Recognition across six categories highlights FlexFactor’s AI-native approach to reversing eligible false declines during authorization

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — FlexFactor, the payments technology company behind AI-native AcceptIQ, has been named a finalist in six categories at The Card & Payments Awards US 2026. Based on FlexFactor’s review of the published 2026 shortlist, FlexFactor is the only organization with six finalist selections.

FlexFactor has been shortlisted for:

• Best Application of AI or ML in Financial Services
• Best Customer Service
• Best Early-Stage or Future Payments Initiative
• Best Industry Innovation
• Best Payment Facility
• Best POS Solution

These six selections span distinct areas of the payments ecosystem – from artificial intelligence and customer experience to future payments, industry innovation, payment infrastructure, and point-of-sale technology.

FlexFactor’s Approach – Creating a New Decisioning Layer Inside Payment Authorization

Historically, payment technologies have largely operated on either side of authorization. Fraud, risk, and authentication technologies evaluate transactions before issuer response, while retries, dunning, and account updater solutions attempt recovery after a payment has already failed. FlexFactor created real-time decline decisioning to bridge this structural gap.

At the center of the capability is AcceptIQ, FlexFactor’s AI-native platform for real-time payment decline decisioning. AcceptIQ evaluates transaction, issuer, merchant, data-quality, acquiring, and routing signals to determine whether a decline is recoverable, the likelihood of successful reauthorization, and the appropriate recovery path.

When AcceptIQ identifies an eligible false decline, FlexFactor can execute the recovery, purchase the merchant’s invoice, guarantee the sale, and assume the recovery risk. This enables eligible false payment declines to be reversed before they become lost sales, wasted customer acquisition spend, lost lifetime value, or damaging customer experiences.

For the end customer, the recovery is invisible. Legitimate customers can complete their intended purchase without retrying the transaction, changing payment methods, or entering a separate recovery journey.

FlexFactor is live with more than 100 merchants and typically cures 15% to 20% of eligible declines across live deployments, with observed results varying by merchant profile, decline mix, and payment environment.

“Reversing a failed payment after it has already been declined by some of the world’s most sophisticated payment systems is not a simple problem. Doing it in real time makes it even harder,” said Guy Vatman, CTO of FlexFactor. “It requires evaluating multiple signals and determining the right recovery path within the authorization flow before that failed-payment experience reaches the customer. To solve that challenge, we built AcceptIQ, which creates real value for the payments ecosystem – enabling merchants to preserve legitimate sales as customers complete their purchase without even knowing a decline occurred.”

A Word From The Card & Payments Awards

“For more than 20 years, The Card & Payments Awards have been about recognizing the organizations and people raising standards across the payments ecosystem. As we bring the Awards to the United States for the first time, the quality and breadth of this year’s shortlist demonstrates the extraordinary level of innovation taking place across the industry. Being shortlisted is an achievement in itself. To be recognized across six categories is a significant result for FlexFactor and reflects the breadth of the work presented to our independent judging panel. We look forward to welcoming FlexFactor, alongside our wider finalist community, to Gotham Hall in New York on November 17.” – Michael Harty, Founder & Managing Director, The Card & Payments Awards

The Card & Payments Awards US 2026

Established in 2005, The Card & Payments Awards recognizes excellence, innovation, and best practice across the payments industry. In 2026, the Awards bring their independent judging process and industry community to the United States for the inaugural US event.

The winners of The Card & Payments Awards US 2026 will be announced on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at Gotham Hall, New York. The evening begins at 6 pm and continues until late.

Event – The Card & Payments Awards US 2026
Date – November 17, 2026
Venue – Gotham Hall, New York
Prime Sponsor – FIS

About FlexFactor

FlexFactor is a payments technology company transforming payment decline recovery through real-time decline decisioning during authorization. Its AI-native AcceptIQ platform identifies, evaluates, and reverses eligible false payment declines before customers experience a failed payment – helping merchants prevent legitimate transactions from becoming lost sales, wasted customer acquisition spend, lost lifetime value, and damaging customer experiences. FlexFactor supports one-time, recurring, and hybrid commerce through existing payment infrastructure, enabling merchants to improve payment performance without adding friction to checkout. FlexFactor is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners.

About The Card & Payments Awards

Since 2005, The Card & Payments Awards has recognized excellence and innovation across the global payments ecosystem. The Awards are built around an independent judging process and bring together organizations shaping the future of payments. The inaugural US Awards create a new platform to recognize the companies, technologies, partnerships, and people advancing payments across the United States.

Media Contacts

FlexFactor
Brennen Creer, CMO
media@flexfactor.io

The Card & Payments Awards
info@cardandpaymentsawards.com

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SOURCE FlexFactor