• BNZ has acquired open banking payments company BlinkPay to enhance its focus on real-time, bank-to-bank payment solutions across New Zealand.
• Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
• BlinkPay will maintain its original leadership and culture, with company Co-founder Adrian Smith appointed as CEO.

BNZ announced today it has acquired fellow New Zealander BlinkPay, an open banking focused payments company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, BlinkPay Co-founder Adrian Smith will become the fintech’s CEO. BlinkPay will retain its original leadership and culture.

“As a Māori-led business, we bring a unique perspective to financial innovation. BNZ understands and values this – and they’re backing our vision while enabling us to retain our startup DNA,” said Smith. “Our kaupapa [strategy] has always been about making financial services work better for all New Zealanders. BNZ’s support gives us the resources to accelerate our mission and help grow the open banking ecosystem across Aotearoa [New Zealand].”

BlinkPay was founded in 2016 to offer seamless, secure, and instant bank-to-bank transfers by leveraging open banking. The company helps businesses provide their own customers with a more efficient way to make payments directly from their bank accounts. BlinkPay’s platform connects with major New Zealand banks via APIs that support real-time payments without the need for credit cards or other intermediaries.

With 250,000 customers, BNZ was an early leader in open banking. The bank first implemented open banking principles in 2018. Bank CEO Dan Huggins anticipates today’s investment will further BNZ’s open banking reputation and expertise.

“This represents the next phase in our journey,” said Huggins. “With BNZ supporting BlinkPay’s innovation and agility, we can accelerate the development of new products and services that will benefit all New Zealanders. We’re proud to be investing in a team that has proven their ability to innovate and deliver.”

Working together, BNZ and BlinkPay will create new open banking capabilities to improve the customer experience for both retail and commercial banks across New Zealand.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood

• Nium has partnered with Partior, a blockchain-based fintech for clearing and settlement.
• Through the partnership, banks can use Partior’s network to access Nium’s global payments infrastructure without needing additional API integration, offering seamless real-time transactions.
• The move makes Nium the first payment service provider to join Partior’s blockchain-based network, enabling real-time cross-border payments, clearing, and settlement across 100+ markets.

Global payments platform Nium announced today that it has partnered with blockchain-based fintech for clearing and settlement Partior. The move makes Nium the first payment service provider to join the Partior network. 

Under the partnership, banks will be able to leverage Partior’s network to connect with Nium to conduct real-time payouts, clearing, and settlement to over 100 markets worldwide any day of the week. Banks will not need additional API integration to work with Nium, since it seamlessly integrates with existing systems to provide instant access to Nium’s cross-border payments network.

Co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, Nium was founded in 2015 to provide banks, payment vendors, and businesses with access to payment and card issuance services. The company’s global infrastructure for real-time cross-border payments supports 100 currencies across 220+ markets. With regulatory licenses and authorizations in more than 40 countries, Nium offers card issuance services in 34 countries.

Not only will today’s partnership with Partior help Nium facilitate global transactions, it will also support new services, including intra-day FX swaps, cross-currency repos, programmable enterprise liquidity management, and Just-in-Time multi-bank payments for banks across the globe.

“Nium’s partnership with Partior brings us closer to becoming the most connected payments network globally. By integrating with advanced networks, such as Partior, we are ensuring that financial institutions can quickly and easily access our real-time payments infrastructure without the need for complex technical integrations,” said Nium Chief Payments Officer Alexandra Johnson. “Recognizing how resource-constrained financial institutions are, we’re eliminating barriers to using our network and increasing interoperability to deliver on our mission of having seamless and streamlined real-time payments to anyone, anywhere.”

Founded in 2021, Partior uses blockchain and distributed ledger technology to streamline digital payments, making them faster, more reliable, and secure. By leveraging the blockchain, Partior eliminates the need for manual reconciliation and account pre-funding, allowing financial institutions to access capital more efficiently and reduce operational overhead. The company’s network supports seamless, real-time clearing and settlement, empowering banks to optimize liquidity and enhance cross-border payment flows.

“Partnering with Nium marks a significant step in our journey to further advance the global payments landscape,” said Partior CEO Humphrey Valenbreder. “By combining Partior’s real-time blockchain settlement network with Nium’s vast global reach, we’re empowering financial institutions to break down long-standing barriers. Imagine a world where cross-border payments are instantaneous, transparent, and accessible to all. This is the future we’re building together.”

The demand for real-time payments is surging across the globe as both consumers and businesses increasingly expect instant access to funds. This boost is driven by regulatory support, the launch of FedNow in the U.S., the increased adoption of enabling technologies such as stablecoins, and rising global commerce. As more players add real-time payments, they will soon become tablestakes across the globe.

Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash

• Affirm is launching its services in the U.K., marking its third market entry following the U.S. and Canada.
• U.K. shoppers can now access Affirm’s interest-free and fixed-interest BNPL options.
• Affirm joins Klarna, Clearpay (Afterpay), and Laybuy as major BNPL players in the U.K. region.

California-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) player Affirm announced this week that it is taking its services overseas. The company is now allowing U.K. consumers to use its pay-over-time payment tools to receive more flexible payment options.

The move marks Affirm’s third geography and will add to the company’s network of 300,000 merchants and 50 million end customers in the U.S. and Canada. At launch, U.K. shoppers will have access to Affirm’s interest-free payment option as well as its interest-bearing option that applies a fixed interest on purchases calculated on the original payment amount.

“Affirm was founded on the premise of putting people first and empowering consumers to take greater control over their finances. Building on our leadership in the U.S. and Canada, where we partner with top retailers and commerce platforms, we see a significant opportunity to extend our mission of building honest financial products to the U.K.,” said Affirm Founder and CEO Max Levchin. “We know that U.K. consumers are savvy shoppers who appreciate upfront, no-nonsense products. We look forward to offering them responsible credit options that truly put consumers first and working collaboratively with our U.K. partners to demonstrate how honest finance is good business.”

Affirm, which is regulated by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is launching in partnership with payments processor Fexco and flight booking site Alternative Airlines, which will be the pilot merchant for Affirm’s BNPL tools. The company plans to announce additional U.K. and international brand partnerships in the future.

“There are many brilliant businesses in the U.K. that make this country what it is – and we can’t wait to start working with them,” said Affirm’s U.K. Country Manager Ruth Spratt. “The U.K.’s open economy, mature consumer market, and world-class talent makes it the perfect place for the next phase of Affirm’s journey. By entering the U.K. alongside a leading travel provider and platform partner, we’re able to expediently and deliberately begin growing Affirm’s U.K. network of consumers and merchants. We look forward to continuing to expand in the coming months.”

Spratt, who most recently served as U.K. Country Manager and Board Director for Affirm competitor Zip, will lead a team of more than 30 U.K. employees to expand Affirm’s merchant and channel partnerships. Spratt plans to onboard more staff by the end of the year, adding to Affirm’s base of 2,000 employees across the globe.

Founded in 2012, Affirm has facilitated more than 17 million purchases and counts brands including Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, and others among its merchant partners. In the past five years, the company has processed more than $75 billion. Affirm, which went public in 2021, currently trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker AFRM with a market capitalization of $13.8 billion.

Affirm’s entry into the U.K. BNPL market adds a competitive new player to the space, which already hosts established players including Klarna, Clearpay (Afterpay), and Laybuy. While Affirm will face strong competition from these brands, the company’s reputation for transparency may resonate with consumers, and will prove helpful as the FCA prepares to tighten regulatory oversight on BNPL providers by requiring affordability checks, advertising standards, and credit reporting.

Photo by Pixabay