Consult Hyperion

What Consult Hyperion does

Consult Hyperion is an independent strategic and technical consultancy specialising in digital identity, payments, and smart mobility/transit ticketing. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Guildford, United Kingdom, the firm has served as an impartial advisor to governments, central banks, major international and domestic card schemes (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, eftpos, Interac, NPCI, Dankort), transit agencies (Transport for London, Transport for the North), banks, fintechs, and standards bodies for nearly four decades. Following its acquisition by Fime in September 2024, the firm now operates as 'Consult Hyperion, consulting by Fime,' positioned as the consulting arm of an end-to-end provider covering ideation through implementation and testing.

The company's core services span Business Consulting (strategy, roadmaps, due diligence, regulatory advisory), Technical Consulting (architecture design, specifications, supplier evaluation, implementation support), and Hyperlab (in-house R&D and testing laboratory with capabilities in mobile NFC, card testing, cryptographic security, rapid prototyping, and penetration testing). A proprietary Structured Risk Analysis (SRA) methodology underpins much of the technical consulting work. The firm holds EMVCo Associate membership, UK Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Supplier status, and Cyber Essentials certification, and contributes to standards bodies including EMVCo, ISO 20022, ISO 18013, FIDO Alliance, and OpenID Foundation. Thought leadership is delivered through the Tomorrow's Transactions platform — including the annual Live 5 trends report, whitepapers (e.g., Bank of England Digital Pound PoC), the Tomorrow's Transactions podcast, webinars, and active speaking presence at MPE, Money20/20, AAMVA, and Transport Ticketing Global.

The business model is professional services, billed on a project or retainer basis to enterprise and government clients. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagements are quoted per project. The firm operates globally with teams in the UK and North America, supported by an Associate/Advisor Network for project scaling. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the firm is privately held under Fime, which is itself owned by Gallant Capital Partners.

Name

Consult Hyperion

Legal name

Consult Hyperion

Website

https://chyp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Consult Hyperion is an independent UK-based consultancy, founded in 1986 and now operating as 'Consult Hyperion, consulting by Fime' following Fime's 2024 acquisition. It provides strategic advisory, technical consulting, and R&D/testing services across digital identity, payments, and transit ticketing to governments, central banks, card schemes, and transit operators worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Guildford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Advisory Consulting: High-level strategic advisory services including digital identity strategy, payments strategy, and transit fare collection strategy. Engagement types include business case development, vendor selection, regulatory compliance advisory, and M&A/due diligence support. Billed as project-based or retainer engagements, typically to enterprise clients.
2. Technical Consulting: Technical consulting engagements covering architecture design, requirements authoring, supplier tender evaluation, implementation support, and independent due diligence. Services are project-based and billed to enterprise clients.
3. Hyperlab - R&D, Prototyping and Testing: Rapid prototyping, secure solution development, and certification/testing services delivered through the Hyperlab. Includes mobile NFC and card testing, penetration testing, and certification workflow support. Billed as project or service engagements.
4. Masterclass Training: Industry masterclass training programmes delivered by expert consultants, referenced as a service offering with links to Fime Academy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Consult Hyperion is an independent consultancy that delivers strategic advisory and technical consulting services across payments, digital identity, and smart mobility/transit ticketing. Engagements span business case development, vendor selection, regulatory compliance, architecture design, technical specifications, implementation support, and R&D prototyping via its in-house Hyperlab. The firm operates without selling third-party products, providing impartial guidance to governments, payment networks, banks, transit agencies, and fintechs worldwide.

Product overview

Consult Hyperion is an independent consultancy providing advisory and technical consulting services across three core domains: Digital Identity, Payments, and Smart Mobility/Transit Ticketing. The company offers a portfolio of services including Business Consulting (strategic advisory), Technical Consulting (with their proprietary Structured Risk Analysis methodology), and Hyperlab (R&D and testing laboratory). Their thought leadership is delivered through the Tomorrow's Transactions platform featuring the annual Live 5 publication, whitepapers, blogs, webinars and podcasts. Training is provided via Masterclass through Fime Academy. Consult Hyperion operates as part of Fime following its acquisition in September 2024.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Consulting Advisory consulting service that helps clients understand evolving technical and business landscapes, determine strategy, build roadmaps, and execute plans across payments, identity, and transit fare collection. Targeted at enterprises and public-sector clients seeking strategic guidance.
• Technical Consulting Technology consultancy that authors technical specifications for card and mobile payments, architects services and systems with high security requirements, and supports implementation using the proprietary Structured Risk Analysis (SRA) methodology. Targeted at organisations deploying payment, identity, and transit systems.
• Hyperlab In-house R&D, prototyping, and testing laboratory with deep expertise in mobile, cards, and cryptographic security. Offers rapid prototyping (including a world-leading downloadable payment terminal build), automated NFC and card testing suites, and mobile application penetration testing for clients developing secure transaction solutions.
• Masterclass Educational training programmes delivered via Fime Academy for professionals seeking to understand payments, identity, and transit technologies, taught by expert consultants from Consult Hyperion.

Quantifiable outcome

• The company has been involved in every major payments innovation since the introduction of chip and PIN in 1994.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Mercator Advisory Group: Payments and financial services advisory firm serving issuers, acquirers, and merchants. Comparable as an advisory firm focused exclusively on payments industry strategy and research.
• Innopay: Amsterdam-based consultancy specialising in digital identity, payments, and data sharing. Overlaps directly with Consult Hyperion's digital identity and payments advisory practice across European institutions.
• Edgar, Dunn & Company: Independent payments consultancy advising banks, schemes, merchants, and fintechs on strategy, innovation, and M&A. Highly comparable as a boutique, vendor-neutral payments advisory firm serving a similar client base.
• Opus Consulting: Payments-focused consultancy advising banks, networks, and fintechs on EMV, tokenization, and digital payments. Directly comparable boutique serving overlapping scheme and issuer clients.

Emerging players

• Icon Solutions: Payments modernisation consultancy and Instant Payments Framework provider. Comparable as a specialist firm advising banks on payment architecture, PSD2, and real-time payments.
• Bell Identification: Digital identity and secure transaction consultancy with deep EMV and mobile payments expertise. Overlaps with Consult Hyperion on identity-for-payments and smart mobility use cases.

Broad incumbents

• KPMG (Financial Services - Payments & Identity): Big Four advisory firm serving banks, schemes, and governments on payments regulation, digital identity, and CBDC. Represents the incumbent competition for mid-to-large enterprise mandates.
• Aite-Novarica Group: Research and advisory firm focused on financial services, payments, and digital identity. Comparable as a payments and identity advisory/research firm serving banks, processors, and fintechs.
• Fime: Parent company since September 2024 and a global leader in payments, smart mobility, and digital identity testing and certification. Sister brand offering test platforms and testing services that complement Consult Hyperion's advisory work.
• Deloitte (Financial Services - Payments): Global professional services firm with a large payments, digital identity, and financial services advisory practice. Competes for similar mandates at scale with broader delivery capacity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chyppings
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/consult-hyperion

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Consult Hyperion