Europe

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

Senteca Commerce and Orchestr have formed a strategic partnership to expand merchants’ access to international payment options while reducing costs and payment failures. The collaboration links Senteca’s commerce platform with Orchestr’s AI-driven payment orchestration system, creating a single integration route to hundreds of global and local payment methods. This setup enables merchants using Senteca to reach new markets without additional technical work, as Orchestr’s intelligent routing automatically selects the optimal provider for each transaction.

BNPL

Socure has acquired Qlarifi to create what it calls the industry’s first unified BNPL credit infrastructure. Their joined functionalities will enable Socure to identify and address blind spots in BNPL underwriting and risk assessments. Furthermore, this will help BNPL lenders detect loan stacking and overextension across providers, mitigate first-party fraud, and enable more accurate, real-time credit decisions for instalment loans.

CORPORATE ACTIVITY

Worldline has announced plans to sell its PaymentIQ payment orchestration platform to investment firm Incore Invest for approximately €160 million. This move is part of Worldline’s “North Star” transformation plan to refocus on its core European payment-services business and streamline operations.

OPEN BANKING & PSD

Noda has partnered with pats.lv to enable instant invoice payments for thousands of freelancers and self-employed professionals. By integrating Noda’s open banking solution, pats.lv users will be able accept instant bank transfers via simple payment links, automating the flow from invoice issuance to payout. The partnership aims to eliminate settlement delays and reduce transaction costs for small businesses, ensuring that payments from clients are received within seconds and automatically reconciled.

Rest of the World

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

Payment Options Pte Ltd has secured in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a Major Payment Institution licence. This will enable Payment Options to offer merchant acquisition, domestic and cross-border money transfers, and a full suite of payment capabilities including online gateways, QR code payments, and SoftPOS technology.

Pacsun has partnered with Affirm to offer shoppers a pay-over-time option at checkout, enabling eligible customers to split purchases into interest-free biweekly payments or monthly instalments lasting up to 24 months.  Through this partnership, Pacsun joins Affirm’s global merchant network of roughly 420,000 partners.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT

Bybit has formed a strategic partnership with Circle to expand USDC access across Bybit’s global platform. The deal will boost USDC liquidity in spot and derivatives markets and integrate stablecoin support into Bybit services like savings, payment, and card-based cashback. As part of the agreement, fiat on- and off-ramps will be rolled out to simplify deposits and withdrawals, supporting faster and more transparent conversions between local currencies and digital assets.