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Most payment specialists pick a lane. A bank, a processor, or a scheme. Greg Rikkhachai has worked across all of them.
His career spans banks, card schemes, fintechs, and digital assets, including a stint as Head of Payments at Banxa, the crypto-to-fiat platform. Today, he holds the same title at GnosisHQ, still connecting card schemes, banks, and processors, and still asking how payments can do more than just work.
We spoke to Greg to discuss the shift from operational to strategic, the moment at Banxa that changed how he thinks about payments, and why he believes the best payment leaders are the ones who stop thinking only about payments.
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1. How did you get into payments?
I actually stumbled into payments. I started in card operations early in my career and quickly realized there was so much more to it than just moving money. It brings together technology, regulation, commercial strategy and customer experience, so every challenge is a little different. Since then, I've been fortunate to work across banks, card schemes, fintechs, and digital assets, which has given me a pretty broad view of the industry.
2. What does your role look like today?
My role is really about connecting the dots across the payments ecosystem. I work with card schemes, banks, processors, and internal teams to ensure everything runs smoothly while also exploring how we can improve it. Some days it's solving an operational challenge, other days it's supporting new initiatives or strengthening partner relationships. That's what I enjoy about payments is, no two days are the same.
3. How has your role changed over the last five years? Has the importance of payments within your organization evolved?
Payments used to be something that sat in the background. You only noticed them when something went wrong. Today, they're much more strategic. Businesses are considering how payments can improve the customer experience, reduce costs, and even create new opportunities. The role has evolved in the same way, from being more execution-focused to spending more time on strategy, partnerships and helping shape where the business is heading.
4. Was there a moment when you realized payments were more strategic than transactional? What changed your perspective?
There are many, and one moment that really stands out was when I was at Banxa. We changed the way we routed payments, which improved customer conversion and saved a significant amount in processing costs. That really showed me that payments aren't just about processing transactions. They can directly influence growth, profitability, and the customer experience.
5. Where do you see the role of the payments leader heading over the next few years?
The payments landscape changes so quickly that being a payments expert isn't enough anymore. You need to be curious, understand the broader business and be comfortable bringing different parts of the ecosystem together. The technology will change, but solving customer and business problems remains constant.
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