NYK Acquires Kadmos: Transforming Global Salary Payments for Seafarers

Japanese maritime giant Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) has announced plans to acquire Kadmos, a German platform specialized in salary payments for seafarers. This strategic acquisition signals NYK's intent to expand its fintech services across the maritime sector globally.

Expanding NYK's Fintech Footprint

NYK Line is seeking to broaden its financial technology reach beyond the Philippines by incorporating the Kadmos platform into its existing MarCoPay offering. MarCoPay, which launched in 2019 primarily for Filipino seafaring workers, delivers loans, insurance, and payment services to ship crews and their families. With Kadmos integrated, NYK aims to offer seamless payroll services to seafarers from multiple nationalities and shipping companies worldwide.

Kadmos was founded in 2021 by Justus Schmueser and Sasha Makarovych, both MIT alumni. Their mission has been to make international salary transfers more transparent and affordable for maritime companies. Kadmos already counts more than 40 enterprise customers and has raised $38 million in total, including a $29.5 million Series A round in 2022.

Deal Details and Future Vision

The financial terms of the acquisition have not been publicly disclosed, but the deal is expected to be finalized within weeks. NYK’s approach aligns with its ambition to take digital payroll beyond the Philippine market, leveraging Kadmos’ global infrastructure and expertise.

"Our plan is to use Kadmos’ international capabilities with MarCoPay’s strengths in the Philippines," explained Kadmos co-founder Makarovych. "Together with NYK’s respected global brand, we can accelerate growth and onboard shipping customers more rapidly." Kadmos’ team will continue with the company, although some management adjustments are anticipated.

Kadmos' Differentiators and Competitive Landscape

The maritime sector has other digital payment options like MarTrust, ShipMoney, and Brightwell. However, Kadmos is positioning itself as the most complete solution — enabling entirely cashless operations on ships, with features such as virtual points-of-sale and peer-to-peer crew transfers. Kadmos offers non-personalized cards widely accepted in the industry, allowing for quick deployment and flexible pricing uniquely tailored to clients’ needs and regulatory requirements.

Looking forward, Kadmos intends to expand into broader B2B cross-border payments, corporate cards, and financial solutions for the cruise industry, deepening its platform via the NYK partnership.

Deep Founder Analysis

Why it matters

This deal exemplifies a growing trend where established industry leaders acquire fintech startups to accelerate digital transformation in sectors traditionally slow to innovate. For founders, it highlights the value of building niche fintech solutions that solve complex, regulatory-heavy problems in legacy industries. Cross-border payments for high-mobility workforces — like seafarers or logistics professionals — represent massive, underserved markets ripe for digital disruption.

Risks & opportunities

Integrating startups into large corporations can introduce risks, such as slower innovation cycles or dilution of product vision. However, the opportunity lies in leveraging the acquirer’s industry reputation and scale, giving startups access to global customer bases. As seen in Kadmos’ case, joining NYK unlocks routes into new markets and client segments, while speed-to-market becomes a core differentiator as legacy competition lags.

Startup idea or application

This acquisition could inspire SaaS founders to develop specialized digital wallets for other global workforces — such as airline staff or international construction teams — where payroll, insurance, and compliance vary across borders. Another idea: create API-layer fintech products that embed seamlessly into operational platforms already used by shipping or logistics companies, offering modular financial tools at scale.

Fintech Startups Shipping Acquisition Payments

Visit Deep Founder to learn how to start your own startup, validate your idea, and build it from scratch.

📚 Read more articles in our Deep Founder blog.