Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest and developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the week.
This week, Manchester City will brandish Revolut’s logo on its men’s and women’s teams for several years as part of an agreement which will also see the digital bank’s payment services integrated throughout the club.
Also this week, Coinbase’s latest launch will enable its crypto wallet users to perform payments via AI agents, Adyen’s payment services for Uber have reached new countries and regions, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) services are now available to 20,000 Saudi Arabian e-commerce businesses.
Revolut and Manchester City’s brand and payment agreement
Revolut will gain additional visibility as the back shirt sponsor of Manchester City’s men’s and women’s teams as part of a multi-year agreement.
Announced by the Premier League club today (February 13), the the Revolut brand feature on the back of the men’s team playing shirts for domestic cup – such as the FA Cup and English Football League (EFL) cup – matches and across Women’s Super League (WSL) and cup fixtures for the women’s team, in addition to selected training wear.
Revolut will also be issuing four co-branded Manchester City visual cards. These can be accessed via the Revolut app and available to UK and European customers. Revolut Business will be integrated into the club’s financial infrastructure to help improve operations and fan experience, as well as Revolut Pay’s RevPoints to be earned when spending on Manchester City hospitality.
“We aren’t just putting our logo on a shirt; we’re integrating Revolut into the heart of fan experiences at the club, ensuring City fans enjoy the same fast, seamless and rewarding interaction with their football club as they do with their finances,” said Antoine Le Nel, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Revolut.
Coinbase the latest to join agentic commerce market
Coinbase launched crypto wallets to become compatible with agentic commerce services to complement the surge of autonomous payments in the decentralised finance sector.
Agentic Wallets will enable Coinbase crypto wallet holders to perform payments on-chain via AI agents. Users can fund, send and trade payments from their wallets with the assistance of agents when using a chatbot.
The crypto exchange has designed a x402 infrastructure purpose-built for machine-to-machine payments that authenticate users, enabling users to set up agentic capabilities swiftly.
The Coinbase Developer Platform provides authentication and security monitoring, while agents operate with non-custodial wallets to ensure self-custody while maintaining enterprise-grade security.
The service also comes with spending limits. Coinbase has enforced maximum amounts for agents during the payment process.
Uber gains payment expansion via Adyen
Adyen and Uber will rollout new payment methods, including physical kiosks at airports and hotels, to new global markets.
The expanded partnership will see Adyen’s Checkout API become available to Uber customers in regions such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong and the Caribbean, as well as its acquiring services in Australia, Japan and Mexico.
Furthermore, through Adyen’s integration, local payment methods will also become available. Pix will be accepted for Uber payments in Brazil, AfterPay for payments in Australia and WeChat Pay for WeChat mini app users where it is active.
“Having already supported strong volume acceleration in 40 key markets over the last year, including the US, UK, and Brazil, we remain focused on enhancing Uber’s payments experience, from offering new payment methods to pioneering new business lines,” said Trevor Nies, SVP Global Head of Digital at Adyen.
Fiserv accelerates digital asset USD transfers
Fiserv is enabling real-time cash settlement for digital asset companies transferring assets in US dollars (USD) with its latest launch.
The company’s INDX platform allows digital asset companies access to a custodial account which offers up to $25m of insurance backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for a more secure solution to store USD.
INDX will distribute funds across the Fiserv Deposit Network to keep cash off-chain, delivering real-time settlement speed for 24/7 operating windows.
“For the first time, digital asset companies have a settlement engine to move real fiat US dollars in a manner that is faster, more secure, scalable, and fully programmable,” said Takis Georgakopoulos, Co-President at Fiserv.
Tabby delivers BNPL to Shahbandr e-commerce businesses
Saudi Arabian e-commerce platform Shahbandr will deliver buy now, pay later (BNPL) payments to 20,000 online businesses in the country in partnership with Tabby.
Businesses on Shahbandr will be able offer Tabby’s BNPL options to allow customers to split purchases into interest-free payments.
Shahbandr revealed the integration will help merchants optimise their payment channels while providing shoppers with a seamless and reliable experience, while also continuing to deliver its technical expertise to support e-commerce businesses with shipping and data analytics.
“Tabby is highly regarded by customers in the Kingdom,” said Shady Abdelshaheed, Co-Founder and CEO of Shahbandr. “Integrating its solutions into our platform will boost store sales and simplify financial processes.”
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