Payment insight January 2022

Headlines

Cards – The card makes a stand

• UNITED KINGDOM - Amazon lifts its veto on Visa credit cards
• UNITED STATES - MasterCard will allow NFTs to be purchased by card
• UNITED STATES - MasterCard presents its BtoB virtual card
• UNITED KINGDOM - Klarna launches its physical card in the UK

While last month we talked about the pressure imposed by Amazon on Visa to accept credit cards in the United Kingdom because of high fees, an agreement seems to have been reached and the balance of power is reversed. If not on Visa in this case, at least for card players like Visa and Mastercard who are multiplying initiatives to keep this means of payment as a must, as confirmed by American Express figures which show a 29% increase in volume in 2020. Mastercard has unveiled two initiatives: one concerning bill payments using virtual cards coupled with a system that predicts problematic bills, and another initiative aimed at purchasing NFTs. The aim of these innovations is to give a place to the bank card in these uses where all-electronics prevail and which will ultimately cost these players market share. Another player innovating in an alternative path to credit cards, namely the Buy Now Pay Later specialist, Klarna, announced the deployment of its Klarna Card to ensure a better customer experience. While Klarna is demonstrating the relevance of alternative financial offerings, the fact remains that in order to continue its expansion, it now needs to conquer another commercial dimension, in the physical world. And to get through this stage, the Unicorn is betting on a payment card, the medium retaining all its legitimacy, including in the face of m-payment which, despite strong growth, still only represents a minority share of payment.

E-Identity / E-Signature – Essential components of the customer journey

• UNITED STATES - Edenred and Sunday combine meal vouchers and QR code payment
• FRANCE - Yousign sets the standard for electronic signatures in Europe
• FRANCE - Docapost acquires Idemia's electronic signature business

In the US, API-based financial services provider Plaid has announced the acquisition of identity and KYC verification startup Cognito. CEO Zach Perret sees verification as a key piece of Plaid's strategic puzzle, calling it "one of the three essential parts of a complete onboarding experience, along with account login and account funding that Plaid provides today. Cognito's products position Plaid to withstand the trust and regulatory challenges of open banking. In France, it is Idemia on the e-signature side that makes the move with the takeover of its e-signature business by Docaposte, which aims to extend its trust services to European countries already covered by Idemia. And Yousign, a Caen-based startup that has just announced that it has acquired Canyon, a specialist in the automation of document preparation and validation processes prior to signature, to offer a complete contractual document management service to European small businesses.