Payment Expert’s ID Check: Payments Professionals offers insight from industry leaders and experts on how they got their start in the financial industry, from their early years in education, to how they have been able to climb the corporate ladder.
This week, Serhii Zakharov, CEO of PayDo, is built on a foundation of innovation-first, and he reveals his entrepreneurial journey that involves user-centric infrastructure and innovation that aligns with clients’ own needs, but warns of friction challenges that can challenge the creative mind.
Where did you go to university and what did you study? What impact did this have on your current journey?
My academic path was a blend of deep technical training and strategic business education. I earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Metallurgical Engineering, which instilled a rigorous, process-oriented, and analytical mindset – fundamental for architecting complex systems.
I then pursued a Master’s in Finance, Banking, and Insurance, followed by an MBA. This combination provided the crucial dual perspective: the MBA equipped me with the strategic framework for scaling global ventures, while the finance degree delivered the specific regulatory and economic literacy essential for building in fintech.
Together, this education formed the perfect foundation for my journey – teaching me to approach financial infrastructure with the precision of an engineer and the vision of a strategist.
Were you part of any sports clubs or societies at university and has this influenced your educational and professional development?
Yes, I was involved in boxing. The discipline, resilience, and strategic focus required in the ring translated directly into my entrepreneurial mindset. Boxing taught me perseverance through challenging rounds, the importance of a strong defense (risk management), and the need for a clear, agile strategy to succeed.
This foundation of mental and physical discipline has been indispensable in navigating the relentless challenges of founding and scaling regulated fintech companies across multiple jurisdictions.
What was the first job you had in the industry and are there any lessons from this you still draw on?
My first direct role in the industry was as a Private Entrepreneur from 2012, founding and consulting for early-stage digital ventures in IT, fintech, and e-commerce. This hands-on period was my proving ground.
The key lesson I still draw on is the critical importance of building secure, user-centric infrastructure from the start. Architecting early payment gateways and platforms taught me that businesses don’t necessarily need more features – yet, they always need reliable, simple foundations. This insight directly inspired PayDo’s core mission: to eliminate complexity by providing unified, robust infrastructure instead of a patchwork of solutions.
Who was your biggest role model – inside or outside of your industry – who continues to inspire you in your current career?
I am most inspired by the visionary ecosystem architects – those who build the foundational layers upon which others innovate. My role models are not necessarily the most visible figures, but the pioneers who work on the complex, unglamorous infrastructure that makes simplicity possible for the end-user.
They are the thinkers and builders who focus on eliminating friction, not just creating it, and who understand that true progress is measured by how much complexity you remove from a system, not how much you add to the surface.
When was your first big break in the industry? Why was this such a significant moment for you?
A defining breakthrough was the development and launch of the world’s first proprietary payment verification system through the technology company I founded – WhiteTech. This innovation provided merchants with confirmed proof of payment receipt directly from the recipient bank, not just a payment initiation signal.
It was significant because it solved a fundamental pain point – fraudulent chargebacks (also called friendly fraud) – by leveraging technology for absolute certainty. This proved that by building deeper, direct infrastructure, you could solve industry-wide problems that intermediaries couldn’t. It validated my core belief that the future belongs to those who innovate at the infrastructural level.
Was there a moment you faced in the industry that really challenged you? How did you overcome this?
A significant and humbling challenge we faced was the slower-than-expected adoption of our non-redirect e-wallet, despite it being a first-in-the-industry innovation. We had engineered a solution that streamlined the payment flow, improved conversion rates, eliminated chargebacks, and removed rolling reserve requirements for merchants. On paper, it solved major pain points.
However, we learned that even a superior point solution encounters friction if it doesn’t connect to the deeper infrastructure clients truly need. The feedback was clear: businesses wanted more than a streamlined checkout; they demanded direct acquiring relationships and direct access to core payment rails like SEPA and SEPA Instant. They needed control, lower costs, and efficiency at the foundational level.
Our response was to pivot from selling a product to architecting an ecosystem. We built out the complete, unified platform clients were asking for – securing direct memberships with card schemes and payment networks. This allowed us to reposition the e-wallet not as a standalone widget, but as a seamless component within a broader infrastructure that included those critical direct connections.
The lesson was profound: true innovation must align with the client’s operational blueprint. Solving a surface problem isn’t enough; you must also empower the foundation beneath it.
What are some of the skills you deem essential to starting in your industry and how have yours developed over the years?
Three essential skill categories are: technical and architectural oversight (to understand what you’re building), regulatory acumen (to navigate the landscape you’re building in), and ecosystem leadership (to align teams, partners, and strategy).
My skills have evolved from hands-on product development in my early ventures to strategic oversight. I moved from coding payment gateways to architecting multi-jurisdictional licensed institutions (EMIs, MSBs). The development has been from a builder of tools to an architect of ecosystems – shifting focus from a single product’s lifecycle to orchestrating the entire symphony of technology, compliance, banking partnerships, and commercial strategy required for a global fintech platform.
Lastly, what is some advice you would give to an aspiring person looking to get a start in your respective industry?
Focus on becoming a problem-solver, not just a technologist. Deeply understand a painful, costly inefficiency – like payment fragmentation – and dedicate yourself to solving it at the infrastructure level.
Don’t just build another app; aim to rebuild the underlying layer. Cultivate resilience and regulatory literacy as core skills; they are non-negotiable. Start by getting hands-on, whether through a startup, a project, or by building a simple solution to a real problem.
The path is built by doing, learning from the market, and persistently iterating on a vision that removes friction and creates clarity for the end-user.
