Amaryllis Was Founded on Demand and a Good Idea

 

Companies are like superheroes in that they all have an origin story, explaining how they started and began to build something meaningful. In this episode of the Software and Technology Podcast, host Tyler Kern sat down with Amaryllis Payment Solutions co-founders Ori Hay and Adi Ekshtain. They discuss their origin story and how the two recognized the demand for third-party aggregators in payment services that would revolutionize the industry.

Before co-founding Amaryllis with Ekshtain, Hay spent more than a decade working in credit card processing services and saw the coming wave of e-commerce transactions. “I recognized that this is where things are going to go,” he said.

When Ekshtain wanted to create a third-party payment processing partner for e-commerce, he turned to Hay, a noted developer, patent holder, and expert in FinTech.

“I thought it was a very smart idea and it came at the right time,” Ekshtain said.

The two partnered to build a dot net software for payments, the first commercially-viable mobile face-to-face payment solution.

“Back then with Microsoft, there was nothing to build real infrastructure on,” Hay said. “Since Adi is the technology guy, he came to me saying there’s a new thing called dot net.”

Ekshtain continued, “We struck a partnership with the Microsoft technology center. Together with them, we built the first-ever payment gateway built on Microsoft dot net technology. That proved to us we could build an economically-viable software, and it allowed Microsoft to have a case study of a financial system that is mission-critical.”

In this episode, Ekshtain and Hay also discussed the significance of the platform’s flexibility, the uniqueness of the payment solution, and how competition has followed their lead.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Software & Electronics Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!
Twitter – @TechMKSL
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

spiral growth
Spiral Growth: The Career Strategy That Builds Real Leaders
February 11, 2026

Leadership pipelines are under pressure. Companies are moving faster, roles are becoming more cross-functional, and high-potential talent is expected to deliver beyond narrow job descriptions earlier in their careers. At the same time, the World Economic Forum estimates that 39% of workers’ core skills will need to evolve by 2030 to keep pace with…

Read More
ethical AI
In the Race to Build Smarter AI, Technology Leaders Shouldn’t Forget That Innovation Needs Oversight
February 11, 2026

When a résumé is filtered out, a loan is denied, or a piece of content never reaches its audience, artificial intelligence may be the unseen hand behind the outcome. As these systems spread across the tools and institutions that shape daily life, the assumptions and priorities of their designers are carried forward into decisions…

Read More
Resource Officers
Beyond Enforcement: The Evolving Role of School Resource Officers
February 10, 2026

School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In this episode of School Safety Today, host Dr. Amy Grosso sits down with Dr. Penny Schultz, Assistant Director of School Safety and Security at Chesapeake Public Schools, to unpack the often-misunderstood role of School Resource Officers (SROs). The conversation highlights how effective SROs function not…

Read More
transportation management
Transportation Management Systems Don’t Compete With Carriers, Brokers, or Shippers — They Align Them
February 10, 2026

Transportation management systems are undergoing a quiet but consequential shift. Once viewed primarily as tools for tracking loads and storing paperwork, modern TMS platforms are increasingly expected to function as the operational backbone of logistics organizations. As freight volumes continue to fluctuate, margins remain tight, and supply chains rely on a growing mix of…

Read More