Payments · Fraud · Fintech · Product

Turning payments
into profit

Global product leader. 9 years at Wayfair building the payments & fraud org that moved $13B in GMV and $100M+ in annual P&L impact.

Read More Work Together
$13B+
GMV Owned
$100M+
Annual P&L Impact
100+
Person Org
9 yrs
At Wayfair
Matteo Gamba
Head of Product
Global Payments & Fraud
Wayfair · 2016 – 2025
Open to
Advisory · Speaking
Payments · Fraud · Fintech
Scroll to explore
Money20/20 Europe
MRC Global
MPE Berlin
Forter IMPACT
Stripe Tour London
Visa Open Payments
UBS Fintech
Payments Leaders Summit
Payment Nomads
Fintech Connect Berlin
MRC Europe
Money20/20 Europe
MRC Global
MPE Berlin
Forter IMPACT
Stripe Tour London
Visa Open Payments
UBS Fintech
Payments Leaders Summit
Payment Nomads
Fintech Connect Berlin
MRC Europe
Biography

The operator.
The builder. The voice.

I'm Matteo — an Italian product leader who has spent the last decade building and scaling payments and fraud organizations at some of the most demanding e-commerce and fintech companies in the world.

For nearly nine years, I was Head of Product for Global Payments & Fraud at Wayfair — one of the largest e-commerce retailers globally, with over $13 billion in annual GMV. I built and led a 100+ person cross-functional organization and delivered over $100M in recurring annual profit impact.

Before Wayfair, I led growth product at Wise (then TransferWise), and before that, cut my teeth at high-growth Berlin startups within the Rocket Internet ecosystem.

Today I advise fintechs, marketplaces, and enterprise commerce companies on turning payments from a cost center into a strategic profit lever.

Turn payments from a cost center into a strategic profit lever
Design multi-PSP, tokenization, and orchestration strategies
Improve auth rates, AOV, and conversion
Reduce fraud without damaging customer experience
Develop practical AI and agentic commerce capabilities
Based in
Berlin, Germany
Languages
Italian · English · German
Domain
Payments · Fraud · Commerce
Function
Product Leadership
Industry events
Money20/20 · MRC · MPE
MRC
EU Advisory Board Member
Angel investments
Fintech & Payments Infra
Current focus
Advisory · Consulting · Speaking
Career

Where I've built
and what I shipped

A track record of shipping consequential products, leading organizations at scale, and creating lasting impact in payments and fintech.

2016 — 2025
Wayfair · Berlin / Boston
Head of Product — Global Payments & Fraud
Led global product strategy and full P&L for Wayfair's payments and fraud function across a $13B+ GMV business spanning North America and Europe. Built and scaled a 100+ person cross-functional team from the ground up. Directed the full replatforming of payments and fraud infrastructure — implementing multi-PSP orchestration, tokenization, and AI-driven anti-fraud systems — unlocking $100M+ annually through improved authorization rates, lower processing fees, and reduced fraud losses.
$13B GMV$100M+ P&LMulti-PSP OrchestrationAI Fraud100+ Person OrgMRC EU Board
2014 — 2016
Wise (TransferWise) · London / Berlin
Product Lead — Growth
Led growth product at one of Europe's fastest-growing fintechs. Built and scaled acquisition and monetization engines across SEO, referral systems, and performance channels. Worked closely with engineering and data teams to iterate on growth loops in a highly regulated, cross-border financial product.
Growth ProductReferral SystemsMonetizationInternational Expansion
2011 — 2014
Rocket Internet · Berlin
Product & Growth — Berlin Startups
Formative years in the Rocket Internet ecosystem — the most demanding environment to learn how to build products fast and think commercially. Led product and growth across multiple ventures in e-commerce and marketplace categories.
0→1 BuildsE-commerceMarketplaceGrowth
Impact at a Glance

Numbers that
tell the story

$13B+
GMV under product ownership at Wayfair
$100M+
Annual recurring P&L impact delivered
100+
Person cross-functional org built and led
9 yrs
Scaling one of Europe's largest commerce payments stacks
Payment Orchestration
Fraud Prevention
Auth Rate Uplift
Multi-PSP Strategy
Tokenization
Chargeback Management
Fee Optimization
AI in Payments
Agentic Commerce
Risk & Compliance
Team Building
P&L Ownership
Payment Orchestration
Fraud Prevention
Auth Rate Uplift
Multi-PSP Strategy
Tokenization
Chargeback Management
Fee Optimization
AI in Payments
Agentic Commerce
Risk & Compliance
Team Building
P&L Ownership
Speaking

Industry voice in
payments & fraud

A regular speaker, panelist, and moderator at Money20/20, MRC, MPE, Forter, Visa, and Stripe. I talk about payments strategy, fraud at scale, and the future of AI in commerce.

2026
MPE Berlin 2026
Merchant Payments Ecosystem · Berlin · March 2026 · 2 sessions
MPE
−
Big Talk · Main Stage
Complex vs. Complicated: Building Payment Systems That Actually Scale
Co-presenter: Mikko Riikkinen (Wolt)
NXT Roundtable
The Agentic AI Payments Matrix: Balancing Automation with Domain Expertise
Framework for navigating AI autonomy vs. operator expertise in payments
📸 Add photos or video from this event
2025
MPE Berlin 2025
Merchant Payments Ecosystem · Berlin · March 2025 · 3 sessions
MPE
+
Main Stage · Panel
Payment Orchestration as the Key to Efficiency
With Ixopay, Back Market, Juspay, Rapyd · Mod: Masha Cilliers
Breakout · Panel
Know Your Tokens!
With Silverflow, Forter, Checkout.com · Mod: Newland
Main Stage · Moderator
The Relationship Between Merchants & Payments
Panel with Delivery Hero, Fiennes Davey and others
📸 Add photos or video from this event
2025
Money20/20 Europe 2025
Amsterdam · 2025
Money20/20
+
Panel
Payments Strategy in the Age of AI-Driven Commerce
Enterprise merchant perspective on AI in payments
📸 Add photos or video from this event
2025
MRC 2025 — Las Vegas & Barcelona
Merchant Risk Council · Las Vegas (March) + Barcelona (May) · 2 sessions
MRC
+
Speaker · Las Vegas
Fraud, Risk & the Human-AI Tradeoff
How operators must retain domain expertise as AI takes over fraud decisions
Panel · Barcelona
The Future of Payments Orchestration in European Commerce
Enterprise merchant panel on multi-PSP architecture & cost optimization
📸 Add photos or video from these events
2024
MPE Berlin 2024 + Forter IMPACT
MPE Berlin (March) · Forter IMPACT (2024) · 2 events
MPEForter
+
Panel · MPE Berlin
The "Complexity" Challenge in Payments
With Redbridge, Mastercard, Prezi, PPRO · Mod: Edgar, Dunn & Company
Keynote · Forter IMPACT
The Real Cost of Fraud: Operating at $13B in GMV
Operator perspective on fraud economics and ML systems at scale
📸 Add photos or video from these events
2024
Stripe Tour London + Visa Open Payments Berlin + Payment Nomads
3 events · 2024
2024
+
Speaker · Stripe Tour London
Payments Infrastructure at Wayfair Scale
Invited by Stripe to present payments architecture and orchestration strategy
Speaker · Visa Open Payments Berlin
Open Payments Architecture: The Merchant Perspective
Representing enterprise merchant viewpoint on open payments infrastructure
Speaker · Payment Nomads
What Enterprise Merchants Actually Do With Their Payments Stack
Inside perspective on how large merchants build and manage payments
📸 Add photos or video from these events
2023
Money20/20 Amsterdam + Payments Leaders' Summit Rotterdam
2 events · 2023
Money20/20
+
Panel · Money20/20 Amsterdam
Designing Trust into Checkout: Fraud at Scale
Balancing customer experience and fraud prevention at global e-commerce scale
Speaker · Payments Leaders' Summit Rotterdam
Authorization, Conversion & the Hidden Fraud Tradeoff
Why optimizing conversion and preventing fraud are more intertwined than most teams realize
📸 Add photos or video from these events
2022
MRC Connects Berlin + Fintech Connect Berlin
2 events · 2022
MRC
+
Panel · MRC Connects Berlin
Fraud Strategy for European E-Commerce
Enterprise fraud strategy across UK, Germany, and Continental Europe markets
Panel · Fintech Connect Berlin
Building a Payments P&L from Scratch
How to turn your payments team from a cost center into a profit generator
📸 Add photos or video from these events
Topics I speak on
⚡
Payment Orchestration & Multi-PSP Architecture
🛡
Fraud at Scale: ML, Rules & the False Positive Problem
💰
Payments as a P&L: Auth Rates, Fees & Working Capital
🤖
Agentic AI in Payments: Opportunities & Risks
🏗
Building High-Performance Payments & Risk Teams
🌍
Cross-Border Payments & European Regulatory Landscape
Invite me to speak →
Interviews & Podcasts

Ideas in
conversation

Fraud prevention, payments strategy, product leadership, and the future of AI in commerce — in long-form conversation.

🎙 Podcast · Fraud Fighters
What Is Fraud Prevention? The Operator's View
Fraud Fighters Podcast · 2023
Why good customers and fraudsters are often trying to do the same thing — and how operators must optimize for completely different outcomes simultaneously.
Listen → Link coming
📹 Roundtable · MPE 2026 Berlin
The Agentic AI Payments Matrix
Merchant Payments Ecosystem · Berlin, March 2026
Live from MPE 2026: a 2×2 framework mapping AI autonomy vs. domain expertise in payments — from the "Paralyzed Novice" to the "Black Box Danger Zone" to the "Empowered Expert" quadrant.
Watch → Recording coming
🎤 Interview
Building High-Performance Payments Teams at Scale
Payments Leadership Series
How to structure a payments org, what skills to hire for, and how to align Product, Finance, Engineering, and Risk around a single roadmap and commercial goal.
Read → Coming soon
🎙 Podcast
From Cost Center to Profit Lever: Reframing Payments Strategy
Fintech Operators
Most companies treat payments as infrastructure. The best ones treat it as a profit lever. A conversation on orchestration, fee optimization, and auth rate uplift.
Listen → Coming soon
🎤 Interview
Fraud at $13B GMV: What Actually Works
Risk Intelligence Review
A candid operator's perspective on fraud ML, rule systems, the false-positive problem, and why most fraud models fail at the edges of the distribution.
Read → Coming soon
🎙 Podcast
Multi-PSP Orchestration: The Architecture Decisions That Matter
Commerce Engineering Podcast
When does orchestration pay off, and when is it over-engineering? Build vs buy, vendor selection, and how to architect for resilience and cost.
Listen → Coming soon
Advisory

Where I'm
actively contributing

I advise companies where my operator experience can meaningfully move the needle — not as a figurehead, but as a working advisor.

Advisor · 2025 – Present
DEUNA
Payment orchestration & checkout AI · Latin America & US
DEUNA is a high-growth payment orchestration and checkout AI company operating across Latin America and the US. I advise on their Athia for Payments platform.
Product iteration acceleration and capability definition
Roadmap strategy and go-to-market with merchants and PSPs
Active user of the platform — providing real operator feedback
Payments OrchestrationProduct StrategyAI & Agentic Commerce
Advisor · 2024 – Present
Very Good Security
Data security & payment tokenization · San Francisco
VGS is a leading data security and payment tokenization company, helping merchants and fintechs protect sensitive data while maintaining full payment functionality.
Product positioning and enterprise go-to-market strategy
How large merchants evaluate and adopt tokenization solutions
Introductions across the enterprise payments ecosystem
TokenizationData SecurityEnterprise GTM
Advisory Board Member · 2022 – Present
MRC Europe
Merchant Risk Council · EU Advisory Board
The MRC is the global authority on e-commerce payments and fraud intelligence. As an EU Advisory Board member, I help shape the MRC's European agenda.
Contributing to research and conference programming
Best practice development for European merchants
Industry advocacy on payments, fraud, and compliance
Fraud & RiskEU RegulationIndustry Advocacy
Open Advisory Slots
Work with me
Are you building in payments, fraud, or commerce infrastructure?
I take on a small number of advisory engagements per year where I can have genuine strategic impact.
Complex payments architecture & vendor selection
Building the business case for payments investment
Fraud strategy tradeoffs and team design
Get in Touch →
Investments

Backing the next
payments infrastructure

I invest in early-stage companies at the intersection of payments, fraud, risk, and financial infrastructure — and bring hands-on operator value, not just capital.

Angel · Pre-Seed
[ Fintech / Payments ]
Payment Orchestration · Europe
Backed at early stage. Contributing strategic product perspective on how enterprise merchants evaluate and adopt orchestration layers, and introductions across the European payments ecosystem.
Angel · Seed
[ Fraud Intelligence ]
Fraud Prevention · B2B SaaS
Early backer of a fraud intelligence platform targeting mid-market e-commerce. Providing product advisory, customer introductions, and merchant decision-making perspective.
Angel · Pre-Seed
[ Commerce Infrastructure ]
Agentic Commerce · AI
Invested in a team building AI-first tooling for the agentic commerce stack. Advising on product direction and the intersection of payments, automation, and the future of checkout.

Interested in having me in your cap table? I invest in pre-seed and seed stage companies in payments infrastructure, fraud & risk intelligence, and AI/agentic commerce. I write small checks and bring active operator value — deep domain expertise, ecosystem introductions, and a direct, no-fluff perspective on product and strategy.

Reach out →
Ways of Working

How I operate
and how I can help

I've worked across large organizations and scrappy startups. Here's how I think about collaboration and where I add the most value.

01
Direct, operator-level advice
›
I give direct, operator-level feedback — no theoretical frameworks, no hedge-everything consulting. I tell you what I've seen work at $13B in GMV, what I'd do differently, and where I think you're leaving money on the table.
02
Commercial first, always
›
Every recommendation I make is grounded in P&L impact. Whether it's authorization rates, fraud loss ratios, or fee optimization — I think in basis points and dollars, not just product metrics.
03
Narrative and internal alignment
›
One of the hardest things in payments is selling the roadmap internally. I help leadership teams craft a clear payments narrative — aligning Product, Finance, Engineering, and Risk around a coherent roadmap that gets executive buy-in.
04
Vendor landscape & build vs. buy
›
I maintain a deep, current network across PSPs, fraud vendors, orchestration platforms, and infrastructure providers. I can give you an informed, unbiased view of the landscape and help navigate build vs. buy tradeoffs at any scale.
05
Team building & org design
›
Having scaled a 100+ person cross-functional org, I know how to structure payments and risk teams — what to centralize, what to distribute, how to hire, and how to set up the operating model to move fast without losing quality.
06
Ecosystem network
›
A deep, trusted network of payments operators, risk leaders, investors, and vendors built over 9+ years at global conferences, board memberships, and industry relationships. I open doors that matter.

Ready to work
together?

Whether you're a founder navigating your first enterprise payments stack, a CPO trying to build the business case for orchestration, or a board looking for an experienced payments voice — let's talk.

Get in Touch Book via Intro
Writing & Thinking

Ideas on payments,
fraud, and building

No theory — operator experience only. I write about the mechanics and strategy of payments, fraud prevention, and product leadership in fintech.

Fraud & Risk
Why Most Fraud Models Fail at the Edges
The middle of the fraud distribution is well-understood. The real losses hide in the tails — and most teams aren't looking there.
Coming soon · 8 min read
→
Payments Strategy
The Hidden Cost of Authorization Optimization
When you optimize purely for approval, you're often just shifting the cost of fraud downstream — into chargebacks, disputes, and working capital.
Coming soon · 6 min read
→
Agentic Commerce
The Agentic AI Payments Matrix
As AI autonomy increases in payments, high automation combined with low domain expertise creates a dangerous black box. A framework for where AI should and shouldn't own decisions.
Coming soon · 7 min read
→
All writing →
Get in Touch

Let's build
something real

Founder building in fintech, company looking for an experienced payments advisor, conference seeking a speaker, or investor looking for deal flow — I'd love to connect.

🎙
Speaking
Keynotes, panels, roundtables at payments, fraud, and fintech conferences globally
🧭
Advisory
Strategic advisory for fintechs and commerce companies on payments, fraud, and product leadership
💡
Consulting
Project-based engagements for specific payments architecture, fraud strategy, or team-building challenges