PayU GPO Expands in Africa With A2A Payments Launch and New Senior Hire
Weekly news up to Tuesday, 10th of June 2025
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
PayU GPO, the leading online payment service provider operating in over 40 emerging markets, announces a major step forward in its commitment to Africa, unveiling the launch of Account-to-Account (A2A) payments in Nigeria and the appointment of Ryan Engel as the new Country Manager for South Africa.
This investment reflects PayU GPO’s broader strategy to drive financial inclusion and modernise the continent’s payment infrastructure, while responding to rapidly shifting consumer preferences.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🌎 FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ ASOS finds the perfect fit with Checkout.com.
⭐️ Santander teams up with Worldpay to enhance banking services for business and corporate clients.
⭐️ Wise is planning to list its shares in the US.
⭐️ Luxembourg left out of Revolut’s new payment rollout.
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FINTECH
PayPal launches ‘Deal Week’ in-store rewards at 2,000 locations. On different days of the week, customers can earn up to 10% cashback when they pay contactless in-store with the PayPal app. The offers recur every week, allowing consumers to earn hundreds of euros in cashback each month.
UK Rap Icon JME teams up with new FinTech platform Strade Base to launch a new era in music investment. At its core, Strade Base is about empowerment, giving artists greater control over their earnings while inviting fans and supporters to participate directly in their success.
Germany’s N26 weighs new funding round that allows partial exit. The bank is considering a new funding round at a reduced valuation that could allow some of its existing investors, including Coatue Management, Third Point, and Dragoneer Investment, to recoup part of their investment.
Klarna in tough times: Complaint filed for violation of rules. The Norwegian Consumer Council believes that Klarna is violating regulations by not informing consumers about the actual cost of credit purchases. The case will now be forwarded to the Norwegian Consumer Authority.
PAYMENTS
AllPay launches Dosh prepaid card in the UK. Dosh removes common barriers to entry, such as rigid ID and address checks, offering a more inclusive route to financial services for people often left behind by the mainstream, from those new to the UK to individuals in temporary housing.
Klarna saved $2 million after cutting ties with Salesforce. The company is consolidating data from multiple platforms into one place and using AI to make sense of it, having closed down 1,200 small software services. Meanwhile, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO, says the company will use humans to offer VIP customer service. He spoke about how the company plans to balance employees and AI workers.
REGTECH
Cinkciarz.pl Chief Accountant arrested in an alleged $25m FinTech fraud case. Prosecutors allege Monika J. participated in a fraud scheme that misled customers about the actual use of their funds deposited through the Cinkciarz.pl mobile application.
BIS and BoE test ‘modern AI techniques’ to spot criminality in retail payments data. Transaction analytics could be a valuable supplementary tool to help banks and payment service providers identify financial crime patterns in real-time retail payment systems, an 18-month collaboration between the banks has concluded.
UK financial watchdog to lift ban on crypto ETNs. The move would mean that cETNs could be sold to individual consumers in the UK, rather than just professional investors, if they are traded on an FCA-approved investment exchange. Continue reading
DIGITAL BANKING
London’s FinTech hub reputation is under fire as Revolut opens its HQ in Paris. Ten years after a surge of FinTech startups emerged in the UK, London's status as a global FinTech leader is beginning to wane, according to journalist Sally Hickey. Read the complete article
CRYPTO
Deutsche Bank explores stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The bank is also assessing the development of its own tokenized deposit solution for use in payments, intending to improve efficiency. Read more
DONEDEAL
Aibidia raises $28m series B to expand AI-powered financial tax technology in the US. Aibidia has established itself as a critical component of the tax tech stack for multinational companies. The round was led by Activant alongside participation from existing investors, DN Capital, FPV, and Icebreaker.vc.
M&As
Fiserv to acquire AIB Merchant Services. Focus remains on delivering market-leading solutions to SMEs across Ireland and the broader European market. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter.