Adyen expands beyond payments, announces embedded financial products
Adyen has announced its expansion beyond payments to build embedded financial products. These products will enable platforms and marketplaces to create tailored financial experiences for their users. The suite of products will allow platforms to unlock new revenue streams and increase user loyalty.
"By building our banking infrastructure, as a part of the single platform, from the ground up, we remove the limitations of legacy financial systems, enabling Adyen to deliver the power of a bank combined with the adaptability of a fintech,” said Thom Ruiter, VP of Banking and Financial Products at Adyen.
“This unique approach means we can offer our platform customers unparalleled flexibility to meet the evolving needs of their user base without the barriers of regulatory complexity, lengthy product development, or sponsor bank restrictions."
Klarna launches ‘Klarna Kosma’ sub-brand and business unit to harness rapid growth of Open Banking platform
Klarna, the leading global retail bank, payments, and shopping service that helps consumers save time and money, be informed and in control, today launched ‘Klarna Kosma’, a sub-brand and business unit to harness the rapid growth of its world-leading Open Banking platform.
By providing simple access to more banks than any other Open Banking provider, Kosma rapidly reduces the time for new fintech services to reach global scale and provides the essential building blocks for innovation in financial services.
Kosma provides financial institutions, fintechs and merchants with the essential connectivity to build the next generation of fintech apps and services by providing simple and secure access to 15,000 banks in 24 countries around the world through a single API. The new business unit will harness the massive growth Klarna has seen in this area, having more than doubled the number of connected banks in the past year. Today, Kosma processes close to a billion information requests to bank accounts each year.
“With Kosma we are opening up the power of our proprietary Open Banking platform and technology to banks, merchants and fintechs who share our dream of a world where consumers own their data and banks compete for customers by delivering value, not by locking in data,” says Yaron Shaer, CTO, Klarna.
Apple Working to Bring More Financial Services In-House
Apple Inc. is developing its own payment processing technology and infrastructure for future financial products, part of an ambitious effort that would reduce its reliance on outside partners over time, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
A multiyear plan would bring a wide range of financial tasks in-house, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. That includes payment processing, risk assessment for lending, fraud analysis, credit checks and additional customer-service functions such as the handling of disputes.
The push would turn the company into a bigger force in financial services, building on a lineup that already includes an Apple-branded credit card, peer-to-peer payments, the Wallet app and a mechanism for merchants to accept credit cards from an iPhone. Apple is also working on its own subscription service for hardware and a “buy now, pay later” feature for Apple Pay transactions, Bloomberg has reported.
Papaya Global to buy Azimo for $150M-$200M to expand its payroll payments to more markets
Six months after raising $250 million, Papaya Global is making a key acquisition to expand its cloud-based HR and payroll platform globally on the heels of major surge in remote working. The Israeli startup is acquiring Azimo — the London-based money transfer business that Facebook once tried to buy to spearhead its own remittance efforts — a deal that will see Papaya Global moving into more markets, and launching more services such as instant payroll payments.
Terms of the acquisition are not officially being disclosed, but a source close to the companies tells that the deal was between $150 million and $200 million, Papaya is acquiring the full business upon the deal closing, including all of Azimo’s employees, the company said.
emerchantpay is expanding to Germany
Netherlands-based payment service provider emerchantpay has announced continuing its expansion in Germany.
The company offers stationary trade and ecommerce companies integrated solutions, products, and services. This portfolio includes consulting services and solutions for acquiring, such as expansion into new markets, offering new processing or billing currencies, reporting, risk management/fraud prevention, and integration into existing backend and online shop systems. Additionally, emerchantpay provides debit and prepaid payment cards that companies and merchants can issue.
This means that money transfers, limits, and authorisation workflows can be controlled in real-time and in multiple currencies. There is also a risk and fraud management tool available that secures every transaction. emerchantpay's solutions cover over 80 global payment methods and customers can make use of customisable payment pages and integration into leading shop systems. emerchantpay's POS payment solution also ensures secure payment in stationary retail, which includes acceptance of card systems, support for chip, PIN, and contactless payments as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Android Pay.
Revolut to offer Irish customers more banking services through new licence
Revolut has launched a deposit account offering to its customers as the company tries to move further into the retail banking market with its new Revolut Bank arm.
The global financial platform is using its Irish banking licence to give customers deposit protection for up to €100,000 through a scheme guaranteed by the Lithuanian State company Deposit and Investment Insurance.
Revolut also started providing its Irish customers with the option to take out personal loans. The company states that in most cases, loan offers are being made within a minute of the application being submitted.
BigCommerce Partners With dLocal Payments Platform to Power Latin American Expansion
Payments platform dLocal has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with SaaS eCommerce solution BigCommerce. This collaboration will support the expansion of the commerce platform into Latin American markets.
Under the new partnership, dLocal will facilitate cross-border and local-to-local payments to support BigCommerce’s global expansion in Latin America.
dLocal’s award-winning solution enables BigCommerce merchants for the first time to accept localized payments such as local cards and Alternative Payment Methods (APMs), including Boleto Bancário and Pix in Brazil, and Oxxo in Mexico.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Partners with Cellulant to Expand its Reach in 19 Markets across Africa
Africa’s global bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and leading Pan-African Payments Company Cellulant (Cellulant.io) have announced a partnership that will extend payment services for merchants and consumers across 19 key African countries in which UBA operates.
This network represents one of the primary tools in bringing together Africa’s fragmented payments ecosystem, ensuring Cellulant’s Payment Gateway, Tingg, is available to a vast number of merchants and consumers in each of these markets
Spotify, Google to roll out user choice billing for listener
Music streaming service Spotify has announced a multiyear agreement with Google to introduce user choice billing for its users.
Users who’ve downloaded Spotify from the Google Play Store will be presented with a choice to pay with either Spotify’s payment system or with Google Play Billing.
Spotify will continue to communicate with users about their Premium subscription service, promote discounts and promotions, and give Free tier listeners the ability to convert to Premium directly in the app, the company press release explains.
GoCardless launches fraud prevention tool
UK-based GoCardless has launched Verified Mandates, a feature within its bank pay platform which combines the Account Information Services (AIS) capabilities of Open Banking with direct debit to stop fraud before it happens.
Verified Mandates works in a three-step process which can be completed in less than a minute.
Firstly, a customer who enters a merchant’s checkout flow will be asked to complete a standard direct debit mandate creation form. After, they’ll be prompted to choose their bank, log into their online banking platform using their usual method and authorise the setup of their direct debit mandate. Lastly, the merchant will receive instant confirmation of the successful verification and the customer can complete the checkout flow as usual.
Amsterdam fintech firm Recharge.com expands into Australia
Recharge.com, an Amsterdam-based fintech startup, announced that it has launched its services in Australia. The announcement comes four months after the company opened a new office in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Dutch company is rolling out its services amidst regulatory changes in the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and the gift card sectors.
The company makes digital top-up fast, safe and simple for consumers via its partnerships with brands through its online platform, including Apple iTunes, Spotify, Netflix, and many more.
Recharge.com operates in over 150 countries with 120 employees and plans to expand even further this year to include gaming, entertainment, shopping, and prepaid money card products.
NatWest hops aboard BNPL bandwagon
NatWest is to enter the UK's crowded buy now, pay later space this summer, promising to put safeguards in place to ensure responsible lending.
NatWest says its new proposition will give its customers the convenience to make a purchase almost anywhere that accepts Mastercard. Gambling, cash advances and balance transfers will be excluded from the roll out, which will initially be made available to the bank's customers in England, before heading north to Scotland and across the Irish sea to Northern ireland..
The product will offer a pre-determined fixed credit limit and customers will be able to keep track of payments and installment plans via the bank's mobile app.
EPI abandons plan for Visa and Mastercard rival as member banks quit
The European Payments Initiative has given up on its effort to build a rival to Mastercard and Visa in Europe after more than half its members left.
Initially backed by 31 major Eurozone banks and acquirers Worldline and Nets, the EPI set itself the goal of building a unified pan-European payment system, offering a card for consumers and merchants across Europe, a digital wallet and P2P payments.
Backed by the European Central Bank, the scheme was set to enter its operational phase this year, but by last November financing had become a concern for members, prompting a move to seek outside funding.
Dutch FinTech Mollie Launches SaaS Payment Platform
Dutch payments service provider Mollie has launched Connect for Platforms, a product designed to help online SaaS and marketplace platforms integrate, accept and route payments and onboard customers.
“Connect for Platforms helps SaaS and marketplaces with an easily integrated payments solution that enables effortless onboarding and improved operational efficiency,” the company said in a news release. “We verify both the marketplace and sellers with full know your customer (KYC) checks, saving time and reducing operational workload.”
Mollie said the tool offers multilingual, local support, configurable APIs and a split payments feature that lets marketplaces distribute payments to multiple sellers. The release quotes Q-Park, an international parking operator in Western Europe, and one of Connect for Platform’s first adopters.
Berlin’s Payrails emerges from stealth, lines up $6.4 million in a16z-led round
Berlin-based Payrails officially emerges from stealth as it prepares to launch its financial operations platform, Payrails OS. The company is supported by a $6.4 million seed round that was led by Andreessen Horowitz last December.
Having built and scaled the fintech services division of Delivery Hero, Payrails founders Orkhan Abdullayev, Emre Talay, and Nicolas Thouzeau, saw firsthand the pain points experienced by fast-moving companies can experience across today’s digital payments-first landscape.
With Payrails OS, the startup presents enterprise and fast-growing companies with an end-to-end operating service that powers payments and financial processes regardless of country, currency, and/or payment method.
IRIS adds embedded finance with UNIPaaS
IRIS Software Group has partnered with UNIPaaS, bringing its embedded finance solutions platform to SMEs, according to enterprisetimes.co.uk.
UNIPaaS offers several products that organisations can embed. It includes onboarding, global payments both in and out, and vendor accounts. Iris talks about bringing embedded finance to SMEs.
ERP and accounting vendors will often embed analytics solutions, but few have embedded finance solutions, preferring to integrate with them. The UNIPaaS solution is designed to be embedded and delivers several advantages for a business that will adopt it
BigCommerce offers Bolt single-click checkout to merchants
US-based e-commerce platform BigCommerce has partnered with checkout and customer network Bolt to offer single-click checkout capabilities to all its merchants.
The partnership will enable BigCommerce’s small, medium and enterprise-sized merchants to integrate Bolt’s One-Click Checkout into their operations. Bolt can be pre-built into merchants’ BigCommerce stores, which allows them to offer safe frictionless single-click transactions.
The integration of Bolt’s more than 160 solutions across the company is expected to drive engagement and increase conversion rates by up to 53%, as well as extend customer reach.
Visa Closes Deal to Acquire European Open Banking Platform Tink for $2B
Visa has finalized its deal to purchase Tink, the Sweden-based open banking platform, for $2 billion, according to a Thursday (March 10) press release.
Open banking enables financial institutions (FIs), FinTechs and merchants to use third-party payment service providers to access banking transactions and other data from banks and financial institutions (FIs).
Tink allows customers to transfer cash, access financial data and use financial services through an application programming interface (API), a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Tink said it is integrated with more than 3,400 banks and FIs and millions of customers in Europe.
Now that the transaction is complete, Visa and Tink are expected to enable clients to deliver consumer benefits designed to improve control over their finances. Among the features include helping to manage their money, providing financial data and goals.
Stripe gets friendly with crypto, again
Payments giant Stripe already powers a pretty major swath of the web’s financial infrastructure, now it’s launching crypto payments support to give customers an easier path to onboard web3 users and interact with cryptocurrencies.
The company announced a suite of products today aiming to give customers access to tools and APIs that make it easier for customers to buy and store crypto tokens, cash out, trade NFTs and handle compliance workflows like Know Your Customer (KYC). Stripe’s support page notes that the company’s products will enable support for users to buy more than 135+ cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies in 180 countries.
Alongside the news, crypto exchange FTX announced that it is partnering with Stripe to improve its identity compliance features and fiat onboarding workflows for users.
Dutch in3 secures $11.1m Series A from Finch Capital and partners with Worldline
in3, a leading Dutch Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) FinTech business, has announced a $11.1 million funding round from Finch Capital as growth soars. In addition to this, in3 are launching free BNPL services for consumers, starting in the Netherlands, through an innovative partnership with global digital payments leader Worldline.
Working with payment service partners, in3 offers consumers the ability to pay for purchases in three instalments at zero costs: no interest or transaction costs and without credit registration. Current customers include Kwik Fit, EP, La Souris, Matt sleeps, Dekbed-Discounter.
Through their partnership with WorldLine, in3 will provide them with a technology stack that will allow both online and offline merchants, part of the Worldline network, to offer BNPL payment services to its customers without additional integrations.
Curve lands in the US
London-based fintech Curve has launched in the US, offering Americans the option to combine all their debit, credit and loyalty cards into one.
Launched in 2018, Curve is now live in 31 markets and has more than three million customers that can not only access all of their cards through one smart card, but also earn personalised cashback and stack rewards, go back in time to move past payments from one card to another, and access leading FX rates without fees.
Americans can now download the app to access these features, plus Curve's new BNPL alternative, which lets customers make purchases directly using a credit line, either paid in-full at a later date or through a payment plan.
AstroPay Payment Links Introduced in More Latam Countries
As part of its global expansion push, online payments firm AstroPay is launching its Payment Links solution in Peru, Chile, Mexico and Colombia, following its initial Brazil rollout in January.
Payment Links is AstroPay’s latest advancement, developed to enable small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to collect digital payments by sharing a payment link with their customers. The link can be shared by email or any electronic means, and customers can pay using a variety of options, either in their own currency or in U.S. dollars.
Launched in 2009 and headquartered in London, AstroPay strives to develop digital payment solutions that can help SMBs grow while also giving customers the ability to shop online globally no matter where they are located and regardless of whether they have a bank account.
While bringing Payment Links to Brazil is a recent move, the company has operated in the country for 12 years, providing users there with a broad variety of online payment methods. The timing of Payment Links runs parallel to the fast expansion of digital payments in Brazil and the Latin American region.
Mastercard, Visa Prep Fee Hike for April
Mastercard and Visa are preparing to raise the fees paid by merchants when consumers pay with credit cards, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday (March 8).
The fee increases are set to go into effect in April, according to the report. They had been scheduled to happen two years ago but were put on hold during the pandemic. Most of the increases will come from higher interchange fees, which are paid by merchants to the card-issuing banks when shoppers use cards.
Interchange fees have been a consistent thorn in the side of merchants, especially as they’ve seen their costs go up in recent years amid the popularity of rewards credit cards, which often come with higher fees to offset the cost of benefits, such as travel perks.
These fees have been in the antitrust spotlight for years, with most of the cases in the United States being closed via settlements. Still, the legislative and judiciary decisions in Europe and the United Kingdom underline how tough it will be for retailers to resolve the situation.
Payments Infrastructure Firm PPRO Buys Alpha Fintech
Digital payments infrastructure firm PPRO acquired payments technology platform Alpha Fintech for undisclosed terms, according to a Tuesday (March 8) press release.
The acquisition will bolster PPRO’s presence and networks in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and boost its ability to deliver products and services faster. Integrating Alpha’s platform will also enable PPRO to offer a plug-and-play orchestration layer for faster incorporation of products and services at scale.
As a combined entity, customers will have access to an increase in global payment flows, third-party app integration capabilities, broader data insights and enhanced compliance and risk proficiencies.
Alpha Fintech offers a cloud-based platform that enables easy digital payments integration, including payments processing, merchant management, risk governance, fraud prevention, data analytics and more. Per the release, the Irish firm was launched in 2011 and has been focused on the APAC region.
Worldline partners with Vesca to access the Japanese merchant market
Worldline has partnered with Japan-based network service provider Vesca to offer credit card payment processing for merchants nationwide.
Worldline will provide transaction processing, leveraging the footprint, scale, and technology of its global payment processing facilities, while Vesca is the technical enabler that acts as the acceptance layer in the country.
Through this set-up, starting to accept credit cards will no longer be cumbersome for merchants, and they can do so at competitive costs, according to the press release.
The basic offering at launch in early 2022, consisting of credit card acquiring, POS card acceptance, and processing, will be enlarged with ecommerce in the future months to come. Merchants will benefit from Worldline’s offering by having a single point of contact for all their payment needs, including fast onboarding.
FinDock partners with GoCardless
Salesforce Native AppExchange app FinDock has partnered with GoCardless, a fintech and direct bank payment solutions provider, an official press release states.
The FinDock and GoCardless integration allows users to switch on GoCardless as a payment processor directly in their Salesforce environment. From there, merchants can collect one-off and recurring payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts through GoCardless via FinDock.
