Klarna Launches KlarnaUSD as Stablecoin Volume Surges to $27 Trillion Annually
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Some days in FinTech pick up faster than expected, and today definitely felt like one of them…
Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, has launched KlarnaUSD, its first stablecoin.
The move comes as McKinsey estimates stablecoin transactions have reached $27 trillion annually. And here’s where it gets interesting: KlarnaUSD will be the first bank-issued stablecoin on Tempo, developed by Stripe and Paradigm.
The stablecoin is built on Open Issuance by Bridge, a Stripe company, and is set to go live on Tempo’s mainnet in 2026. It’s already on testnet, giving the company room to test and integrate early.
Klarna says this is just the start of its crypto roadmap, with another partner reveal due in the coming weeks. Earlier this year, the company also hit 1M U.S. Klarna Card sign-ups in just 11 weeks, adding further momentum.
Scroll down for more FinTech stories shaping the week, and I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow!
Cheers,
#FINTECHREPORT
📰 Making Payments a Profit Centre: A White Paper by Ecommpay. This new white paper shows how leading e-commerce brands are turning payments into a profit engine, using smarter strategies to cut costs, recover revenue, and boost conversion. Download here
FINTECH NEWS
🇫🇷 Paris, Big News Coming! We’re excited to announce that two new hosts will soon join the FRC Paris community, bringing new routes, fresh energy and more ways to connect through running. Want to be the first to meet them? Sign up for the FRC Newsletter and get the announcement straight to your inbox!
🇬🇧 Checkout.com adopts ACP, backed by OpenAI, to power agentic commerce for enterprise merchants. Checkout.com will support ACP, allowing merchants to offer instant, secure checkout directly within AI platforms like OpenAI’s Instant Checkout, expanding their reach in this new AI-initiated commerce channel.
🇺🇸 Stripe faces bank charter pushback. An advocacy group, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, urged the OCC to reject Stripe’s bid for a national trust banking charter, arguing it would let the payments giant offer banking services while avoiding key regulations and gain unwarranted legitimacy given its past legal issues.
🇺🇸 FDIC Capital rules may push banks to rethink FinTech partnerships. The agenda outlines a proposed overhaul of the community leverage bank ratio and a final rule on enhanced supplementary leverage ratio and total loss-absorbing capacity standards for global systemically important banks.
🇺🇸 Klarna launches KlarnaUSD as stablecoin transactions hit $27 trillion annually. The move makes Klarna the first bank to launch a stablecoin on Tempo, a new independent blockchain founded by Stripe and Paradigm, which is purpose-built for payments. Klarna views stablecoins as a means to lower costs for both consumers and merchants.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇪🇸 Bizum will launch a payment platform for businesses in 2026 to compete with Visa and Mastercard. The alliance between Spanish banks is exploring launching its own app, modelled after Apple and Android. The Spanish mobile instant transfer platform plans to launch a new service that will allow users to pay directly in physical stores.
🇨🇳 WeChat Pay starts using China’s unified QR for foreign wallets. WeChat Pay's international arm, Tenpay Global, is now integrated into China's unified QR payment gateway, which has begun handling live cross-border traffic from overseas wallets.
🇯🇵 Wise becomes first non-bank to go live on Japan's Zengin network. Wise is now the first Funds Transfer Service Provider to settle payments directly with the Bank of Japan, making domestic yen payments almost instant by eliminating the need for intermediary banking partners.
🇬🇧 Worldline launches Android SmartPOS in the UK to simplify payment operations for small businesses. Android SmartPOS combines secure payment acceptance with the flexibility of the Android ecosystem, giving merchants access to a wide range of business applications through the SmartPOS Store.
🇰🇪 Safaricom unveils Daraja 3.0, paving the way for ‘FinTech 2.0’ with super app integration. According to a statement from the company, the revamped platform is built on a modern, cloud-native architecture. This technical leap promises improved reliability, significantly higher uptime, and faster system responsiveness.
🇦🇪 Mastercard launched Mastercard Access Pass, a new program that empowers issuers and partners to deliver tailored experiences and exclusive perks to deepen consumer connections. Debuting with the McLaren Formula 1 Team and First Abu Dhabi Bank in the UAE, Access Pass will enable FAB cardholders to unlock unique perks and card art.
🇦🇪 du Pay surpasses AED 1.5 billion in transactions, accelerating the UAE’s cashless future. du Pay empowers residents with simple, fast, and secure digital payments, supporting the Dubai Department of Finance’s vision to make 90% of all transactions in Dubai cashless by 2026.
🇬🇧 RTGS.global adds 23 currencies to cross-border payments network. Cross-border payments network RTGS.global has added 23 currencies to its platform, enabling instantaneous settlement between participating financial institutions via a single API connection.
🇦🇪 MoF launches “Tabby” Payment Services. The partnership aims to simplify the process of paying federal government service fees and fines through flexible monthly instalments, aligning with the Ministry’s efforts to improve customer experience and enhance the efficiency of the federal financial collection system.
🇺🇸 PayPal and Perplexity launch instant buy ahead of Black Friday. By integrating PayPal’s agentic commerce services, Perplexity users can browse merchant catalogues in real-time and checkout directly on the platform, from Abercrombie & Fitch, Ashley Furniture, Fabletics, Adorama and NewEgg, and many others to come.
🇺🇸 SoundHound AI and Parkopedia launch voice AI-powered parking search and payment agent. Drivers can now simply ask their vehicle to find parking, compare real-time prices and availability, and complete payments on the spot, all within seconds, and all by voice.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇪🇺 Revolut EU unit’s capital buffer raised the most by the watchdog. The European Central Bank lifted Revolut Holdings Europe UAB’s Pillar 2 Requirement for next year to 4.5% of its risk-weighted assets from 3.7% in 2025, according to data published on the watchdog’s website.
🇵🇰 Dubai’s Mashreq launches Pakistan’s first Islamic-focused digital banking platform. The platform offers account opening “in minutes,” free digital transactions, nationwide ATM access and profit-bearing Islamic accounts, including what the bank describes as a “market-first profit rate” of up to 5% per annum on remunerative current accounts and up to 10% on Islamic savings accounts.
🇬🇧 Tide to launch connected insurance for SMBs. The new service enables Tide members to access tailored business insurance directly through the Tide app, saving them time, reducing admin, and helping close the protection gap among UK small businesses.
🇳🇱 ABN Amro to axe 5200 staff. The plan calls for the termination of 5200 roles from the Dutch lender's roster of 22,000 staff. "We expect around half of this to take place through attrition," says the bank. "In 2025 YTD, a reduction of over 1,000 FTEs has been achieved."
PARTNERSHIPS
🇳🇬 Thunes and MoMo PSB bring real-time cross-border payments to millions of Nigerians. The collaboration enables seamless, secure, and convenient cross-border payments, supporting financial inclusion and economic participation in the country.
🇵🇹 Akurateco launches integration with Rapyd, adding recurring payments and advanced card processing capabilities. Through this integration, Akurateco’s clients can now access Rapyd’s recurring billing functionality, enabling merchants to power subscription-based services, automate billing, and scale across multiple geographies with ease.
🇬🇧 Thredd signs a global deal to enable Visa Cloud Connect across all regions. The company said the integration removes the need for separate regional connections and supports its vision of a unified global processing platform. Keep reading
🇺🇸 Juspay and Sabre announce strategic agreement to transform travel payments. The two companies aim to modernise travel payments worldwide, driving higher conversions, enhanced security, and superior customer experience across markets.
🇨🇭 Backbase partners with Unblu to close the gap between digital convenience and human trust. The partnership allows employees to automate routine tasks and surface real-time insights, freeing up time to focus on meaningful conversations. Built on Backbase’s unified data foundation, advisors see a complete customer context for every interaction.
🇪🇹 EthSwitch and Mastercard forge a strategic partnership to boost Ethiopia’s digital payment ecosystem. The partnership reflects a shared vision to introduce secure, innovative, and globally accepted payment solutions that will benefit consumers, businesses, and financial institutions across the country.
🇬🇧 Kraken launches Mastercard for UK and European users as neobank race heats up. The card’s launch comes as Kraken also expands Vaults, an in-app savings feature which lets users earn up to 10% yield on their holdings. Read more
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇵🇭 Philippines FinTech Higala raises $4m to digitalise rural banks. The funding aims to enhance digital connectivity and financial inclusion for underserved communities. Continue reading
🇬🇧 London’s BKN301 Group secures €32 million and acquires Planky. Through the acquisition of Planky, BKN301 gains a proprietary AI and data analytics engine that will be fully integrated into its digital banking architecture. The funds will help to deliver smarter, faster, and more personalised digital banking experiences.
🌎 Clara raises US$70 million in debt for expansion in Mexico and Colombia. The funds will be used to expand its corporate card and bill payment products in Mexico and Colombia, two strategic markets in the company's regional operations. Read more
🇺🇸 FinTech PLC eyes US listing after $200m funding line agreed. It said the new funding deal will accelerate the development and deployment of its crypto, blockchain and tokenisation platforms through its AI-driven royalty and streaming platforms.
🇺🇸 FinTech Omnisient raises $12.5m to empower lenders with privacy-safe data insights for underserved consumers. The investment will accelerate the company’s global expansion, including the U.S., where demand is surging for privacy-safe alternative data to score and onboard credit-invisible and thin-file consumers.
M&A
🇺🇸 Crypto wallet firm Exodus buys Baanx and Monavate for $175M. Baanx and Monavate have been working on crypto cards and self-custody Web3 payments with the likes of Visa, Mastercard and MetaMask. The deal allows Exodus to become one of the few self-custodial wallets to control the end-to-end payments experience, from wallets to cards.
🇩🇪 Blythe Masters-led FNZ said to weigh sale of German banking arm. Digital wealth management platform FNZ Group Ltd. is considering a sale of its German custody banking arm in a deal that could value the business at more than €500 million ($576 million).
🇺🇸 Stablecoin issuer Paxos to acquire wallet startup Fordefi for more than $100 million. Its acquisition of Fordefi, which specialises in crypto wallets designed for DeFi, signals that Paxos’ customers are clamouring to expand into a realm of crypto that large companies once deemed untouchable.
Want your message in front of 275.000+ FinTech fanatics, founders, investors, and operators?
Comments ()