Payments
A Swedish court ruled Wednesday that Google must pay nearly $2 billion to PriceRunner, a Klarna-owned company, for antitrust violations in the online price-comparison market. PriceRunner argued that Google abused its dominant search position to favor its own comparison services for over a decade. Google disagrees with the decision and is reviewing its legal options. The $1.97 billion award compensates for lost revenue and aims to support a healthier, more competitive market. Klarna noted that any damages collected would be reduced by sharing arrangements and taxation. PriceRunner filed the lawsuit in 2022, after Google lost an appeal of a €2.42 billion EU antitrust fine. Google maintains that changes to its shopping advertising platform are working and support hundreds of comparison services.
A consortium of more than 140 businesses, including major banks, card networks, fintechs and crypto firms, has backed Open USD, a new stablecoin from Open Standard. Open USD aims to address high fees for minting and redeeming stablecoins at scale, share reserve earnings among partners, and operate under collaborative governance. The stablecoin is expected to launch later this year, with partners highlighting its potential to improve payments infrastructure and financial inclusion.
House members sparred at a Wednesday hearing over the proposed Payments Access and Consumer Efficiency Act, which would create a registration process at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for non-bank fintechs to access Federal Reserve payment rails like Fedwire, FedNow, and FedACH. Supporters, including Rep. Young Kim and Stripe Vice Chair Eileen O'Mara, argued the bill would speed payments and help small businesses, while critics such as Rep. Bill Foster and Bank Policy Institute's Paige Paridon raised concerns about consumer protections, regulatory evasion, and financial stability risks. The bill, introduced in April by Reps. Kim and Sam Liccardo, would require registrants to secure money transmitter licenses in at least 40 states.
The insurance industry's payments infrastructure has not kept pace with the needs of the rest of the business, putting insurers at a competitive disadvantage. Tackling payments can offer customer, operational, and strategic benefits — and it is an essential first step toward modernization.
As fintechs like Klarna and Affirm expand into traditional banking territory, major U.S. banks are responding with their own installment lending products. Four of the five largest U.S. banks now offer pay-later plans on credit cards, and JPMorgan Chase has a 'Pay in 4' option for debit card purchases. Bank of America recently introduced a flexible-payment option for credit accounts. According to the CFPB, about 54 million Americans used BNPL in 2023, with loan originations surging from 20 million in 2019 to 336 million in 2023. A JD Power survey found that 37% of U.S. adults used BNPL in the past 90 days, and users expressed higher satisfaction with bank-provided BNPL products than with those from traditional providers. Affirm is now offering its technology to smaller banks and credit unions to enable BNPL-style lending on debit cards, targeting the 130 million 'debit first' consumers. Banks like KeyBank are monitoring the trend but have not yet launched their own BNPL products.
Nuvei, a Canadian payments processor, has agreed to acquire New York City-based Payoneer Global for $2.75 billion, according to a Monday press release. The combined business aims to offer a more complete platform for accepting payments, sending funds, issuing cards, managing treasury and FX needs, and accessing embedded financial services at scale, said Nuvei Chairman and CEO Phil Fayer. The merger is also expected to support new payments strategies in agentic commerce and stablecoin payments. With Payoneer, Nuvei's infrastructure will be bolstered to support major digital marketplaces including Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Etsy. The combination merges Nuvei's payment acceptance capabilities with Payoneer's cross-border payouts, multi-currency accounts, banking network, and same-day and real-time settlement in more than 150 markets. Payoneer also brings regulatory credentials, including licenses for online payment services in China and authorization as a cross-border payment aggregator in India. Benchmark senior research analyst Mark Palmer noted that Payoneer will enhance Nuvei's ability to process payments for small and midsize businesses, especially e-commerce sellers and freelancers, across emerging markets in Southeast Asia and Latin America, and provide connectivity with leading online marketplaces such as Amazon.com, Fiverr, and eBay. Montreal-based Nuvei processes payments in more than 200 markets, acquires transactions locally in 52 markets, and supports 150 currencies and 720 alternative payment methods. Both companies also have synergy in stablecoin movement and conversion. The transaction is expected to close by the middle of next year.
Pagaya Technologies filed a lawsuit against Klarna on May 14, alleging that the buy now, pay later firm misappropriated trade secrets related to point-of-sale loan underwriting. The two companies had partnered since 2022, with Pagaya assessing subprime customers for Klarna at checkout. Pagaya claims Klarna aimed to absorb its underwriting technology, build competing capabilities, and cut Pagaya out of the business. Klarna denies the allegations, stating it terminated the relationship on March 25, 2026, and will defend itself vigorously. The lawsuit also alleges Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski downplayed Pagaya's role and falsely claimed Klarna did not outsource risk underwriting.
Klarna is expanding its U.S. financial services offerings with a new high-yield savings account, offered through Salt Lake City-based WebBank and eligible for federal deposit insurance. The account pays a base rate of 3.28% without membership, rising to 3.78% for balances up to $50,000 in the highest tier of Klarna's four monthly membership programs. The move follows Klarna's earlier debit card account, Klarna Balance, which now pays 0.01% interest. Klarna, which operates as a bank in Europe with $12.3 billion in deposits across 11 markets, aims to deepen daily consumer engagement beyond BNPL. The launch reflects a broader trend among BNPL providers like Affirm, PayPal, and Sezzle seeking to expand into banking and financial services.
Nubank has appointed longtime Visa executive Rob Livingston as its new CFO, effective July 13, succeeding Guilherme Lago after five years. The move comes shortly after Dutch payments processor Adyen announced that its CFO, Ethan Tandowsky, will leave the company on August 31 for an opportunity outside fintech. Nubank, which recently received conditional approval for a U.S. national bank, reported strong Q1 results with net income up 41% year-over-year. Adyen's supervisory board will begin searching for a replacement, and the company emphasized a seamless transition. Both transitions occur as the companies pursue U.S. expansion amid competitive pressures.