- Key insight: Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. exited the payments sector in 2024 after running afoul of regulators. Now it plans to re-enter the marketplace with a gaming solution it believes can generate more revenue than it earned previously.
- Supporting data: The company's previous record for payments revenue was $19 million in 2023.
- Expert quote: "We think the value proposition is so significant that an operator that chooses to work with us … will point those transactions in our direction." — Metropolitan CEO Mark DeFazio
Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. in New York has arrived at the next frontier for its payments business: online gaming.
Executives at the $8.26 billion-asset company said earlier this month that they're building a real-time payment solution for clients — particularly those in the gaming industry — and they expect to have it operational in the fourth quarter.
Skill-based games like poker, blackjack and sports betting "have seen explosive growth over the last five years," Nick Rosenberg, Metropolitan's chief business development officer, said during an investor day presentation. "They have unique payment challenges that we feel we can address."
The cost of building the gaming solution is already factored into the company's 2026 expense rate, Chief Financial Officer Daniel Dougherty said at the March 3 investor event. Metropolitan, the holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank, is hoping that a combination of personalized service and state-of-the-art technology will drive customer adoption.
"We think the value proposition is so significant that an operator that chooses to work with us … will point those transactions in our direction," CEO Mark DeFazio said during the presentation. "They just need to point those transactions to [Metropolitan's] platform as opposed to the payment platform today."
Payments were historically a major component of Metropolitan's business model, but the bank announced in 2024 that it would scale back its banking-as-a-service offerings. The decision followed a run-in with regulators over a prepaid card program.
Metropolitan
Now, Metropolitan's recent disclosures signal a return to the payments space.
The company believes it can carve out a lucrative niche by offering real-time capabilities to gaming operators that currently struggle with chargebacks tied to failed transactions.
A real-time solution offers game-changing potential, according to DeFazio.
"I pull the money from your account and it doesn't go through, they're not placing the bet," the CEO said.
A platform featuring real-time transactions is likely to have strong appeal for gaming operators, according to Peter Kula, a Las Vegas-based gaming consultant.
In addition to minimizing chargebacks, such a system could speed legitimate transactions, eliminating the payout delays that have proved to be a significant source of vexation for bettors.
"There's nothing more frustrating than if you see the amount available to you is zero dollars, but the amount that is sitting in your sports-betting account is $5,000," Kula told American Banker. "You're like: That's the money I won. I'd like to have it now."
Those timing problems "are still very much evident in the gaming space," Kula added.
Ultimately, Metropolitan aims to bring immediacy to gaming transactions.
"I place a bet on a Sunday, the operator will have that money immediately," DeFazio said. "If the operator has to push that money back to the player, they can push it back immediately. … That's 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
The work of building the new payments platform is nearly complete, according to DeFazio. Metropolitan's next task will be to test it over several months.
"We really want to be live in the fourth quarter," DeFazio said.
Once that happens, Metropolitan expects to benefit from a steady flow of transaction fees and end-user deposits. Rosenberg believes the company can exceed its previous high-water mark for payments — $19 million in 2023. Following its 2024 exit, Metropolitan reported zero payments revenue in 2025.
"We're confident that we can exceed our prior performance," Rosenberg said.
