Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest and developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the week.
This week, Visa has launched a new agentic commerce solution designed to make agent-assisted payments faster for both merchants and customers.
Also this week, Revolut launched a new in-house AI chatbot assistant, ClearBank is the latest regulated European bank to offer cryptoassets, Paysafe is rolling out crypto payments in the US gaming sector, and Trustly hit a new milestone through the adoption of pay-by-bank.
Visa continues to accelerate agentic payments
Visa is seeking to make agentic payments faster through a single integration, after announcing on 8 April the launch of Intelligent Commerce Connect.
The AI-powered commerce service has been designed for merchants to be paid faster via agents by connecting to the Visa Acceptance Platform to enable payment initiation, tokenisation, and authentication.
The Intelligent Commerce Connect solution integrates APIs to process agent purchases from consumers using Visa cards and non-Visa cards, to perform payments. This builds on the launch of Visa’s Agentic Commerce Protocol and Universal Commerce Protocol last year.
Andrew Torre, President of Value-Added Services at Visa, said: “From small businesses to the world’s biggest retailers, Visa powers how people pay every day, millions of times over.
“Intelligent Commerce Connect brings that same, trusted payment acceptance infrastructure into the emerging world of AI-driven commerce, so businesses can let AI agents buy on behalf of consumers, securely and at scale.”
Revolut rolls out new AI money assistant
Revolut announced the launch of a new in-app AI assistant, AIR or AI by Revolut, to provide money intelligence to its users.
AIR will provide a holistic view of customers’ financial health, such as spending habits, as well as providing real-time stock data and analysis to ask questions to the AI chatbot, like “check Nvidia’s stock price’ or “what are my investment earnings this year?”
The AI chatbot is built within its existing infrastructure, not relying on a third-party provider, such as Google Gemini, assisting Starling Bank with its Generative AI service.
Revolut maintained that consumers using AIR will have control over their data and the information shared. Information such as investment queries and transactions will comply with Revolut’;s existing controls and will not access any data that the customer is unaware of.
Julia Ponomareva, Director and General Manager of CX and AI Products at Revolut, said: “It’s not just an assistant; it’s a co-pilot that elevates everyday life, making financial management as easy and natural as sending a text. Crucially, Revolut customers also remain firmly in the driver’s seat, ensuring that money intelligence never comes at the cost of privacy.”
ClearBank gains MiCA clearance to offer cryptoasset services
ClearBank Europe confirmed on 9 April that it will operate as a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) in Europe after receiving a Markets in Crypto Asset (MiCA) licence.
The digital bank received its licence from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) which will allow ClearBank to offer digital asset services to European financial institutions.
ClearBank will roll out Circle’s Mint platform which provides clients with access to stablecoins, including Euro Coin (EURC) and USD Coin (USDC), enabling clients to convert between traditional fiat currencies and digital assets.
The bank stated this direct link between traditional payment systems and blockchain-based networks will support faster and more efficient cross-border transactions and settlement across Europe.
Tristan Kirchner, CEO of ClearBank Europe, said: “By providing access to stablecoins such as EURC and USDC, we are enabling new ways to move money across borders with greater speed, reduced cost and increased efficiency.”
Paysafe enables crypto payments to US gaming sector
Paysafe announced the launch of pay-with-crypto to support US iGaming and daily fantasy sports platforms with crypto payments and stablecoin infrastructure.
The solution, announced on 7 April, is backed by MoonPay, and will allow iGaming operators to support their customers if they choose to pay with a stablecoin or cryptocurrency from within their accounts.
MoonPay will integrate its Commerce Checkouts to connect customers’ custodial wallets to fund deposits. Payments with stablecoins and cryptocurrencies can also be supported by QR code payments from customers’ phones.
Zak Cutler, President of Global Gaming at Paysafe, said: “Galvanised by the growing popularity of stablecoins, cryptocurrency is evolving in the US from an investment asset into a unit of value for payments, and we’re seeing this shift gather pace in the country’s iGaming market.
“Against this backdrop, we’re delighted to unveil Pay with Crypto, a forward-thinking solution that strongly positions US operators for their customers’ changing transactional preferences – the future of how they pay when they play.”
Trustly’s pay-by-bank adoption contributes to 120 million users
Trustly revealed it has achieved customer growth of more than 120 million users globally, attributing this to the adoption of its pay-by-bank offering.
In the UK, Trustly confirmed on 7 April it has more than 15 million customers and businesses using pay-by-bank, whilst in the US, at least 100 million consumers have authorised a third-party to access their bank account data.
Over the past two years, Trustly has struck partnerships with companies such as Booking.com, Lenovo, AT&T and Virgin Media O2. It has also extended its contract with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), to align with the UK’s most open banking mandate.
Johan Tjärnberg, Group CEO at Trustly, said: “Surpassing 120 million users is a real milestone for Trustly and is testament to our central role in driving the momentum behind pay-by-bank globally.
“This achievement reflects not only Trustly’s market-leading position but also the growing trust and demand for pay-by-bank as consumers and businesses alike embrace faster and more secure ways to pay.”
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