Klarna’s EU Card Signals a Full-Bank Play

Plus: Invite-only roundtable for revenue leaders

Author

Avinash Duggempudi
September 03, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

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Sales Intelligence: Fintech

Here’s what’s happening this week in fintech: - Core banking modernization proof-point: PeoplesBank goes cloud-native with Nymbus. - Klarna rolls out EU card as bank pivot. - Circle, Stripe, Google plot payment blockchains, squeezing Ripple. - Binance launches Medá, a regulated peso rails play. - Stripe onramps World App users to WLD in the US.

⏱️THE MINUTE READ

An invite-only roundtable for revenue leaders focused on sharpening sales execution.

Join Hive Perform and Warwick Business School’s Sales Excellence Hub for a closed-room session on what’s really driving sales performance in 2025.

As AI reshapes how GTM teams operate, this roundtable explores the balance between automation and human execution and how leading CROs are adjusting their playbooks. Designed for senior commercial operators. No decks. No pitches. Just practical ideas and candid peer exchange.

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

PeoplesBank became the largest US community bank to fully adopt a cloud-native core, completing its Nymbus Core migration on June 22 with 19,000 customers onboarded day one. The move proves full core modernization is achievable, unlocking faster teller ops, integrated payments, and CRM improvements. Community banks, core vendors, and fintech partners now have a live conversion blueprint to point to.

Klarna is rolling out the Klarna Card across the EU with Visa, letting consumers pay now, Pay in 3, Pay Later, or finance larger purchases, online and in-store. The launch strengthens Klarna’s repositioning from BNPL to everyday banking as it preps a US IPO. Issuers, card networks, and merchants should expect Klarna to compete for daily spend and checkout share.

Circle, Stripe, and Google advanced plans for payment-focused Layer 1 blockchains, including Circle’s Arc using USDC as gas, Stripe’s Tempo concept, and Google Cloud’s Universal Ledger. Purpose-built rails could lower costs, simplify dev UX, and offer multi-asset settlement, encroaching on Ripple’s cross-border niche. Banks, cross-border providers, and treasury teams should reassess interoperability and liquidity strategies.

CRYPTO PAYMENTS
RAK Properties Enables Crypto Property Purchases Via Hubpay
UAE-based RAK Properties partnered with Hubpay to accept digital assets like USDT, BTC, and ETH for real estate purchases, with ADGM-regulated conversion to dirhams and no direct asset custody by the developer. The model provides compliant, high-value crypto payments for global buyers and positions the Mina community to attract a tech-savvy investor base. Real estate developers and payment providers get a template for regulated, large-ticket crypto acceptance.

🧠LEADING VOICES

Rethinking Board Packs

Traditional board packs rely on lagging indicators and subjective data—showing what happened, not why. This leaves CROs and CEOs wasting hours in prep, struggling to explain pipeline gaps, and lacking objective insight into stalled traction.

Hive Perform changes that by analysing deals across three lenses: ICP fit, deal quality, and roadmap linkage. The result? Evidence-led forecasts, clear explanations for closed-lost deals, and board packs that stand up to scrutiny—saving time and giving leaders confidence in the story behind growth.

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⚡QUICK READS

Binance Launches Medá In Mexico: Binance introduced Medá as a regulated IFPE and will invest $53 million through 2029, signaling compliance-led peso rails that could pressure local processors.(More)

Stripe Adds Crypto Onramp To World App: Stripe’s fiat-to-crypto onramp now lets US World App users buy WLD via cards, ACH, and PayPal, cutting onboarding friction for crypto-curious consumers.(More)

TransBnk Raises $25 Million For MEA And SEA Push: Mumbai’s TransBnk secured $25 million to expand its multi-bank transaction platform into the Middle East and Southeast Asia, creating new B2B cash management partnership opportunities.(More)

Sales Intelligence is a ClickZ Media publication in the Sales & Marketing division