Manny Pacquiao's name now appears on a business most customers will never notice when they shop. MannyPay Global, which launched its U.S. merchant-processing division in July, is concerned with the machinery behind a card payment and how much a merchant pays to accept it.

The eight-division boxing world champion is the company's founder and chairman. His involvement brings a recognizable name to a crowded financial-services market, though the businesses MannyPay hopes to reach are considerably less famous. Independent restaurants, neighborhood retailers and family-owned shops are among the merchants the company wants to serve.

For these businesses, accepting a payment is rarely as simple as the customer tapping a card. There are processing charges to account for, equipment to maintain and sometimes several different services involved in keeping sales running. MannyPay's U.S. launch is built around the idea that merchants could benefit from handling more of that work through one provider.

Pacquiao has connected the venture to the same interest in economic opportunity that has informed his philanthropic work and public service in the Philippines. "Throughout my life I have believed in creating opportunities that help people succeed," he said in the company's launch announcement. "MannyPay was built with that same purpose."

MannyPay is targeting Filipino-owned businesses first

MannyPay is starting with Filipino-owned businesses in the U.S., where the Pacquiao name already means something.

Those businesses run from restaurants to grocery stores, and the cost math changes with each one. A restaurant needs a point-of-sale system that can handle a packed Saturday night. A grocery store needs checkout to keep moving on small, frequent purchases. For a family business, a jump in monthly processing costs comes out of the same money that pays for inventory or the next hire.

The U.S. offer covers in-store terminals, online payments, recurring billing and electronic bank payments. MannyPay also takes on merchants in industries where underwriting is tougher

In August, it added a second processing option through iMerchant, an international payments company, powered by Adyen. That one is for merchants with more complicated needs, like businesses selling across borders.

Jas Mathur, Jimmy Virk and Martin Khemmoro lead MannyPay

Chief executive Jas Mathur has spent more than 25 years building businesses across several industries, including financial services and e-commerce. His background includes working with merchants, whose concerns are often quite different from those of the banks and financial institutions that support payment processing.

President Jimmy Virk brings more than 15 years in payments and is also the founder and CEO of Beyond Bancard. Martin Khemmoro, an executive vice president at MannyPay, contributes experience in international banking relationships and cross-border commerce through his leadership at iMerchant.

Their responsibilities become particularly relevant as the company expands beyond straightforward card acceptance. A merchant that sells both online and in person may need compatible systems, and a business taking orders internationally can encounter payment methods and banking requirements unfamiliar to a local retailer.

MannyPay says more financial services are coming as the U.S. business grows, and its website already previews a digital wallet and remittance product. Neither is available yet. What merchants can sign up for today is processing.

Merchants have no shortage of processors to pick from. The ones who switch to MannyPay will do it for the rate in the contract, and for a person who picks up the phone when the terminal goes down in the middle of the dinner rush.