The FinTech Year in Stories: October

By Louis Thompsett

January 03, 2025

undefined mins

We look at the articles that made the news in fintech in 2024. Today, it is October …

Why Stripe's $1bn Bridge Deal Signals Fintech Crypto Push

Global payments infrastructure provider Stripe, which processes online transactions for millions of businesses, has acquired Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure startup, in a deal reportedly worth US$1.1bn.

The acquisition comes at a key point for the digital assets sector. Major financial institutions including Visa and SWIFT have begun supporting stablecoins natively, while regulators worldwide are developing frameworks to oversee stablecoin infrastructure after PayPal’s launch of its USD stablecoin in 2023 and Robinhood's US$200m acquisition of cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp in June 2024.

Bridge: A journey of rapid growth

Bridge, founded two and a half years ago, has experienced a period of dramatic expansion in its core stablecoin infrastructure business. “Our business has grown more than 10 times this year. But more importantly, we're now helping hundreds of developers all around the world,” Zach Abrams, CEO and co-founder of Bridge, says on X.

The company launched its APIs in March 2023, during a period of uncertainty in the digital asset sector. “Our first year was hard. The digital asset space was in turmoil. We struggled to find partners and customers,” he says. “After launch, we quickly saw inbound interest from cross-border payments companies.”

Market evolution

Since its founding, Bridge has developed from providing cross-border payment solutions to supporting government aid disbursement across Latin America. The company also created Virtual Accounts, enabling fintech companies such as Dolar App and Chipper Cash to offer USD holdings and spending capabilities globally.

“Today, we're moving many billions in payment volume,” says Zach. “Their products are giving millions of consumers and businesses more economic choice.”

How Worldpay & Klarna will Integrate Global Payment Systems

The acceleration of digital payments has created unprecedented complexity for merchants managing multiple payment providers.

Today's retailers routinely handle traditional card payments, digital wallets, bank transfers and buy-now-pay-later services – with each of which requiring separate technical integration, risk management and settlement processes.

Now, two of the sector's largest players have announced a move aiming to simplify the payment landscape. Worldpay, which processes US$2.3tn in annual transactions and Swedish payments platform Klarna have announced a technical partnership that promises to streamline payment integration for merchants globally.

The collaboration marks a shift in how alternative payment methods are incorporated into e-commerce systems. Rather than requiring separate technical implementation, Klarna's services will be automatically available through Worldpay’s existing merchant infrastructure.

Technical framework

Worldpay will integrate Klarna’s payment solutions through a unified API (Application Programming Interface) connecting both companies' payment infrastructures, enabling Worldpay’s one million merchants to access Klarna’s services through their existing payment dashboard, eliminating the need for separate technical implementation or additional coding requirements.

The move positions Klarna's payment solutions, including its buy-now-pay-later service which allows customers to split purchases into interest-free instalments, alongside traditional card payments at checkout for Worldpay’s merchant customers.

The partnership represents a transformation in Klarna’s market position from an alternative payment provider to a mainstream payment network, placing its services on equal footing with established payment methods.