Money 2020 Europe kicked off today in Amsterdam for its annual edition. With the financial world still recovering from the tariff war and European and global fintech getting back on its feet after the market downturn, it’s an interesting time to navigate where the sector is heading at.

That being said, there was no shortage of news announcements, ranging from acquisitions to partnerships. Some of the biggest names in the industry pooled together at a press lunch (sandwiches only, this is the Netherlands) to get their most noteworthy news out there.

Here’s an overview of the most relevant fintech news coming out of Money 2020 Europe, day 1.

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Klarna launches Klarna Card in the US

CEO of Klarna David Sandström at Money 2020 Europe announced the launch of a new Klarna card that is currently only available in the US and is supported by Visa. “It enables people to use Klarna on a piece of plastic, everywhere online and instant” as he calls it.

Sandström: “But it’s also a product proposition that resonates well with users who fear the traditional creditcard and revolving credit. So, what we are launching at the core is a new credit card, with a new client card that is a debit product. It’s a debit card which holds a debit balance with Buy Now Pay Later functionalities: a perfect mix between debit and credit options, which I believe is the future.”

Mathieu Altwegg, Head of Product and Solutions for Europe at Visa: “We believe the consumer is ready for the future with a single card that truly opens up free choice, whether it is pay now, pay later or in instalments, and with multiple currencies or your favorite currency, or with loyalty points.”

Currently, Klarna boasts 5 million users on the waitlist for a Klarna Card in the US, citing access to a potential 100 million users globally. Klarna Card will come to European markets, later this year.

Ivy & Kraken

Crypto-exchange, Kraken has chosen Ivy, a Germany-based fintech platform, as its new instant payment provider in Europe. “Ivy’s payment platform is one of the standards for European crypto leaders, offering crypto-native accounts, real-time deposits, withdrawals, and settlement in stablecoins”, a press release states.

Kraken, claiming over 15 million customers worldwide, partners with Ivy to allow its users to deposit and make instant buy spot purchases via instant bank payments.

Enfuce & Shuttel: Employee travel card

Female-founded Finnish fintech startup Enfuce announced a partnership at Money 2020 Europe with Shuttel, a Dutch-based Volkswagen Bank – and Pon Holdings-backed corporate joint venture. This to ensure over 250.000 employees in the Netherlands can commute ‘worry-free’.

Shuttel CEO Joëlle Stokkel: “We’re going from a close-looped to an open-looped system.”

Through an app and a Visa-backed mobility card, employees have a wide variety of travel and commuting options, making mobility spend control easier for employees and companies. It works, based on the employees’ travel perks in public transit, fleet (car sharing and lease), or micromobility options such as Swapfiets, while no personal expense reimbursement will be needed.

EPI & Revolut announcement

The European alternative for payments EPI at Money 2020 Europe partners up with Revolut, to launch in July a first use-case for the neobank’s users in Germany, France, and Belgium.

It’s powered by Wero, EPI’s mobile-first wallet and instant account-to-account payment solution, that seeks to transform how Europeans pay. After the launch in summer 2024 to consumers in Belgium, France and Germany, Wero has already gained over 40 million registered users.

Revolut is set to offer Wero, to bring customers a fast, simple, and seamless payment experience for day-to-day banking.

Its first use-case is P2P payments and split payments for group costs. Additional use-cases and other countries are set to come soon to enable as many local payment methods possible for users across Europe.

Deutsche Bank launches Pay by Bank app

Deutsche Bank and Mastercard at Money 2020 Europe have teamed up in a noteworthy Open Banking Services partnership. With the first hundreds of merchants currently onboarded in Germany, it will feature a “Pay by Bank”- app that supports secure, instant, and scalable digital payment solutions.

The partnership helps merchants to leverage R2P (Request to Pay) as a preferred payment method, giving
customers the ability to authorise payments directly from their bank accounts in real-time with
immediate confirmation.

Mastercard’s open banking technology will be integrated into Deutsche Bank’s platform, supporting swifter settlement, increased reconciliation, and improved payment transparency.