ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

• Mastercard has started processing domestic payments in China. The Mastercard NetsUnion joint venture will be processing payments made in China with Mastercard cards issued by the country’s banks and, in addition, the joint venture confirmed that Mastercard-branded cards will now be accepted for both domestic and international purchases.
• Square unveiled Square Kiosk, a fully integrated software, hardware, and payments solution that enables self-serve ordering for quick-service restaurants.
• Checkout.com has announced the launch of Flow, an integration tool to allow merchants to integrate different payment methods based on location, currency, and the type of device being used. Flow also optimises input fields so that payment information is captured in the right format to reduce cart abandonment.
• Financial management solution Fiskl has deepened its partnership with Stripe to enable multi-currency payments and advanced reconciliation for global small businesses.

CORPORATE ACTIVITY

•  BBVA is proposing to merge with Banco Sabadell. In a letter addressed to the Board of Directors of Banco Sabadell, BBVA states that merging the two entities would create the most compelling industrial project in European banking and become a European leader with over one trillion euros in assets and serving more than 100 million clients worldwide.
•  iwoca secures GBP 270m debt funding from Citi and Barclays, taking the total gross investment in the company to over GBP 1 billion.
• Monzo has raised an additional USD 190 million, reaching USD 610 million in funding so far towards expansion and new products. This funding values Monzo at roughly USD 5.2 billion. Monzo currently claims more than nine million personal account customers, making it the 7th biggest retail bank in the UK by customer numbers.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT

• Revolut has launched the Revolut X cryptocurrency trading platform for UK retail clients. Revolut X aims to compete with leading crypto exchanges by offering easy on/off-ramping and low fees. While designed for professional traders, the platform is accessible on desktop for all UK users with a Revolut retail account. 

DIGITAL, RETAIL & ‘Neo’ BANKING

• Brazillian digital bank Nubank has surpassed 100 million customers. Eleven years after launching with a credit card product in Brazil, Nubank, with custoemrs in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, is the first digital banking platform to surpass this milestone outside of Asia. The achievement comes on the heels of record 2023 financial results, with over US$1 billion in net profit and over US$8 billion in revenues.

EPC/SEPA

• EBA Clearing says its request to pay service is ready for commercial use cases after the completion of a pan-European proof-of-concept involving eight PSPs.

FRAUD & CYBERSECURITY

• Fraud is prevalent on second-hand marketplaces, new research from Which? has revealed, with Depop, Shpock, Preloved, Nextdoor found to be the worst offenders for buyers.

• Visa has launched Visa Account Attack Intelligence (VAAI) to combat card testing attacks, reducing fraud and operational losses in real-time. VAAI will be available to US issuers first, with no defined date for other regions.

OPEN BANKING & PSD2

• UK-based global remittances provider TransferGo has partnered with Tink to integrate Pay by Bank into TransferGo’s payments suite.
• Brite Payments has partnered with Shopware, European eCommerce platform, to introduce open banking-based instant payments to businesses across Europe. Shopware merchants gain access to ’Pay by Bank’ functionality

REALTIME/INSTANT PAYMENTS

• The PSR is consulting on directing APP scams reimbursement for CHAPS payments. The PSR is proposing to direct banks, and other payment firms participating in CHAPS, to reimburse their customers who have been victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams.
• In Australia, NAB is launching Pay by Bank in partnership Banked, leveraging Australian open banking rails PayTo to settle near-instant transactions.