Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest and developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the week.
This week, NatWest’s Payit gains a new adopter, expanding its Open Banking solution. Also this week, a collaboration between Ripple, Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini will aim to make the RLUSD stablecoin available for traditional card payments and a Klarna Card update is available in 15 new European countries.
NatWest expands Open Banking payment use cases
NatWest embedded its Open Banking payment solution Payit for True Potential customers on November 6, to enable faster real-time bank deposit transfers.
In a statement sent to Payment Expert, True Potential clients can link Payit to multiple bank accounts as an additional payment method. This will allow for more secure payments to clients’ Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) and General Investment Account (GIA), or personal pensions with the need for manual card entry.
“Our secure platform offers a flexible and seamless way for clients to make payments directly from their bank accounts with minimal IT integration or disruption,” said Ritu Sehgal, Head of Transaction Services and Trade at NatWest.
“Real time transfers significantly enhance the investment experience for many clients.”
Ripple’s RLUSD to “break into financial mainstream”
Ripple announced on November 5 its native stablecoin RLUSD will be used to develop use cases for real-time settlement as part of a collaboration between Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini.
RLUSD, which recently surpassed $1bn in market capitalisation, will facilitate blockchain-based settlement processes between Mastercard and WebBank, the issuer of the Gemini Credit Card.
Once implemented, WebBank will be able to settle RLUSD on traditional card payments via the XRPL blockchain to bring stablecoin payments “into the financial mainstream”.
“Guided by our commitment to consumer choice and a principled approach to stablecoins—one that emphasises strong consumer protections, a level playing field, and full regulatory compliance—we’re enabling settlement today while exploring how stablecoins can support future use cases,” said Sherri Haymond, Global Head of Digital Commercialisation at Mastercard.
Worldline to explore stablecoin payment rails in new partnership
Worldline is the latest payment firm to explore the capabilities of stablecoin payments by partnering with Fipto to develop how traditional and decentralised payment rails can co-exist.
The partnership, confirmed on November 3, will develop stablecoin payment and settlement use cases by leveraging existing traditional payment rails to support the real-time, instant transaction nature of stablecoins. Worldline and Fipto have already begun exploring stablecoin solutions for merchants in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
“Our ambition is to advance the next generation of payment solutions, where virtual and traditional digital money coexist seamlessly, and to co-create with our partners and clients to deliver new, impactful use cases,” underlines Thibault Pele, Head of Digital Currencies at Worldline.
Marqeta enables expansion of the Klarna Card to new European countries
Marqeta announced on November 3 it will support the expansion of the Klarna Card into 15 new European markets,
Extending its long-term relationship with Klarna, Marqeta will leverage Visa’s Flexible Credential technology to enable customers to choose to pay now or pay later via their debit cards.
This will become available to users in the UK, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Poland, as well as existing markets.
“This rollout across 15 new markets demonstrates the power of Marqeta’s platform to advance innovation at scale, and we’re eager to continue growing our partnerships with Klarna and Visa to meet evolving expectations for what’s possible in payments,” said Rahul Shah, Chief Product and Engineering Officer of Marqeta.
OpenPayd opens new currency capabilities for Currency.com
Currency.com selected OpenPayd to bolster its mutli-currency payments and FX liquidity capabilities in Europe.
The multi-currency digital finance provider will leverage OpenPayd’s infrastructure to offer clients payments in 30 new currencies and payment rails, including SEPA, SEPA Instant and Faster Payment for faster bank transfers and deposits.
“Currency.com is building the next generation of digital finance – creating an offering that is global, intelligent and adaptable,” said Lux Thiagarajah, Chief Commercial Officer at OpenPayd. “By integrating OpenPayd’s universal financial infrastructure, they can move and manage money seamlessly across borders, with instant settlement, deep liquidity and complete regulatory confidence.
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