Europe

Afterpay has entered into an agreement with NBQ Corporate SLU to acquire Pagantis SAU and PMT Technology SLU for €50 million (about $59 million) to expand into France, Italy and Spain — a direct challenge to Klarna, one of the dominant European buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers.

A CBDC has the potential to be a real game changer for the payment industry if one condition is met: central bank digital currency has to be built as an open and shared infrastructure for the private sector to easily build on top of it, says ConsenSys' Matthieu Saint Olive.

For Marqeta, the advancement of 3D Secure 2.0 in Europe presented an opportunity to design its own version of the online security protocol in order to claim ownership of the standard and provide more flexibility for its use with customers.

Citing the benefit of making purchases from home during the coronavirus pandemic, China's UnionPay International is partnering with digital platform Glovo to enable its cardholders in Europe to participate in on-demand shopping.

Mastercard is stepping up its involvement with cryptocurrencies by inviting digital payment operators to launch crypto cards through its platform, beginning with U.K.-based Wirex.

A staged implementation rolling up national systems offers EPI its best prospects. Still, it’s a long shot, says Intrepid Ventures’ Eric Grover.

Tokyo-based payment card network JCB International is positioning itself for post-pandemic tourism growth by signing a deal with 3C Payments to expand payment acceptance in Europe, beginning in Spain.

About 78% of Mastercard’s European transactions are now contactless, and the company expects the shift in payment choice will be permanent.

PSD2 compliance remains a necessary step to protect data and ID even if the coronavirus presents more challenges, says GlobalSign's Arvid Vermote.

The potential for a new card scheme throughout Europe has been a discussion point surrounding the Single Euro Payment Area since its inception more than a decade ago. A new proposal could bring this concept into reality.

Mastercard has promoted divisional president Mark Barnett as its new European president to succeed Javier Perez, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Worldline has acquired a 53% stake in Czech Republic-based GoPay, furthering an Eastern European expansion effort with an option to acquire the remaining shares in 2022.

CaixaBank and Global Payments are building on a series of partnerships to build a joint prepaid venture in Europe.

Mastercard is part of an expanding trend toward easing restrictions to entice consumers to choose contactless payments over cash and plastic during the coronavirus.

Challenger bank bunq has expanded its card partnership with Mastercard to cover 30 European countries as it grows its mobile only footprint coupled with its Green Card.

Following the lead of open banking regulation in Europe, payments technology provider Elavon is working with Nuapay in the U.K. to provide account-to-account payment setups for its merchant clients.

London-based Checkout.com views the acquisition of ProcessOut and its data analytics platform as a complement for its end-to-end payments service, as it seeks to build strength in the European market and eyes further expansion into Asia Pacific.

Barca, as one of the world’s most popular football clubs is known, will issue tokens for use on a fan-engagement platform.

TBI Bank is an early regional adopter of a program that allows SEPA instant faster payments for digital lending clients.

Marqeta has been certified as a European card processor with Mastercard to help digital banks issue cards more quickly, signing Twisto as the first customer of the collaboration.