Checkout.com Brings Visa Payment Passkeys to Merchants Globally

Hey Payments Fanatic!

Ever abandoned a purchase because checkout asked you to jump through one too many hoops? Checkout.com and Visa want to make that less likely. Checkout.com is now live with Visa Payment Passkey, letting shoppers authenticate online payments using the same fingerprint or face scan they use to unlock their phones, instead of one-time passcodes.

The interesting part for merchants is that they don’t need to build a new checkout flow. The feature is available through Checkout.com’s existing authentication integration, with a phased rollout starting with selected merchants across the UK and Europe. If passkey authentication isn’t available, existing verification methods still apply.

This could be particularly useful for businesses with frequent repeat purchases, from online retailers and marketplaces to food delivery and digital services. Fewer steps at checkout could mean fewer abandoned purchases, while keeping security in place.

There’s also a bigger picture here. As AI agents start shopping and making purchases on behalf of consumers, payment providers need better ways to verify who’s paying and whether the purchase is legitimate. Checkout.com is also supporting Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol to help merchants identify trusted AI shopping agents.

As Rami Josef of Checkout.com and Mathieu Altwegg of Visa both highlight, the goal is to make digital payments simpler without compromising security.

Here’s what else is happening in payments today👇

See you on Monday!

Cheers,

Marcel

INSIGHTS

💡 Triple-A: Why are more businesses turning to stablecoin payments? Chief Commercial Officer Kailash Madan explains how merchants can accept USDC and USDT while receiving payments in fiat, with transaction costs around 1% compared to 3–4% for credit cards. From cross-border trade to gaming and capital markets, he also shares why stablecoins could become a natural fit for AI-powered transactions.

NEWS

🇯🇵 SAT Japan partners with Triple-A to accept stablecoin payments for vehicle purchases. The Japanese automotive exporter will allow international customers to pay using USDT and USDC alongside existing payment methods. Through the stablecoin payments integration, Triple-A will handle processing, currency conversion, compliance and settlement, enabling SAT Japan to receive payments in US dollars without holding digital assets.

🌍 Checkout.com introduces Visa Payment Passkey for merchants globally. The payment provider is adding Visa’s passkey-based authentication option for merchants, allowing eligible cardholders to verify transactions without passwords. Its global merchant integration is designed to streamline checkout authentication.

🇪🇺 Klarna expands Lands’ End checkout partnership to four European markets. Following a US rollout in May, Klarna’s options are now available on Lands’ End websites in the UK, Germany, Austria and France. The European checkout expansion is powered by Stripe and offers different payment schedules depending on the market.

🇳🇬 Mastercard and Interswitch support Google Pay rollout in Nigeria, with ProvidusUnity Bank enabling access. Eligible Mastercard cardholders can make contactless payments using compatible Android devices. Mastercard and Interswitch provide tokenisation and processing infrastructure, while ProvidusUnity Bank has enabled its eligible customers to use Google Pay for contactless and online transactions.

🌎 Shopify adds card-network agentic payment technology to Shop Pay. Visa, Mastercard and American Express payment tokens are being incorporated into Shopify’s checkout, allowing authorised AI agents to use cards without seeing underlying credentials. The agentic checkout integration retains card-network payment protections and rewards.

💳 Citi and American Airlines refresh AAdvantage Mastercard benefits. The Platinum Select and Business cards will gain new rewards categories and travel benefits from 24 January 2027, with annual fees rising to $150. The updated card benefits include additional miles on qualifying hotel and car bookings and selected spending.

🇦🇪 Botim launches Jaywan prepaid card in the UAE The fintech has introduced a prepaid product using the UAE’s national payment card scheme, initially targeting more than 200,000 workers. Its Jaywan card programme is intended to broaden access to domestic card payments for expatriate employees.

🇺🇸 American Express lets Cash Back Card Members redeem rewards into savings and checking accounts. Consumer members can deposit Reward Dollars into an HYSA at a 1:1 rate. Graphite Business Cash Unlimited members can also fund Business Checking.

💡Adyen Q3 2026: Revenue Rises 23% as Investment Accelerates. Adyen reported €738.1 million in net revenue (+23% YoY) and €451.1 billion in payment volume (+30%), with its Platforms segment leading revenue growth at 46%. Acquisitions Talon.One and Orb are expanding Adyen’s offering into loyalty, customer engagement and usage-based billing, while partnerships in AI commerce and the digital euro point to further ambitions beyond payments. However, the company expects an EBITDA margin of around 50% as it accelerates investment. The key question is whether these investments can deliver enough additional growth to support stronger profitability over the longer term. Read the full analysis here 

🇳🇱 Adyen rolls out Visa Payment Passkey through its Authenticate module. Eligible consumers can authenticate online payments using their device unlock method. Authenticate uses machine learning to pick which method will perform best.

🌍 Airtm and BVNK partner on wallet-native payments in emerging markets The collaboration combines Airtm’s local distribution network with BVNK’s stablecoin payment infrastructure through Airtm Connect. The wallet-native payments partnership aims to link international payment flows with local digital wallets and commerce.

🌏 Tencent and Visa broaden cooperation on cross-border and agentic payments The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding covering travel payments, remittances and AI-assisted commerce. Their expanded cooperation framework includes exploring Visa Direct transfers into Weixin Pay and consumer-controlled transactions using Visa Intelligent Commerce.

🇳🇱 Mollie introduces AI tools for financial workflows The European payments provider is extending the use of AI within business finance operations, with a focus on simplifying workflows for merchants. Its AI financial workflow update concerns the automation of routine tasks within payment and financial management.

🇬🇧 Ecommpay launches Savi AI assistant for small businesses The payments provider has introduced a chatbot to help merchants navigate platform features, integration questions and operational support. Its AI support assistant can guide users through documentation and common questions about payment processing.

🌍 Grey introduces Paycheck for cross-border salary earners The African payments fintech has launched a salary-focused account product for professionals receiving income in dollars, pounds and euros. Its new Paycheck offering combines salary receipt and management with benefits for qualifying users, including higher transaction limits and priority support.

🇮🇳 Pine Labs' second quarter profit jumps more than sixfold to 385.7M rupees. Revenue rose 24% to 8.06B rupees as digital checkout points grew 49% YoY. It stands to benefit from a proposed 0.4% UPI merchant charge above 2,000 rupees.

🇨🇳 Alipay denies authorising cryptocurrency trading through third-party platforms The Chinese payments provider clarified that it has no partnership or technical integration with Peer, which introduced yuan-to-USDC transactions using Alipay transfers. Peer reported 107 transactions worth approximately $7,094 since August, while Alipay warned against unauthorised crypto transactions and associated account risks. 

🇺🇸 MoonPay relaunches Crypto Deposits as a universal deposits product. One integration lets users fund accounts with Apple Pay, Google Pay, cards, or crypto. It also offers direct connections to over 600 wallets and exchanges.

🇧🇷 Unblock applies to Brazil's Central Bank for virtual asset broker authorization. The stablecoin payments firm filed on October 17 under the SPSAV transition regime. The application includes participation in the foreign exchange market.

🇫🇮 Neonomics and Movitz Payments strengthen payee verification in Finland. Integrated into Nello Pay, the technology checks whether a recipient's name matches their bank account details, helping prevent payment errors and fraud. Already operational in Finland, the verification capability is set to expand to Sweden, Denmark and Norway in 2027.

🇭🇰 PhotonPay raises $40M Series C, led by Blockchain Capital. The capital will scale its Financial OS, which connects stablecoin liquidity with fiat networks. PhotonPay reports $65B in annualized volume and over 200,000 business customers.

🇲🇽 Clip acquires Pulpos and appoints Debra Chrapaty to its board. Pulpos adds point of sale, inventory, invoicing and AI agents to Clip's payments. The integration aims to connect payments with daily business operations for merchants.

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