April 29, 2025
News
Cambridge, UK – Tired of seeing the same companies win the same awards year after year? Ever noticed how industry recognition often seems to follow sponsorship dollars rather than innovation? Yeah, we did too.
That's why Monavate is launching the BAAA Awards (Buy Any Award Associations Awards) -- our tongue-firmly-in-cheek initiative to spark conversation about what recognition really means in the payments industry.
Here's our radical idea: Anyone can nominate themselves for literally any award they want. And here's the kicker – we'll actually give it to you, completely free of charge.
"Let's be honest – the payments industry has a bit of a trophy addiction problem," says Kurt Schroder, CMO at Monavate (and self-appointed "Just a kid from South Africa" lifetime achievement award winner). "Companies are dropping thousands on entry fees and sponsorships just to get some validation and a photo op. We're calling bull."
The BAAA Awards have no panel of "expert judges" - so no one to mysteriously favour the event's bigger sponsors. No steep entry fees that lock out smaller innovators. Very little rigidity and structure. There are a few very reasonable T’s and C’s - but very few F’s are given. Just a playful reminder that maybe -- just maybe -- recognition should celebrate genuine innovation and excellence.
Some of the exceptional award categories our exceptional participants (our office) are already submitting exceptionally well include:
- "Most Impressive Use of Buzzwords in a Press Release"
- "Highest Achievement in Surviving Compliance Meetings"
- "Lifetime Achievement in Pretending to Understand Blockchain"
But we encourage all sorts of creative and courageous nominations. Have you always wanted to be "Emperor of Embedded Finance" or "Supreme Leader of Tokenisation and Tacos"?
Now's your chance!
The first 50 entries will receive real physical trophies - but everyone gets a fancy digital certificate, which is perfect for LinkedIn humble-bragging.
"We're poking a bit of fun, but there's a serious point here too," adds Kurt Schröder. "When significant financial investment becomes a prerequisite for recognition, we risk overlooking genuine innovation, especially from smaller players and startups who might be doing the most groundbreaking work"
The BAAA Awards are now open for submissions until 2 June’ish 2025…
Kidding. Submissions are open until 2 June 2025 (and we mean exactly midnight GMT+1 - our lawyers made us specify this). Winners (which is everyone, obviously) will be announced on 20 June. We think. Unless we forget, but we will try really hard not to. (The lawyers will remind us.)
Nominate yourself or a colleague now at www.monavate.com/baaaawards and join us in saying baaaa humbug to sheepish award shenanigans.
We turn payments into power—literally. We're the master builders who provide the blocks, expertise, and our revolutionary MonavateOne platform to build payment solutions that no one thought possible. I think we also do an awards program now.
At Monavate, we believe innovation should speak louder than invoices. The BAAA Awards use satire and self-deprecating humour to highlight a genuine industry challenge: recognition too often goes to those with the deepest pockets rather than the most innovative ideas. We're not attacking the system from outside – we're part of it, we've paid those entry fees, and we've played the game. But through this light-hearted campaign, we hope to spark an honest conversation about how our industry celebrates excellence. Our aim isn't to tear down traditional recognition, but to advocate for a more inclusive approach where breakthrough ideas earn a spotlight regardless of marketing budgets. By encouraging absurdly creative self-nominations, we're channelling collective frustration into something constructive and fun, while making a serious point about the barriers facing smaller innovators. The payments industry changes the world every day – – shouldn't how we recognise excellence be just as innovative?