Zakharov award spotlights payments push

Serhii Zakharov, founder and chief executive of PayDo, has been honoured at FinTech Week Dubai 2026 with the Excellence in Financial Leadership Award in the Digital Payments Innovation category, adding a personal accolade to a year in which the London-based payments firm has been expanding its regulatory footprint and product stack. Event-linked coverage and company-linked posts place the award at FinTech Week Dubai, held in Dubai on 16-17 February, where payments, security and cross-border financial infrastructure were central themes.

The recognition matters beyond one executive’s trophy shelf because it lands at a time when Dubai is pushing hard towards a more digital financial system. Official policy material around the Dubai Cashless Strategy says the emirate is targeting 90% of transactions to be cashless by 2026, while the Central Bank of the UAE has also been pressing ahead with broader fintech and digital transformation plans linked to open banking and related infrastructure. That makes awards tied to payments leadership as much a signal about market direction as an individual achievement.

Zakharov’s profile has risen alongside PayDo’s attempt to position itself as a single-entry payments platform for digital businesses that would otherwise have to stitch together banking, card, acquiring and transfer services from multiple providers. Trade coverage and company materials describe PayDo as a regulated electronic money institution offering multi-currency accounts, international transfers, merchant acquiring, card issuing and collections tools through one integration layer. That pitch speaks directly to a wider industry problem: merchants and platform businesses increasingly want fewer intermediaries, lower friction and faster settlement across borders.

PayDo’s expansion over the past year has helped explain why Zakharov’s name is travelling more widely through the fintech conference circuit. Reports from 2025 said the company secured authorisation from Malta’s financial regulator to extend payment services across the European Union, complementing its UK regulatory standing. It also rolled out additions such as direct SEPA and SEPA Instant connectivity and a USD IBAN via SWIFT, moves designed to make the company more useful for clients handling high-volume and cross-border transactions.

Supporters of the award argue that this is exactly the kind of operational innovation the digital payments sector now rewards: not flashy consumer apps alone, but infrastructure that makes money movement less fragmented for businesses operating across jurisdictions. That has become a particularly important proposition as global payments firms try to serve online merchants facing rising compliance burdens, more demanding treasury needs and stronger pressure to reduce delays in settlement. Reuters’ reporting this week on OpenFX’s latest fund-raising round underlined how strongly investors are still backing businesses that promise to modernise international payments and shorten transaction times.

Still, the award should be read with some caution. Much of the material surrounding Zakharov’s win has appeared through company announcements, event-linked channels and specialist trade publications rather than through extensive independent reporting. That does not invalidate the recognition, but it does place it in the familiar category of conference ecosystem awards that often serve both genuine industry signalling and brand-building purposes. For readers and investors, the more important test is whether the companies and leaders being honoured can translate conference visibility into sustained commercial execution and regulatory resilience.

Dubai is a logical stage for that contest. The emirate has been sharpening its identity as a regional and international fintech hub through state-backed initiatives, conferences and policy support. DIFC’s planning for Dubai Future Finance Week 2026 shows how strongly payments infrastructure, digital commerce and cross-border regulatory questions remain at the centre of the agenda. Market projections cited in industry reporting also point to continued expansion of the UAE fintech sector over the next several years, with payments one of the most competitive segments.

For Zakharov, the Dubai award is likely to be useful on three fronts: client acquisition, regulatory credibility and talent attraction. Payments businesses sell trust as much as technology, and leadership awards in recognised financial centres can help sharpen that message when courting merchants, partners and institutional counterparties. For PayDo, the challenge now is to prove that its “unified ecosystem” story can hold up in a market where incumbents, fast-growing fintech challengers and stablecoin-linked infrastructure providers are all trying to capture the same cross-border payments opportunity.