Now Is Affirm Making a Move with Google

Hey Payments Fanatic!

What are the odds? Two days in a row, and here I am talking about another BNPL player linking arms with Google.

This time, Affirm is the one making moves, and it's worth paying attention.

Affirm is expanding its work with Google to start rolling out its payment options into Google Search, including AI Mode and the Gemini app, when checking out with Google Pay. 

Shoppers will be able to move confidently from decision to purchase, with the same clear options and transparent terms they rely on from Affirm.

Affirm leaned hard into transparency and trust as its differentiator in an AI world. "As more decisions are made by AI on people's behalf, products that rely on hidden terms or ambiguity won't hold up — the ones that are clear and predictable will," said Affirm's SVP of Product. That's a subtle jab at competitors.

Here's the story: Google just handed the same checkout real estate to two BNPL rivals in the same week. 

Klarna, already woven into Google Cloud, Store, Play, and now Search and Gemini, is cementing itself as the default payments infrastructure for Google's AI ecosystem. Affirm is taking the opposite angle: when an AI agent is buying something on your behalf, you'd better know exactly what you're agreeing to. Transparency as a moat. Two bets, one battlefield, who will win? I’ll be looking closely. 

Keep scrolling for the rest of today's Payments’ stories. 👇 See you tomorrow!

Cheers,

Marcel

INSIGHTS

📊 Ecommpay: 2026 Checkout Wins: What “Winning” Looks Like Report. The new report explores the future of checkout experiences in 2026 highlights how approval rates, payment resilience, open banking, AI, and inclusive payment journeys are becoming key competitive differentiators for merchants. Download the full report here

NEWS

🇸🇬 OPTRA Labs and Airwallex announce strategic partnership to support SME growth beyond borders. By partnering with Airwallex, OPTRA can better support clients who need an integrated operating layer for cross-border finance. Airwallex provides capabilities across business accounts, transfers, spend management, online payments, and API connectivity in one platform.

🇧🇭 CrediMax, talabat, and Mastercard announce strategic partnership with exclusive co-branded product launch. The co-branded card combines everyday convenience with elevated lifestyle privileges, delivering a differentiated value proposition for consumers across Bahrain, leveraging Mastercard‘s global network to deliver secure, seamless, and rewarding experiences.

🇺🇸 Amazon's new Prime Business and Amazon Business credit cards, powered by U.S. Bank and Mastercard, are now available with enhanced rewards and flexible financing. These cards offer rewards wherever customers are shopping, access to flexible financing for purchases, and no annual or foreign transaction fees. 

🇯🇴 Jordan Commercial Bank joins forces with Mastercard to enhance payment services and develop innovative card solutions. Building on their successful long-standing relationship, the two parties will work on innovative credit, debit, and prepaid solutions, including the launch of the Mastercard World Elite Card.

🇺🇸 Affirm works with Google to make AI shopping payments clear and simple. Shoppers will be able to move confidently from decision to purchase, with the same clear options and transparent terms they rely on from Affirm. Continue reading

🇮🇹 SumUp partners with Bancomat to accept all major debit cards. The integration between SumUp and Bancomat completes the offering, ensuring a seamless, reliable, and integrated payment experience. Thanks to the agreement, SumUp terminals will be able to accept all cards operating on the Bancomat network.

🇺🇸 AR start-up Fazeshift lands $17m Series A. The US-based startup uses AI agents to automate accounts receivable processes, including invoicing, collections, and reconciliation, and has rapidly expanded its team, offices, and customer base, with plans to grow into a broader CFO-focused financial platform.

🌎 LemFi set to raise a €30M Series B extension. The company has grown to more than two million customers across the US, UK, and Canada, surpassing $1 billion in monthly transactions while expanding beyond remittances through acquisitions and new credit capabilities aimed at improving financial access for immigrants.

🇧🇷 Brazilian FinTech Beepay raises US$400,000 to expand its autonomous payment technology for the retail sector. With funding that also included participation from ACATE Invest and Ventiur, the retail technology company aims to expand its autonomous payment technology.

🇺🇸 Payfinia names Keith Riddle CEO. Riddle will lead the company’s next growth phase as adoption of its Instant Payments Xchange (IPX) platform expands. Payfinia’s API-driven platform enables smaller financial institutions to access real-time payment networks while maintaining operational control and reducing complexity.

🇨🇦 KOHO joins Interac e-Transfer directly, promising faster payment features. The move gives the Canadian FinTech greater control over how it builds and delivers e-Transfer features to its users. According to the two companies, the direct connection removes legacy constraints and should allow KOHO to roll out new payment features faster. 

🇨🇭 neon and Hypothekarbank Lenzburg extend partnership for instant payments rollout. The Swiss neobank will use the extended agreement to roll out new platform features for its 250,000 customers, starting with instant payments. Read on

🌍 PayPal partners with Anthropic to close the AI gap for small businesses. The program offers practical, self-paced training through expert-led lessons and real business examples, aiming to address the lack of AI skills and resources among small business owners while supporting PayPal’s broader goal of improving digital and economic opportunities by 2030.

🇬🇧 Five ID raises $6M to scale palm biometric payments. The funds will help to accelerate the launch of its palm biometrics payment system, which is gaining traction in the UK and Ireland. Keep reading

GOLDEN NUGGET

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭👇Created by Arthur Bedel 💳 ♻️

Everyone is deploying AI in payments. Few are doing it right.

The mistake? Assuming the algorithm is the starting point.

It isn't. Clean data is the foundation. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 is what separates AI as a feature from AI as a competitive weapon.

In 2026, the real edge is the 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 (i.e. Athia by DEUNA) — the reasoning engine between raw data and autonomous action.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬: 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

A subscription renewal at Spotify ≠ a grocery checkout at Walmart.

Yet most payment stacks treat them identically.

→ SKU-level data + customer frequency + LTV signals = dynamic authorization rules.

→ No legitimate revenue left on the table.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐒𝐏𝐬 & 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬: 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫"

Decline codes are still a black box for most providers.

On March 2, Santander and Mastercard completed 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 on live banking infrastructure — within a regulated framework.

→ Adaptive retry logic + real-time decline mapping = revenue recovery at scale.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲

Visa has already completed hundreds of secure agent-initiated transactions with 100+ partners — and predicts millions of consumers will transact via AI agents by the 2026 holiday season.

Mastercard Agent Pay is now live across the US, Europe, LATAM, and APAC. The Agent Suite launches Q2 2026.

But scale without merchant-level context creates a blind spot: you can't distinguish a high-value autonomous agent from a malicious bot in milliseconds without it.

That's exactly what the Intelligence Layer solves.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞: 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜

✅ Contextual checkout by geography, device, and customer segment

✅ Lower costs via intelligent acquirer routing

✅ Higher approvals through adaptive retries

✅ Bot vs. agent distinction at network speed

In 2026, AI without context is just noise.

With a dedicated Intelligence Layer — it's the engine defining the next decade of commerce.

Which part of the Intelligence Layer is most underinvested today — data unification, reasoning logic, or agent governance?

Source: DEUNA

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