Ep.63 - | Ebury IPO plans | PayPal BNPL offload | Klarna card surge | PPRO x Temu | Pleo embedded finance | Citi x Dandelion | PotN, BotN & more...

Welcome to episode 63. Anyone else struggling with the darker mornings, soggy commutes, and pumpkin spiced everything creeping back onto menus? The sprint to year-end feels well underway.

In fintech, there’s been no slowdown. Ebury is lining up a London IPO, PayPal is offloading billions in BNPL receivables, and the US has published new instant payments guidelines. Klarna is showing its card strength in the US, PPRO has teamed with Temu, and UK banks are doubling down on tokenised deposits.

Plenty more besides, from embedded finance launches and digital bank rollouts to crypto liquidations, stablecoin adoption, and profitability pushes.

Let’s dive in.

Ebury considers 2026 UK IPO

Ebury is reportedly weighing a London IPO in spring 2026. The Santander-backed FX and trade finance platform could provide a welcome boost for the London markets, which have seen a thin pipeline of listings.

Ebury has built a strong SME franchise in cross-border payments and financing, sectors with durable demand. An IPO would not just test investor appetite for fintech, but also serve as a fresh indicator for London’s competitiveness in retaining growth companies against New York or Amsterdam.

PayPal offloads $7bn BNPL receivables

PayPal has sold $7bn of its US BNPL loan receivables to Blue Owl Capital. The move strengthens PayPal’s balance sheet and allows it to recycle capital into growth.

For BNPL, it highlights the growing secondary market for these assets. Investors are showing willingness to take exposure, even as regulators and credit cycles sharpen focus on risk. The shift towards capital-light models is becoming a recurring theme across consumer finance.

US Faster Payments Council issues guidelines

The US Faster Payments Council has published operational guidelines for instant payments adoption. The framework aims to help banks and PSPs manage readiness, compliance, and consumer education.

While the US lags behind Europe on speed, the publication reflects real momentum. Industry buy-in will be critical, given fragmented infrastructures and varying levels of investment. Merchants and consumers are watching closely to see whether “instant” can become a standard rather than a patchwork.

Klarna card passes 1m US sign-ups

Klarna’s debit card has reached one million sign-ups in the US within 11 weeks of launch. The card links directly to Klarna’s app and rewards ecosystem.

The speed of adoption underlines the company’s brand strength, despite profitability challenges in other areas. For Klarna, the card is a way to anchor users in a broader financial services journey, shifting beyond checkout-only BNPL usage.

PPRO partners with Temu

PPRO has partnered with Temu to expand local payment options for European customers. The tie-up ensures the fast-growing marketplace offers popular local rails in each country.

Temu’s rapid rise in Europe has been closely watched. Localisation of payments is key to building trust and reducing cart abandonment. For PPRO, this is another major platform partnership reinforcing its role as an orchestration layer for global merchants.

UK banks press on with tokenised deposits

UK banks are developing tokenised deposit initiatives despite recent caution from the Bank of England over stablecoins. Projects are exploring how tokenisation can improve settlement efficiency.

This demonstrates banks’ determination to modernise despite regulatory hesitancy. The models being tested could reshape wholesale payments and liquidity management, though customer-facing benefits may be further away. The outcome may also influence the BoE’s own digital currency thinking.

Pleo unveils embedded finance for SMBs

Pleo has launched an embedded finance solution to support SMB spend management and cash flow. The product integrates directly into its existing corporate card and expense platform.

The expansion is part of a wider trend of SaaS companies layering banking-like features onto their services. For SMBs, simplified access to liquidity within operational tools could reduce dependency on traditional banks. For Pleo, it deepens stickiness and expands revenue potential.

Mambu powers ABN AMRO’s ‘Buut’ digital bank

ABN AMRO has launched ‘Buut’, a new digital bank built on Mambu’s cloud banking platform. The offering is designed for simplicity and mobile-first experiences.

The move reflects incumbents’ continued push into greenfield digital brands to reach new customer segments. Mambu’s role underscores how core banking software providers have become central to bank transformation strategies, enabling faster experimentation at lower cost.

$1bn crypto liquidations

Crypto markets saw more than $1bn in liquidations as Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana suffered steep declines. The sell-offs were driven by leverage unwinds and cautious macro sentiment.

The volatility serves as a reminder of crypto’s continued fragility to market shocks. Institutional players are watching to see whether stability mechanisms, such as derivatives and hedging, can absorb such swings more effectively than in previous cycles.

Hotmart boosts retention with recurring payments

Hotmart has reported a 32-point increase in customer retention since introducing recurring payments functionality. The Brazil-based platform serves creators with monetisation and distribution tools.

The improvement shows the power of predictable revenue streams in supporting digital businesses. For payments providers, it reinforces the strategic importance of subscription infrastructure across multiple sectors.

Citi teams up with Dandelion

Citi has partnered with Dandelion to enhance global digital payouts. The collaboration aims to reduce friction in cross-border disbursements.

Cross-border payouts remain one of the most complex areas of financial infrastructure. The partnership reflects banks’ recognition that fintech partnerships can speed innovation, while giving fintechs the benefit of global reach and compliance frameworks.

RLUSD becomes off-ramp for BlackRock & VanEck

Stablecoin RLUSD has been adopted as an off-ramp by BlackRock and VanEck, enabling redemptions and flows from tokenised products.

The move signals a step towards deeper institutional adoption of stablecoins as settlement assets. For regulators, the convergence of traditional asset managers and crypto tokens raises new oversight questions, particularly around systemic risk.

The US TikTok deal — what’s happening

Negotiations over TikTok’s US operations remain unresolved, with competing buyer groups and regulatory scrutiny intensifying.

While not a payments story in itself, the deal has major implications for data, commerce, and digital advertising, areas increasingly intertwined with financial services. For fintech, the episode illustrates how geopolitical risk can directly reshape digital ecosystems.

Checkout.com pushes towards profitability

Checkout has announced progress towards full-year profitability, alongside an employee share buy-back and a new $12bn valuation.

The update reflects investor focus on discipline and sustainable growth after years of aggressive expansion. This is yet another employee pay day, following on from various other buy-backs I have reported on in recent months.

Adyen continues to expand flexible payments

Adyen has rolled out new flexible payments tools designed to support merchants across digital commerce. The features strengthen its ability to serve merchants with customised solutions.

Focusing on infrastructure and merchant needs is always a smart move in such a competitive market.

Podcast of the Newsletter

PotN this week is Leaders & Founders, with Adam Kinder and Tom Callaghan. The podcast brings you real stories and hard won lessons from today’s top technology leaders and founders.

Each episode dives into what drives the world’s most successful tech companies, their breakthroughs, their mistakes, and the insights that shaped their journeys.

Book of the Newsletter

BotN this week is Beyond Resilience, by Leda Glyptis. The book goes beyond the typical “founder success story.” Drawing on candid interviews with fintech entrepreneurs and digital leaders, it explores the real challenges of building new ventures, from mistakes and course corrections to the integrity and consistency required to keep going.

The book reveals what it truly takes to lead in a fast-changing, unpredictable industry: the ability to go beyond resilience.

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Sources: The Payments Shed | TechCrunch | Fintech Futures | The Paypers | FF News | Finextra | PYMNTS | IBS Intelligence | Financial IT | Fintech Global | Open Banking Expo | Reuters | CoinDesk | Electronic Payments International | Tech Funding News | Banking Dive | City AM | Business Cloud | Mastercard | Crowdfund Insider | Checkout | Blockchain Magazine | Spotify | Amazon

Disclaimer: All news articles linked in this newsletter are from publicly available sources and any opinions referenced (unless otherwise stated) are my own, and do not represent any views, opinions or statements from Worldpay LLC, and its affiliates.