Hi from Berlin,
welcome to the second week of our themed newsletter editions. Today we focus exclusively on Embedded Payments, and next week on Embedded Banking.
That means by the end of July I will have a first good reality test of how the themed editions work. During August I will take a break from the normal newsletter editions, since I expect only a very few relevant announcements. You will still hear from me though, with a different kind of recap looking back at embedded finance across the first half of 2026.
As last week, please use the thumbs up and down buttons at the end of this email to share your feedback on the new format.
Now let's dive in!
Building something in embedded finance? Whether you are a brand comparing providers, an enabler working through your go-to-market strategy, or a team trying to fill a crucial (fintech) role, my office hours are a free call to talk it through. I share my honest read and, where it helps, intros to my network.
News
The biggest stories of the month, smaller news in brief, and updates on stories I covered earlier.
Unipaas keeps signing UK childcare and education platforms: Since our eyworks story last month, MagicBooking, Kids Club HQ and SchoolBusTracker have all announced embedded payments with Unipaas, joining Connect Childcare, eyworks and Tapestry in the same corner of the market. MagicBooking, which says it serves over 2,000 schools and clubs, was even migrated off its previous payment processor, cards and all. For the childcare platforms, the anchor remains Tax-Free Childcare reconciliation; SchoolBusTracker extends the same play to school transport, and this week, funeral software provider Seker Tech became the first to sign outside education entirely. The accounting-to-early-years playbook we described appears to be turning into a vertical-by-vertical roll-up. (Read my eyworks story)
Stripe and Advent bid more than $53bn for PayPal: The $60.50-per-share offer, a 28% premium backed by roughly $50bn in committed financing, would give Stripe and the private equity firm equal stakes. PayPal's board reportedly views the bid as inadequate, seeing it as undervaluing the company and carrying regulatory and financing risks, which Reuters reads as the opening of negotiations rather than a rejection. For embedded finance, the relevant question sits one layer down: Stripe is one of the biggest enablers in the market, and PayPal owns Braintree and Hyperwallet, so a combination would concentrate a meaningful share of the infrastructure. (Reuters)
Modulr strengthens its European leadership as it pushes for growth in the region: Founding member Jakub Zmuda becomes Managing Director for Europe and Chair of the Management Board of Modulr Finance B.V., while payments veteran Mark Buitenhek, formerly of ING and boards including the European Payments Council and SWIFT, joins as Independent Chair of the Supervisory Board. The embedded payments provider says it reached profitability last year and launched in the US earlier this year, with Europe now the stated growth focus. (Finextra)
Visa launches a travel platform, moving in the opposite direction to embedded finance: Visa Destinations is a mobile-first platform exclusive to Visa cardholders, live in ten locations including Paris, London and Milan, offering curated experiences, city guides and premium perks with partners such as Santander, Star Alliance and Trip.com Group. While brands keep embedding payments into their products, here a payments network is embedding travel and commerce around its cards. (Finextra)
Wix and Elavon bundle websites and payments for US small businesses: The partnership adds Wix's website creation tools to Elavon Business Solutions, the small-business platform of the U.S. Bank-owned acquirer, with tiered packages ranging from digital presence to scaling. So yes, this is the payments provider distributing software, not a software platform embedding payments, but still an interesting partnership. (PYMNTS)
From EFR
Insights, events, and conversations from Embedded Finance Review.