EMEA Daily: Mediobanca Firms up BNPL Presence With 2 Acquisitions

Today in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Italian banking group, Mediobanca announced it has made two acquisitions in the BNPL space., and the emirate of Ajman launched a new government payment portal in the metaverse.

Mediobanca Doubles Down on BNPL With 2 New Investments

Compass, the consumer credit arm of Italy’s Mediobanca Group, has completed two deals in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) space.

In the first, Compass has purchased Italian BNPL provider Soisy, which provides an installment-based credit solution for eCommerce retailers.

In the second deal, Compass has acquired a 19.5% stake in HeidiPay, a Swiss BNPL FinTech that allows online stores to offer shoppers flexible, interest-free BNPL payments spread out over up to ten months.

UAE Member Ajman Launches Government Payment Portal on Metaverse

The Ajman Department of Finance (ADF) has launched a government payment platform on the metaverse, a service that registers government suppliers and a new website.

The projects are part of the efforts of Ajman, which is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to promote digital transformation and become a global center for financial services.

The new Ajman Payment Platform, AjmanPay, enables the collection of fees for Ajman’s local government agencies in the metaverse. It aims to provide a payment channel that customers can use with ease, comfort and safety, the ADF stated.

The new virtual model for registering suppliers — the Tawreed platform — streamlines suppliers’ ability to register and renew, review and participate in tenders, upload documents and keep track of their processes.

UK Electronic Documents Bill Marks Major Gain for Trade Digitization

The United Kingdom government on Thursday (Oct. 13) passed the Electronic Trade Documents Bill in parliament, ending the legal requirement for certain business documents, such as bills of exchange, promissory notes, warehouse receipts and marine and cargo insurance certificates, to be printed on paper.

According to the government, the new law will provide a 1.14-billion-pound ($1.6 billion) boost to U.K. businesses over a 10-year period by reducing contract processing times and lowering administration costs.

By removing the legal obligation to keep paper records and putting digital and paper documents on the same legal footing, the bill is expected to help cut down on the millions of paper documents that U.K. businesses print every day.

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