Headlines

Competition - GAFAs expand their grip on financial services

• UNITED STATES - Google Play Store opens up to alternative payment methods
• FRANCE - Apple acquires British Open Banking FinTech
• UNITED STATES - Apple Wallet will also store identity documents

While the regulator is tightening its grip, on in-app payments for example, or with the new European directive, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which should push the major tech players to open up their application ecosystems and better respect competition principles. On the other hand, these players are pushing with new initiatives that allow them to take advantage of their positioning with their customers to launch new services. Apple with cash last month, Google in India which also allows to pay directly with its mobile with the Tap to Pay system by connecting to UPI. But the announcement that has made a lot of noise this month is undoubtedly the purchase of Credit Kudos by Apple, which foreshadows the intentions of the American giant to develop its Apple Wallet as a full-fledged payment tool that will be able not only to integrate all kinds of cards (transport, identity, loyalty), but also to offer financing solutions such as BNPL through Apple Pay transactions. A strategy that could allow Apple, by integrating the skills of Fintech, to extend the financial services offered to its customers and capitalize on its financial reserves to compete more head-on with the banks.

Open Finance – Financing solutions for businesses

• FRANCE - Qard presents its API dedicated to Open Finance
• UNITED KINGDOM - Rollee helps freelancers get financing
• UNITED KINGDOM - Mollie addresses its new offer to European marketplaces
• DENMARK - Lunar helps businesses accept online payments

Last month, Solaris, which recently entered the French market, announced a partnership with Algoan to improve its credit scoring and its BaaS offerings at the same time. This month, it is Treezor that obtains all the ACPR approvals to extend its offer. The other fundamental enabler of integrated finance is open banking and access to APIs. Klarna, a major player that plays on several levels, has just announced the launch of a dedicated banking API service. The market is structured around these generalist providers. But with the increasing digitalization of businesses and the financing and payment pathways, smaller players are being attracted, such as Rollee or Qard, whose specialized APIs enable businesses to find cheaper financing through open banking. On the payment side, also Mollie, the Dutch open banking star wants to compete with Stripe on its core business and offers a platform dedicated to marketplaces to facilitate payment integration. And Lunar, the Danish neo‑bank, wants to help businesses accept online payments.