Japanese shipping giant NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha) has announced its acquisition of Kadmos, a German startup specializing in digital salary payments for seafaring workers. The deal—whose financial terms remain undisclosed—is expected to close in the coming weeks and marks a significant step in NYK’s push to scale its fintech presence in the global maritime sector.
Founded in 2021 by MIT alumni Justus Schmueser and Sasha Makarovych, Kadmos was created to solve a long-standing challenge in the shipping industry: providing seafarers with affordable, transparent, and fast international salary transfers. The platform allows companies to run fully cashless operations onboard ships, offering peer-to-peer transfers, virtual point-of-sale devices, and customizable fee structures compliant with the Maritime Labour Convention.
Building on MarCoPay’s Success in the Philippines
For NYK, the acquisition is part of a broader vision. In 2019, the company launched MarCoPay, a financial services platform designed for Filipino seafarers. MarCoPay provides access to loans, insurance, and digital payments and is backed by an electronic money issuer (EMI) license from the Philippine central bank. With Kadmos on board, NYK plans to integrate its global platform into MarCoPay’s infrastructure, allowing it to serve seafarers of all nationalities.
“This move is about scaling our digital payroll reach while using MarCoPay’s advantages in the Philippines,” said Makarovych. “We’ll also benefit from NYK’s global reputation to grow faster and onboard new shipping clients more quickly.”
Kadmos currently serves over 40 enterprise customers and plans to expand beyond payroll into cross-border B2B payments and corporate cards, with ambitions to enter the cruise industry as well.
Differentiating in a Crowded Maritime Fintech Market
While maritime-focused digital payment platforms like MarTrust, ShipMoney, and Brightwell already serve the sector, Kadmos positions itself as an end-to-end solution offering full flexibility and rapid deployment. Its non-personalized cards, for example, enable shipping companies to roll out services across fleets without the logistical delays tied to personalized card issuance.
“We’ve built Kadmos to be modular and highly adaptable,” said Makarovych. “Companies can cover crew fees in a compliant, customizable way without hidden costs. Unlike many competitors charging flat SaaS fees, our pricing adjusts to client needs.”
Despite the acquisition, the Kadmos team will remain intact, with only minor adjustments to its leadership structure as it becomes part of NYK’s fintech ecosystem.
With this move, NYK not only deepens its investment in financial technology for seafarers but also signals its intention to become a global leader in maritime digital payments—expanding far beyond its initial footprint in the Philippines.
