Barclays (LSE: BARC) and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE: BAM, TSX: BAM), through its Financial Infrastructure strategy, today announce a long-term strategic partnership (the “Partnership”) to grow and transform Barclays’ payment acceptance business (the “Business”), previously referred to as its merchant acquiring business. Barclays and Brookfield will work to create a standalone entity over time.

Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, announces an expansion of its global partnership with Tencent, making Weixin Pay—also known as WeChat Pay—available on Stripe Terminal in 20 countries. From Australia and Canada to France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, the UK, the US and beyond, businesses powered by Stripe can seamlessly accept Weixin Pay online and now, in-person with Stripe Terminal.

tpay, the leading payment connector in the META region, has appointed Burhan Eliaçık as a member to its Board of Directors. Eliaçık brings over 25 years of payments and fintech expertise, further strengthening tpay’s governance and strategic oversight.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, today announced definitive agreements to divest its Issuer Solutions business to FIS for $13.5 billion and acquire Worldpay from GTCR and FIS for a net purchase price of $22.7 billion, or total value of $24.25 billion including $1.55 billion of anticipated tax assets. This reflects a 12.3x adjusted EBITDA multiple for Issuer Solutions and an 8.5x adjusted EBITDA multiple for Worldpay on a net basis inclusive of run-rate synergies.

Thinslices, a full-service product development company, and Salt Edge, a leading open banking solutions provider, have merged capabilities to streamline financial data aggregation and enable account-to-account payments for businesses across industries.

Mesh, the all-in-one T&E platform for modern enterprise and mid-market companies, today announced a significant expansion of its travel booking capabilities with the full integration by adding New Distribution Capability (NDC) content from Sabre, a leading global travel technology company.

Cartex, a fintech marketplace for financial and payments solutions, has announced the opening of its Middle East headquarters in Dubai, UAE. The new space will serve as a key center for Cartex’s operations across MENA, APAC and Europe, targeting business development.

Ant International’s WorldFirst—an all-in-one digital cross-border payment and treasury account service for global businesses—has launched World Card, a Mastercard-enabled virtual card solution designed to help SMEs grow by simplifying global transactions and lowering operational costs.

Cashflows, the platform that makes it easy for merchants to accept payments, has enabled web development company Get Found to significantly boost its turnover, by 475% in just 18 months.

Recharge, the European leader in prepaid payments, has acquired Giftcloud Limited from Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), marking a strategic and accelerated expansion into the fast-growing B2B rewards space.

Mollie, one of Europe’s fastest-growing financial service providers, has enabled Tap to Pay on iPhone for its Irish customers. This allows businesses of all sizes to use the Mollie app on iPhone to accept contactless payments without the need to purchase or manage additional hardware. Tap to Pay on iPhone – launched last month for Mollie’s 250,000 customers in The Netherlands, France and Germany – is now available to Irish merchants, allowing them to unlock the benefits of Tap to Pay on iPhone instantly through the Mollie app.

Paysera, a financial technology company with 20 years of market experience, has announced a strategic partnership with iPiD, a global provider of payee verification solutions. This collaboration aims to strengthen Paysera's Know Your Payee (KYP) processes and ensure compliance with new EU regulations requiring financial institutions to verify payee details before processing transfers in euros.

Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, the firm’s blockchain business unit, has launched GBP-denominated Blockchain Deposit Accounts on Kinexys Digital Payments in J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.’s London branch – one of the first blockchain products of its kind in the UK. SwapAgent Ltd (“SwapAgent”), an LSEG Post Trade Solutions business, and Trafigura will be the first clients to open London accounts on the platform, marking the first time in the UK that companies will actively be using blockchain accounts for 24/7 real-time payments and cross-border transactions.

Portuguese fuel payment app HiQi, has joined forces with inclusive global payments platform, Ecommpay, to enable its customers to top up their credit account quickly and simply via their preferred payment method.

Fexco, the Irish-based financial services and fintech company, has launched payUnite, its market-leading next-generation global payments orchestration platform, into the airline, retail and hospitality industries.