Sabih Behzad

🔹 Zopa Bank acquires Rvvup: All-in-One Payments 🔹 London’s Zopa Bank (CEO Jaidev Janardana) just acquired Rvvup (CEO David Nunn) — a next-gen payments platform that lets merchants route card, wallet, open-banking and BNPL transactions through one integration. 💡 Deal Highlights: ✨ Rvvup’s AI-driven payments agent consolidates multiple rails into one checkout ✨ Merchant clients benefit from lower friction, more acceptance, and better routing economics ✨ Zopa expects the move to triple its embedded-finance business within 2 years ✨ Rvvup’s team brings heavyweight experience from Braintree, PayPal and other global payment leaders At 733Park, we know how powerful these AI-enhanced payment orchestration platforms are. They give banks and fintechs a single intelligent layer to route, monetize, and scale. We’ve sold multiple fintechs with similar attributes — a solid product, a strong team, and recurring merchant revenues. 📞 If you’re a founder or investor in payments, fintech, or SaaS and thinking about exit or buy-side expansion: 📱 +1.617.564.0404 ✉️ [email protected] 🔍 Explore our current opportunities: https://lnkd.in/eUMVMn6n #Fintech #Payments #EmbeddedFinance #AI #733Park

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🔴 🇨🇭 Living in Switzerland, I'm witnessing something extraordinary: the transformation of one of Europe's most cash-loving nations into a mobile payments powerhouse! Here's the incredible story: Just 6 years ago, 70% of Swiss payments were made with CASH - yes, you read that right, 70%! We were practically a cash-only society, with the Swiss National Bank noting our deep cultural attachment to physical banknotes and coins. 🎉 Fast forward to today: TWINT just hit 6+ MILLION users (TY Andreas Kubli) - that's over 70% of Switzerland's population using this homegrown digital solution! The transformation is staggering: 📊 2017: 70% cash payments 📊 2025: Only 24.2% cash, with mobile payments leading at 30.7% The numbers from the Swiss Payment Monitor 2025 tell an incredible story: 📱 Mobile payments now account for 30.7% of ALL transactions 🏪 TWINT is accepted by 84% of online stores 🛒 TWINT ais ccepted by 81% of brick-and-mortar stores But here's what makes this transformation even more remarkable - TWINT evolved far beyond simple P2P transfers: ✅ Public transport tickets (SBB, local transport) ✅ Parking payments across the country ✅ Loyalty card integration (Migros, Coop) ✅ Donations and gift cards ✅ Invoice payments via QR codes ✅ Complete retail ecosystem integration The cultural shift is fascinating: "twinten" has literally become a verb in Swiss German. TWINT is ubiquitous and in CH, Twint is a verb. From a nation that treasured physical francs and collected coins in jam jars, to one where leaving your wallet at home is completely normal. There's even a "Swiss Freedom Movement" collecting signatures to preserve cash - showing how profound this digital shift really is for Swiss culture! This isn't just about payments; it's proof that even the most traditional financial cultures can embrace digital transformation when the solution truly serves local needs. TWINT shows that local innovation can not only survive but absolutely thrive in our globalized world. From cash-loving to cashless champions! 🚀 Interestingly, even as digital payments surge, the Swiss parliament has unanimously approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing that cash will always remain available in Switzerland. This perfectly captures Swiss pragmatism - embrace innovation while preserving choice and freedom. It's fascinating how Switzerland manages to lead in digital transformation while simultaneously ensuring constitutional protection for traditional payment methods. Only in a country with such strong democratic traditions could you see this balanced approach to financial evolution. Kudos to the teams at TWINT and all partner banks for orchestrating this remarkable cultural and technological transformation. #DigitalPayments #Switzerland #TWINT #Innovation #FinTech #DigitalTransformation #MobilePayments Oscar 👩‍🚀 Neira... Spiros Margaris Oliver Bussmann Olga Miler Alexander E. Brunner Marc Lussy Philip J. Weights

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It’s one of the biggest evolutionary shifts in payments in decades: digital identity is merging into payments, with digital wallets becoming the all-encompassing layer underneath. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 • Digital payments evolved to securely move money, while identity verification stayed separate – manual, siloed, and fragmented. • The result: repeated identity checks, user friction, fraud vulnerabilities, and regulatory headaches. • Without identity integrated into payment flows, transactions lacked the essential “trust backbone” needed for secure and compliant exchanges. • Digital identity can close this gap by enabling instant, real-time verification of who is paying and why through cryptographically secured credentials. • That means less fraud, simpler AML/KYC, and new use cases like cross-border and embedded finance. 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 • Digital wallets are becoming the platform that securely merges verified identity and payments into a single user-controlled experience. • They let users authenticate and pay in one step, often biometrically, cutting friction and delays. • Wallets empower users to share only what’s necessary, boosting privacy, while businesses gain simpler compliance, reduced fraud, and efficiency. • As wallets evolve and scale, they create network effects: faster transactions, stronger protection, and space for innovation. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 (𝗘𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗪) • EUDIW is Europe’s most ambitious attempt to create a trusted, public digital wallet as the default gateway for both identity and payments. • Every citizen and business will be offered one – not just to pay, but to prove who they are, sign agreements, and seamlessly access services across borders. • If it succeeds, EUDIW could turn fragmented national systems into a unified European standard for trust and security. • EUDIW flips the model: individuals control their own data, regulators set common rules, and financial institutions and service providers connect into the same trusted layer. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗗 𝗫 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗧 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 If the above topics resonate with you, then the ID X Summit 2025 is the event to dive deeper. Join the debate on how digital identity, wallets, and payments are converging – and what this means for trust, control, and the future of Europe’s digital market.   📅 When: 25 September 2025 📍 Where: Factory Hammerbrooklyn, Hamburg 🔗 Get more details here: idxsummit.de/tickets #IDXSUMMIT25 Opinions: my own, Graphic sources: WebID, European Commission

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Revolut, the global financial app with over 60 million customers worldwide, today announced it has received in-principle approval for its Stored Value Facilities and Retail Payment Services (Category II) licences from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). This significant achievement signals Revolut’s plans to launch in the UAE, with the aim of offering a comprehensive product experience to retail customers. The UAE represents a pivotal growth market for Revolut, driven by its dynamic economy, high digital adoption rates, and strategic position as a global financial hub. The region’s forward-thinking regulatory environment and strong demand for innovative financial solutions make it an attractive destination for both investment and expansion. By working in close collaboration with the Central Bank of the UAE, Revolut is poised to deliver exceptional results for customers, ushering in a new era of financial flexibility in the region.

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𝗠𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝘂𝗺 😉 Whilst the payments industry is vast and critical, it's quite hard to find dedicated books that focus exclusively on payments. I consider these nine commercially available books to be essential for: • 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 (not broader banking or fintech) • 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 rather than chapters in collections or technical reports • 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲, from foundational concepts through emerging technologies • 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 within the payments industry Other regions produce high-quality reports (central bank papers, white papers) and academic monographs, but they’re not trade books for a professional audience. From David Birch’s prescient 2014 insights to the latest 2025 releases, these books span the entire payments landscape, traditional rails to decentralised systems, beginner guides to advanced technical deep dives. Each title has earned its place through verified publication details, substantiated reader reviews, and genuine industry adoption. Whether we seek to demystify jargon, master card processing, explore blockchain and DeFi, compare global regulatory frameworks, or simply look up “acquirer” for the hundredth time, this collection has us covered. Full disclosure: three of these books are my own, but I promise it’s not vanity, just that sometimes you write the book the industry needs… Consider it my payments industry greatest-hits album, curated lovingly with the same rigorous attention to detail that goes into explaining why your card payment took three hops through two continents to buy a coffee next door. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝟵! 😁 (in order of publication date) 1️⃣ 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, David Birch (2014; The London Publishing Partnership) 2️⃣ 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨.𝗦.: A Guide for the Payments Professional (3rd Ed.), Carol Coye Benson, Scott Loftesness & Russ Jones (2017, Glenbrook Partners) 3️⃣𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝗽𝗲: Making Money Move, Ahmed Siddiqui (2020, New Degree Press) 4️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, Sophia Goldberg (2022) 5️⃣ 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: A Whistle-Stop Tour into What You Thought You Knew, Neira Jones (2024, Routledge) 6️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆: When Money Thinks for You, Chris Skinner (2024, Marshall Cavendish) 7️⃣ 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Patterns of Success in Fintech and Digital Transformation, Leda Glyptis (2025, Routledge) 8️⃣ 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: From Centralised to Decentralised and Everything In Between, Neira Jones (2025, Routledge) 9️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔-𝗭 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: A Modern and Practical Glossary for the Curious and the Forgetful, Neira Jones (2025; Routledge)

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