Klarna Launches Tap to Pay Across 14 Markets… and It’s a Solid Boost
Hey Payment Fanatics!
Klarna just rolled out Tap to Pay across 14 European markets, pulling flexible payments straight into physical retail.
With over 80% of European shopping still happening in stores, Klarna wants the checkout experience to feel like online shopping. One app. One tap. No juggling cards or switching wallets.
NFC turns the Klarna app into a full contactless wallet. Set your plan in-app and pay instantly, debit-first, with credit available when needed.
This builds on the fast adoption of the Klarna Card, now used by 4M+ consumers and accepted at 150M merchant locations through Visa Flexible Credential.
If you don’t want to miss what’s changing in Payments today, scroll to see what’s next 👇
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
🇬🇧 Checkout.com announces 62% YoY growth over Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend, processing more than $5.2bn. Checkout processed a record $1.6 billion in payments on Black Friday. Strong spending continued through the weekend and Cyber Monday, when Checkout hit 32,900 transactions per minute at its peak. The company maintained 99.999% uptime and faster processing speeds, handling 98.4 million transactions overall.
📊 Adyen 🆚 Stripe - Who's the winner of the BF/CM Weekend?
Here's a comparison of Black Friday – Cyber Monday results👇
NEWS
🇨🇦 Nuvei expands partnership with Microsoft to scale global payments infrastructure to support more than 10,000 transactions per second. By migrating core services to Azure, Nuvei gains enhanced elasticity, faster performance, and more consistent global reliability, while refreshing key components and reducing reliance on third-party technologies.
🇨🇴 Bancamía has partnered with Pomelo to launch a fully app-managed debit card. The card allows users to request, activate, block, and manage it entirely from their phones, reducing reliance on physical branches and improving security. Bancamía says the initiative strengthens financial inclusion and helps small businesses build a transactional footprint to support growth.
🌎 Mastercard launched Mission Control & Operations center in Latin America and the Caribbean to enhance customer service and support in the region. The new MC&O brings advanced payment technology, 24/7 support in local language, and real-time monitoring closer to regional customers. Additionally, Mastercard has unveiled an SME card with built-in cybersecurity solutions to help small and medium businesses thrive in the digital economy. The offering strengthens Mastercard’s commitment to supporting business owners as they build, grow, and protect their companies in an increasingly digital economy.
🇺🇸 Stripe is acquiring Metronome, one of the strongest usage-based billing platforms in the market. Joining Stripe, the company says, will accelerate its mission while maintaining its focus on customer obsession, a value it has upheld since inception and one it sees reflected strongly in Stripe’s own culture.
🌍 Klarna launches Tap to Pay for in-store purchases across 14 markets, bringing flexible payments into physical retail at scale and transforming the Klarna app into an everyday contactless wallet. Tap to Pay brings consumers the ease of online shopping into brick-and-mortar stores.
🇸🇬 Thunes Asia receives in-principle approval to expand the scope of its Major Payment Institution Licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This will allow Singapore merchants to accept payments via popular international methods, while also enabling global merchants in key markets across the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and Europe to accept leading Singapore payment methods.
🇬🇧 TrueLayer hits 20 million users. The achievement reflects growing consumer and merchant momentum behind Pay by Bank, with more businesses choosing real-time account-to-account payments to deliver smarter, safer and faster checkout experiences.
🇸🇦 Paymentology sets out the steps to launching card programmes in Saudi Arabia. Quick Start Guide aims to help banks, FinTechs and brands plan, build and run card programmes. The guide is designed as a practical reference for teams that want to understand how issuing works in the Kingdom.
🇮🇳 Razorpay secures RBI's PA-CB licence to enable cross-border payments. This licence puts Razorpay among a select group of FinTech companies officially allowed to handle both inward and outward cross-border transactions under full regulatory supervision.
🇦🇺 YouTrip launches in Australia, expanding its footprint to a third market. YouTrip said many travellers continue to lose value through inflated exchange rates and hidden fees from traditional cards and money changers. Read more
🇧🇷 Noh launches credit cards for managing finances as a couple. With the Visa Infinite logo, the card initially arrives in a virtual version and seeks to bring transparency and control to shared expenses. According to Ana Zucato, CEO and co-founder of Noh, the credit card has always been at the top of users' requests.
🌎 Zepz launches stablecoin-linked Visa cards. Zepz’s Sendwave Wallet will now let users pay with stablecoins, which Bridge, Stripe’s recently acquired infrastructure provider, will convert into local currencies for merchants. The partnership will also support Zepz’s expansion into the US, Canada, and Australia.
🇧🇷 dLocal now offers global merchants access to Brazil’s “Pix with Biometrics”, redefining the mobile payment experience. The feature allows users to confirm Pix payments with a face or fingerprint scan directly inside a merchant’s checkout, removing one of the biggest friction points in mobile commerce: redirection to a banking app.
🇬🇷 IRIS Payments is now mandatory for Greek businesses. Businesses that fail to integrate with IRIS or connect their POS and cash systems to AADE risk significant fines. Penalties vary based on the business type and location. Initial enforcement includes a transitional period, with recommendations provided, especially in cases of technical issues.
🇰🇷 South Korea's NH NongHyup Bank pilots blockchain-based cross-border payments. The pilot executes transactions based on realistic cross-border payment and foreign currency liquidity management scenarios for the Korean market, validating key technical capabilities such as system interoperability, message processing accuracy, and real-time settlement functionality.
🇬🇧 MRI Software selects GoCardless to offer flexible payments for tenants. The integration will enable property professionals and finance teams to offer flexible payment options for tenants, making the experience of renting more convenient and user-friendly.
🇧🇷 Mercado Pago enables the use of the tool for tourists in Brazil. Argentinian tourists can now use Pix to make payments at establishments through their digital account. This feature allows for instant payments in Brazilian reais from a balance in pesos, without the need for currency exchange or an international card.
🇺🇸 Fiserv appoints Walter Pritchard as Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations. Pritchard brings more than 25 years of experience in investor relations, corporate strategy, finance and equity research. Keep reading
🇺🇸 Stablecoin firm First Digital Eyes listing through SPAC merger. The Hong Kong-based firm is set to announce the signing of a non-binding letter of intent outlining a plan to merge with CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III, a special purpose acquisition company listed in New York.
🇺🇸 Lightspark has appointed Davi Strazza as its new Chief Business Officer. Strazza is expected to help drive adoption of Lightspark’s platform, including Lightspark Grid and Spark, as the company pushes toward its vision of faster, open, and global payments.
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