Flagship Advisory Partners
Flagship Advisory Partners is a boutique consultancy and M&A advisory firm, founded in 2020 and based in Annapolis, US, that advises banks, fintechs, and payment providers on card program launches, market entry, and regulatory compliance across specific jurisdictions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersAnnapolis, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM type—
- Offering—
What Flagship Advisory Partners does
Flagship Advisory Partners is a boutique consultancy and M&A advisory firm specializing exclusively in the payments and fintech sector. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Annapolis, United States, the firm operates with a headcount of 51–100 employees and is led by co-founders Erik Howell (Partner) and Joel Van Arsdale (Managing Partner). The firm's service portfolio centers on advising financial institutions, fintech companies, banks, and payment providers on card program launches and expansion into specific markets — covering market entry strategy, regulatory compliance, operating model design, and integration with local payment rails such as the Philippines' BancNet network.
The firm's delivery model is project-based advisory engagement, consistent with a boutique consultancy structure. Revenue mechanics, pricing, and engagement terms are not publicly disclosed. Its go-to-market is direct client engagement in the financial services and fintech vertical, with no disclosed marketing or distribution channels. The firm has no disclosed parent company, funding rounds, or institutional investors in the available record.
Strategically, Flagship has signaled international expansion through a co-development partnership with Paymentology (a global issuer processor), under which it produced a Quick Start Guide for launching card programmes in the Philippines. This collaboration indicates an intent to build a repeatable market-entry enablement capability across multiple jurisdictions, anchored on partnerships with payments infrastructure providers. No AI/ML capabilities, software products, certifications, or named enterprise customers are disclosed in the available data.
Flagship Advisory Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Flagship Advisory Partners
- Website
- https://flagshipadvisorypartners.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Flagship Advisory Partners is a boutique consultancy and M&A advisory firm, founded in 2020 and based in Annapolis, US, that advises banks, fintechs, and payment providers on card program launches, market entry, and regulatory compliance across specific jurisdictions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Flagship Advisory Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Annapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Flagship Advisory Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Flagship Advisory Partners is a boutique consulting and M&A advisory firm serving the payments and fintech industry. It provides strategic guidance to financial institutions, fintech companies, banks, and payment providers on card program launches, market entry, regulatory compliance, operating model design, and integration with local payment rails.
Product overview
Flagship Advisory Partners is a consulting firm that provides advisory services to clients in the payments and fintech sector. The source material does not contain specific information about a product portfolio or named product offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Flagship Advisory Partners
Customer profileSegments1 record
Flagship Advisory Partners technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Flagship Advisory Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- PaymentologycoreFlagship Advisory Partners collaborated with Paymentology, a global issuer processor, to develop a Quick Start Guide for successfully launching card programmes in the Philippines. The guide covers market structure, operating models, regulatory requirements, and implementation steps including integration with local payment rails like BancNet. This is a strategic co-development partnership focused on market expansion enablement for financial institutions.
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Flagship Advisory Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Consult Hyperion: Specialist consultancy advising banks, processors, and fintechs on payments strategy, open banking, and digital identity — directly comparable in offering payments-domain advisory services to financial institutions and fintechs.
- Aite-Novarica Group: Financial services research and advisory firm covering payments, banking, and fintech — directly comparable in serving payments/fintech clients with strategy and market intelligence support.
- Innopay: European payments and digital identity consultancy advising banks and fintechs on market entry, regulatory readiness, and operating models — closely comparable as a niche payments advisory boutique.
- Glenbrook Partners: Long-standing payments-focused advisory and education firm serving issuers, networks, and fintechs on strategy and payments economics — a closely comparable specialist boutique competing for similar advisory mandates.
- Edgar, Dunn & Company: Boutique payments strategy and M&A advisory firm with deep expertise in card issuing, payments modernization, and fintech market entry — directly comparable to Flagship's positioning as a specialist advisory in the payments value chain.
Emerging players
- The Disruption House: Boutique advisory focused on payments innovation and ecosystem strategy, with narrower scope but overlapping buyer base of banks, networks, and fintechs entering new markets.
Broad incumbents
- Bain & Company (Financial Services Practice): Global strategy incumbent advising banks and payments players on strategy, M&A, and transformation — overlapping target buyers and competing for similar high-end mandates in payments and fintech.
- Accenture (Payments / Financial Services Consulting): Global consulting incumbent with large payments transformation and fintech advisory practices, frequently engaged by the same issuer and processor buyers Flagship targets for card programme work.
- McKinsey & Company (Financial Services / Payments Practice): Global strategy incumbent with a substantial payments and fintech practice that frequently competes for card programme market entry, payments M&A, and operating-model engagements at large financial institutions.
- KPMG (Payments and Fintech Advisory): Big Four firm with dedicated payments and fintech advisory teams serving issuers and acquirers on regulatory, market entry, and M&A — broad incumbent competing on similar client engagements.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Flagship Advisory Partners social profiles
Digital presenceFlagship Advisory Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Flagship Advisory Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Flagship Advisory Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Flagship Advisory Partners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Flagship Advisory Partners
What does Flagship Advisory Partners do?
Flagship Advisory Partners is a boutique consulting and M&A advisory firm serving the payments and fintech industry. It provides strategic guidance to financial institutions, fintech companies, banks, and payment providers on card program launches, market entry, regulatory compliance, operating model design, and integration with local payment rails.
When was Flagship Advisory Partners founded?
Flagship Advisory Partners was founded in 2020. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Flagship Advisory Partners based?
Flagship Advisory Partners is headquartered in Annapolis, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Flagship Advisory Partners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Consult Hyperion, Aite-Novarica Group, Innopay, Glenbrook Partners and Edgar, Dunn & Company. The Disruption House is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Bain & Company (Financial Services Practice), Accenture (Payments / Financial Services Consulting), McKinsey & Company (Financial Services / Payments Practice) and KPMG (Payments and Fintech Advisory).
Does Flagship Advisory Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Flagship Advisory Partners.