Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Core10 Taps PayNearMe to Facilitate Loan Repayment

Core10 Taps PayNearMe to Facilitate Loan Repayment
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, PayNearMe
  • Core10 is partnering with PayNearMe to integrate loan repayment options, allowing its bank clients to offer payments via PayPal, Venmo, Cash App Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, and even cash at 62,000 retail locations.
  • The integration with Core10’s Mesh middleware simplifies adoption, enabling real-time core banking connections for faster payment posting, balance updates, and improved transaction accuracy.
  • The partnership aims to enhance borrower payment experiences by reducing agent-assisted transactions, decreasing delinquency rates, and lowering operational costs for financial institutions.

Middleware provider Core10 announced today that it has selected payments innovator PayNearMe to enhance loan repayment capabilities for its bank clients.

Core10 will integrate PayNearMe’s platform within its Mesh middleware to enable financial institutions to seamlessly connect PayNearMe’s solution to their core banking system. PayNearMe will allow firms to offer borrowers a full suite of modern payment options, including PayPal, Venmo, Cash App Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cards, and ACH. Uniquely, thanks to PayNearMe’s merchant partnerships, banks can also allow customers to pay their loan balances using cash at more than 62,000 retail locations. By offering a wide range of payment options, Core10 will enable borrowers to pay using their preferred methods, which ultimately increases on-time payments and self-service transactions while reducing reliance on customer support.

“Partnering with Core10 is a key step in expanding our reach in the banking and credit union market,” said PayNearMe CRO Michael Kaplan. “Core10’s Mesh platform, with its pre-built connections to major core systems, makes deploying PayNearMe fast and simple. With PayNearMe, banks and credit unions can provide borrowers with a frictionless, mobile-first payment experience—reducing agent-assisted payment interactions by up to 40%. By improving the payment experience, financial institutions can decrease delinquency, reduce call center volume, and lower their cost of acceptance.”

PayNearMe was founded in 2009 to enable unbanked individuals to transact online by paying with cash at brick-and-mortar retailers. Today, the California-based company offers payments processing, exception management, and diverse payment options for banks, toll companies, mortgage servicing companies, online gaming, auto lenders, and buy here pay here payment collectors.

With its connections to major core banking providers including Jack Henry, Fiserv, CSI, Core10 will help its bank clients quickly implement PayNearMe with minimal IT effort. The real-time core integration will enable immediate payment posting and balance updates that will help improve the efficiency and accuracy of organizations’ transaction processing.

“Core10 is dedicated to helping financial institutions innovate faster,” said Core10 CEO Jeff Hanson. “Our Mesh middleware makes it easy for financial institutions to connect new fintech solutions into their ecosystems, and PayNearMe is an ideal payments partner. Together, we’re helping banks and credit unions deliver exceptional payment experiences that drive down costs through streamlined operations and improved payment success rates.”

Photo by Daniel Thomas on Unsplash

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Block Rebrands Afterpay to Cash App Afterpay

Block Rebrands Afterpay to Cash App Afterpay
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Block has rebranded Afterpay to Cash App Afterpay, embedding BNPL directly into Cash App. This move allows Cash App’s 57 million monthly users to access Pay Over Time products when shopping at partner merchants.
  • The integration strengthens Block’s vision of Cash App as an all-in-one financial platform that combines banking, payments, investing, and now BNPL to drive deeper engagement with both consumers and merchants.
  • The news is an indication that the BNPL space is heating up, with Cash App Afterpay now competing more directly with Klarna, which just secured an exclusive BNPL partnership with Walmart.

Block (formerly Square) announced it has rebranded Afterpay to Cash App Afterpay. The new brand will serve existing Afterpay customers while being embedded into Cash App, allowing eligible Cash App customers to access Afterpay’s Pay Over Time products when shopping online at partner merchant’s sites.

Block expects that as Afterpay becomes embedded into Cash App, merchant partners offering Afterpay’s Pay Over Time products can reach eligible customers in Cash App’s active monthly user base of 57 million people. Cash App was ranked among the top five most authentic brands to Gen Z, the brand’s target demographic, which may be the reason why Block chose to bring Cash App’s branding over to Afterpay.

“The scale of Cash App’s 57 million monthly actives means our merchant partners benefit from a larger network of customers, and eligible customers gain greater access to simple, fair, and accessible payment options outside of traditional systems,” said Global Head of Sales at Block and Co-founder of Afterpay Nick Molnar. “We believe that Cash App Afterpay will not only be an accelerant to Cash App growth, but also an accelerant in the growing preference towards BNPL options in the United States.”

Starting this week, Cash App customers shopping on the brand’s hundreds of thousands of merchant partner sites can select Afterpay at checkout to pay over time for their purchases. Customers will be able to manage their Pay Over Time transactions from merchant checkouts directly within Cash App. And while the brand name is changed, the user experience for Afterpay’s existing customers will remain the same.

Block released Cash App in 2013, five years before Zelle. At the time, Cash App most directly competed with Braintree’s Venmo, which was slow to gain traction; Braintree was acquired by PayPal that same year. Twelve years on, Cash App still has its roots in peer-to-peer payments, but it has now diversified into a more robust digital banking platform that enables users to hold funds, deposit their paychecks, spend their money using a QR code or cash, invest, manage their Bitcoin, and file their taxes.

Afterpay was acquired by Block in 2022 for $29 billion, marking one of the largest fintech acquisitions to date. The purchase indicated Block’s interest in expanding beyond payments into the broader financial services space, specifically into lending by leveraging Afterpay’s installment lending model to deepen ties with both consumers and merchants.

By fully integrating Afterpay into Cash App, Block is doubling down on its strategy to turn Cash App into a one-stop financial platform, further blending banking, payments, investing, and now, BNPL into a single ecosystem. It will also offer a boost to Cash App Afterpay, exposing the new brand to Cash App’s 57 million users. This lift will aid Cash App Afterpay in competing with the likes of brands like Klarna, which just announced it received a buoy of its own after Walmart selected it as exclusive BNPL provider.

Photo by Julio Lopez

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As it Preps for IPO, Klarna Takes the Throne as Walmart’s BNPL Provider

As it Preps for IPO, Klarna Takes the Throne as Walmart’s BNPL Provider
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, IPO, Klarna
  • Klarna is replacing Affirm as Walmart’s exclusive BNPL provider, marking a major shift in the BNPL space.
  • Walmart shoppers will soon be able to use Klarna’s installment loans in-store and online, with OnePay handling the user experience and Klarna underwriting the loans.
  • The deal strengthens Klarna’s U.S. presence ahead of its IPO, giving it access to millions of Walmart shoppers and increasing its loan volume, brand recognition, and potential investor appeal.

Klarna has big news today, and it’s not just that the company filed its IPO prospectus with the SEC. The buy now, pay later (BNPL) company announced that it has struck an agreement with Walmart to serve as the retail giant’s exclusive partner for BNPL installment loans.

Klarna is replacing BNPL provider Affirm, which secured the BNPL provider partnership with Walmart last January. Under the agreement, Klarna will provide the BNPL loans for Walmart shoppers in-store and online.

The online BNPL loans will be extended through Walmart-owned fintech OnePay (formerly known as ONE). OnePay will handle the user experience, while Klarna will be in charge of loan underwriting. The BNPL loans through One will range from three-month to 36-month terms and will charge interest rates ranging from 10% to 36%. Leveraging Klarna’s BNPL tool will add installment loans to OnePay’s suite of existing financial tools, which include banking, credit, and payments products. 

“This is a game changer,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Co-founder and CEO, Klarna. “Millions of people in the U.S. shop at Walmart every day—and now they can shop smarter with OnePay installment loans powered by Klarna. OnePay choosing Klarna as their exclusive installment loans partner at Walmart in the U.S. is a huge vote of confidence as we pursue our goal of being available everywhere for everything. We look forward to helping redefine checkout at the world’s largest retailer—both online and in stores.”

This deal is a significant customer acquisition opportunity for Klarna. Walmart serves millions of shoppers daily, and Klarna’s presence at checkout will significantly increase its U.S. loan volume.

According to CNBC, Walmart will initiate the launch with Klarna in the coming months and will roll out to all Walmart channels later this year. It is likely that Klarna will serve as the only BNPL option for Walmart shoppers by the end of 2025.

​Walmart launched OnePay, its fintech startup, in January 2021 through a partnership with Ribbit Capital. In January 2022, Walmart expanded One’s capabilities by acquiring two fintech platforms, Even and ONE, which helped Walmart create a more comprehensive financial services app. One launched with a checking account product for Walmart employees, as well as some select customers, in 2022.

“It’s never been more important to give consumers simple and convenient ways to access fair credit at the point of sale—and that’s especially true for the millions of people who turn to Walmart every week for everything,” said OnePay CEO Omer Ismail. “We’re incredibly excited to partner with Klarna to give consumers easier and more seamless ways to shop with OnePay at Walmart.”

Notably, today’s partnership comes days after Klarna filed its F-1 prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. While this is a much-anticipated move in the fintech community, the official valuation figures won’t come out until Klarna prices its shares, which may take around a month. That said, Klarna hopes to raise at least $1 billion at a $15 billion valuation.

This deal signifies two major things. First, it indicates a major shift in the BNPL landscape. Affirm’s stock dropped by more than 10% in pre-market trading following Klarna’s announcement, which highlights just how significant a BNPL partnership with Walmart is. Additionally, Walmart’s move to switch its BNPL provider after a little over a year shows that retailers are not afraid to reevaluate their BNPL strategies, and that no single player is untouchable.

Second, Walmart’s move indicates that the retailer is positioning OnePay to compete with traditional banks and fintechs. By adding Klarna’s BNPL tools to its roster of banking services, Walmart is positioning OnePay as a more comprehensive financial platform for its customers, which tend to be financially underserved individuals.

Photo by Cristian Cativo

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: authenticID, Delfi Labs, Fintech Rundown, Fiserv, Insuritas, Mahalo Banking, MasterCard, SoFi

This is the week fintech has been anticipating for years. Klarna filed its F-1 prospectus document late Friday, anticipating it will raise at least $1 billion at a $15 billion valuation with its IPO. We won’t know the official valuation figures until Klarna prices shares, which may take around a month, however. While we wait, let’s dive into this week’s fintech news. We’ll continue adding news to this post throughout the week, so stay tuned!

Small Business Financial Management

Small business credit card and spend management platform Capital on Tap partners with bank payment firm GoCardless for Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs).

Levelpath joins Coupa App Marketplace with AI-powered procurement solution.

Insurtech

Insuritas integrates auto rates from Agency Insurance Company (AIC) into its embedded insurance platform.

Payments

Fiserv acquires Netherlands-based payment solutions provider CCV.

Wyndham collaborates with SoFi’s Galileo to launch the Wyndham Rewards Debit Card.

ICBA Payments and Mastercard partner to upgrade customer payment experiences for community banks.

AuthenticID and Authvia join forces to provide secure, frictionless digital payments.

Jack Henry and Moov to implement Mastercard Move to enable fast, seamless domestic payments.

ACI Worldwide and Ingo Payments to power faster, flexible digital disbursements.

Risk management

Delfi launches free risk management solution: Delfi Essentials.

Digital banking

Princeton Federal Credit Union goes live with Mahalo Banking’s Thoughtful Banking platform.

UK-based commercial digital bank for entrepreneurs OakNorth acquires Michigan-based Community Unity Bank.

ABNB Federal Credit Union chooses Eltropy’s AI-powered platform to modernize member communications.

Challenger banking

Nordic challenger bank Lunar tops one million user milestone.

Crypto / DeFi

Web3 non-custodial wallet Bitget Wallet partners with Cryptorefills to facilitate crypto payments for travel.

MoonPay acquires stablecoin infrastructure platform Iron.

Wealth management / Wealthtech

German wealthtech NAO announces a second closing of its seed funding round, bringing the funding total to €4.5 million.

Privacy and Security

BotGuard raises $49.2 million round B led by Dawn Capital, rebrands to Blackwall.

Ecommerce

Shopify transfers its US listing from the NYSE to the Nasdaq.

Credit and lending

Finastra unveils enhanced lending cloud service supported by IBM.

Credit risk management specialist AKUVO partners with Prosperity Bank to enhance the institution’s collections process.

Photo by Markus Winkler

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Mastercard partners with CredibleX to empower SMEs with enhanced access to financing

Mastercard partners with CredibleX to empower SMEs with enhanced access to financing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, MasterCard
  • CredibleX is integrating Mastercard’s Small Business Credit Analytics (SBCA) API into its embedded financing platform to enhance SME credit access in the UAE and EMEA region.
  • SBCA uses anonymized, item-level transaction data to help lenders assess small business financial performance, enabling faster underwriting, reduced risk, and improved loan terms.
  • This partnership aligns with Mastercard’s goal of driving financial inclusion, leveraging advanced analytics to help small businesses secure working capital despite limited credit history.

Working capital financing platform CredibleX announced this week that it has partnered with Mastercard. The Abu Dhabi-based company is integrating Mastercard’s Small Business Credit Analytics (SBCA) into its embedded financing tool.

The integration will offer CredibleX enhanced data-driven insights based on anonymized and aggregated transaction data. Leveraging this new data in a unique way with SBCA will empower small and medium businesses to have greater access to financing.

​Mastercard launched its SBCA API last April as part of an effort to enhance tools for acquirers in identifying and mitigating potential risks during onboarding and daily operations. SBCA solicits consent from the small business client to leverage data-driven insights to help assess the company’s financial performance. SBCA leverages business performance data to help lenders evaluate key questions about a small business’s financial health.

With SBCA integrated into its embedded financing tool, CredibleX will be able to help make more informed lending decisions, reduce underwriting time, and enhance risk management. “This partnership with CredibleX underscores Mastercard’s commitment to supporting the SME ecosystem in the UAE,” said Mastercard EVP of Services in EEMEA Selin Bahadirli. “SBCA is a game-changer, offering unparalleled insights into small business performance. Together, we aim to empower SMEs with better credit access, improved loan terms, and enhanced opportunities for growth.”

Adding enhanced data will also help CredibleX improve access to credit across the EMEA region. Because Mastercard’s SBCA will offer CredibleX a more comprehensive evaluation of a business’s financial health, it will also drive financial inclusion for small businesses with previously limited access to working capital because of their limited credit history or lack of formal documentation.

“This partnership is a testament to our shared vision of enabling financial inclusion and innovation,” said CredibleX Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Hassan Reda. “By combining CredibleX’s expertise in lending with Mastercard’s advanced analytics, we are setting a new benchmark for data driven SME financing in the region.”

Founded in 2023, CredibleX offers embedded insurance, embedded invoice finance, embedded POS finance, and B2B channel finance tools. The solutions help any organization that services SMB customers to add lending solutions under their brand. CredibleX raised $55 million in funding last December from Further Ventures. Anand Nagaraj serves as CEO.

Photo by Rachel Claire

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Bilt Rewards Acquires Banyan for Item-Level Receipt Data

Bilt Rewards Acquires Banyan for Item-Level Receipt Data
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BANYAN
  • Bilt Rewards is acquiring Banyan to enhance its neighborhood commerce platform with item-level receipt data, enabling hyper-personalized rewards.
  • Banyan’s tier three data will allow Bilt to expand into new merchant categories like grocery and gas, automate FSA/HSA reimbursements, and deliver targeted rewards based on residents’ specific purchases.
  • Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and Banyan will continue to operate independently after the acquisition is finalized.

Rent payment rewards program Bilt Rewards is acquiring item-level receipt data company Banyan to enable hyper-personalized rewards. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bilt Rewards offers a loyalty rewards program and credit card that allows renters to earn points when they pay their rent, building credit with every payment. With no annual fee, the Bilt Mastercard credit card also allows cardholders to earn points on select dining experiences, rideshare purchases, and travel purchases. These points can be redeemed for travel, fitness classes, home decor, and even a down payment on a future home.

“This acquisition represents a major step forward in our mission to transform how residents engage with their neighborhoods,” said Bilt Rewards Founder and CEO Ankur Jain. “By further incorporating Banyan’s item-level intelligence into our platform, we’re able to create truly seamless experiences that drive value for both our members and our network of over 40,000 neighborhood merchants. This is about making commerce more meaningful, more personalized, and more rewarding exactly where people live.”

Since it was founded in 2019, Banyan has analyzed more than 20 billion receipts and processed hundreds of billions of dollars in spending. Bilt Rewards will use Banyan’s item-level receipt data, also known as tier three data, to improve its neighborhood commerce rewards platform by enabling hyper-personalized rewards.

Some of the new capabilities that Banyan’s tier three data capabilities will unlock include:

  1. Extending Bilt’s FSA/HSA program to more neighborhood merchants by automatically identifying potentially eligible purchases, and filing for FSA/HSA reimbursement.
  2. Enabling neighborhood merchants to offer personalized rewards on home essentials when Bilt members move into a new neighborhood.
  3. Allowing consumer packaged goods companies to offer targeted rewards when residents purchase specific products at neighborhood merchants.
  4. Helping Bilt to expand into new merchant categories beyond dining, fitness, and pharmacy to include grocery, gas, parking, and more in order to create a comprehensive neighborhood commerce network.

“Our expansion with Banyan allows us to bring neighborhood commerce to life in ways that weren’t previously possible,” added Jain. “We’re creating an ecosystem where the barriers between earning and using rewards disappear, and where the value of being part of our network increases dramatically for every participant.”

Logistically, Banyan will continue to operate independently after the acquisition is finalized. Founder and CEO Jehan Luth will remain at the helm while helping Bilt to enhance the neighborhood commerce ecosystem. New Jersey-based Banyan most recently demoed at FinovateSpring 2022.

Tier three data is often considered the holy grail for data aggregators like MX, Finicity, and Yodlee because it offers insight into exactly what consumers are buying, and not just where they are spending. This is valuable when it comes to analyzing consumer spending at big box retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Costco, where a single transaction could contain anything from vitamins to electronics. Understanding specific, product-level spending allows financial services, merchants, and marketing platforms to create personalization strategies that include hyper-targeted offers and ultimately drive engagement and increase conversions.

However, the rise of e-commerce and AI-driven analytics has reshaped the demand for tier three data. That’s because ecommerce merchants already collect structured purchase data, eliminating some of the guesswork that traditional financial data aggregators rely on. The real value lies in combining AI with receipt-level data to create automated marketing and loyalty solutions that leverage machine learning to help merchants and marketing service providers analyze transaction patterns, predict future purchases, and deliver personalized promotions in real time.

PayPal, which launched its Smart Receipts tool earlier this year, is a prime example of this. With Smart Receipts, merchants can embed AI-powered personalized offers directly into digital receipts, ensuring that consumers receive targeted promotions based on their actual purchases. Unlike traditional receipt scanning apps or rewards programs, Smart Receipts dynamically adjusts offers after the transaction to suggest relevant products, cross-sell complementary items, and drive repeat purchases.

Photo by Kaboompics.com

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Streamly Snapshot: The Real Reason Open Banking has Floundered in Europe

Streamly Snapshot: The Real Reason Open Banking has Floundered in Europe
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Streamly

Open banking was expected to revolutionize financial services in Europe, but years after its introduction, adoption has fallen short of expectations. While regulation like PSD2 laid the groundwork for greater financial data sharing, the actual implementation of open banking has been fragmented, inconsistent, and underwhelming. Many financial institutions still treat open banking as a compliance exercise rather than an opportunity for innovation, leaving consumers and businesses with limited, disjointed experiences instead of the seamless financial ecosystem that was promised.

In this exclusive interview recorded at FinovateEurope 2025, David Barton-Grimley, Strategy Director at 11:FS speaks with Finovate VP Greg Palmer to discuss why open banking has floundered in Europe, the underlying issues slowing adoption, and what needs to change for it to deliver on its full potential. From poor API standards to a lack of clear monetization strategies, Barton-Grimley explores some of the underlying implementation issues and addresses how financial institutions can shift their approach to make open banking work for both consumers and businesses.

“Too often the conversation about open banking is very binary,” Barton-Grimley said. “Is it successful, and what does success even mean in this category? It is growing, and we are seeing year-on year multi-digit uptake of it as people are getting used to it and using it.”

11:FS is a digital financial services consultancy that helps banks, fintechs, and businesses stay current with changing demands. The company is known for its deep industry expertise, research, and advisory services that help financial institutions design and launch truly digital financial products. With a mission to make financial services “truly digital” rather than just digitized versions of old models, 11:FS works with some of the biggest names in banking and fintech to drive real innovation in open finance, embedded banking, and digital transformation.

As Strategy Director at 11:FS, David Barton-Grimley specializes in helping banks and fintechs navigate the evolving financial landscape. He has advised financial institutions on how to build better digital banking experiences and leverage open finance as a competitive advantage. At 11:FS, Barton-Grimley works closely with financial services leaders to develop and execute strategies that drive growth, customer engagement, and long-term success in an increasingly digital-first world.

Photo by Jeff Vinluan

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Rocket to Acquire Redfin for $1.75 Billion

Rocket to Acquire Redfin for $1.75 Billion
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Rocket Companies is acquiring real estate platform Redfin for $1.75 billion.
  • Rocket anticipates that adding Redfin into its offerings will create a more seamless home-buying experience by integrating home search, real estate brokerage, and mortgage financing.
  • The acquisition brings Redfin’s 50 million monthly visitors, 1 million active listings, and 2,200+ real estate agents into Rocket’s ecosystem.

Rocket Companies is ready for takeoff with its latest acquisition today. The Michigan-based corporate group announced plans to purchase real estate brokerage website Redfin for $1.75 billion.

Washington-based Redfin was founded in 2004 and is now one of the most recognized real estate search and brokerage platforms. The company hosts more than 1 million for-sale and rental listings, as well as a brokerage that consists of more than 2,200 agents.

“Rocket and Redfin have a unified vision of a better way to buy and sell homes,” said Rocket Companies CEO Varun Krishna. “Together, we will improve the experience by connecting traditionally disparate steps of the search and financing process with leading technology that removes friction, reduces costs, and increases value to American homebuyers.”

Rocket Companies consists of 11 separate brands, including Rocket Mortgage, Amrock, Rocket Money, Rocket Loans, Lowermybills.com, and others. Rocket has been around for 40 years and currently provides home financing in all 50 states.

Rocket anticipates that integrating Redfin’s home search and real estate agent network with its mortgage origination and servicing capabilities will offer users a more seamless experience, as Redfin will bring home search capabilities to Rocket’s mortgage financing and closing processes.

Specifically, Rocket will benefit from Redfin’s almost 50 million monthly visitors, 1 million active purchase and rental listings, and its 2,200+ real estate agent employees across 42 states. Rocket expects that, after its combination with Redfin, it will achieve more than $200 million in projected, annualized savings by 2027, including around $140 million saved from eliminating duplicate expenses.

“Rocket and Redfin’s approaches to lending and brokerage service have always been two halves of one vision to make the whole home-buying process magical,” said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. “We want a customer to be able to check her phone to find out what she can afford, see which homes are just right for her, schedule a tour with a local, expert Redfin agent, and get pre-qualified for a loan, all in a matter of minutes. Varun and I see how much better real estate could be when AI guides customers not just through that first step in their search, but all the way home, through the sale, the loan and then a lifetime of accumulating equity and wealth.”

Rocket Companies’ acquisition of Redfin is a major move in mortgagetech, which has generally remained one of the least disrupted subsectors of fintech. This is good news for consumers, who have traditionally had to navigate multiple fragmented steps to purchase a home. By bringing Redfin’s search and brokerage capabilities under its umbrella, Rocket will help streamline the home buying journey and create a more approachable experience, especially for first-time buyers.

The move also positions Rocket to capture more mortgage business at a time when refinancing demand has declined due to higher interest rates. Integrating Redfin’s platform and user base could significantly increase its share of purchase loans, allowing the company to compete more effectively against traditional banks and other real estate fintechs.

Photo by David McBee

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Expedia Taps Upgrade’s FlexPay to Bring Cruise Vacations to Travelers

Expedia Taps Upgrade’s FlexPay to Bring Cruise Vacations to Travelers
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Expedia is partnering with fintech company Upgrade to offer Flex Pay, a BNPL solution that lets travelers pay for cruises in monthly installments, making luxury vacations more accessible.
  • Flex Pay supports payments across Expedia’s platforms and 750 travel and retail brands.
  • The partnership will assist travelers in managing their costs and will help cruise operators boost bookings, conversions, and order values.

Online travel booking company Expedia is partnering with mobile banking and lending fintech Upgrade to make its cruise booking services more accessible.

Specifically, Expedia is using Flex Pay, Upgrade’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution to enable travelers to pay for their cruise vacations in monthly installments. Consumers in the US and Canada will be able to book cruise experiences on 750 travel and retail brands via Expedia Cruises, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com using Flex Pay.

“We believe travel should be accessible to everyone,” said Expedia Cruises President Matthew Eichhorst. “With the introduction of Flex Pay, we’re not just offering payment options; we’re opening doors to experiences that once may have seemed out of reach. By allowing travelers to spread costs over time, we’re making dream cruises more attainable and enabling the exploration of the world on one’s own terms.”

Formerly known as Uplift, Flex Pay partners with Celtic Bank, Uplift, and Uplift Canada to allow travelers to finance their cruise vacation by spreading their payments over three to 24 months with no interest. While consumers benefit from a more approachable way to pay for their cruise, the cruise brands themselves also benefit. That’s because Flex Pay’s financing has proven to increase booking volume, conversion, and order value by 15% to 25%.

“This partnership builds on the success of our cruise division, which achieved a 23% year-over-year growth in bookings in 2024, driven by both increased volume and order value,” said Flex Pay President Tom Botts. “With products like no-interest loans and on-board financing, we take pride in helping partners like Expedia Group and their cruise lines expand their reach, attract more customers, and boost revenue.”

Founded in 2017, Upgrade is a digital banking platform headquartered in California. The company offers checking and savings accounts, personal loans, credit cards, and rewards programs that focus on low fees and responsible credit usage to help consumers improve their financial lives. Upgrade has served millions of customers and has facilitated over $35 billion in credit with tools such as its Upgrade Card, which encourages customers to pay off balances quickly and avoid revolving debt and build credit responsibly. Upgrade also offers cashback rewards, competitive savings rates, and credit monitoring tools, positioning itself as a customer-friendly alternative to traditional banks.

Upgrade launched the Flex Pay brand in 2024, rebranding it from Uplift. The BNPL tool serves 750 travel and retail brands, helping them to increase their customer engagement, loyalty, and consumer spending by offering more flexible payment options.

The partnership between Expedia and Upgrade is a prime example of how fintechs are expanding beyond traditional banking services into everyday spending categories, providing financial tools at the point of sale rather than only at the point of need.

The news comes at a time when the BNPL market, while not slowing, is experiencing a maturation. Regulators in the UK and Europe are more closely scrutinizing BNPL tools, while BNPL pioneer Klarna is reportedly set to file a $1 billion-plus IPO as early as next week. Despite the signs that BNPL is maturing, however, it does not seem to be slowing down, especially as consumers find themselves cash-strapped and credit-starved.

Photo by Samson Bush

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Streamly Snapshot: Overcoming Increased Regulatory Scrutiny on Financial Promotions

Streamly Snapshot: Overcoming Increased Regulatory Scrutiny on Financial Promotions
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CEO Interview, Interview, PromoComply, Streamly

The regulatory landscape for financial promotions has become increasingly complex as regulators focus on ensuring that promotional materials are fair, transparent, and compliant. Today, both banks and fintechs are having to take a new approach to how they create, approve, and distribute promotional content to avoid regulatory breaches and potential penalties, while still conveying their messaging.

In this exclusive interview recorded at FinovateEurope last week, Sage Franch, CEO of PromoComply, shares her insights into how firms can navigate this increased scrutiny, the importance of real-time compliance monitoring, and how technology is transforming the way financial promotions are managed.

“Regulators are really cracking down on non-compliant financial promotions,” said Franch. “And every financial organization that markets a financial product here in the UK has to comply with these. If they don’t, illegal financial promotion is a criminal offense and so the potential consequences are huge.”

PromoComply offers a comprehensive compliance automation platform designed specifically for the financial services sector, helping firms streamline the review and approval process for financial promotions. The platform uses AI-driven content analysis to automatically flag potential compliance risks, reducing the manual burden on compliance teams while enabling faster marketing campaign approvals. By integrating with existing content management systems, PromoComply ensures that compliance is embedded into every step of the promotional lifecycle.

As CEO and Co-Founder of PromoComply, Sage Franch brings a unique blend of technological expertise and regulatory insight to the world of financial services marketing compliance. With a background in software development and product management, Franch helps banks and fintechs leverage technology to simplify complex regulatory processes.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch

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BVNK Launches Embedded Wallet to Unify Fiat and Stablecoins 

BVNK Launches Embedded Wallet to Unify Fiat and Stablecoins 
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • BVNK is launching an embedded wallet that unifies fiat and stablecoins.
  • The new wallet will allow fintechs, payment providers, and platforms to offer their customers seamless multi-currency payments across traditional and blockchain rails.
  • The API-powered wallet supports USD, GBP, EUR, and stablecoins, with auto-conversion options, compliance handling, and direct integration into client platforms under their own brand.

After raising $50 million for its stablecoin infrastructure platform two months ago, multi-rail payments infrastructure platform BVNK announced the launch of an embedded wallet that unifies fiat and stablecoins across the globe.

BVNK is launching the embedded wallet to help fintechs, crypto, and payment companies accelerate money movement for their customers by bringing together fiat and stablecoins on a single platform, providing payment flexibility. Using the new embedded wallet API, users can allow their customers to store, spend, and get paid in USD, GBP, EUR, and stablecoins any time of day.

The wallet, however, does not require end users to hold crypto even if they want to pay using crypto. BVNK has auto-conversion features that allow users to automatically convert stablecoin payments they receive into fiat currencies, or fiat to stablecoins upon payout.

The new wallet offers direct access to payments on leading blockchains and traditional networks such as Swift, ACH, and SEPA. Clients can use BVNK’s embedded wallet API to make the functionality available within their platform and as their own brand. In addition to the movement of funds, BVNK is responsible for the custody, safeguarding, and KYB and KYC compliance.

BVNK is gearing its new embedded wallet to serve three main user groups: payment service providers and fintechs, which can use it to offer their customers payout capabilities; payroll and tech companies, which can use it to speed up payments to international workers, hosts, creators and sellers; and cryptos and neobanks, which can use it to allow their customers move from USD, EUR and GBP to stablecoins within your app.

BVNK’s announcement is a clear example of the payment industry’s collective shift toward adopting stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat or a physical asset. Over the past six months, both fintechs and banks have shown increased interest in stablecoins because of their potential to bring significant value to users. That’s because they are both instant and inexpensive, unlike payments made via traditional payments rails such as SWIFT.

Notably, stablecoins work great for cross-border payments and remittances because they offer greater accessibility compared to traditional banking systems, while also mitigating the volatility typically associated with other cryptocurrencies.

These attributes make BVNK’s embedded wallet a compelling tool for businesses looking to harness the speed, flexibility, and cost advantages of stablecoins without the complexity typically associated with handling crypto. By seamlessly bridging fiat and stablecoins within a single, embedded solution, BVNK empowers fintechs, payment providers, and global platforms to offer faster, more affordable cross-border payments, enabling their customers to send, receive, and convert funds across currencies and rails with minimal friction.

Photo by cottonbro studio

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Payoneer Partners with Bancolombia’s Neobank Nequi

Payoneer Partners with Bancolombia’s Neobank Nequi
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Payoneer

Global payments company Payoneer is growing its presence in Latin America this month. The New York-based fintech has partnered with Colombian Bank Nequi, Bancolombia’s Neobank.

By integrating Payoneer, Nequi will enable its users to transfer their dollars and euros from Payoneer to Nequi and receive them in Colombian pesos in a matter of minutes. Payoneer joins 30+ other services that Nequi offers. Notably, Payoneer will enable Nequi users to bring euros through the Nequi platform for the first time.

A business line of Bancolombia, Nequi’s digital financial platform seeks to help improve its more than 21 million users’ relationships with money. Nequi users can pay with the Nequi Card, pay for public services, recharge their cell phone, receive money from abroad, buy insurance or a bus ticket, and more.

“At Nequi we work to adapt to new global dynamics by facilitating the reception of international payments in an efficient and economical way,” said Nequi Business Strategy Leader María del Pilar Correa. “That is why this new integration with Payoneer has us very excited because we continue to strengthen the possibilities for our users and this will undoubtedly be a great option for freelancers, entrepreneurs and people who do international business, since they can receive payments from clients in other countries, with different currencies, in a fast and secure way at a global level.”

Once they link their account, Nequi savings accountholders can transfer up to $5,000 per month, with a maximum of $2,000 per transaction. Nequi low-value deposit accountholders can transfer up to $2,000 per month, with a maximum of $2,000 per transaction.

Payoneer was founded in 2005 to help small-and-medium-sized businesses to transact, do business, and grow globally. The company’s global financial stack helps remove barriers and simplify cross-border commerce to make it easier for businesses to connect to the global economy, pay, get paid, manage their funds across multiple currencies, and grow their businesses.

Payoneer went public via a SPAC merger with FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. in 2021. The company listed on the NASDAQ in June of that same year under the ticker PAYO and has a current market capitalization of $3 billion.

“By partnering with the most popular neobank in Colombia, Payoneer is helping to address a critical need in the region: enabling entrepreneurs in Colombia [to] receive payments with increased flexibility in fund usage,” said Payoneer SVP of Growth in Latin America Mar Fernández. “Working with Nequi to enhance our functionalities further fulfills Payoneer’s mission to empower businesses from anywhere in the world to scale to their businesses globally. We aim to support the ambitions and boost the international competitiveness of Colombian professionals.”

Payoneer has presented at FinDEVr New York in 2016, where it showcased integrating its Armor Payments API into a marketplace. Prior to that, the company demoed its commercial account at FinovateAsia 2013 in Singapore.

Photo by Camila Melo

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