For a global payments giant like Worldpay, operating at scale is a complex balancing act. With a footprint spanning 70 markets and processing over $2 trillion annually, the challenge is not just to maintain a resilient and performant infrastructure, but to innovate in a way that meets the diverse needs of the world’s largest multinational corporations.
At Money 20/20 Europe, Bobsguide spoke with James Fry, who leads the Enterprise proposition at Worldpay, to understand how the company navigates the immense pressures of regulatory complexity, technological change, and the ever-present need for customer-centric development.
The Global Balancing Act: Stability vs. Innovation
For Worldpay, whose primary value proposition is its vast global coverage, a significant portion of its resources is dedicated to what Fry calls “keeping the lights on.” This involves maintaining stability, performance, and compliance across its network, which includes 45 of its own licenses and strategic partnerships in complex markets like South Korea.
“It’s a very complex business because we service almost every industry globally, and they all have very different requirements,” Fry explained. This constant pressure to ensure performance means a large part of the company’s focus is on foundational stability. “When it comes to that corporate strategy, you’re easily spending 50% plus of your time just in making sure everything is in place.”
However, the other 50% is firmly fixed on innovation. This means delivering new capabilities, from new payment methods to leveraging AI. “We also have to make sure we’re innovating,” Fry stated, highlighting the dual responsibility of serving the present while building for the future.
AI in Payments: Beyond the Hype
While AI is the hot topic of the moment, Fry was quick to point out its long-standing role in the industry. “AI has been used in payments for a long time if you look at the world of fraud,” he noted, referencing the machine learning models that have been the bedrock of risk management for years.
Today, the focus is shifting towards how AI can optimize the entire transaction lifecycle. “There’s a lot of focus, especially in the payment space, around auth optimization,” Fry said. “Leveraging AI to continually get the most out of the transaction is good for consumers, good for the merchant, and obviously good for the industry.”
This is amplified by Worldpay’s recent acquisition of Ravelin, a company Fry describes as being “a team of data scientists at its heart.” With the immense data pool from processing over $2 trillion annually, Worldpay aims to use this expertise to maximize acceptance rates, enhance fraud models, and prepare for emerging trends like agentic commerce, where AI agents conduct transactions on behalf of users.
Customer-Centricity at Scale
How does a global behemoth stay close to its customers? For Fry, the answer lies in direct and continuous engagement. “If you’re building a product, you have to have the customer at the heart of it,” he asserted. Worldpay actively involves key clients in the development process, from initial envisioning to pilot programs. “If you have those customers who can constantly give you that feedback, that’s the best way to do it.”
This philosophy extends to internal teams. To bridge the gap between developers and end-users, the focus is on communication and context. “You have to be able to go and set a vision at the start,” Fry explained. “If you can set that view at the beginning… and you give them that business value, what it will mean once you’ve delivered it, I think that goes a long way.”
This is complemented by new developer tools like AI copilots. Fry sees these not as a replacement for engineers, but as an efficiency driver. “It’s about making the developer more efficient with their time, to focus on the customer-centricity that they need,” he said. “It allows you to ship more products.”
Emerging Trends and the Power of Partnership
Looking ahead, Fry identified several key trends shaping the enterprise payments landscape. The demand for omni-channel experiences that seamlessly blend brick-and-mortar and online stores continues to grow. There’s also increasing interest in new settlement options, highlighted by a recent partnership with BVNK for stablecoin remittance in emerging markets. This provides clients with greater flexibility in how they receive their money.
Ultimately, navigating this complex world comes down to collaboration. Fry emphasized that one of the biggest takeaways from Money 20/20 is the power of partnership. “I’ve had some really enlightening conversations where we could either solve a problem for somebody or the other way around,” he concluded. For Worldpay, staying ahead means leveraging its scale while remaining agile enough to partner, innovate, and keep the customer at the very center of its universe.
