Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the last week.
This week, Mastercard and BVNK are embarking on their first major collaboration to bring fiat and stablecoins to billions of endpoints with multi-currency accounts.
Also this week, dLocal and Western Union begin to remedy remittance fees for African nations, Eccommpay adds Klarna to its merchant checkout, Splitit brings credit into a unified approach for banks, and Mollie has announced a major AI initiative with a team behind it.
Mastercard to rollout multi-currency BVNK stablecoin wallets across the world
Mastercard and BVNK have launched the Mastercard Global Money Platform to bring BVNK’s stablecoin infrastructure under a single API to provide multi-currency accounts for fiat and stablecoins.
The accounts will support real-time conversions, stablecoin-linked cards and local bank payouts, powered by Mastercard Move, which will support stablecoin payments at more than 17 billion endpoints that accept Mastercard in local currencies.
The platform’s customers will be able to spend stablecoin balances across Mastercard’s global acceptance network of hundreds of millions of merchant locations, with card issuing available across 130-plus countries.
Nuvei, Marqeta and Bolt Group are some of the first companies to have adopted Mastercard Global Money Platform. It also marks the first major collaboration between the two companies since Mastercard acquired BVNK in March 2026.
Raj Dhamodharan, EVP of Blockchain and Digital Assets at Mastercard, said: “Global Money Platform brings together Mastercard’s trusted payment infrastructure and reach with BVNK’s stablecoin capabilities, giving businesses a single foundation to move value across traditional and digital ecosystems.”
dLocal & Western Union seek African remittance remedy
dLocal is working with Western Union to provide a more reliable way for remittance recipients to receive faster cross-border payments in Africa.
In an expansion to an existing partnership, the two companies will support customers in the region with dLocal’s connectivity layer, whilst Western Union will leverage its regulatory presence in many African countries, such as Cameroon.
Cameroon customers will be the first country to receive remittances directly into supported local wallets through local payout partners operating under local regulatory frameworks (MNOs or financial institutions), aiming to close a gap that has historically left them with few reliable options due to a fragmented digital payments market.
Agustin Botta, Head of EMEA at dLocal, said: “Collections and payouts have always been treated as two separate problems. Half a remittance solved is still half a problem. With Western Union, we’re working together to close that gap, building a more consistent path from send to receipt.”
Western Union and dLocal intend to expand the partnership remittance program beyond Cameroon, targeting Nigeria next as part of a broader push to cover the full remittance journey for emerging markets.
Ecommpay adds Klarna’s BNPL methods for added flexibility
Ecommpay has added Klarna’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment methods to add greater flexibility at the checkout for small businesses’ customers.
Ecommpay merchants will gain access to Klarna’s payment options, including Pay in Full, Pay in 3 and Pay in 4 instalments, Pay in 30 days, and longer-term financing, via one integration with no extra technical work or third-party systems needed.
Roman Tazetdinov, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Ecommpay, said: “Used by millions of shoppers every month, we are confident adding Klarna to the Ecommpay payment platform will deliver real conversion gains for our merchants.”
Klarna Country Manager for UK & Ireland, Marc O’Fathaigh, added: “Ecommpay is a natural fit: we both believe good ways to pay should be available to everyone.
“Through a single integration, this partnership puts Klarna in front of merchants worldwide, expanding our reach and giving millions of shoppers more control over their money.”
Splitit brings consolidated credit to banks’ apps
Instalment payments firm Splitit has announced the launch of Splitit World Mastercard, a new card designed as a credit prodigy for banks, credit unions and other financial institutions.
The card enables instalment payments for everyday purchases to be paid in full within 30 days. Cardholders can set their preferred spending threshold in the app, and purchases above that amount can be automatically split into predictable monthly payments.
Splitit powers the installment technology and provides an AI-enabled mobile experience which can be embedded by banks into their own app, allowing banks to expand their lending and payment offerings within their existing customer experience.
Nandan Sheth, CEO of Splitit, said: “The Splitit World Mastercard is a new type of credit card built for banks and credit unions that resembles the simplicity of debit for consumers and pairs it with the flexibility of installments.”
The Splitit World Mastercard is expected to be available to financial institutions in early 2027.
Mollie is building an AI layer, and a team
European financial service company Mollie has announced it is working on building a banking & financial layer for AI agents.
Mollie will begin work on building a team designed to give its customers full ownership of the AI agents it uses to perform tasks on behalf of its customers.
The company has set aside €50m in equity to fund the project and is seeking to serve 350,000 customers.
In a memo issued by Mollie Founder, Adriaan Mol, he said: “We’re doing something unconventional – recruiting a full team to build what we believe is Mollie’s biggest bet yet: an intelligence platform on top of our banking infrastructure, unlike anything the market has seen.
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