On 22 May, PAYSTRAX had the honour of hosting the first-ever EPSM Annual General Meeting in the Baltics, or more specifically in Vilnius, Lithuania.
EPSM is a European Association of Payment Service Providers for Merchants, uniting 68 members from all over Europe and the United States. It’s one of the most influential and leading payments associations in Europe.
A warm welcome from PAYSTRAX
Most guests arrived on May 21st, with many visiting Lithuania for the first time. So, to kick off the event, we organised a guided tour of Vilnius’ city centre. Our guests had the chance to explore the historic Vilnius Old Town, admire its diverse architecture, including Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles, and discover fascinating insights into Lithuania’s rich and layered past.
We finished the first day with an informal dinner on one of the liveliest streets in Vilnius city centre, Vilniaus Street, where conversations extended well beyond payments.
EPSM AGM 2025
The official meeting began on 22 May with opening speeches by Blánaid Zanini (EPSM) and Johannes Kolbeinsson (CEO, PAYSTRAX). Association members, from companies like JCB, creditPass, De Mateis Law, EURO Kartensysteme, Fexco, Lyra, Neosoft, UnionPay International, and Verifone joined the session, alongside Lithuanian guest speakers.
The morning sessions covered updates from EPSM and its current affairs, including:
☑️ EPSM working group reports
☑️ Financial and audit reports
☑️ Election of new board members
☑️ Approval of budgets and forecasts
We then shifted focus to Lithuania’s payments and fintech ecosystem:
☑️ Jūratė Butkutė (Bank of Lithuania) gave an overview of the local payments market
☑️ Agnė Klimavičienė (Invest Lithuania) presented key insights from the latest Lithuania’s Fintech Landscape Report
☑️ Asta Grigaitytė (Fintech Hub Lithuania) shared strategies for supporting local payment solutions
☑️ Johannes Kolbeinsson (PAYSTRAX) explored the evolving regulatory landscape for payment institutions and card acquirers
The afternoon continued with two presentations focused on risk and collaboration:
☑️ Thomas Von der Gathen (PSA) spoke about the power of public-private partnerships in fraud prevention
☑️ Mindaugas Civilka (TGS Baltic) walked through ICT incident management frameworks for fintechs
The meeting wrapped up with a summary of the conference by Nicolas Adolph (EPSM). Afterwards, we invited all the guests to visit the PAYSTRAX office, where guests were welcomed with a celebratory cake.
We’re proud to have brought the EPSM AGM to Vilnius and this meeting just spotlighted Lithuania’s growing role in European payments. With the right mix of regulation, innovation, and collaboration, there’s much more to come.
And a huge thank you to EPSM, for trusting PAYSTRAX to host this event and we hope to see you in the Baltics again very soon!
