5 FinTech partnerships that occurred in Europe in January 2023

By Gloria Methri

Financial technology (FinTech) is a term used to describe financial services which are predominantly technology-driven or apply technology to improve financial services. FinTech partnerships are not the answer to every bank’s challenges.

Partnering is only really required in areas where the bank’s existing core cannot deliver on the growth and transformation objectives. There are clear benefits for banks to partner with FinTechs and technology partners to drive revenue growth or cost improvements – they can access opportunities for earnings growth more quickly, cheaply, and with fewer risks.

Here are 5 FinTech deals and partnerships in January to take a look at:

• Nexi and IBM

European PayTech Nexi has signed a five-year agreement with IBM to upgrade its core payment processing platform with IBM z16 technology and IBM Storage System. The collaboration supports Nexi’s strategic growth plan by accelerating the modernization of its services, data, and processes so digital channels and applications can be run securely.

Under the agreement, IBM will work closely with Nexi to provide the technologies and to add the expertise needed to support the efficiency of the group’s digital payments services.

• Klarna and Ingenico

Klarna has partnered with payments terminal firm Ingenico to expand its buy now, pay later service at in-store checkout. The partnership will facilitate the rollout of Klarna’s flexible payment options at the point of sale using PPaaS, Ingenico’s innovative, cloud Payments Platform-as-a-Service.

PPaaS enables banks and merchant acquirers to select from a catalog of payments and value-added services without the need for software development.

• Worldline and ING bank

French global payments firm Worldline has extended its multi-year agreement with ING bank. Based on the agreement, Worldline will handle debit and credit card issuing and processing for the Dutch international bank across multiple countries.

ING will outsource issuing processing operations to Worldline. Relying on its technology and knowledge, Worldline will help ING focus on its core expertise, supporting the bank’s growth ambitions.

• Trustly and Nordnet

Swedish FinTech Trustly has entered a strategic partnership with Nordnet, the digital platform for savings and investments. Under the partnership, Trustly’s instant payments platform will enable Nordnet customers to deposit funds fast and securely, with an improved user experience.

Enabling Trustly pay-ins will provide capabilities to offer instant deposits across the Nordic region with one single integration.

• XPAY and Finastra

XPAY, an embedded finance provider offering Mastercard programs with loyalty components, has selected Finastra to support its growth plans. XPAY will leverage Finastra’s Fusion Essence which will come pre-integrated with its payment gateways and OpenBanking Compliance from Salt Edge.

The combined offering and access to FusionFabric. Cloud-powered by Microsoft Azure, will enable XPAY to deliver differentiated end-user experiences and new services.