Weekly Payments News 01 March 2024

Older shoppers boost growth in contactless payments. New Consumer Spend data from Barclays’ annual contactless trends report has revealed that 2023 was another record-breaking year for ‘touch and pay’, with the fastest growth coming among the over 65s. Usage grew across all age demographics, and the gap between older and younger audiences continues to narrow. The percentage of active users among 85-95-year-olds crossed 80% for the first time.
Google Pay to shut down in the US in favour of Google Wallet. The standalone Google Pay application will disappear on 4 June in order to “simplify the app experience,” says a statement.

American Express launches Plan It offering in the UK, that allows credit Cardmembers to pay off purchases in instalments.

Fiserv and Amadeus are competing to acquire Shift4 Payments that has a market value of nearly $7 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Worldline shares slipped 28^th Feb in early morning trading after the company reported a net loss due to a €1.15 billion impairment charge in merchant services and a deteriorating outlook.
Barclays sells USD 1.1 billion worth of credit card debt to Blackstone. The move is part of Barclays’ strategy to reduce assets on its balance sheet ahead of stricter regulatory requirements.
Klarna reports its fifth straight annual net loss. The company reported a net loss of SKr2.5bn ($241mn) for 2023, narrower than its SKr10.4bn loss in 2022. Revenues rose 22 per cent to SKr23.5bn.
Stripe valuation hits $65bn in staff share-sale deal. The valuation is up from $50 billion at a funding round last March, although still down on the $95 billion it was tagged with in 2021. Under the deal, Stripe and some of its investors – including Sequoia Capital – will buy more than $1 billion of stock from current and former staffers.

Mastercard launches new Open Banking product, aimed to optimise the debit and prepaid digital account opening experience for US clients.

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