Welcome to this week’s edition of Seamless News Europe, where we bring you a concise overview of the latest developments in European finance, payments, retail and technology. Over the past seven days, several companies have made strides in the fintech sector, including BVNK who expanded their services, Mollie who introduced innovative capital access solutions, and partnerships like Adyen and Billie which are poised to shape the future of online payments.
1. Launches
First, BVNK, a UK-based payments platform, known for bringing together banks and blockchains via a single API platform, has launched its services in Europe after obtaining its EMI license. With both its EU EMI licence and UK EMI licence operational the provider can now offer imporved payment services for both EUR and GBP.
Dutch fintech Mollie, meanwhile has introduced Mollie Capital in the UK, offering merchants a streamlined alternative to traditional lenders for accessing capital. Through Mollie Capital, UK retailers can access up to £250,000 in a fast-track process that takes just five minutes to apply and less then 24 hours to transfer funds once a decision has been made.
2. Partnerships
One of the big partnerships to be announced this week came when Adyen, another Dutch fintech, teamed up with Buy Now Pay Later provider Billie to enable businesses across Europe to implement B2B BNPL payment services. The integration of Billie’s B2B BNPL solution into the Adyen platform aims to expand the popular B2C payment solution, providing an alternative online payment method to corporate credit cards.
Payplug and Mangopay have also joined forces in a move that will see Payplug integrate Mangopay’s marketplace capabilities, including payout solutions.Payplug said the deal will help smooth the payment process from the purchase by the customers, to the settlement to marketplace sellers.
Payment giant Mastercard partnered with Dutch mobile wallet company Swoo to offer a rewards programme for crypto assets. Under the deal, Swoo will award loyalty tokens everytime a contacltelss Mastercard payment is made via the app.
Finally, Softpay, a Europe-based softPOS provider announced that its tap-to-phone solution now supports Dankort wallet payments on iOS, a decsion likely to please Danish consumers where Dankfort is widely used.
3. Retail and Technology
Two of Europe’s biggest discount retailers are working on expansion plans in one way or another. Lidl GB revealed it plans to roll out Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) to all its UK stores following a successful trial in over 35 locations.
Earliier, Aldi had said it would be investing more than £550 million in expanding its store and distribution network during 2024.This will includes new stores as well as upgrades to existing stores and distribution centres.
4. Funding
Finally, it was announced that Cognitiwe, an Estonian company specialising in artificial intelligence solutions for visual analysis, successfully closed a funding round of €1 million refelcting the potential for services such as its flagship product Wefresh. This can provide real-time insights for retailers in areas such as quality control, smart stock tracking, and ensuring product freshness
