EMEA Daily: Coinbase Furthers European Expansion; CryptoRefills Adds EUROC Support

In today’s EMEA news, UK Finance released its latest fraud report and highlighted the rise of authorized push payment fraud, London-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Zilch has raised $160 million in its Series C funding round and more.

Coinbase Furthers European Expansion Following US Layoffs

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is seeking additional licenses across Europe, looking to expand internationally just weeks after conducting layoffs in the U.S.

Nana Murugesan, Coinbase’s vice president of international, said the exchange wants to set up operations in Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, adding that the company has already hired its first employee in Switzerland.

Decathlon and Payer Strike Deal for Digital B2B Invoicing

Decathlon, a chain of department stores that operates throughout Europe, has announced that it will use a digital B2B invoicing platform from Payer.

According to a statement released by Payer, the technology will help Decathlon serve sports clubs in Sweden. Payer is an automatic invoicing solution for B2B payments.

Authorized Push Payment Fraud Reaches ‘Epidemic’ Levels in UK

UK Finance recently released its latest fraud report, which shows that a total of over £1.3 billion was stolen through fraud and scams in 2021.

Of this, authorized push payment (APP) fraud accounted for £583.2 million of losses. The report also revealed that nearly 40% of APP fraud takes the form of impersonation scams, and the Financial Times reported that the numbers amount to an “epidemic” of APP  fraud.

BNPL Provider Zilch Raises $160M for US Business Growth

London-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Zilch has secured an additional $50 million investment for its Series C funding round, with total investment for the round now standing at $160 million.

The company plans to use the funds to accelerate business growth in the U.S. market. Zilch’s list of investors includes Ventura Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Gauss Ventures, DMG Ventures, M&F Fund and Limited Ventures.

CryptoRefills Adds EUROC Stablecoin Support

CryptoRefills, a platform that allows users to purchase gift cards and top-up various accounts using popular cryptocurrencies, is adding Circle’s new euro-backed digital currency EUROC to its list of supported crypto options.

EUROC is the latest cryptocurrency to be added to CryptoRefills portfolio of accepted currencies, which already includes bitcoin, litecoin, ether and others.