Headlines

BNPL – The regulatory threat is growing

• EUROPE - BNPL boosts Cyber Week sales
• UNITED STATES - Klarna and GoCardless sign US partnership
• UNITED STATES - CFPB takes on the "Big Five" of BNPL

Klarna continues to shake up the BNPL sector with acquisitions and partnerships. This month Klarna announced a new partnership with account-to-account transfer specialist FinTech GoCardless to roll out its pay in 4 solution to all of the FinTech's US customers. Last month, it partnered with Stripe, the largest US FinTech, to open its offerings to all e-merchants who use Stripe. The other American FinTechs are not to be outdone, as Affirm continues to make inroads with US merchants after signing up Amazon and Shopify, while Afterpay has partnered with marketplace Rakuten to develop its offerings. A study conducted by European PSP Mollie showed a 51% increase in the use of offline payment methods compared to the 2020 edition during the cyberweek (Black Friday + Cyber Monday. But this growth is under scrutiny, both in Europe and in the US, where the regulator will soon set limits. The CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, announced a few days ago that it was launching an investigation into several companies distributing BNPL services. PayPal, Affirm and Afterpay and Klarna are among those concerned. The CFPB's investigation could mark a turning point for the sector. As soon as the investigations were announced, the shares of the main market players fell on the stock market: Affirm lost 11%, its Australian competitor Afterpay fell by 8%. The report points to an underestimated risk of over indebtedness on a national scale.

ACQUISITION – Towards more simplicity and fluidity

• FRANCE - Edenred and Sunday combine meal vouchers and QR code payment
• UNITED STATES - Facebook is testing a new addition sharing service
• FRANCE - BPCE institutionalizes giving through a FinTech

While the pandemic has accelerated its late adoption in Europe, global innovations in mobile payment and new shopping experiences are putting the QR code firmly on the landscape. Last month FinTech Payconiq announced a partnership with Worldline to make its terminals compatible with Payconiq's QR code payment solution. This month Edenred announced a partnership with Sunday, the FinTech launched by the founders of the restaurant chain Big Mama, which is ranked 9th among the most funded fintechs in France in 2021. Thanks to the QR code, Sunday promises a smoother payment experience without having to go to the cashier or even touch a waiter, and the possibility of sharing the bill afterwards, all on the go. It is precisely this fluid experience of sharing the bill that Meta is trying to relaunch its p2p payment services within its Messenger messaging service. Finally, in terms of enriched payment experiences, Heoh has entered into a new partnership with the BPCE group, a few months after the one with BNPP for the payment of tips; this one will aim at the payment of donations at the time of payment at merchants and will allow the BPCE group to renew its mutualist ties and to continue to be involved in favour of its merchant customers by innovating in the field of payment.