CellPoint Digital Deepens Strategic Partnership with Southwest Airlines
Weekly news up to Tuesday, 1st of April 2025
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
As flower orders surge ahead of Mother’s Day, global digital payments company Checkout.com is supporting Interflora to deliver high performing payments at scale.
The partnership has enabled a 95.4% acceptance rate across Interflora’s European markets – their highest ever – helping the international flower delivery network meet peak demand with confidence.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🌎 FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Revolut challenges banks with 2.25% payroll account.
⭐️ Fana Sparebank Enters Five-Year Partnership with Tietoevry Banking.
⭐️ Zempler partners with Wise to roll out international payment service.
⭐️ French State Bank Bpifrance Plans $27M Investment in Digital Assets.
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FINTECH
Mastercard signs agreement with Bizcuit to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) streamline their financial processes. This collaboration aims to simplify banking and accounting for entrepreneurs, reduce manual data entry, and improve efficiency.
Revolut hires crypto marketing team after launch of mobile trading app. The company is hiring product marketing managers for crypto in the UK, Poland, Spain and Portugal, to develop and lead a new marketing strategy for cryptocurrency. Candidates will be tasked with helping bring more products and campaigns to market.
Revolut ATMs in Hungary? Foreign FinTechs called on to share ATM costs. If Revolut moves forward with launching ATMs in the country, it will face several key challenges. First, the company must secure regulatory approvals from the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), which oversees financial services and ATM operations.
Adyen Giving surpasses $25M milestone thanks to donations from millions of shoppers around the world. Shoppers globally have contributed via their favourite brands through 35 million individual micro-transactions. To celebrate this milestone, Adyen is matching all donations made through Giving through 2025.
PAYMENTS
Otrium expands across Europe with Mollie. By using Mollie's payment solutions, Otrium has been able to enhance its global growth while maintaining an efficient and seamless checkout experience. The partnership has been essential for Otrium's ability to expand quickly in international markets, offering a more accessible and frictionless shopping experience for its customers.
REGTECH
MiCAR is allowing German banks to explore crypto assets. With MiCAR coming into full effect and BaFin now officially designated as the local regulator, banks can confidently begin exploring opportunities in digital assets. There is pent-up demand from institutional and retail customers.
CRYPTO
French stablecoin FinTech Fipto secures Payments Institution licence from France’s ACPR. The Prudential Control and Resolution Authority enables Fipto to send and receive global fiat payments on behalf of third parties, streamlining access to stablecoin transactions by significantly reducing intermediaries.
Binance adds Apple Pay and Google Pay to options for EUR deposits. With this feature, users can easily and securely deposit EUR into their account using the credit/debit cards stored in their Apple Pay or Google Pay wallets. This simplifies access to crypto with daily payment methods.
UK Regulator intends to start authorizing crypto firms in 2026. The new regime marks a significant shift from the current anti-money laundering framework. Crypto exchanges will move from simply registering to comply with AML rules to needing authorization with specific rules for various services.
PARTNERSHIPS
CellPoint Digital deepens strategic partnership with Southwest Airlines. Southwest will leverage CellPoint Digital's new platform to deliver personalised travel experiences through an advanced Offer & Order payment solution. The platform enables the seamless combination of multiple payment methods, from credit cards and travel credits to alternative payment methods and Rapid Rewards points, all within a single transaction.
Nayax and N-and Group forge a strategic partnership to offer next-generation smart screens with embedded payments. As part of the partnership, N-and will provide smart screens featuring embedded payments by Nayax, durable design, and remote management and telemetry functions.
Tirana Bank partners with Backbase for digital banking upgrade. The agreement marks the bank’s most significant investment in technology to date, surpassing previous upgrades to its systems. The initiative is part of a wider effort to expand its digital offerings and strengthen its position in the region’s financial sector.
DONEDEAL
Revolut’s valuation has been upgraded by one of its best-known shareholders, implying a rise to $𝟰𝟴𝗯𝗻. The upgrade by Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust plc, an investment trust managed by Schroders, is an 85% jump compared to the valuation it gave London fintech a year ago.
M&As
myPOS acquires UTP as it looks to boost support and payment solutions for UK SMEs. myPOS CEO Mario Shiliashki commented that the acquisition is not just about market expansion but also about empowering UK SMEs with better payment solutions, stronger support, and more growth opportunities.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Deutsche Bank names new CFO Raja Akram in latest leadership shake-up. The bank has made the latest in many changes to its top leadership, announcing the departure of CFO James von Moltke and its CLO as the German lender starts to pull together its new strategy.