Nationwide Payment Systems CEO Allen Kopelman Earns Industry Recognition as 25-Year Fintech Veteran Reshapes Merchant Services Landscape

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, July 05, 2026 — Allen Kopelman, Founder and CEO of Nationwide Payment Systems (NPS), is being recognized for his sustained contributions to the U.S. payments and financial technology industry — a career spanning more than 25 years that has taken him from the restaurant kitchens of South Florida to the forefront of merchant services innovation. The Fort Lauderdale-based executive co-founded NPS in January 2001 alongside business partner David Burney with a single goal: deliver concierge-level payment processing to merchants who deserved better than the industry's one-size-fits-all approach. Today, NPS serves more than 1,000 clients across the United States, ranging from brick-and-mortar retailers and restaurants to SaaS platforms, B2B distributors, and regulated high-risk industries that mainstream processors routinely turn away.

The recognition arrives at a milestone moment for both Kopelman and the broader payments sector. NPS has expanded its footprint well beyond its South Florida roots, adding smart invoicing capabilities, omnichannel POS integrations, and a specialized consulting arm — The Payment Advisory Board — that advises merchants, banks, and payment providers on domestic and international processing strategy. The company's deliberate diversification across verticals, including e-commerce, B2B, and high-risk categories, proved to be a structural advantage during periods of market disruption, insulating NPS from the volatility that hit processors over-reliant on a single merchant segment.

Building a Business on Straight Talk

Kopelman's path to payments was anything but linear. Raised in a family of Miami business owners, he later trained as a chef, worked as an Executive Chef for Metro Hotels in Dallas, and opened a well-reviewed restaurant — Food Amongst the Arts — in Boca Raton before pivoting to merchant services in the late 1990s. That hands-on commercial background informs how NPS operates today: as a consultant that explains processing fees, compliance requirements, and technology choices in plain language rather than industry jargon.

"We started with the idea that we would provide personal, concierge-style service to business owners, and that principle has never changed," said Allen Kopelman, Founder and CEO of Nationwide Payment Systems. "Whether a merchant has been declined by every major processor or simply wants to stop overpaying on interchange, our job is to get them to the right solution — fast and without the runaround."

That philosophy has translated into measurable traction. NPS maintains direct relationships with multiple acquiring banks and front-end processors, enabling the company to serve merchants across risk profiles — from low-risk retail accounts to CBD dispensaries, adult content platforms, and gaming operators. The firm also offers cash discount and surcharge programs, Level 2 and Level 3 B2B card acceptance, ACH solutions, and chargeback rescue services, giving clients tools that go well beyond a standard merchant account.

Voice of the Industry

Beyond running NPS, Kopelman has become one of the payments industry's most consistent public voices. His podcast, B2B Vault: The Biz to Biz Podcast, has surpassed 300 episodes and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. The show brings together fintech founders, marketing strategists, and veteran operators to discuss payment trends, compliance shifts, and small business growth — making technical topics accessible to a general business audience.

Kopelman also writes the "Street Smarts" column for the Green Sheet, the payments industry's longest-running trade publication, now in his second year of contributions. His byline appears regularly on the Forbes Business Council platform, where he covers merchant account strategy, subscription billing models, and digital payment adoption. These editorial commitments reflect a deliberate effort to raise industry standards through education rather than sales — a stance that has earned peer recognition from processors, banks, and fintech platforms that cite NPS as a trusted referral partner.

What You Need to Know

The bottom line: Allen Kopelman's recognition is not the result of a single product launch or funding event. It is the compound outcome of 25 years of building a resilient, transparent payment business in an industry not known for either quality. NPS has grown from a local South Florida operation into a nationally recognized consultancy that serves clients from high-growth SaaS companies to hard-to-place high-risk merchants — all under the same commitment to honest guidance and measurable cost reduction.

As payment technology accelerates into AI-driven risk analysis, embedded finance, and real-time B2B settlement, Kopelman and NPS are positioned to extend that track record into the next generation of merchant services — one straight-talking conversation at a time.