Payments

Three in four European consumers (74 percent) say they will stick to their pandemic online shopping levels, meaning they won't reduce their ecommerce activities now they can shop offline again. So it looks like the shift to ecommerce is here to stay.

Payment and banking service provider FinXP has launched Real Time Payments by FinXP (RTPF). This is an account-to-account payment method that is targeted at online merchants. The Malta-based electronic money institution says its transaction fees are lower than many other popular alternative payment methods.

Hokodo, a B2B buy-now-pay-later provider, has raised 12.5 million dollars (10.28 million euros) in a Series A round. The London-based fintech startup will use this money to extend its services across Europe.

UTP Group, a UK payment solution company, now offers its ecommerce customers the ability to receive fund settlement within hours instead of days. It claims to be the first to offer same-day funding online and in stores.

The use of mobile payments has further increased in France. The share was 18 percent in 2018, but has now grown significantly to 38 percent. Currently, half of French consumers intend to use their smartphones for in-store payments in the future.

Lightspeed has announced the launch of Lightspeed Payments in Europe. At first, this payment solution will only available for hospitality merchants in the United Kingdom. Soon it will be available for retailers. Other European markets will also follow soon.

PayPal today announced the launch of Checkout with Crypto. With this feature, PayPal customers can pay with crypto coins alongside other payment methods in their PayPal wallet. Checkout with Crypto is available at millions of global online retailers and other businesses.

Online retailers who sell on Amazon and use a payment service provider (PSP) to receive their Amazon sales proceeds, need to make sure their PSP participates in Amazon's Payment Service Provider program. Here's what is about to change and how you can be ready for the changes.

Dutch payment fintech unicorn Mollie has entered the United Kingdom. Here it will support British merchants who are looking to grow into Europe. The payment service provider has enhanced its services available to UK companies who can incorporate several EU payment methods into their online stores.

London fintech company Checkout.com has raised 450 million dollars (370 million euros) in a Series C round. The company is now valuated at over 12 billion euros and is looking to expand its business further abroad.

Ecommerce software solution Ecwid has announced partnerships with popular payments providers in Europe, including Giropay, Sofort, iDeal, SEPA, Klarna, and PayPal Plus. This news follows after an increase in new customers of 143 percent year-on-year and strong transaction volume growth.

Social finance app JoomPay has obtained an electronic money license in Luxembourg. With this license, the app from Joom can serve customers across Europe, enabling them to send and receive money with anyone.

Payer, a fintech company from Sweden, has launched a new product that should change customer registration in B2B ecommerce. The new product, yet to be named, lets ecommerce merchants verify new customers, so they can easily make their purchases.

When it comes to paying for online purchases, many shoppers use their credit cards, PayPal or bank transfers. But which payment methods are most popular? And what's the difference in payment preferences among different countries across Europe?

The usage of PayPal in Europe is highest in the United Kingdom. That country counted more than 330,000 daily active PayPal users last year.