The Executive Interview Series provides readers with exclusive insights from movers and shakers in the payments industry. The payments industry is under continuous transformation. This series offers diverse perspectives on everything from strategy to payments technology and the industry’s future.
In this interview between Howard Sysler, TSG Strategic Advisor and former EVP of Global Sales at Global Payments, and TSG’s Morgan Murphy, Howard shares insights from his leadership in global enterprise sales and advisory roles at Global Payments, Bank of America, and APEXX Global. Drawing on his experience in payments innovation and strategy, Howard discusses industry shifts toward data-driven decision-making, partnerships, and technology integration. He highlights the impact of alternative payment methods, orchestration platforms, and AI on customer experience and operational efficiency, offering a forward-looking perspective on the future of payments.
Bio: Howard Sysler is the former Executive Vice President of Global Sales at Global Payments, where he led global account management and enterprise sales for major international clients. Previously, he served as Managing Director at Bank of America, overseeing leveraged loan and distressed sales/trading within the leveraged finance division.He now focuses on supporting veterans and first responders as a founding board member of the Avalon Action Alliance, and serves as a non-executive board member at APEXX Global, a London-based payments orchestration platform. Howard holds an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a B.S. from SUNY Albany.
Q. Morgan M.
What inspired you to join TSG’s Strategic Advisors, and what excites you most about being part of this role?
A. Howard S.
What excites me most about joining TSG’s Strategic Advisors is the opportunity to collaborate with payment focused organizations by leveraging data-driven insights and analytical tools to enhance their performance. Once a salesman, always a salesman—I’ve always valued maintaining strong relationships with clients, both old and new. During my time at Global Payments, I often heard about TSG but didn’t fully appreciate the depth of their data capabilities. After spending time with the TSG team, I’m genuinely excited about how we can apply these tools to help our partners enhance customer experience and drive growth.
Q. Morgan M.
What initially drew you to the payments industry, and what has kept you passionate about the industry over the years?
A. Howard S.
My introduction to the payments industry began during my time at Merrill Lynch, when we completed the buyout of ISO TransFirst by a private equity firm. That transaction was followed by several other payments-related deals, ultimately leading to the acquisition of Heartland Payments by Global Payments in 2016. I was fascinated by the complexity and constant evolution of the payments landscape, which led me to engage more deeply with the executive team at Global Payments.
What has kept me passionate over the years is the industry’s relentless pace of innovation. The rise of alternative and local payment methods, payment orchestration, digital wallets, real-time payments, account to account transfers such as Venmo and Zelle in addition to BNPL solutions continues to reshape how businesses and consumers interact. That ongoing transformation makes payments one of the most dynamic sectors in financial services.
Q. Morgan M.
You have served in various advisory roles, including Executive Vice President of Global Sales at Global Payments. What major shifts have you observed in the payments landscape over the past five years, and where do you see the biggest opportunities ahead?
A. Howard S.
Over the past decade, I’ve observed several major shifts in the payments landscape, but two stand out most clearly. The first is the evolution of decision-making within enterprise merchants. Payments were once primarily managed by treasury and finance teams, but IT has increasingly become a key partner in shaping payment strategy. Emerging payment providers capitalized on this shift, gaining access to new decision-makers and prompting established players to rethink how they approach RFPs, client engagement, and solution delivery.
The second major shift is the growing emphasis on partnership and collaboration. Acquirers, gateways, and terminal providers have all reexamined their technology stacks to adapt to new innovations and shifting market expectations. Today, merchants demand seamless, innovative payment experiences for their customers—driving providers to align more closely and deliver integrated, future-ready solutions.
These shifts have unlocked significant opportunities across the payments ecosystem. Greater collaboration and open technology are accelerating innovation, from data analytics and orchestration platforms to embedded finance solutions. This evolution enables merchants to deliver more personalized, frictionless experiences while improving authorization performance, reducing costs, and driving new revenue opportunities.
Q. Morgan M.
How can businesses leverage these opportunities to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency?
A. Howard S.
Businesses can capitalize on these opportunities by adopting a more data-driven and integrated approach to payments. Leveraging orchestration platforms and advanced analytics allows merchants to streamline operations, intelligently route transactions, and reduce costs while improving authorization rates.
Equally important, providing customers with flexible and localized payment options—such as digital wallets, Buy Now Pay Later, and other alternative methods—enhances convenience and drives higher conversion rates. When payments are frictionless, secure, and tailored to customer preferences, the result is a stronger brand experience and greater loyalty. In short, aligning operational efficiency with customer-centric innovation is where the real competitive advantage lies.
Q. Morgan M.
What role do you see Open Banking and local payment methods play in shaping the next generation of payment solutions?
A. Howard S.
I think both Open Banking and local payment methods are going to be important in shaping the future of payments. Open Banking is exciting because it gives people more control over their financial data, and that opens the door to simpler, faster, and often cheaper payment options. For merchants, that means a chance to reduce costs while also creating a smoother experience for customers.
On the other side, local payment methods matter just as much. At the end of the day, customers want to pay in the way that feels most familiar and comfortable—whether that’s a digital wallet, a bank transfer, or a country-specific option like Pix in Brazil or Girocard in Germany. If merchants can meet those preferences, it builds trust and ultimately drives more business.
To me, the real opportunity is in combining the two—leveraging the innovation that Open Banking brings while staying tuned in to the local methods that customers know and trust. That’s what will make the next generation of payments more inclusive, flexible, and customer friendly.
Q. Morgan M.
Based on your extensive experience with Global Payments, what changes have you observed in how multinational companies manage payments? How do you think payment processes will continue to develop for international enterprises and national merchants?
A. Howard S.
Multinational companies operate in highly demanding environments with elevated expectations from both clients and consumers. Today’s consumers seek flexibility, control, and a seamless user experience. As a result, merchants are rapidly rolling out Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and other local or alternative payment methods to meet these evolving needs.
Global enterprises have made supporting these payment options a top priority—those unable to deliver are quickly replaced or augmented with partners that can. This shift has brought payment orchestration to the forefront as an emerging and transformative trend.
Orchestration platforms unify acquirers, gateways, shopping carts, and alternative payment methods into a single, integrated marketplace—offering Enterprise and Tier 1 merchants the speed, flexibility, and scalability needed to operate efficiently across multiple countries, time zones, and currencies. By leveraging data-driven insights, businesses can reduce costs, improve conversion rates, and ultimately drive sustainable growth.
Q. Morgan M.
What’s one emerging technology or trend you’re personally excited about—and why?
A. Howard S.
Artificial intelligence in payments may be widely discussed, but the excitement is well deserved. Fraud detection and prevention have been the most visible early applications, demonstrating AI’s ability to deliver tangible value. Enhanced customer experiences, powered by chatbots and virtual assistants, are quickly becoming standard as well.
Looking ahead, predictive analytics and personalized payment options will create entirely new levels of engagement, offering customers choices they didn’t even realize they wanted. At the same time, automation, intelligent routing, and the accelerating speed of self-service capabilities—driven by agentic AI—are dramatically reducing integration times for developers. These advances promise meaningful gains in operational efficiency and unlock new avenues for margin expansion among technology providers.
Challenges remain around data privacy, governance, and accountability, but the level of investment flowing into this space underscores the conviction that AI will fundamentally reshape payments. With so much innovation on the horizon, it’s hard not to be anything but optimistic about what comes next.