Issue #136: Affirm Arrives In The UK, Block Ramps Up Afterpay, And Coinbase Partners With Visa
Your weekly rundown of essential fintech news
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BNPL giant Affirm lands in the UK, Finextra
🏃♂️ The Rundown: Affirm, the U.S.-based BNPL player, has officially entered the UK market, marking its first expansion into Europe. Affirm’s UK debut comes through a strategic partnership with Amazon, allowing UK shoppers to split payments into monthly instalments at checkout.
🥡 Takeaway: Honestly, I’m surprised it took Affirm this long to spread its wings internationally. While they’ve been laser-focused on North America (they’re in Canada, too, though it only contributes low single digits to revenue), both Klarna and Afterpay have been expanding aggressively across multiple markets. Granted, the U.S. is a huge opportunity and a crucial battleground to become the BNPL product of choice for a growing customer base.
That said, Affirm now faces stiff competition as it enters a market where rivals like Klarna, Clearpay, and Afterpay have already built strong brand recognition. Entering one of Europe’s most lucrative e-commerce markets positions Affirm to broaden its footprint, but with established players in the game, they’ll need to work hard to stand out. I expect Affirm to lean heavily on its Amazon partnership (a big landing logo for them) to establish a foothold quickly and win over UK consumers who already have several BNPL options to choose from.
Afterpay to arrive on 24M Cash App cards, Payments Dive
🏃♂️ The Rundown: Block is ramping up its BNPL efforts by expanding the integration of Afterpay with Cash App. This move comes as Block reports stronger-than-expected earnings and continued growth for Afterpay, which it acquired in 2022. Block highlighted that the integration allows Cash App users to manage their Afterpay payments directly, adding BNPL to the app’s growing suite of services. The integration, they claim, has contributed to increased user engagement and transaction volume across both Cash App and Afterpay’s platforms.
🥡 Takeaway: Speaking of BNPL, Block seems to finally be getting closer to delivering the promised value of the Afterpay acquisition. As I wrote right after the deal, the true magic of this acquisition was the potential to bundle Block’s merchant solutions with Afterpay’s BNPL offering and distribute it all through Cash App’s massive user base. In other words, closing the loop between merchant experience and wallet product by offering a new type of credit card offering held enormous promise for Block.
One of my more controversial fintech takes is that this could go down as a landmark acquisition. Sure, the price was high—but when you’re buying the #1 BNPL brand in a fast-growing segment, it’s a bet worth taking 9 out of 10 times.
With this latest push, Block might finally be on the verge of realising that vision and the bet paying off. All the puzzle pieces are in place, and if they can truly integrate across their ecosystem, they’ll create something unique.
StraitsX, Grab, and Ant International Unveil Cross-Border Stablecoin Payment System, Fintech News Singapore
🏃♂️ The Rundown: Ant International, Grab, and StraitsX have launched a cross-border stablecoin payment system aimed at improving digital payments between Singapore and the Philippines. The collaboration enables users to send and receive payments across borders seamlessly using StraitsX’s stablecoins, which are pegged to fiat currencies, providing a reliable value transfer method. This system integrates with Grab’s app to enhance cross-border payments for both individual users and small businesses.
🥡 Takeaway: I know I’ve been talking a lot about stablecoins recently, but as one of the few crypto applications actually gaining traction, it feels like we’re finally closing in on some mainstream use cases that the average user might interact with.
This is a great example of stablecoins being used in the remittance space. Personally, I’m less bullish on stablecoins as a pure solution to the core problem in remittance (high pay-in and pay-out costs), but as a way to hold and move value, it’s clear they have potential. Combining stablecoins with an existing wallet where users are already in the ecosystem makes this use case even more fascinating.
Given the rising dominance of mobile wallet solutions in Southeast Asia (e.g. 97 % of Thai consumers use mobile wallets weekly), this feels like a perfect use case for stablecoins in the region.
Coinbase Teams with Visa for Real-Time Crypto Deposits, PYMNTS
🏃♂️ The Rundown: Coinbase has partnered with Visa to enable real-time deposits, allowing U.S. and EU users to instantly transfer funds into their Coinbase accounts via eligible Visa debit cards. This integration with Visa Direct allows Coinbase customers to quickly deposit and withdraw funds, helping users more easily manage their crypto investments and enabling faster access to trading opportunities.
🥡 Takeaway: Funding delays have always been a pain point for crypto traders and consumers. Waiting days just to see funds land in your account is still all too common. What’s particularly interesting here is Visa’s continued move deeper into the crypto space, and into an area that some might even consider at the riskier end of the scale.
Traditionally, pay-in and pay-out are the points in the “crypto meets fiat” world where compliance teams get antsy and start raising flags. That said, Visa must feel confident that Coinbase has its compliance ducks in a row.
While stories of crypto companies (mainly exchanges) being debanked are still rampant, it’s refreshing to see a player of Visa’s size and scale offering its full suite of products to players in the space.
Mastercard gains edge in ancillary services, Payments Dive
🏃♂️ The Rundown: Mastercard is looking to enhance its revenue by selling ancillary services, particularly in cybersecurity and data management, with a reported 18% increase in this segment, compared to a 13% rise in overall revenue. Analysts from William Blair suggest Mastercard outpaces Visa in this area, attributing its competitive advantage to a superior portfolio of value-added services that focus heavily on fraud prevention and risk management. Both companies are expanding their cybersecurity capabilities through acquisitions, with Mastercard acquiring Recorded Future for $2.65b and Visa purchasing Featurespace for approximately $1b.
🥡 Takeaway: The card networks are making value-added services (VAS) a central pillar of their long-term strategies. With traditional transaction fees under pressure and increased competition from alternative payment methods like A2A, VAS offers a way to capture more value beyond payment processing alone.
For both Mastercard and Visa, these services deepen client relationships (read as expansion revenue) and unlock entirely new revenue streams. As I’ve mentioned in previous issues, expect both networks to keep expanding their VAS portfolios as they seek fresh growth stories to impress the Street.
Fintech raises $5.7 million Seed round for divorce lending, Startup Daily
🏃♂️ The Rundown: Australian fintech startup JustFund has raised $5.7m in a seed round led by VC firm Blackbird Ventures, aiming to tackle the complexities of divorce-related financial services. With its “divorce lending” solution, JustFund provides capital to clients undergoing separation or divorce, helping fund settlements and other related costs.
🥡 Takeaway: On the surface, this looks like another “BNPL for X” startup (and it may well be), but it’s a great example of how many segments still lack tailored financing solutions. Traditionally, individuals in this situation might rely on an overdraft, dip into a mortgage, or even turn to friends and family for help—none of which are ideal.
Divorce financing is also a space where traditional lenders aren’t exactly clamouring to compete. It’s a clever niche, but the big question is, what’s next for JustFund? This is the classic challenge for venture-backed niche lenders: how to scale beyond the niche. For JustFund, finding adjacent markets is essential, and it’ll be worth watching to see if they can build the kind of venture-scale business that has eluded others in the lending space.
Kalshi secures tens of millions in loans from VCs, eyes $50M+ round amid election betting boom, source says, Techcrunch
🏃♂️ The Rundown: Kalshi, a U.S.-based prediction market platform, has reportedly raised “tens of millions” in loans from prominent venture capital firms, with an eye on securing an additional $50m in equity funding. The fresh funding comes as Kalshi sees a surge in activity thanks to the boom in election betting. Kalshi’s platform allows users to place bets on various event outcomes, including political events, a growing market as interest in prediction-based platforms rises.
🥡 Takeaway: As I discussed last week, prediction markets have been big winners this election cycle. However, the challenge remains for platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket: how to transform these election spikes into sustainable, year-round businesses. U.S. elections and events like the Olympics can provide significant traffic, but they don’t alone make for a venture-scale business.
Add to that the regulatory complexities of running prediction markets in the U.S., and it’s clear there are still hurdles to building steady growth in this space—something investors will undoubtedly be watching closely. The real test will be post-election: can prediction markets carve out a permanent place within the broader gambling and entertainment landscape?
The Story of Apple Pay, A16Z Podcast
In this a16z Podcast episode, Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, gives an inside look at Apple Pay’s journey over the past decade. In a rare podcast appearance, she explores how Apple Wallet has grown beyond payments, now supporting IDs, transit passes, and more. Bailey also dives into Apple’s ecosystem-centric approach and vision for Wallet. This is definitely a great listen for anyone following Apple’s expansion in the digital wallet space!
Money 20/20, Fintech Layercake
In this episode, Reggie Young shares his key takeaways from Money 20/20 in Las Vegas, discussing hot topics like the rise of AI in compliance (obvs), the impact on cross-border payments, and shifts in sponsor banking. Well worth adding to your weekly podcast rotation.
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