The ECB clears UniCredit's path to Commerzbank, and Mastercard prices SCA exemptions by value

PayLens Newsletter · Tuesday 20 October

TOP STORY

The ECB clears UniCredit's path to control of Commerzbank

ECB banking supervision has authorised UniCredit to raise its Commerzbank holding past 30 percent with no upper limit, and to keep the shares taken in the summer exchange offer. The remaining conditions should clear by the end of 2026, leaving UniCredit with roughly 50 percent of the votes and control.

Acceptance travels with the banking relationship. Corporate and SME banking is how German banks sell acquiring, terminals and payment accounts, so control of a top-tier bank decides whose offer reaches that book. UniCredit already acquires in Italy and central Europe, making Germany the missing piece.

finews.com · Read the article

• Mastercard prices SCA exemptions by value, up to 15 basis points

  Since 12 October the flat EUR 0.02 exemption fee in the EU and UK is gone, replaced by 5 basis points domestic, 10 intra-regional and 15 inter-regional. Declines are charged too, so a frictionless checkout costs more the larger the basket, and a weak approval rate is billed twice.

  EUStrategy

• Wero's Dutch terms: percentage pricing, protection only in 2028

  Wero told Dutch merchants it charges a percentage with a cap, against iDEAL's fixed fee, and that scheme pricing stays comparable only to the end of 2028. First full transactions are due in late October, while purchase protection arrives on 1 January 2028, so webshops carry the risk first.

  NLStrategy

• USDC becomes the EU's first significant e-money token

  The EBA has designated USDC significant under MiCA, the first of 45 notified e-money tokens to cross the threshold. From 12 November it supervises the token's own funds, reserve, liquidity and redemption plans directly, taking those from France's ACPR, which keeps governance and fit and proper work.

  EURegulatory

• Mastercard and BVNK put fiat and stablecoins on one platform

  The first product since Mastercard closed its BVNK purchase in August lets banks, fintechs and enterprises embed white-labelled multi-currency accounts holding fiat and stablecoins, with real-time conversion, stablecoin-linked cards and local payouts. Nuvei is among the named customers.

  GLOBALProduct

• A Nets fault double-charges thousands of Nordic cardholders

  A technical fault at Nets charged some cardholders twice in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, a couple of thousand in Denmark on the company's own estimate, with reversals promised the same Friday. Four days earlier Nets Acquiring had intermittent authorisation failures across four Nordic markets.

  DKOther

Unsubscribe · Imprint