Mollie Introduces The Ecommerce Playbook 2025
Weekly news up to Tuesday, 11th of March 2025
😎 SPONSORED CONTENT
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Enigmatic Smile, delivers Critical Payment-Linked-Reward Programme Infrastructure on a Planetary Scale ®
The company announces that it has acquired a controlling stake in Spaycial for an undisclosed sum. This strategic acquisition allows Enigmatic Smile to leverage Spaycial's European Account Information Service Provider (AISP) license and open banking expertise to enhance its already extensive payment card linking offering.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🌎 FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ The Ecommerce Playbook 2025 by Mollie.
⭐️ Former Kasisto exec Lindsay Soergel named new Fintilect CEO.
⭐️ Swiss FinTech Centi expands African presence with Yellow Card partnership.
⭐️ Revolut and other FinTech users most hit by massive scam operation.
FINTECH
Santander hires Barclays, Goldman Sachs for Ebury IPO, Expansion reports. Ebury would aim to go public around May or June on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of around 2.5 billion pounds ($3.22 billion), according to unidentified sources close to the process cited by Expansion.
Wise upgrades London office space as expansion continues. The money transfer business is moving into new global headquarters at Worship Square building in Shoreditch that offers flexible office spaces and in-house wellbeing amenities. Wise will occupy five of the eight floors for its over 1,000 local employees.
PAYMENTS
Verto secures payment licences in five regions. These licenses granted by the DFSA (UAE), individual US state regulators, and African financial authorities strengthen Verto’s ability to provide regulated money transfer services, foreign exchange, and local account solutions for businesses operating in these markets.
Klarna to file for $1 billion-plus IPO as soon as next week. The payments business aims to price the IPO in early April. Klarna is targeting a more than $15 billion valuation in the New York Stock Exchange listing. Deliberations are ongoing, and details of the listing plan, including timing, could still change.
European Commission welcomes inclusion of Moldova and North Macedonia in the Single Euro Payments Area following the positive decision by the European Payments Council. As a result, the payment service providers of the two countries will have the possibility to adhere to the various SEPA schemes.
OPEN BANKING
Albania has entered the era of Open Banking with the successful completion of its first transaction under the new system. Open Banking allows for more transparent and efficient financial services by enabling secure sharing of financial data between banks and third-party providers.
REGTECH
iDenfy and Business Arena work together to boost customer acquisition rates through KYC. This collaboration enables Arena to integrate iDenfy’s advanced identity verification and Anti Money Laundering solutions to enhance the company’s security and deliver a seamless onboarding experience for its clients.
FinTech iBanFirst secures UK EMI License to expand market operations. The license highlights the company’s commitment to SME security, ensuring seamless transactions, while keeping payments and funds fully protected. With comprehensive risk protection, including AML and financial crime frameworks.
DIGITAL BANKING
OakNorth pre-tax profits surge to £215m ($272m) as It surpasses £12.5bn ($15.7bn) in lending and continues its US expansion. The bank’s backing continues to be a catalyst for growth, innovation, and market leadership for its lower mid-market customers, as well as creating a positive multiplier effect in the communities and economies in which it operates.
Tuum becomes a Mastercard Digital Activity Service Provider. This partnership empowers banks and FinTechs to deliver secure, tokenized digital payments across all major wallets and digital channels—without the need for additional third-party integrations.
CRYPTO
Euronext expands clearing services to cover cryptocurrency ETPs. With this development, investors will have access to a wider selection of ETPs underlying cryptocurrencies while benefiting from the security, efficiency, and transparency of a regulated marketplace.
Fireblocks launches comprehensive DORA compliance package to simplify regulatory alignment for EU financial institutions. The company offering simplifies this complex regulatory landscape, allowing organizations to focus on growth and innovation while maintaining compliance.
PARTNERSHIPS
Nexi Group enables Swiss merchants to accept payments via WeChat. The 900 million+ active users of WeChat Pay can now make mobile payments via QR code on compatible POS terminals in Switzerland, accessing a familiar and convenient payment method while travelling in the country.
Holvi partners with Beglaubigt.de so founders can set up their business quickly, legally, and entirely online. The aim is to simplify and accelerate the process of starting a business, making it more efficient for entrepreneurs to launch their ventures.
ProcessOut and Trustly team up to offer merchants smarter instant bank payments. This integration allows businesses to easily offer Trustly’s instant bank payment solutions, increasing conversion rates, reducing costs, and expanding into new markets.
DONEDEAL
Loyalty app Squid reaches crowdfunding target of €1.4m in six hours. Matthew Coffey, CEO and co-founder of Squid, expressed that the response to their crowdfunding campaign has been overwhelming. With the second campaign opening, he mentioned that new investors still have time to join.
M&As
UniCredit completes acquisition of Aion Bank and Vodeno for 376 millon EURO. It now has access to an innovative, scalable, and flexible cloud-based platform, based on API connectivity and with smart contract technology built in, all of which can be integrated with the processes and procedures of a fully fledged bank.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Zopa Bank appoints Visa’s Data Chief to CAO role ahead of 2025 growth Blitz. Jeremy Penzer will oversee a team of 80 data scientists, credit decisioning, and valuation experts as the bank enters a phase of accelerated growth and prepares to release a raft of new products and services.
Martyn Beauchamp appointed as CEO of FSCS. Martyn has been interim CEO of the FSCS since October 2023, and during this time he has successfully overseen the FSCS’s transition to a new operating model. Continue reading
Former Revolut CEO James Radford appointed as Chief Executive of Volopa. In his new role, Radford will drive Volopa’s expansion, working alongside a bolstered senior management team. The company strengthened its leadership in 2023 with the acquisition of the UK branch of the American Express FX team.