Interview with our CCO John Kolthof – Looking back on 2025 & outlook for 2026
2025 was a year of momentum for CCV from Fiserv. With markets evolving quickly and customer expectations rising across industries, our organisation focused on strengthening its foundations while continuing to innovate. We asked our Chief Commercial Officer, John Kolthof, to reflect on the year behind us and to share his outlook for what lies ahead.
John, how would you describe 2025 for CCV in one sentence?
2025 was the year we broadened the foundation: scale, speed, and simplicity came together so that innovation for our customers is no longer a risk, but an opportunity.
That sense of momentum was closely tied to what CCV saw happening in the market. Across sectors, customer expectations continued to evolve, pushing payment experiences to become faster, simpler, and more seamlessly integrated.
What stood out to you most this year in terms of customer needs across the industries CCV serves?
Convenience, security, and speed are no longer extras - they are the new baseline. Customers expect payments to be seamlessly integrated into the experience. Whether it’s retail, hospitality, mobility, or unattended, the bar is higher. You don’t lose a customer because you don’t have a payment terminal; you lose them because the entire flow isn’t frictionless.
Meeting these expectations required more than incremental improvements. For CCV, 2025 was also about making strategic choices that would strengthen the organisation for the long term.
Reflecting on 2025: which strategic milestones made you most proud?
Two things. First: our integration with Fiserv gave us scale and strength to accelerate product roadmaps, new state-of-the art products as the Point-Of-Sale system Clover and serve international customers more consistently. Second: we didn’t just grow Android, SoftPOS, and unattended - we delivered them in enterprise-grade form, with strong fleet management, uptime, and lifecycle control. That translates into measurable impact on TCO and time-to-value.
These strategic steps translated directly into tangible benefits for enterprise customers, especially as CCV continued to expand its portfolio of modern payment solutions.
We’ve seen major growth in Android solutions, SoftPOS, and unattended payments.
What did these developments mean for CCV’s enterprise customers in 2025?
Three clear benefits: faster rollouts and updates thanks to a ‘software-first’ approach, consistent UX across all touchpoints, and better manageability with device analytics and remote support. In unattended - think vending, parking, EV charging - self-service became mainstream. Not as a gimmick, but as an expectation. Give people the choice of where and when to pay, and you win satisfaction and loyalty.
At the same time, the broader payment landscape did not become simpler. New regulations, standards, and regional requirements added complexity for merchants across Europe.
What were the biggest challenges in the payment landscape during 2025, and how did CCV help customers navigate them?
Complexity and fragmentation. New standards, stricter security requirements, and regional dynamics. Take Belgium: the transition from Payconiq to Bancontact QR required smooth migration and consistent customer experience. We ensured terminals and software were ready so merchants could switch without hassle. Then there’s lifecycle compliance: older terminals must be replaced after nine years to meet security norms. Not popular, but essential. We combine that with sustainability advice so investments pay off.
Despite these challenges, innovation continued at pace. Several key trends influenced how CCV prioritised its product roadmap and prepared for the future.
2025 was another year of rapid innovation. Which trends shaped our product roadmap the most?
Four big ones: invisible payments, digital wallets & QR, European payment rails like WERO, and AI-driven journeys. In 2026, more than 60% of consumers will use a digital wallet. Bancontact remains central in Belgium, while WERO offers a unified alternative for instant payments and invoice handling. AI connects the dots: reducing abandoned carts, boosting conversion, and creating a seamless experience.
Alongside innovation, sustainability increasingly became a deciding factor in customer conversations, tenders, and long-term partnerships.
Sustainability is becoming essential in tenders and strategic decisions. How is CCV responding?
With policy and practice. We focus on longer device lifecycles, refurbish where possible, reduce energy consumption, and digitize where paper is unnecessary. For enterprise customers, we provide transparency: CO₂ insights, circularity options, and a roadmap that is both sustainable and compliant.
Looking back on the year as a whole, one theme stood out above all others.
If you could add one more theme from 2025?
Trust. The more invisible payments become, the more visible our responsibility. Innovation and security must go hand in hand, always.
Outlook for 2026
With a strong foundation in place, attention is now firmly on the year ahead. For customers and partners, 2026 brings both new opportunities and rising expectations.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest opportunities for our customers and partners in 2026?
Three major opportunities: self-service as the norm, intelligent Point-Of-Sale systems like Clover, wallet-first & QR-first as a baseline expectation, and European payment comfort through WERO and A2A solutions. Simplicity wins loyalty.
Long-term partnerships remain central to CCV’s approach, especially as customers navigate increasingly complex payment environments.
CCV prides itself on long-term partnerships. What commitments can customers and partners expect from us in 2026?
Four promises: scale without lock-in, security-by-design, local expertise with European coverage, and measurable simplicity. No buzzwords, just results.
Innovation will continue to play a key role in delivering on those promises, with several developments already on the horizon.
Are there specific innovations or product launches customers can look forward to?
Absolutely: the introduction of the intelligent Point-Of-Sale Clover, the A8900 Android powerhouse for high-traffic environments, IM25 Frame Max for unattended flexibility, SoftPOS Enterprise with advanced device management, and full Bancontact QR coverage in Belgium plus preparations for WERO.
As the interview concludes, John shares a final message for customers and partners looking ahead to the coming year.
What message would you like to share with customers and partners as we move into 2026?
Design the experience; we’ll make sure the payment follows - seamless, secure, and fast. In 2026, it’s not ‘either-or’, it’s ‘and-and’: self-service and service, wallets and cards, local and European. We make innovation simple, manageable, and measurable.