Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest and developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the week.
This week, PayPal is doubling down on agentic commerce by acquiring Cymbio in a bid to expand its AI payments services
Also this week, Monzo is enabling its users to file taxes digitally, Stripe and Truelayer has made Pay by Bank available in Finland, and a report finds SEPA Instant payments will surpass traditional transfers by 2030.
PayPal’s agentic journey continues with latest acquisition
PayPal announced it has acquired agentic orchestration platform Cymbio to bolster its agentic commerce and payments strategy.
On January 22, PayPal reportedly paid between $150m-$200m for the Tel-Aviv startup to integrate its AI-powered Store Sync service to complement its own range of agentic commerce services. Store Sync allows merchants’ product data to be discovered within AI channels, enabling consumers to place orders to their management systems.
The global payment service provider has deepened its agentic commerce and checkout options in recent months, partnering with OpenAI to embed its payment services in ChatGPT, as well as Google’s Gemini. PayPal confirmed its new AI Mode feature will also be “coming soon”.
“Acquiring Cymbio’s technology and team will enhance our agentic commerce capabilities and accelerate the expansion to more of our merchants,” said Michelle Gill, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Small Business and Financial Services at PayPal.
“By making their product catalogs discoverable on AI surfaces, merchants can increase sales while expanding product choice to the millions of consumers shopping on AI platforms today.”
Monzo is making UK tax digital
Monzo is set to launch a new tax tool in the UK before the start of the new tax year on April 6.
Confirmed on January 19, the new toll will allow Monzo Business account users to submit tax updates directly to the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from the Monzo app.
The tool, which integrates Sage’s embedded services technology, provides users with an in-app filing option for taxing purposes, while also providing advisor support.
“Making Tax Digital is designed to make tax simpler, but we know many sole traders feel overwhelmed by what these changes mean for them,” said Jordan Shwide, General Manager at Monzo Business.
“By launching a free, HMRC-recognised tax tool, in partnership with Sage, we’re making it easier for sole traders to send tax updates straight from their bank account, so they can feel stress-free and confident in April.”
Acquired.com and Visa to popularise cVRPs
Acquired.com is working with Visa to integrate commercial variable recurring payments (cVRP) to businesses to perform transactions in real-time.
Announced on January 21, the service seeks to enable businesses to make bank-to-bank transactions with flexibility and transparency, powered by Visa’s A2A solution.
Acquired.com outlined the benefits of cVRPs to businesses, including near-instant settlements on the Faster Payments network, enhanced payment success rates and compatibility across multiple payment rails.
cVRPs have also been viewed by Acquired.com as a cost-effective alternative to direct debit, as the latter lacks real-time capabilities. Both companies are also aiming to offer quicker processing times and reduce churn with declined payments with cVRPs.
TrueLayer and Stripe launches Pay by Bank to Finland
TrueLayer partnered with Stripe on January 21 to bring Pay by Bank to Finland.
The payment method will become available on Kustom Checkout, a Nordic go-to-checkout service, with Stripe providing the infrastructure and TrueLayer the open banking technology to support Pay by Bank transactions.
The rollout will begin in January and will become available to all Kustom merchants soon. Stripe and TrueLayer have delivered Pay by Bank to merchants in the UK, France and Germany in 2025.
“Finland has one of the highest rates of online banking adoption in Europe, making it the perfect environment for Pay by Bank to thrive,” said Ulf Klavér, Finland Country manager at TrueLayer.
SEPA Instant to become the new EU payment standard?
Research from ClearBank found SEPA Instant Credit Transfer payments will surpass traditional transfers across Europe in 2030.
The report outlined this would represent 18% of all Eurozone payments and become the most used non-cash payment method by 2035.
All financial institutions in the Eurozone will be required to integrate SEPA Instant Credit Transfer by July 2027, as part of the Instant Payment Regulation mandate. The report’s findings were based on a Celent survey of over 100 financial institutions operating across 10 European markets.
“The move to instant payments in Europe is accelerating a broader transformation towards real-time, intelligent banking. This report shows that the industry is optimistic about this shift across the eurozone, driven by the changes to the Instant Payments Regulation,” said Ezequiel Canestrari, COO of ClearBank Europe.
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