Payments

The Swedish buy now/pay later lender insists it is on a path to profitability, despite mounting losses.

In global news this week, Virgin Atlantic upgrades its payment system, Ireland proposes cash preservation regulation, PayPal's under pressure in Poland, and more.

Rising interest rates and tightening consumer credit are likely to drive many consumers to use interest-free point-of-sale loans, putting BNPL fintechs' data-driven underwriting to the test.

Mastercard lost a bid to narrow the size of the U.K.'s largest- ever class action claim over its payment fees after appeal judges rejected its attempt to exclude some 3 million people who died since the claim was first filed.

Payment firms including Mastercard and Block are banding together with fintech companies to press Canada to move faster on rules that may boost competition in financial services.

The bank-led peer-to-peer payment system reportedly wants to standardize how it handles reimbursements for fraud. The move would have to both reassure consumers and keep regulators at bay.

In global news this week, WeChat Pay enables instant payments outside China, Mastercard takes a minority stake in Societe Generale subsidiary Treezor, Sella Group tests a fingerprint payment card in Italy, and more.

Firms like Visa, Mastercard, Barclays and JPMorgan Chase are expanding hubs and accelerators as technology experts look for new jobs and entrepreneurs look for new ideas.

The collaboration with Thunes enables millions of underbanked mobile wallet users and merchants to perform digital cross-border sales, providing another route to cut processing costs.

Russia's international ambitions for its homegrown alternative to Visa and Mastercard have been dashed as even some of its closest allies have dropped its Mir payment system following a threat by the U.S. to sanction anyone who helps or supports its use.