Ant looks to buy Dutch firm; Adyen seeks merchants in Iceland

In addition to Ant's possible deal to buy MultiSafepay and Adyen's work with Straumur, Visa has partnered with TECH5 on government ID and Mastercard is expanding its virtual-card network through Rawbank.

Ant may buy Dutch payment company

Ant Group is closing in on a deal to acquire MultiSafepay, a Dutch payment group, a move that would deepen the Chinese technology company's expansion into western markets. The deal would value MultiSafepay at $200 million, reports Reuters, adding that the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval. Ant, which operates Alipay and is affiliated with the e-commerce firm Alibaba, acquired Singapore-based payment company 2C2P in 2022 and U.K.-based payment firm Worldfirst in 2019. Ant also had an agreement in place to acquire MoneyGram in 2018, but that deal fell apart under regulatory pressure. Ant's founder, billionaire Jack Ma, recently ended his relationship with the firm, part of an effort to smooth the relationship between the conglomerate and Chinese regulators. —John Adams

Visa expands government ID strategy

Visa has partnered with TECH5, a biometric and identity technology company, to build technology that can be sold to global governments as part of federated identity projects. The government-issued IDs could be used for payments, business entry, access to government buildings and other services. The Geneva, Switzerland-based TECH5 develops software and platforms to enable contactless biometric image capture and other emerging forms of automated identity vetting. The technology company's ID systems can be embedded into Visa's payment systems and other services from the card network, such as payment crime prevention and ID fraud. The two firms are focused on building ID systems that can be used across industries, as well as in different countries. Other large technology companies such as Google are boosting investment in digital ID, betting that security will be a major focus in the next year. —John Adams

Adyen adds partner to reach Icelandic merchants

Dutch payment company Adyen has begun working with Straumur, a company that processes about a quarter of the payments in Iceland, including for grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies and gas stations. Straumur's technology covers in-person payments, mobile and e-commerce for about 1,700 merchants. Adyen will be the acquiring bank for these merchants, and will work with Straumur on technology projects. That includes improving the ability of merchants to collect data from different payment options on the same platform to ease customer service, marketing and other functions. Adyen has added both digital and physical payment technology over the past year and has extended its merchant reach with partnerships such as a December collaboration with Swedish financial institution and buy now/pay later lender Klarna. —John Adams

Mastercard grows virtual-card network in Africa

Mastercard has partnered with Rawbank, a fintech headquartered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to offer virtual cards in that country. The cards can be used on domestic and international websites, enabling consumers in the DRC to access international e-commerce. Rawbank is also positioning the virtual cards as a way for startups and small businesses to buy supplies, manage travel expenses and pay staff without requiring a physical card. "The new virtual card program … is a crucial addition to our portfolio of digital services that addresses the needs of the unbanked and underbanked," said Karim Nouri, general manager of illicocash, a payments unit of Rawbank, in a release. With use of virtual cards on the rise globally, Mastercard, Visa and other payment companies have increased investments in the technology. —John Adams

Nubank gets permission to add services in Colombia

Colombian regulators have approved Brazilian digital bank Nubank's application to offer savings accounts, part of Nubank's $150 million investment in the country. The company, which is branded Nu Colombia locally, launched a payment card in 2020 and has signed up about 800,000 users. "This enables the right regulatory framework to launch Cuenta Nu and further expansion of our product portfolio," said Marcela Torres, general manager of Nu Colombia, in a release. NuBank has about 4 million customers in Mexico, where it offers payments and savings; and 65 million customers in Brazil, where it offers payments, savings accounts and personal loans. NuBank also offers a cryptocurrency-based rewards program in Brazil in collaboration with Polygon Technology. —John Adams

TerraPay extends cross-border payments services to Mali

Orange Finances Money Mali, which is based in Bamako, Mali, has established a partnership with London-based TerraPay that will expand cross-border digital payments to 12 million citizens in the North African country, according to a press release. The move targets millions of unbanked and underbanked Malians who may use TerraPay's app to receive funds in a smartphone-based digital wallet and use them to pay bills, make purchases, conduct peer-to-peer payments or cash out at participating retailers. TerraPay, founded 10 years ago, aligns with merchants through a single connection to enable payments in more than 120 receiving countries and 210 sending countries, and reaches 7.5 billion bank accounts and 2.1 billion mobile wallets. —Kate Fitzgerald

India’s MobiKwik reattempts IPO

MobiKwik, a Bengaluru-based digital payments provider founded a decade ago, has filed for an initial public offering worth $84 million a couple of years after an earlier attempt fizzled, Reuters reports. The value of the latest deal, backed by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Bajaj Finance, is more than 60% less than MobiKwik's first proposed IPO in 2021, which followed the disappointing IPO of Paytm, one of India's leading digital payments apps. MobiKwik plans to use funds raised in the IPO to expand its customer base and reach more merchants, while investing in machine learning and artificial intelligence. —Kate Fitzgerald