Emerging markets are rapidly reshaping the payments landscape, turning mobile-first habits, youthful demographics, and fragmented banking infrastructures into laboratories for innovation.
fintechview presents in its 7th issue, an exclusive interview with Tatjana Meluskane is the Chief Commercial Officer at SPAYZ.io, bringing over 15 years of leadership in fintech and banking.
We expanded into 10+ new geographies, including Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, Egypt, South Africa, Tanzania, the Philippines, Singapore, and the UAE. These markets are seeing rapid growth in digital finance, and we’ve responded by integrating popular local payment methods like GrabPay, Zalopay, GCash, Maya, RocketPay and UPay.
Tell us a few things about your career journey
With over 15 years in the financial industry, my path has taken me from traditional banking to the fast-evolving world of fintech. I’ve always been driven by a strategic mindset and a passion for building scalable, global solutions. My career started in banking, where I learned the importance of compliance, risk control, and operational excellence. Transitioning into fintech, I focused on how technology could remove friction and accelerate growth, especially in high-risk and underserved markets.
What’s your vision about payment services?
At SPAYZ.io, my vision is clear: payments are no longer a back-office function. They’re the engine behind revenue, retention, and trust. My goal is to help merchants treat payments as a strategic lever for scaling globally with precision, adaptability, and customer-centric logic. In a space where speed, transparency, and control matter, we aim to deliver bright orchestration that drives real results.
What services do you provide and which are your key markets? How your services differentiate?
SPAYZ.io offers a fully integrated payment ecosystem designed for high-growth industries such as forex, iGaming, and crypto. We operate across Asia, Africa, and Europe, covering 30+ markets and 50+ payment methods, including cards, bank transfers, e-wallets, QR payments, and real-time payouts. What sets us apart is our deep understanding of local infrastructures and user behavior.
Two of our latest innovations include:
- Agent Back Office — a powerful merchant dashboard for managing payments, commissions, and local partners. It supports multi-currency flows, real-time tracking, and role-based access control.
- Settlement Exchange Service — a cross-border payout tool that accepts USDT and settles in local currencies, using an exchange layer built on 30+ core currencies. This ensures faster settlements and more predictable flows.
We don’t just process payments — we optimize them for conversion, compliance, and control.
Tell us more about your expansion plans and operations already kick-started in key global markets
2025 was a breakthrough year for SPAYZ.io. We expanded into 10+ new geographies, including Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, Egypt, South Africa, Tanzania, the Philippines, Singapore, and the UAE. These markets are seeing rapid growth in digital finance, and we’ve responded by integrating popular local payment methods like GrabPay, Zalopay, GCash, Maya, RocketPay and UPay.
Our go-to-market strategy is about relevance. We localize payment flows to align with user behavior, regulatory requirements, and settlement needs. In 2026, our focus is on deepening our presence in Asia and Africa, improving our routing engine, and investing in even more adaptive fraud/risk controls. We’re also supporting merchants in navigating complex regulatory environments with built-in compliance tools.
It’s very interesting how you provide alternative payment methods in the regions of Asia and Africa. Can you share more about this?
In markets like Asia and Africa, cards aren’t king — local alternatives are. Our approach is to meet users where they are. In Africa, that means Mobile money (e.g., M-Pesa, MTN), and in Asia, it’s wallets like GCash, Maya, and QR-based payments.
We design each flow based on user expectations. For example, in Nigeria, delays in payout erode trust fast. So we built a localized exchange layer that allows us to settle quickly in Naira, even when the merchant operates in USDT or EUR. In Vietnam or the Philippines, users prefer seamless wallet-to-wallet transfers, so we prioritize those rails.
Our ability to integrate fast, test UX at scale, and run localized KYC/AML makes us the partner of choice in these regions. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. We believe in purpose-built payments.
How does the current regulatory environment affect your company’s strategy, and what proactive steps do you take to ensure compliance?
Operating in high-risk verticals like Forex demands a zero-compromise stance on compliance. At SPAYZ.io, we are fully aligned with PCI DSS 4.0, GDPR, AML, and KYC regulations and have made compliance part of the product experience. Our systems include built-in workflows for customer verification, transaction screening, and dynamic risk scoring. We also provide tools for reconciliation and real-time reporting enabling merchants to access up-to-date stats and stay informed about activity across different payment methods. . As regulations tighten, our strategy is to stay ahead with our legal team actively tracking and adapting to changing regulatory conditions across markets. This allows us to scale quickly, without exposing merchants to unnecessary risk or onboarding latency.
How important is trust in your sector and the role of AI in it?
Trust is the currency of high-risk payments. If users doubt the safety of their funds, conversion drops instantly. If operators can’t rely on their payment provider to deliver uptime, security, and clear settlement flows, their business suffers. AI plays a growing role in safeguarding that trust. At SPAYZ.io, we use machine learning to drive smart routing, detect real-time fraud patterns, and personalize risk scoring by region or user type. But trust isn’t built by algorithms alone. It’s a combination of UX, clear communication, fast support, and rock-solid performance. We see AI as an enabler, not a replacement, for good payment relationships.
How do you see the future of the fintech industry, and what role do you believe Spayz.io will play in that landscape?
The future of fintech will be defined by orchestration, agility, and embedded compliance. We’re entering a phase where merchants don’t just want more payment methods. They want faster onboarding, cleaner settlements, real-time support, and data-driven decisioning. And this is where SPAYZ.io is headed. We aim to be the control tower for high-risk payments, giving operators complete visibility, smart automation, and scalability without compromise. In 2026 and beyond, we’ll continue to expand into untapped markets and deepen local integrations. The mission stays the same: help our partners grow with less friction, more trust, and full compliance.
Who’s Who BIO
Tatjana Meluskane is the Chief Commercial Officer at SPAYZ.io, bringing over 15 years of leadership in fintech and banking. With a strong track record in scaling global payment solutions, she focuses on expanding payment solutions globally. Tatjana combines strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and deep industry expertise to help merchants grow through smarter payments, trusted partnerships, and agile go-to-market execution.