Europe

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

European Payments Initiative (EPI) has unveiled Wero’s new e-commerce payments solution in Germany, marking the first rollout of the pan-European digital wallet for online shopping. Major merchants including Eventim, Decathlon, Lidl, Rossmann and more are already live, letting customers pay directly through Wero’s instant account-to-account platform. Backed by 16 banks and PSPs, Wero aims to offer a fast, secure alternative to international card systems. The launch expands Wero beyond peer-to-peer use, with Sparkassen and Volksbanken enabling 46 million users to find merchants accepting Wero. Additional EPI member banks will join in coming weeks, and Wero online payments will roll out to Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in 2026 as EPI pushes for a sovereign European payment network.

Ecommpay has begun supporting Apple Pay’s new QR-based payment option, becoming one of the first payment providers to enable the feature for online transactions. This expands Apple Pay’s reach beyond Apple devices—shoppers on Windows or Android browsers can now scan a QR code at checkout with an iPhone/iPad and confirm the payment in their Apple Wallet. By removing the previous Apple-only limitation, Ecommpay expects merchants to see higher conversion rates and fewer abandoned carts. The QR flow retains Apple Pay’s usual biometric authentication and tokenisation security. The feature is automatically enabled for Ecommpay’s clients (no extra integration work), allowing any customer to use Apple Pay regardless of their browsing device while maintaining a seamless, secure checkout experience.

Visa has completed its first commercial variable recurring payment (cVRP) transaction through its Visa A2A pay‑by‑bank service in the UK. The milestone payment — an energy bill paid to Utilita — was enabled by Kroo Bank and Visa‑owned Tink over the Faster Payments network. The solution supports real‑time settlement, dispute protection, and merchant notifications, positioning it as a viable alternative to Direct Debit. The company says A2A is gaining traction among UK consumers, 60% of whom report willingness to try new methods for recurring payments. Visa intends to expand its A2A service into ecommerce and additional UK use cases in 2026.

BNPL

Klarna will sell up to $6.5 billion of its lending portfolio to funds managed by Elliott Investment Management over two years as part of a deal to fuel its U.S. expansion. Under the forward-flow agreement, the Swedish BNPL fintech can continuously transfer new “Fair Financing” loans off its balance sheet to Elliott’s funds, allowing it to originate up to $6.5 billion in installment loans without straining capital. Klarna will retain customer-facing roles like underwriting and servicing. Executives say the move is a “major step” in scaling U.S. growth, enabling the firm to reach more American consumers moving away from traditional credit. Analysts note that such arrangements are a capital-efficient way for high-growth lenders like Klarna to extend credit rapidly while maintaining balance-sheet flexibility. The deal follows Klarna’s successful IPO and surging U.S. demand for its longer-term installment products.

CORPORATE ACTIVITY

Lloyds Banking Group has agreed to acquire Curve in a deal reported to be worth approximately £120 million. The digital wallet fintech offers all‑in‑one card management, Pay Later instalments, and fee‑free FX, with over four million customers. Lloyds says the acquisition will embed Curve’s “super wallet” capabilities into its mobile apps and aligns with its broader consumer payments strategy. The deal is expected to close in H1 2026 and positions the bank to compete more directly with Big Tech wallets in everyday retail payments.

CROSS-BORDER

Banking Circle is partnering with JD Fintech (an affiliate of China’s JD.com) to power real-time cross-border payments and multi-currency settlement for global merchants. The Luxembourg-based payments bank will provide infrastructure (virtual IBAN accounts, local clearing access, FX services) so that JD Fintech’s business clients can seamlessly collect and send funds worldwide. By integrating Banking Circle’s single API, JD Fintech can reduce friction and open local currency accounts for cross-border e-commerce sellers, enabling instant payments and 24/7 liquidity management. The collaboration aims to accelerate payout speed and transparency for Asian fintechs and marketplaces expanding internationally. Banking Circle notes this will strengthen “digital commerce corridors,” with faster clearing and less complexity for merchants looking to expand globally.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT

UBS has announced a partnership with Ant Group’s international unit to implement blockchain-based real-time cross-border payment settlement and liquidity management. Under the MoU, Ant will leverage UBS’s Digital Cash platform – a distributed ledger payment system piloted in 2024 – to streamline global treasury operations. The collaboration will focus on using tokenised bank deposits to enable instant, multi-currency fund transfers between Ant’s entities, unconstrained by traditional cut-off times. By combining UBS’s experience in digital asset infrastructure with Ant’s blockchain tech, the partners aim to improve efficiency, transparency and security in cross-border payments for clients. They will also explore future developments like tokenised deposits, reflecting a joint commitment to innovation in wholesale payments and liquidity optimization.

FRAUD & CYBERSECURITY

Mastercard reports that online holiday shopping scams are on the rise in Europe, with a new company survey showing over 75% of consumers encountered a suspected scam in the past year. The research (conducted with Harris Poll) indicates fraud attempts intensify during the festive season, when two-thirds of shoppers believe scams become more sophisticated. Many respondents admitted taking risks under pressure to find gifts, and a majority have bought from unfamiliar retailers without sufficient research. Mastercard urges extra caution and notes that common red flags include deals that seem “too good,” poor site grammar/design, or missing security indicators at checkout. The company highlighted its use of AI and monitoring, which has prevented billions in fraud losses, and it advises shoppers to use strong passwords, enable 2FA, stick to secure and known websites, and monitor their accounts to stay safe this holiday season.

Rest of the World

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

Payment Asia has become the official payment facilitator for Hong Kong’s Octopus Cards, integrating the popular contactless wallet (used by 98% of residents) into Payment Asia’s omnichannel platform. The partnership allows merchants of all sizes to easily accept Octopus payments across online and in-store channels via Payment Asia’s AI-powered system. By streamlining KYC and onboarding, businesses can activate Octopus acceptance for e-commerce and point-of-sale in one go. This collaboration comes as Octopus accelerates its regional expansion (recently entering Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan) and adds new features like ride-hailing payments. Payment Asia says embedding Octopus into its unified payments offering will improve the checkout experience and support Hong Kong’s smart city and fintech development, while helping more SMEs go cashless with a ubiquitous local payment method.

Mastercard has launched its AI-powered Agent Pay service in the UAE, marking the first international rollout of this “agentic” payments technology outside the U.S. Developed with retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim and fintech Dataiera, Agent Pay enables consumers to use digital AI assistants to search, compare, and complete purchases on their behalf. In pilot demonstrations, users can simply ask an AI chatbot to book cinema tickets or shopping orders, which the agent handles end-to-end – from finding options to executing payment securely via Mastercard’s network. The UAE’s Minister of AI attended the debut, underscoring the country’s support for advanced digital commerce. Mastercard says Agent Pay is built on transparency, consent and security, so that as AI becomes a “trusted companion” in consumers’ lives, transactions orchestrated by AI will remain safe and user-authorised. The pilot will gather feedback in Dubai, aiming to refine the experience of seamless, autonomous payments in everyday commerce.

CROSS-BORDER

Félix, a fintech offering WhatsApp-based remittances, has expanded its partnership with Mastercard to speed up money transfers from the US to multiple Latin American countries. The collaboration centers on Mastercard Move (the card network’s new cross-border service) to route Félix’s transactions. A user simply chats with Félix’s WhatsApp chatbot to initiate a transfer, funds it with a debit card, and Mastercard Move then processes the payment to the destination. This has enabled some transfers to reach recipients in minutes, greatly reducing uncertainty for families waiting on remittances. The approach also provides better transparency and tracking compared to traditional corridors. By linking its tech stack with Mastercard’s network, Félix aims to cut fees and friction in the remittance process (historically plagued by delays and hidden charges). The Miami-based startup, launched in 2021, now serves over half a million users across Central America and the Dominican Republic, and plans to extend to more markets. For Mastercard, leveraging a popular channel like WhatsApp with a fintech partner demonstrates how its infrastructure can modernise remittances with greater speed and clarity on funds’ movement.

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has partnered with Singapore-based Thunes to enable real-time cross-border wallet payments from the UAE to over 130 countries. Using Thunes’s global network, FAB will soon let its customers send instant payouts directly to mobile wallets and bank accounts worldwide, with transparent fees and end-to-end tracking. The tie-up is a milestone for the UAE’s “Financial Infrastructure Transformation” program, aligning with national goals to foster digital innovation and interoperability in payments. Once integrated, the service will allow quick international transfers across Africa, Asia, and other regions where Thunes connects to local mobile money services. Thunes’ Chief Commercial Officer noted that having the Middle East’s largest bank join its network is a vote of confidence in the platform’s ability to deliver interoperability at scale, making cross-border transfers “faster and easier for everyone.” For FAB, the deal extends its reach to unbanked recipients and wallet users globally, putting the bank at the forefront of offering modern, API-driven cross-border solutions in the region.