European Payments Acceptance | Weekly News 30 August

- Adyen and IKEA partner for online and instore processing. The new partnership with Adyen will allow IKEA to connect the dots between in-store and digital sales channels and offer better payment and loyalty experiences for customers.
- PayPoint and Teya to launch new service enabling Teya Business Account holders to deposit cash at over 29,000 PayPoint stores across the UK. Customers add funds into their business accounts in the Teya App, and can generate a unique barcode. Customers bring cash to any PayPoint store and barcode will be scanned to complete transaction.

Klarna to use AI to halve workforce. The CEO claims that the AI assistant now performs the work of 700 employees, reducing the average resolution time from 11 minutes to just 2, while maintaining the same customer satisfaction scores as human agents. The company has trimmed its workforce through natural attrition from 5000 to 3800 over the last year and is expecting more dramatic reductions.
Visa in talks to buy Featurespace, valuing the company at £700m

Revolut signs global Visa Direct agreement for cross-border business transactions. Revolut Business customers now only require a card number for transactions, with payments arriving in the recipient’s account within 30 minutes or less. Visa Direct coverage encompasses 78 countries and supports over 50 currencies.

FCA rules and slow approval times dent the UK’s aspirations to become a global crypto hub. British ambitions to become a global crypto hub are being hindered by a conservative regulatory approach that has seen applications for registration by crypto firms drop by 51% over the past three years.
Banking Circle launches euro-backed stablecoin, which is MiCA compliant. Available on the Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain blockchains, EURI (Eurite) will first be accessible via Binance followed by AG with more exchanges to follow. The burning and minting of EURI is enabled by the Fireblocks.

By 2029, the value of global eCommerce transactions will reach $11.4 trillion; up from $7 trillion in 2024. This substantial 63% growth will be driven by the adoption of eCommerce across emerging markets. In these regions, APMs (Alternative Payment Methods) will enable consumers in non-card-centric markets to purchase online for the first time. APMs are any cashless and cardless way of transferring funds, such as digital wallets and account-to-account payments.

AIB introduces voluntary gambling block. Customers can now call a helpline to request to a block on their personal or business card which will stop transactions identified as gambling.

UK financial watchdog chair accused of whistleblower breach. A chairman of the UK’s FCA has been accused of breaching confidentiality by sharing unredacted whistleblower information, violating FCA policy. The chairman is reported to have forwarded emails in December 2023 and March 2024 that contained the complainant’s unredacted name, address, and concerns.

Real-time credit reference agency AperiData has become an Open Banking provider to be listed as a supplier on CCS’ Open Banking Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS).

OTP Bank implements MIA Instant Payments. The MIA platform represents instant payment system in Moldova. The implementation required the integration of OTP Bank’s information system with the National Bank of Moldova’s new MIA database.

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