Arnaud Schwartz

#Payments News: EPI's Wero Goes Live in France, Expanding Digital Payments Across Europe 🇪🇺 🌐 The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has taken another major step in its expansion, launching its Wero digital wallet and instant account-to-account payments solution across France. 🇫🇷 Leading French banks Groupe BPCE, Crédit Agricole, and Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale have already deployed Wero through their banking apps, with BNP Paribas, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Société Générale, and La Banque Postale set to follow soon. With Wero, customers can easily complete person-to-person (P2P) transactions using just a phone number or email address. 📲 Building on the success of Paylib, which has 35 million users, Wero is set to introduce even more functionalities in 2025, including QR code payments, money requests, and buy now, pay later options. 🇩🇪 The launch in France follows Wero’s debut in Germany earlier this year, with cross-border payments now available between the two nations. Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are next on the roadmap. 💭 What are your thoughts on Wero’s expansion and its potential impact on European digital payments? #DigitalPayments #Wero #EPI #BankingInnovation #FinancialServices #EuropeanPayments

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#Fintech News: Hero Secures ACPR Licence, Paving the Way for European Expansion 🌍 🇫🇷 Paris-based fintech Hero has just been granted a payment institution licence by the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR). Founded in 2021, Hero offers a comprehensive payments and cash flow management platform tailored for SMEs in France, integrating services like card issuance, short-term financing, and IBANs. 🌐 With this licence in hand after a rigorous two-year process, Hero is poised to expand its footprint across Europe. The company has also unveiled an all-in-one business account that features a Visa Platinum debit card, supplier invoice financing, instant payment solutions, and a range of short-term financing options aimed at empowering European SMEs. 💬 "The payment institution licence allows us to eliminate dependence on external banking service providers, reducing extra costs and ensuring we offer a fully autonomous, competitive solution to our clients," says Hero 's founder and CEO, Roland Jais-Nielsen. 🚀 He adds, "Thanks to the European Banking Union and its passporting mechanism, this licence—obtained in France—can be used in nearly 30 countries, allowing us to provide a self-sufficient, scalable solution at the European level." 💰 This milestone comes just months after Hero secured €11.3 million in equity funding led by Valar Ventures LLC. The fresh capital is fueling Hero's product development and accelerating its expansion into key European markets. #DigitalBanking #MobileBanking #Payments

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The payment evolution: why orchestration is becoming the new standard ! Here is what caught my attention after reading TNS and Flagship advisory partners' last report about payment orchestration and the evolving payment landscape ( US and Europe context ) : 🎯 The report specifically targets enterprise-level merchants facing : • Rising customer expectations for omnichannel experiences. • Proliferation of payment methods and technologies. • Increasing security risks and compliance requirements. • Need for global expansion capabilities. 🎯 The numbers are striking : • 76% of POS terminal-centric enterprise merchants now use orchestration services. • 81% of companies need orchestration specifically for in-person POS integration. • 31% of US payments now come from alternative payment methods. • 60% of enterprises using a third-party orchestration service are driven by the integration of software and PSP's. What's fascinating is how the #payment ecosystem has transformed. Remember when a single merchant bank could handle all our payment needs ? Those days are long gone. Today's merchants are juggling multiple payment methods, cross-border transactions, and complex regulatory requirements. Three key approaches are emerging ( according to the report ): 1. Traditional payment ecosystems ( flexible but complex ) 2. Full-service PSPs ( simple but limiting ). 3. Payment orchestration ( the best of both worlds). The most compelling insight ? Payment orchestration is becoming the go-to solution for enterprises looking to scale globally while maintaining operational efficiency . It's not just about processing payments anymore - it's about creating seamless customer experiences across all channels. What really struck me is how payment orchestration solves the age old problem of managing multiple vendors through a single API layer, while still maintaining the flexibility to choose best-in-class providers. How is your organization handling the increasing complexity of payment systems ? Are you considering payment orchestration ? #PaymentTech #FinTech #PaymentOrchestration #DigitalPayments #Innovation #RetailTech , Victor Yaromin , Neeraj Malhotra , Sam Boboev , Nicolas Pinto , David Jimenez Maireles , Bilal El Kouche , Paulo Stamm de Lima Sources 👉 https://lnkd.in/diPGY3Ri 👉https://lnkd.in/dz9AaUZH

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💬 “Companies need to manage this new operational risk that comes with instant payment: they need to be sure the payment they’re executing is the right one.” Baptiste COLLOT, Trustpair CEO Instant payments are gaining momentum across Europe thanks to the EU regulation. They offer an efficient alternative to traditional transfers. However, they also come with a set of risks. Trustpair and UniCredit are happy to share their latest white paper: Fast Cash, Fast Fraud - Securing European Businesses for Instant Payments. In this piece you’ll learn about: 💰The opportunities of instant payment for businesses 🥷 The threats and challenges they present 🛡️ Best practices to safeguard your processes Download the white paper right here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBtWY5hV Giovanna G. Luca Vanni Clementine Le Mière #instantpayments #fraudrisks

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Financial Crime is a multi-trillion dollar problem. I am an industry veteran and I was there at its genesis. I never imagined that what we built then, would still be around twenty years later! What the industry needs? Cooperative technology that: → catches the nuance and understands the complexity of FinCrime processes. → aligns with the real needs of practitioners. At Reform our Solution as a Service approach enables FSI's to: → Meet increased regulatory demands. → Boost their operational resilience. → Enhance monitoring effectiveness. It is time to catch a far bigger slice of the criminal money flowing through the financial system. It is time to give back control to FinCrime operations! --- I'm Filip Verbeke. Co-Founder of Reform. Follow me for more insights on AML and on Reform.

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APP fraud reimbursement in UK is a fascinating dive into what may happen in other countries : ⏩ Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud is booming with the rise of scams alongside instant paiements provided by Faster Payment System (much like instant SEPA). Losses reached 460 M£ in 2023, and are still growing. To reinforce customer trust in the payment system, and stop the bleeding, the regulator pushed for better bank responsibility to protect the end user, sometime despite their carelessness. And so : ➡️ They added the ability to retain the funds for up to 4 days before crediting the recipient account (instant transfer anyone?) ➡️ They pushed for PSP being liable up to 415 000£ / fraud, shared 50/50 between receiver and sender banks. But lowered the limit to 85 000£ just weeks before enforcing the regulation. But anyone can get the 415k£ through appeal to the regulator ➡️ The banks are now allowed to apply a 100£ fee / fraud to the end user, despite 32% of all APP fraud being less than that amount Rules apply October 7th ⏳ Let's see how it pans out. IMHO, customer protection is good, but taking loss reimbursement measures is hardly the best way to curb the problem. APP fraud thrive on the lack of data to detect said fraud before it happens. @ Marble we believe that real time insights into peer transactions makes life a lot harder for fraudster, instead of adding headaches to the banks and putting bandages on losses. 🌨️ Before the regulation pain reaches mainland Europe, let's chat about it! Link to 100£ fee discussion in the latest FT issue in comment #fraud #appfraud #regulation

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Last Friday I had the pleasure to present the new French retail payments strategy 2025-2030, drawn up by the Comité national des moyens de paiement (CNMP), which I chair alongside Thierry Laborde and Florence Segurel. The French payments ecosystem is decided to remain as a key driver of the success of the European retail payments strategy, as fostered by the European Central Bank and the European Commission (Ulrich Bindseil Eric Ducoulombier); 🌍 In an increasingly competitive and uncertain world, defending the freedom of choice of secure, inclusive and sustainable #MeansOfPayment for everyone, consumers and professionals alike, is of outmost importance for our country. While supporting the modernisation of everyday payments, our new strategy aims to ensure French and European autonomy in the digital age, through explicit support for the SEPA ecosystem (European Payments Council (EPC)), the Cartes Bancaires CB card payment scheme and the new European wero payment solution (EPICompany). 📢 “With this new national payments strategy, what is at stake is the efficient functioning and the future of retail payments, a domain that is essential to our personal lives and our collective independence. Its success depends on all of us, professionals and citizens alike.” 🎯The new French retail payments strategy 2025-2030, below: https://lnkd.in/ewFQ2r9x 📽️ Watch the video presenting the strategy below:  

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Last week, the European Payments Initiative (EPI) announced the expansion of Wero into the French market. This is a major development for payments in Europe as Wero represents Europe’s first sovereign payments system.     Wero's first initiative will allow customers to complete person-to-person (P2P) payments, enabling users to send and receive money instantly using just a phone number or email address. Consumer to merchant payments are expected to begin next year with point-of-sale payments in 2026.    Following its initial launch in Germany earlier this year, several major banks, including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and Worldline will offer the service to their customers. Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are rumoured to follow.    Importantly for the travel industry, Wero intends to simplify cross-border payments. Whilst the service isn’t likely to rival the card schemes in the short term, it is undoubtedly an important development in our industry.     At Outpayce from Amadeus, we’re focused on developing innovative solutions that provide seamless payment experiences to align with the needs of modern, global travel.     For more information, read here:    https://lnkd.in/du2_hEUN    

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I don't speak #French, but apparently I can write 😀 Delighted to share my piece on risks of #fraud with emerging #instantpayments in #Europe, published in L'Echo, Belgium 's leading financial news media - in French! With several initiatives underway in Europe for enhanced fraud and fincrime prevention, looking forward to 2025 when most of the implementations will begin! #fraudprevention #financialcrime #RiskManagement #aml #payments #antimoneylaundering #SEPA #regtech #fintech #EU #ai

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Maybe PSD2 was meant to save banks? 🤔 Do you remember when PSD2 and open banking became mandatory in the EU in 2018? In the years prior and afterwards, many banks complained as they were forced to offer 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 access to third parties putting their own customer frontend at risk of losing relevance. Many banks built sub-ideal APIs, often with poor connectivity and in same cases even missing data fields. If customers cannot use third party services properly, maybe these third party services just go away and customers return to the bank-own frontends? But guess what, these third party services and PSD2 exists because of customer demand.  Banks can limit the performance of their 𝘰𝘸𝘯 APIs but cannot change customer demands. With embedded finance and the fintech development in general, we are seeing an ongoing rise of infrastructure providers. Building, designing and launching financial services will become easier and easier. Customers have more choices than ever. And if banks are not addressing their customer needs, others will. Many banks fought the implementation of PSD2. But I feel, they should be thankful for the open banking regulation, because it forced them to leave their silo and interact with customers, fintech companies and non-financial brands. It was just a first step but maybe an important one for (some) banks to understand how they can continue to grow? What do you think? PS: Subscribe to my newsletter if you want to follow the developments in embedded finance (link under my name). #embeddedfinance #openbanking #embeddedbanking

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Whatever you need as a retailer, Worldpay can help you. Come and see us at Paris Retail Week, our Red W Will guide you to our expert team inc Sabrina Paciotta , Matthieu Pardo , Charif BOUZIANE , Jennifer Grégoire and Phillis Acker, led by Virginie Dangel. You want a partner to help you achieve and earn more within the tight parameters and margins of modern retail. Worldpay are the most experienced and largest payments partner, trusted by more global retailers than any other PSP. There’s so many ways we can increase your revenue, reduce your costs and mitigate your risks. All we neee to decide is where we start together! Some of our favourite solutions today include; ✅ Guaranteed Payments to increase your revenue and reduce declines ✅ Chargeback Defence and Management to reduce the write offs and increase your revenue ✅ Local Payment Methods Globally during your customers can pay their way ✅ Multi Currency Pricing and DCC so your customers can see and pay in their local currency, while you save bank FX charges AND add FX Rev share to your bottom line ✅ AI Fraud Mgt so you can keep the bad guys out while letting the good customers in. Hands on by you or fully managed by us, and all variations in between. ✅ Comminity and charity contributions via our friends at Pennies ✅ Fantastic CX via our state of the art Gateway or range of modern customisable terminals How can we help you achieve more? Lets talk #retail #paymentsinnovation

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The time is up. The first pillar of the EU instant #payments regulation (IPR) comes into force today and here is my summary with all-you-need-to-know. Key provisions:   1)     #Instantpayments are becoming compulsory for banks and PSPs   2)    Instant credit transfers must arrive in recipients’ accounts within 10 seconds, regardless of the date or time of day.   3)    Any charges for sending and receiving instant transactions cannot be more expensive than standard ones. 4)     Verification of Payee: a messaging functionality ensuring verification of the payee (IBAN and name). It applies to both standard and instant credit transfers and is free of charge. 5)     Instead of screening transactions one by one, PSPs need to check clients against #EU sanctions lists periodically.   Timeplan: —    PSPs in the euro area need to be ready to receive euro instant credit transfers as of today. Send is due in October. —    A transition period is planned - it will be faster in the euro area and longer for non-euro countries Implications: —    IPR does not affect only banks, but also non-bank PSPs like PIs and EMIs. Practically all issuers and acquirers are affected. —    Some heavy lifting from banks will be needed (infrastructure and operations). This is not a walk in the park (i.e. upgrade core banking systems) - there are already complaints about the deadlines. —    Sanctions screening and fraud detection are most impacted. Banks and PSPs need to adjust to a 24-7-365 model and fundamentally change their approach (i.e. no individual screening, real-time fraud monitoring). VOP is an additional challenge with 3rd-party providers in demand. —    Treasury managers both on the banking and on the corporate side need to adjust their set-up (i.e. continous access to funds has liquidity implications, client transactional behaviour might change, etc). —    PIs and EMIs will have the option to get direct access to payment systems, removing today’s requirement to rely on banks as sponsors. —    Bulk payments used by corporates will be affected. For banks this means 1) obligation to offer instant settlement with no additional costs 2) convert the batch files and execute in single transactions. Strategic drivers:   —    Europe needs to be able to compete in the global landscape (i.e. India, Brazil). SCT Instant adoption is still low and IPR wants to fix this. —    The EU IP landscape is very fragmented. There are several instant local schemes but they are not interoperable. —    There is a huge potential to free up €200 billion that are locked in transit daily in the financial system and reinject them into the #economy. —    Europe has long been dependent on US payments rails (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple, Google, Amazon) missing a domestic scheme. Instant payments are part of the effort to fix this. Opinions: my own, Graphic sources: Panagiotis Kriaris, European Payments Council Subscribe to my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dkqhnxdg

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👛 Secure wallets for online and offline payments 💸 How do secure CBDC wallets work? I will explain at the 2024 webinar series of the Java Card Forum. I will do two runs of the talk on 📅 Monday 9th December, once in the morning (🕘 9am–10am CET) and once in the evening (🕔 5pm–6pm CET). Bring all your questions! Register here: Morning session 👉 https://lnkd.in/dNU_4TB3 Evening session 👉 https://lnkd.in/dnW6b2Px What can you expect? Many central banks – including the European Central Bank – have started investigating or piloting digital currencies (CBDC) to introduce yet another way to pay electronically. The wish list for CBDC is long: it should support online & offline payments, work as usual at the point of sale, be accessible to users without bank accounts, … At the centre of these design discussions are wallets, powered by secure hardware. In this talk, I give an overview over the current CBDC ecosystem, explain some novel techniques that could help to implement wallets at scale, and give a perspective regarding standardisation.

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⬇ Today we’ll have a special focus on the #Payments ecosystem in #Belgium 🇧🇪 from our white paper, "Key Players in the EU Payments Landscape 2024": https://lnkd.in/dVYy5rTP 💳 Originated under the ownership of major Belgian banks, Bancontact Payconiq Company is the preferred online payment method, with millions of cards in circulation and more than 150.000 average daily transactions. In fact, there are more Bancontact cards than there are Belgian residents 🚶‍♂️. Other key players include Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. 🌐 Belgium is home to a few cross-border payment and peer-to-peer services, including Wise, WorldRemit, MoneyGram International and Moneytrans. 📈 Digital wallets are on the rise. PayPal is among the leaders in Belgium’s digital wallet market, alongside other international companies such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet. 🚀 Even though there is a debt aversion and a strong Bancontact culture in Belgium, it is worth mentioning that the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market continues to grow, with Klarna being an important player in this field. 🏦 The banking sector in Belgium features a variety of players active across different market segments, led by four major banks: BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC Bank & Verzekering, Belfius, and ING Belgium. 📶 In the realm of payment processing, Worldline dominates, handling a vast majority of transactions. Isabel Group and Axepta BNP Paribas Benelux are following closely, with the latter making significant strides in payment service provision after acquiring parts of Ingenico's in-store activities in Belgium. Belgium is also home to the following prestigious members EPI Company Paynovate FTI Consulting FinFlag and NextGen Payment. Key Takeway💡: “The Belgian payment landscape is rapidly moving towards a cashless society supported, among other by a regulatory requirement that every merchant must accept electronic payments. Nonetheless, cash remains an impact factor of society and …” Want to read the full “Expert Opinion” from Deloitte professionals Michal Zavodny and Yannick Putzeys on the Belgian payment landscape? Download the report here: https://lnkd.in/dVYy5rTP

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The SEPA Instant Payment framework is now live across the EU as of 9th January 2025, setting a new standard for real-time payments. Here are the key points: - Instant Transactions: Payments must settle in under 10 seconds, 24/7, across participating countries. - Compliance Challenges: Financial institutions face heightened pressure to perform real-time due diligence, including sanctions screening, fraud prevention, and AML compliance. Stringent cutoffs in sanctions screening could lead to increased payment declines, current manual operational processes are not equipped to handle the speed and accuracy required. Financial institutions must modernize and automate to meet these demands effectively. - Impact on Businesses: B2B firms may need to rethink cash flow strategies, risk management, and compliance workflows to keep pace with this shift. - Customer Demand: This upgrade responds to growing expectations for faster, more transparent financial services. While the framework opens doors for innovation, it also underscores the urgent need for agile and automated compliance solutions. Is your organization ready to adapt?

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Crédit Agricole's acquisition of Banco Santander’s 30.5% stake in CACEIS is a game changer for the European asset servicing landscape. By achieving full ownership, Crédit Agricole not only consolidates its position but also enhances operational synergies, driving efficiency and profitability. This strategic move comes at a time when the industry faces increasing regulatory demands and technological challenges. While there's a short-term hit to Crédit Agricole’s CET1 ratio, the long-term benefits outweigh the initial impacts. Clients can look forward to expanded and improved service offerings, reinforcing CACEIS as a market leader. As consolidation trends continue, competitors will need to adapt swiftly to stay relevant. Watch this space; the landscape of asset servicing is about to undergo significant transformation, and strategic acquisitions like this are paving the way for innovation and growth. What are your thoughts on this pivotal acquisition?

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Olivier Pinot presents the strategy of BPCE Payment Services in the field of #softPOS during the event organized by Cartes Bancaires CB Among the key ideas : ✔️Since 2015, BPCE is interested in the evolution of payment terminals : the "Dilizi" initiative testifies to this strategy ✔️BPCE was among the first banks in France to launch Apple Pay, and launched very early the Android terminals ✔️The solution "Tap to Pay" in iPhone is dedicated to small merchants who don't have the possibility to use mPOS solutions anymore PARTELYA CONSULTING European Women Payments Network (EWPN) AEFI Asociación Española de FinTech e InsurTech CLUB ITALIE-FRANCE AFTE Finance Mag The PAYTECH Book Portuguese Women in Tech Merchant Payments Ecosystem

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"𝐼 𝑜𝑤𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 10€" - "𝑂𝐾 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗼" ! This will soon become a common conversation between EU people 👇🏼 The European Payments Initiative (EPI Company) has launched its mobile-first wallet in Germany, with other countries set to follow in the coming months. German customers can now make 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬, via their banking app. The wallet will then become available in Belgium by the end of July for KBC customers before arriving in France this Autumn and coming to all EPI bank members within the next six months. 👉🏼 over 75% of personal bank customers in Belgium, France and Germany will soon have access to wero. EPI is a Europe-wide bank-backed venture that was initially set up to build a rival to Mastercard and Visa on the continent, offering a card for consumers and merchants, a digital wallet and P2P payments 📱📲 💶 Next year, wero will get the ability to 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 from the wallet, and also 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 and upon invoices via QR code. This includes the ability for consumers to manage recurring payments for subscriptions or installments, but also to pay in merchant apps at point of sale without going through the cashier. 𝗜𝗻-𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 at the cash register will also be added in 2026, along with other capabilities, such as #BNPL (buy now pay later), merchant loyalty, programme integration and expense sharing. 📰 read full 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 : https://lnkd.in/e7zz8ngS ⚙ 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 concretely : https://lnkd.in/et5uZshe #wallet #payments #loyalty #P2P #peertopeer #digital #wero #EPI #A2A #oneytransfer #app #germany #belgium #france Martina Weimert ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Belfius BNP Paribas Groupe BPCE Groupe Crédit Agricole Deutsche Bank ING Societe Generale KBC Bank & Verzekering Rabobank Crédit Mutuel La Banque Postale Nexi Group Sparkasse Sparda-Bank Berlin eG PSD Bank Berlin-Brandenburg eG BBBank eG Worldline Postbank Unternehmensbank

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French fintech Lyf partners with UnionPay International as their first French mobile payment collaborator, " bringing " QR payments to French retail ! 💡 Key Highlights : • First French technical partner for UnionPay mobile payments • Targets high-spending international travelers • Enables UnionPay wallet acceptance in French retail • Integrates loyalty programs & digital receipts. • Focuses on QR code payment integration 🎯 Market Impact : UnionPay extends beyond traditional payment cards, while Printemps is transforming luxury retail by targeting millions of French crypto users (estimated at 6.5 million according to a 2024 KPMG/ADAN's Web3/crypto study, or 2-3 million per the French's AMF 2022 report) through secure and rapid transaction capabilities. This East-West "payment bridge" has potential, but its success relies on competing well with established players like Alipay and WeChat Pay in the tourist payment market. Sources 👉 Planet-fintech .com / Tourmag .com

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