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Mews has secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from De Nederlandsche Bank, making it the first hospitality operating system to hold an e-money licence in the European Economic Area. The licence, granted to the newly established Mews Financial Services B.V., lets the company embed regulated payment services directly into its platform rather than routing transactions through third-party processors.
The firm handled $19.7 billion in hotel transaction value in 2025 across 15,000 customers in 85 countries. Mews Financial Services will begin a controlled rollout from late 2026, starting with a pilot group of properties in the Netherlands.
Richard Valtr, Founder of Mews, said: "For all the software running hotels today, money has never worked as one connected system: a processor here, a bank there, a reconciliation spreadsheet in between. So, an operating system for a hotel has to include financial management, because so much of productivity and growth comes down to managing risk. Embedded payments started to close the gap. This licence gives us the foundation to go further, building the financial infrastructure this industry has been missing, so money works around how the hotel runs, not the other way round."
For UK vendors selling POS and payment solutions into hotels, the licence changes the competitive landscape. Mews can now offer native payment processing across the EEA, removing the need for a separate payment gateway and shrinking the wedge for standalone payment providers inside its install base. The pilot starts in the Netherlands, but the licence is EEA-wide, and Mews was named Best POS in 2026 by Hotel Tech Report alongside three consecutive Best PMS wins. A PMS vendor that also owns the payment rail is a different conversation for hotel buyers.
UK hotel market stabilises but lending stays cautious
Christie & Co's UK Hotel Market Review 2026 describes a sector entering a period of stabilisation, with domestic travel supporting demand even as the recovery remains uneven. Christie & Co was ranked the most active hotel agent in the UK and the Eurozone by transaction volume in the 2025 MSCI Real Assets Global Brokerage Rankings.
Uneven demand and cautious lending mean hotel operators are unlikely to approve large capital projects without a clear, short-term return. For tech vendors, that shifts the pitch from transformation to efficiency. A PMS or workforce tool that demonstrably cuts labour hours or raises RevPAR within a quarter will get a hearing. A platform play that needs 18 months to pay back will struggle.
The Alan Manchester hires sales manager after 70-room refurb
The Alan Manchester has appointed Elizabeth Morris as Sales Manager to lead commercial expansion following a refurbishment of 70 guest rooms and a new partnership with the Manchester Art Gallery. Morris joined the 137-bedroom property in April 2026 after a decade at Sykes Cottages and two years as Head of Events at Hotal. A new website is scheduled for later in 2026.
A new sales manager, a refreshed room stock, and a website rebuild are three signals that a property is reassessing its tech stack. The Alan opened in 2022, so its original supplier contracts may be approaching renewal. Vendors selling booking engines, channel managers, or event management software into Manchester's independent hotel segment have a window.
Leafe App doubles headcount, hires Great British Menu chef
Bristol-based food safety compliance platform Leafe App is expanding from 12 to 22 staff and has hired Simmie Vedi, known for her role on series 18 of the BBC's Great British Menu, to lead customer relationships with Pro-level clients. Vedi was previously Head of Food at Chapter arts centre in Cardiff. Leafe's clients include Crystal Palace FC and Ibis Hotels, and the app is Environmental Health Officer audited and approved.
Vedi said: "I'm so happy to be joining such an exciting, fast-growing company making major strides in the hospitality industry. It's really exciting to be at the forefront of the movement to transform how we achieve top-level food hygiene in the digital age, and that is exactly what Leafe is doing."
Samuel Chapman, Leafe App CEO, said: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome Simmie Vedi to the Leafe family. Simmie is not only a talented chef but a talented person with a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry which we cannot wait to make the most of."
Leafe's headcount growth and the hire of a recognised chef for a customer-facing role suggest the business is scaling its go-to-market motion. For vendors selling adjacent tools, a fast-growing compliance platform with football stadium and hotel chain clients is a potential integration partner or a competitor to watch, depending on where its product roadmap goes next.
Apple Pay chief retires amid wider leadership change
Jennifer Bailey, the Apple executive who launched Apple Pay in 2014 and led the development of Apple Wallet and Apple Card, will retire at the end of October, per Bloomberg. Apple Services chief Eddy Cue confirmed the move in a staff memo and said a succession plan will be announced before her departure.
Bailey's exit is part of a broader leadership transition at Apple. CEO Tim Cook steps down on 1 September, environment chief Lisa Jackson left earlier this year, general counsel Kate Adams is retiring, and former CFO Luca Maestri and marketing head Phil Schiller have taken reduced roles. Apple Pay is live in 89 markets, supported by more than 11,000 banks, and 16% of US consumers reported using it in-store in the last week, double the 2024 figure. For UK hospitality vendors, the leadership change introduces uncertainty around Apple's payment roadmap at a moment when tap-to-pay and digital wallet adoption is accelerating. Any shift in partnership strategy or developer terms could ripple through POS and payment integrations that UK venues rely on.
A note on Peach Data: Peach Data provides verified, TPS and CTPS-screened contact data across thousands of UK hospitality venues, giving vendors the accuracy they need to reach the right buyers as the market shifts. peachdata.co.uk