Today in the Connected Economy: Klarna Embraces Shoppable Video

Today in the connected economy, BNPL provider Klarna unveils new tools designed to turn it into a place where consumers and retailers can discover and create.

Also, event management platform Cvent expands its virtual payment offerings with help from American Express, and Visa’s Vanessa Colella tells PYMNTS’ Karen Webster how the company is further monetizing the creator economy.

Klarna Adds Price Comparison Tool, Shoppable Video Content to App

Payments option provider Klarna has added a number of new features to its app and website, based on the idea that paying is just one component of the shopping experience.

The Swedish company says the new additions include a price comparison tool, shoppable video content, a donation feature and an upgraded CO2e tracker, as well as a platform that connects creators and retailers.

“The new products revealed today mark a major milestone in Klarna’s evolution to becoming a place where consumers and retailers can now search, discover and create,” Klarna Co-Founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in the release. “From inspiring product discovery all the way to delivery tracking, digital receipts and seamless returns — we are powering eCommerce and accelerating trade across the world.”

Visa, Thunes Team to Allow X-Border Payments to 78 Digital Wallets

Visa has joined forces with B2B payments company Thunes to help individuals and small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) using Visa Direct to move money internationally to 78 digital wallet providers.

With this cross-border, send-to-wallet capability, can users move money to 1.5 billion digital wallets in 44 countries and territories.

“From an agricultural worker in Bangladesh to a young professional in London who is looking to send money to family overseas, Visa strives to create more ways for individuals and SMBs to participate in the global economy,” Global Head of Visa Direct Ruben Salazar Genovez said in the release. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Thunes and help enable quick and simple access to the financial system to more customers around the world who may use digital wallets as their primary financial instrument.”

Amex, Cvent Expand Payments Solutions as Corporate Events Resume

Event marketing and management platform Cvent is expanding its its virtual payment offerings with assistance from American Express.

As the companies said in a news release, the new features give American Express Corporate Meeting Card and vPayment clients who use the Cvent Event Marketing and Management platform streamlined onboarding and better user experience.

“As large companies increasingly look to bring people back together for client events or internal gatherings, they want more simplification, efficiency and automation, and managing their budgets has become more important,” said Dean Henry, executive vice president of global business financing, payments and digital experiences at American Express.

Visa Aims to Turn Creators into Small Businesses with Digital Payments

When an artist or podcaster reaches a point where they can convince people to pay to access their work, there are a number of platforms that serve as payments intermediaries.

However, Visa’s entrance into the creator economy payments sector with its Visa Ready Creator Commerce offering takes the idea of monetizing the creator economy to a more advanced level.

Discussing benefits of the program with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, Visa Head of Innovation and Digital Partnerships Vanessa Colella said it’s part of a larger realization that creators are small businesses — “the sole proprietorships of this generation” as she refers to them — and they need digital payments tools made for the money flows of their nontraditional businesses.

Paysafe, HotelKey Partner to Streamline Hotels’ Retail, B2B Payments

Specialized payments platform Paysafe and cloud-based software solution provider HotelKey are collaborating to bring frictionless payments for U.S. hotels across their retail touchpoints and their back-of-house operations.

This companies say their partnership will streamline in-person, card-present and card-not-present transactions across all of a hotel’s retail sales channels, and also supports hotels’ payments for purchases for their operational needs.

HotelKey Vice President of Operations Alexander Schindelbeck said the partnership “simplifies the day-to-day responsibilities of property staff, and increases owner visibility of their property’s payment processing from a single reporting dashboard.”