Hi Embedded Finance Friend
Last week, I announced the first agenda item for our 9th Embedded Finance Review Event on April 15th in Berlin. And today follows slot number #2!
Visa has been an ongoing partner of my event activities for some time (thank you!), and for our next event, we thought to go down the rabbit hole of new product development in Fintech infrastructure.
Eliot Marcus, Visa's Head of New Product Development for Europe, will take the stage to explain how Visa is tweaking its network infrastructure to enable new capabilities in card payments. In particular, he will tell the story of Flexible Credential, which is changing the BNPL landscape across Europe.
Don't want to miss that? Register now for a ticket!
PS: Technically, we are already sold out on our event page, with almost 200 registrations. That said, we still have tickets left, and we will give them to the right people on the waitlist. As an existing subscriber (or friend of EFR), just join the waitlist, and I will approve you.
And now let’s dive in 👇
Wolt Launches Employee Benefits Platform in Finland with Its Own Payment Card
What happened: Wolt launches employee benefits platform in Finland ++ Meal, sports and culture allowances on a single Visa card ++ Card issued via Wolt's own licensed payment institution, not a BaaS provider
Wolt is entering Finland's employee benefits market with a physical and virtual Visa card that works at any accepting venue, inside or outside the Wolt app. Employers set budgets and are invoiced monthly based on actual usage, with no prefunding required. The card is issued by Wolt License Services Oy, Wolt's own FIN-FSA-regulated payment institution with an EU/EEA passport. Alongside Wolt Capital, which offers revenue-based financing to merchants across 19 European markets via finmid, Wolt is quietly building its own financial product stack on its regulated infrastructure.
Flowpay Partners with Teya and Acquires Tapline as Embedded SME Lending Expands Across Europe
What happened: Flowpay partners with Teya for embedded lending in the Czech Republic and Slovakia ++ Acquires Berlin-based Tapline to expand into Germany and the UK ++ Teya works with multiple lenders, including YouLend and Liberis
Flowpay offers working capital of up to €100,000 directly within the Teya platform, with credit limits assessed based on live transaction data. Teya is a fintech rather than a non-financial brand, but the story matters for what it shows about embedded lending infrastructure. Expanding into new markets requires local regulatory approvals, local underwriting models, and an understanding of how merchants in that market actually behave financially. Flowpay has built that edge in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Tapline acquisition now extends its reach into Germany and the UK.
In other Embedded Finance news
Circles and Airwallex enable telcos to launch digibanking services: Singapore-based Circles has integrated Airwallex's embedded finance stack into its CirclesX platform, letting telecom operators offer digital wallets, cards, and payouts to their subscribers without building financial infrastructure themselves. (Source)
Mollie launches Tap terminal and app for in-person payments in the UK: The Dutch payments provider is entering physical commerce in the UK with a portable card terminal and a software-only tap-to-pay app for NFC-enabled devices, bringing online and in-person payments under a single Mollie account. (Source)
Klarna card reaches 5 million active users: The card lets customers spend from their own balance with the option to split payments when needed, and is becoming one of Klarna's core products as it pushes beyond BNPL. (Source)
iwoca launches Credit Compass for UK SMEs: The free tool gives small businesses visibility into their business credit score and guidance on how to improve it, a product that sits squarely in iwoca's embedded lending distribution strategy. (Source)
That's it for this edition. If you enjoy my newsletter, podcast, or events, the best way to support me is to share them with others in your network. Feedback is always welcome, too.
Need help with an embedded finance project? Visit my website and let's talk.
Best wishes from Berlin,
Lars Markull (LinkedIn)
