Innovation

Payment solutions

Payments are an act that lies at the core of the relationship between the bank and its clients – whether individuals, merchants or corporates. BNP Paribas has developed a payments strategy that emphasises innovation and personalisation in addressing its clients’ changing needs. BNP Paribas has put the latest technological advances into play to offer its clients a seamless and secured payment experience. By getting a jump on tomorrow’s banking standards, BNP Paribas assumes its role as a major player in creating innovative and sustainable payment solutions.

The trusted partner of individual clients

Uses are becoming increasingly fragmented in the payments world. Wherever they stand, consumers seek, above all, simplicity, fluidity and security, while retaining control over their purchasing act. Payment means are no longer a simple matter of monetary transactions, but now constitute a gateway to a more personalised experience. From instant payments to “Buy Now Pay Later” to international wire transfers, individual clients want payment solutions that match their lifestyles.

In response to these challenges, BNP Paribas is adapting its products and services to guarantee the best clients experience for both individual and professional clients against a backdrop of disintermediation. BNP Paribas is constantly enriching its offering of services to offer payment means that meet the market’s current and future standards.

New services adapted to individual clients needs

BNP Paribas, Crédit Mutuel, CIC and Societe Generale have joined together with an offering of local banking services, called CASH SERVICES. This pooling of automatic teller machines has begun at about 60 sites throughout France and will reach almost 7,000 CASH SERVICES sites by 2026. CASH SERVICES will guarantee clients of these four banks free-of-charge access to a wider offering of services. BNP Paribas has similar offerings with other banks in Europe: “Batopin” in Belgium since 2021 and “Bancomat” in Luxembourg since the end of 2023.

As a leader in payment facilities, FLOA offers consumers split payment solutions, mini-credits and bankcards. FLOA has become a major player on the split payment market with its “Buy Now Pay Later” solution, which gives consumers control over their payments by allowing them to pay in several instalments. A FLOA-Kantar study found that 43% of Europeans have used buy now, pay later solutions.

NiCKEL offers the possibility of opening a current account without overdraft in five minutes at a tobacconist. Nearly 4.7 million NiCKEL accounts have been opened with a distribution network of more than 12,000 partner points of sale in Europe. The company has remained faithful to its initial promise, that of being accessible to the entire population without income conditions. In Belgium, NiCKEL is the leading current account distribution network thanks to its strategic alliance with bpost.

Innovative bank cards

From Apple Pay for iPhones, Google Pay for Androids available in certain countries, to Bancomat Pay in Italy and Payconiq in Belgium, BNP Paribas credit cards are now available in electronic wallet form in smartphones.

As for data security, innovation can be found in the dynamic cryptogram on the back of bankcards. This three-digit code changes each hour, limiting the risk of payment fraud. In June 2021, BNP Paribas became the first bank in France to offer its clients biometric cards. After registering their fingerprints at a branch, clients can use the card to make contactless and secured payments beyond the usual limit of €50.

Wero, the European digital payment wallet

The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is supported by 16 European banks and payment service providers, including BNP Paribas, which has been a shareholder since 2020. These organisations have joined forces with the shared aim of providing a unified and integrated digital payment service, known as Wero. 3 things to know:

  • A promising beginning: Since its launch in 2024, Wero has established itself as the new European digital payment solution in Germany, France and Belgium. The launch of the person-to-person (P2P) service allowed users with a bank account to send and receive money simply and instantly. Wero already boasts more than 43 million registered users and can claim over 100 million transactions to date, for a total amount transferred of over 5 billion euros.
  • An e-commerce launch: EPI is preparing to extend the e-wallet's use beyond peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, with a rollout on the online and in-store payment market (P2Pro). Wero's new e-commerce features are set to launch in Germany at the end of 2025, with France and Belgium to follow in 2026. Companies such as Orange, E. Leclerc and Veepee have already signed an agreement with EPI to use Wero.
  • Key partnerships: EPI and EuroPA (European Payments Alliance) have launched a strategic partnership to develop an interoperable solution. Bancomat, Bizum, SIBS-MB WAY and Vipps MobilePay (all of which are members of the EuroPA Alliance) and EPI jointly announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The cooperation brings together leading European payment solutions, with the shared ambition of enabling seamless cross-border payments across Europe by 2027.
Discover the latest developments on Wero

Innovative payment means for merchant clients

Innovation is at the heart of our challenges and gives us an opportunity to provide a seamless, rapid and secured client experience. Unified commerce is a new stage in the shift from multichannel to omnichannel. It places the payment act at the heart of the client relationship with the dual challenge of making consumers’ lives simpler and enhancing merchants’ performances.

AXEPTA BNP Paribas has found that 20% of clients fail to complete their transaction when the payment process is too complicated. Rethinking the payment paths and experiences to meet our merchant clients’ key challenges is therefore essential. From Netflix to Fermob to the French Tennis Federation, AXEPTA BNP Paribas centralises and imagines innovative payment solutions for small, medium, large companies and PSPs (Payment Service Providers) in Europe. AXEPTA BNP Paribas supports more than 250,000 customers on a daily basis and processes more than 3.7 billion transactions per year.

BNP Paribas introduces Tap to Pay on iPhone for its retail customers in France. Tap to Pay on iPhone enables businesses large and small to seamlessly and securely accept in-person contactless payments with Apple’s contactless payment acceptance technology. Tap to Pay on iPhone accepts all forms of contactless payments, including contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets, using only an iPhone and the AXEPTA BNP Paribas app. With BNP Paribas, Tap to Pay on iPhone is compatible with CB, a scheme that accounts for more than 65% of daily consumer payments in France, as well as Visa and Mastercard.

BNP Paribas and Stancer (iliad Group) are joining forces to offer a quick and simple payment solution directly integrated into conversations on the Microsoft Teams application. It is intended for professionals and merchants who use Microsoft Teams to communicate with their clients in the context of their online activity, in particular the services provided in remote locations: travel agencies, private teachers, coaches...

Estreem, new French leader in payment processing

BNP Paribas and Groupe BPCE have created Estreem, new French leader and major European actor in payment processing. Estreem combines the expertise and leading technologies of both groups in payment processing, to best serve cardholders clients with physical and digital cards, as well as merchants.

Estreem will process all card payments for BNP Paribas and Groupe BPCE in Europe, amounting to 17 billion transactions per year, positionning Estreem as the French leader in processing with 30% of card payments volume in France. The newly formed company’s aim is to also be among the Top 3 processors in Europe. The creation of this joint venture aligns with the shared ambition of both banks to maintain payments at the heart of their offer. In time, Estreem’s services are also to be offered to other banks.

The next steps in Estreem's development

Photo: Thierry Laborde, Chief Operating Officer of BNP Paribas, in charge of Commercial, Personal Banking & Service, and Yves Tyrode, Chief Executive Officer, Digital & Payments, Groupe BPCE.

An innovative European leader at the service of corporate clients 

As the European leader in Cash Management with a 51% penetration rate in the large corporate market (Greenwich, 2023), BNP Paribas offers companies payment solutions that are on the cutting-edge of innovation. Its in-depth knowledge of the payments ecosystem is based on its domestic markets and its access to European and local payment systems.

To consolidate its leadership, enhance the client experience, and shape the future of payments, the Bank has rolled out an innovation strategy structured around three pillars.

1. Ongoing investments in the most transformative technologies, with a strong focus on the use of artificial intelligence

To constantly optimise the client experience and remain at the cutting-edge of innovation, the bank is investing in AI (big data, machine learning, optical character recognition) and generative AI. Combatting fraud and cyber risks are its priority in a risk environment heightened by the ramp-up of instant payments.

To combat fraud and cyber risk, the bank has rolled out an innovative solution based on big data and machine learning to detect any fraudulent transactions at an early stage and thus safeguard its clients’ interests.  

2. Added-value partnerships with fintechs throughout the payment value chain

  • The acquisition of Kantox, one of the top fintechs specialising in Currency Management Automation, is part of BNP Paribas’ 2025 Growth Technology Sustainability strategic plan. Kantox offers a platform that enables them to hedge the risks associated with highly volatile exchange rates in a fully automated way. BNP Paribas offers the platform to its corporate clients, across the Global Markets franchise and the business centres of the Commercial, Personal and Banking Services (CPBS) division. Kantox has clients in 74 countries and 124 currencies are exchanged on the platform.
  • BNP Paribas has launched an online payment service that combines the power of open banking APIs and instantaneous SEPA transfers. This turnkey instant payment solution can be used for faster account-to-account payments to ensure the security of merchant transactions throughout Europe. In addition, to empower Corporate Treasurers to have better control over their payments, BNP Paribas is offering Request to Pay, a new real-time service delivering the benefit of linking a request to a payment based on the new SEPA scheme (SRTP).
  • With the booming rise of business-to-business e-commerce, companies are eager for new solutions to be paid on time by their clients without having to worry about credit risk. Partnering with Hokodo, a leading fintech in Buy Now Pay Later for the corporate world, BNP Paribas offers an innovative response combining a smooth purchasing experience and the best credit terms. Benefits are: a positive impact on sales, repeat business and an increase in the average basket, not to mention a fully digital payment experience.
  • Fintech company 1POINT6, specialised in the management of complex financial flows, has become a subsidiary of BNP Paribas. This strategic integration allows 1POINT6 to offer a comprehensive European financial flow management solution, tailored to the needs of marketplaces and those players poorly covered by standardised payment infrastructures. With the support of BNP Paribas, 1POINT6 aims to become the leading European alternative in the payments landscape.

3. Taking a co-creation approach alongside companies to innovate better and faster

At exclusive Treasury Board planning sessions with our clients, we co-create unprecedented solutions in response to real-world issues. BNP Paribas places its corporate clients at the heart of its innovation drives and hands them control of the creative process to imagine and design useful innovations that can be implemented rapidly. Among the co-creations so far:

  • BENEtracker, co-created with L’Oréal, allows bank clients to trace and fluidify their international payments. It gives issuers of international payments real-time visibility on the status of each transaction until it is credited to the beneficiary’s account.
  • The Treasury Talent Place is a combined Bank-Corporate Client training path offered to students at the Master level to get them up to speed quickly in cash management and corporate treasuries. The Treasury Talent Place partners with the European Association of  Corporate Treasurers (EACT) and, in its first, pilot stage, with Paris-La Sorbonne University. This is part of a series of initiatives managed by the bank to encourage people to work in the cash management, payments and corporate treasury fields.

Read more about means of payment

Photos: © M-Agency, WavebreakMediaMicro, wedninth, darkbird