Cardaq Strengthens Leadership Team and Expands Focus on Payment Infrastructure

London, UK, August 28th, 2026, FinanceWire

Cardaq Limited, a UK-authorised electronic money institution and payments infrastructure provider, is entering a new phase of development, with an expanded leadership team supporting its focus on acquiring, issuing and payment infrastructure for businesses.

Established in London in 2011, Cardaq has grown from a cards and acquiring business into a broader payments infrastructure provider, offering payment accounts, card programmes, payouts and transfers, and foreign exchange, alongside its acquiring and issuing services.

Building infrastructure for the next generation of payments

As Cardaq has developed from a cards and acquiring business into a wider payments infrastructure provider, its growth is now being driven by an expanded leadership team and a broader technology strategy covering acquiring, issuing and related financial infrastructure.

Cardaq's API supports card issuing and acquiring, domestic and international payment schemes, and multi-currency accounts. Faster Payments, CHAPS and SWIFT-enabled payments are supported today, giving businesses access to a connected payment environment.

For businesses, bringing these capabilities together into one environment can save time and effort compared with sourcing accounts, cards and payment rails from separate providers.

"Payments are evolving from a collection of individual products into connected infrastructure," said Hugo Remi, CEO of Cardaq. "Our focus at Cardaq is to give businesses the technology and payment infrastructure they need to build and manage more connected payment experiences."

Expanding the leadership team

Cardaq's development is being supported by an expanded leadership structure, including the appointment of Noyan Nihat as Co-CEO and Executive Director and Claire Huddleston as Chief Operating Officer.

Noyan Nihat brings over 20 years of experience across banking and electronic money institutions. He also sits on the Advisory Board of The Payments Association as Deputy Chair, contributing to industry discussions on payments, financial services and cross-border activity.

Claire Huddleston brings 30 years of commercial experience, including 24 years across payments and fintech in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Her background spans scaling businesses, large enterprises and regulated environments, with a focus on building strong operational foundations.

Together, these appointments strengthen Cardaq's leadership team as the company continues to develop its operations and pursue its international development plans.

From cards to connected payment infrastructure

Cardaq's name reflects the company's origins in card issuing, but its proposition today is broader: Cardaq is a Principal Member of Visa, Mastercard and China UnionPay, providing issuing and acquiring services alongside accounts and payment services.

The company's technology strategy is built around connecting these services rather than treating each as a standalone product - allowing a fintech, marketplace or online business to build its payment stack without developing every component itself.

Automation and operational infrastructure

As payment volumes and reporting requirements grow, the operational layer behind a payment - reconciliation, reporting and data accuracy - becomes as important as moving the money itself.

Cardaq works with technology partners to automate reconciliation and reporting processes, helping the businesses it supports gain more accurate insight into their transactions and improve operational efficiency across both domestic and cross-border activity. This has included automating reporting and reconciliation for card scheme transactions for the institutions Cardaq supports.

This reflects a broader shift across financial services: payment infrastructure today is expected to deliver accurate data and transparent, automated reporting alongside the movement of funds, as payment flows themselves become more complex.

Looking ahead

Cardaq's strategy is to continue developing its acquiring and issuing services and to grow its international presence in regulated markets, building on the foundations laid in the UK.

“Scale in payments is not only about processing more transactions. It is about building the operational, technological and regulatory foundations that allow businesses to grow with confidence,” said Noyan Nihat, Co-CEO of Cardaq.

As the boundaries between fintechs, software companies and financial services providers continue to blur, Cardaq's aim is to give businesses the infrastructure to incorporate financial services into their own technology stack, on a foundation of regulatory and operational discipline.

About Cardaq Limited

Cardaq Limited was established in London in 2011 and is authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as an Electronic Money Institution (FRN 900088). It provides payment accounts, card issuing and acquiring, money movement and foreign exchange, along with the technology to support businesses building and managing payment products. Cardaq is a Principal Member of Visa, Mastercard and China UnionPay.

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