fit for each merchant, then route volume to the right partner.
Risk-first
Faster approval is meaningless if the MID is terminated six months later. We build for long-term stability, not quick wins.
Book a scoping call and we will map a route to the right acquiring partners.
Milestones
From two frustrated merchants to a global partner network.
Cardflo formed
Two former high-risk merchants started Cardflo after years of dealing with acquirer friction on their own businesses. The goal was to build a merchant-first route to stable payment acceptance.
First merchant boarded
First live MID delivered through a licensed acquiring partner, with orchestration used from day one to keep approval rates high and disruption low.
Spain office opened
Opened Cardflo Payments SL in Málaga to support EU merchants and expand the acquirer partner network across the EEA. This gave merchants a local regulatory anchor and faster support coverage.
Orchestration stack expanded
Rolled out multi-acquirer routing, retry logic, tokenised backups and unified reporting across every connected acquirer partner. The platform moved from boarding tool to core payment infrastructure.
50+ acquiring partners
Built a network of 50+ acquiring partners across the UK, EU, LATAM, APAC and MENA, giving merchants localised, regulated coverage and real routing choice.
Leadership
Operators, risk specialists and acquirer-side veterans, focused on getting merchants approved and keeping them live.
Samuel Levy
Eleven years in the payments industry and ten years as a merchant before that. Previously founded a successful ISO. Samuel leads commercial strategy and acquirer relationships, and spends most of his time matching merchants to the right partners.
LinkedIn
Robert Smith
Over fifteen years in financial services, spanning SaaS, fintech and regulated markets. Robert leads product direction and the wider Cardflo platform build, with a focus on merchant experience, reporting clarity and removing friction from the onboarding journey.
LinkedIn
Yordan Aleksiev
Ten-plus years in payments risk, previously at SafeCharge (now Nuvei). Yordan leads risk assessment and ongoing monitoring, and runs the risk conversations that keep merchants live from first application to steady-state trading. He keeps risk practical and merchant-focused.
LinkedIn
Dominic Russell
Seven-plus years working inside acquirers before joining Cardflo. Dominic brings deep acquirer-side knowledge to every merchant conversation, from first call through to boarding and account optimisation. He focuses on deals that work for both sides.
LinkedInLegal entities
Cardflo operates through two separate legal entities that mirror the roles they perform in the merchant journey. Cardflo Limited focuses on commercial relationships and partner management. Cardflo Payments SL builds and operates the platform.
Cardflo Limited is a company registered in England and Wales under Company No. 13163202. Its activities include submitting merchant applications to acquiring partners and entering into and maintaining commercial agreements with those partners. Registered office: First Floor, East Wing, Sandfield House, Kings Close, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AR, United Kingdom.
Cardflo Payments SL is a separate company registered in Spain under Company No. B75987636. Its activities are limited to the development, operation and provision of Cardflo's payment orchestration software and related technology services. Registered office: C. Severo Ochoa, 41, Campanillas, 29590 Málaga, Spain.
Ready to improve your payments setup?
Tell us about your business. We'll match you with the right acquiring partners and the right route, typically inside a week.