Future of Payment Processing 2025: Ryft CEO on AI & Commerce 2.0

Ryft CEO and Co-founder Sadra Hosseini sat down with Entrepreneur UK to talk about how our payment processing platform is redefining digital connection and fixing broken payment systems.

What is covered in the interview:

• Why Manchester is outpacing London for fintech startups
• The shift from “open internet” to “closed internet” commerce
• How AI agents are transforming payment systems forever

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Sadra Hosseini, CEO & Co-founder of Ryft, discussing the future of embedded payments

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Why Manchester beats London

"We did try London, but Manchester is more fun, and there's a lot of untapped potential and talent here."

Sadra has launched all his companies in Manchester. His reasoning is simple but strategic: Better talent, lower costs. Manchester's universities produce exceptional developers and designers at a lower salary than those in London.

• Community: In Manchester, founders help each other. In London, it's more cutthroat competition and less collaboration.
• Quality of life: Green spaces, shorter commutes, vibrant culture. Building a startup is a marathon - environment matters.
• Stronger runway: Lower operational costs mean your funding lasts longer. You can focus on building, not just surviving.

Manchester is proving you don't need to be in London to build world-class fintech.

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The big shift: from open to closed internet

Sadra explains a fundamental change in how commerce works:

1. Open Internet - Commerce 1.0 

You go to a website. You browse. You add to cart. You check out.

2. Closed Internet - Commerce 2.0 

You tell your AI: "Buy me running shoes under £100, size 10, delivered by Friday."

Your AI agent searches, compares, and completes the purchase. You never visit a website.

"Payments is moving from the open internet where you go to a website and buy some shoes for yourself to the closed internet where you tell your AI to go and buy the shoes for you."

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Why this matters for payments

Traditional payment processors like Stripe were built for Commerce 1.0. They handle simple buyer-to-seller transactions well.

But marketplace payments are different. They need to:

• Split money between multiple parties automatically
• Hold funds until conditions are met
• Handle commission rates per seller or product
• Stay compliant across multiple regions
• Monetise transaction 

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What are agentive payments?

Agentive payments are payment systems designed for AI agents that can complete purchases autonomously on behalf of users.

Instead of you entering your credit card details on a website, your AI assistant has secure, pre-approved access to make purchases within parameters you set.

Major companies are already building for this:

• Mastercard launched Agent Pay 
• Visa introduced the Trusted Agent Protocol
• PayPal released their Agent Toolkit

Platforms using Ryft's  All-in-one payment processing platform are already positioned for this shift. They control the payment flow, own the data, and can integrate with agentive commerce protocols as they emerge.

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Why choose Ryft as your Payment Service Provider 

Ryft is a leading Payment Services Provider (PSP) that specialises in marketplace payment solutions, ensuring full compliance and offering 24/7 support from humans. Using Ryft, businesses can accept payments anywhere, automate split payments, onboard sellers, set up delayed payments and recurring billing, earn commission from payment escrow, and much more.    

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