Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest and developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the week.
Last week, PayPal continued to push adoption for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments by launching PayPal Links. Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, Alipay+ is supporting the country’s 2030 Vision, while Adyen announced a deal with one of the biggest conglomerates in the world.
PayPal launches new P2P payment link service
PayPal unveiled PayPal Links on September 15, a new way to send and receive money via personalised, one-time links for US customers, with a view to expand to the UK and Italy later this month.
The global payments company also intends for crypto payments to become available on PayPal Links, enabling peer-to-peer (P2P) payments for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, ETH, and stablecoins such as PayPal’s PYUSD.
“Whether you’re texting, messaging, or emailing, now your money follows your conversations,” said Diego Scotti, General Manager, Consumer Group at PayPal.
“Combined with PayPal World, it’s an unbeatable value proposition, showing up where people connect, making it effortless to pay your friends and family, no matter where they are or what app they’re using,”
Alipay+ goes live in Saudi Arabia
Alipay+ launched in Saudi Arabia on September 16, recognising a market growth opportunity which aligns with the Saudi Vision 2030.
The Saudi Central Bank and Ant International, will launch a cross-border QR code payment service which accepts Alipay+’s e-wallet partners and 1.7 billion user accounts.
“Tourism is a powerful force for economic growth and cultural connectivity. Through such joint innovations across public and private sectors, we can unlock more opportunities and help local businesses and communities flourish, while creating a more seamless experience for global consumers,” said Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International.
Adyen to process payments for LVMH
On September 17, Adyen struck a new deal with LVMH to integrate its unified payment systems to support payments for LVMH’s Maisons.
Adyen’s solutions, such as Tap to Pay and localised-globalised payment methods, are now live in up to 50 of the group’s Maisons around the world, spanning fashion and leather goods, hospitality, watches and jewelry, beauty, and department stores.
“Beyond facilitating payments, we’re working together to elevate every touchpoint across LVMH’s Maisons to make sure shoppers have an experience which matches the luxury goods they are purchasing. I cannot wait to see what we can achieve together with LVMH in this next chapter,” said Ethan Tandowsky, CFO at Adyen.
MoneyGram latest to embrace stablecoins
MoneyGram launched a new standalone payments app on September 17 which supports stablecoin transactions.
Aiming for a simplified app user interface and stablecoin payment process, the new MoneyGram payment app will facilitate USD-backed stablecoin payments in-app for users to receive and send funds instantly and to store to spend at future dates.
Launching first in Colombia with plans to expand to additional markets, the app is designed to deliver greater value to recipients, while marking a next step for MoneyGram to unify fiat and digital currencies.
Payhawk’s AI Agents to automate work backload
Payhawk, on September 16, launched a new suite of AI agents designed to automate financial control, procurement, travel and payments.
As part of Payhawk’s Fall ‘25 product rollout, these AI agents will become available to partnering employees to assist them with manual processes involving policies, reporting, finance jargon and more.
“Our AI agents act within your controls and finish real finance tasks, so the easy thing for employees is also the right thing for the business,” said Hristo Borisov, CEO and Co-Founder of Payhawk.
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