Viva Wallet joins the CB ecosystem

Connecting with local financial systems has been the cornerstone of Viva Wallet’s expansion and development in each of the 24 European markets the Athens-headquartered neobank has presence in. In line with this strategy, CB -the leading card and mobile payment and withdrawal system in the French market- is now added to Viva Wallet’s extensive selection of payment methods -currently over 30-, offering greater flexibility to the thousands of French merchants of their network, as well as to the nearly 74 million CB cardholders. Payments with CB cards will be accepted across local physical points of sale featuring the innovative Tap-on-Phone Viva Wallet POS app, followed by roll-out in online points of sale.

With over 20 years dedicated to research & development of disruptive technologies, Viva Wallet responded to the fragmented European payments landscape with an ever-growing portfolio of innovative services, while connecting with local financial systems to further enable local adaptation and flexibility. Today, Viva Wallet is the payment institution with the largest footprint in Europe. Partnering also with all major international and leading local payment schemes, such as CB, has defined the truly unifying, yet localized approach of the neobank. With 13.2 billion payments made in 2021, CB payments represent more than 65% of current household consumption in France.

“We are confident that our partnership with CB will be of tremendous value to our French merchants, making their products and services accessible to the millions of CB cardholders. At Viva Wallet we are keen to offer localized and customized end-to-end payment services and embedded banking services to the merchants who trust our know-how and cutting-edge own technologies, ultimately increasing profits and market share, while acknowledging the importance of a curated customer experience,” commented Harry Xenophontos, Director of Global Strategic Partnerships at Viva Wallet.

“CB is pleased that a major pan-European payments player like Viva Wallet has chosen to join CB and to allow all of its French merchants to reap all the advantages of accepting CB card and mobile payments. Our teams are alongside Viva Wallet to facilitate the deployment of this project,” says Loÿs Moulin, Development Director at CB.

CARTES BANCAIRES INNOVATION INTEGRATOR

Created in 1984 to implement a universal and interoperable card and mobile payment system as well as a cash withdrawal system in ATMs in France, the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB, a non-profit organisation, is the governing body of the CB card and mobile payment system. CB has more than 100 member banks and payment institutions located around the world. CB defines the global architecture of the system, the interbank rules and procedures and manages risks. CB also defines the technical and security standards and ensures that the products and services used in the CB system comply with the requirements of these standards. In addition, CB operates an information system, offering its members high-performance data-mining tools to fight against fraud.

CB is the leading payment system in France with in 2021:

73.9 million CB cards in circulation
6.3 billion contactless payments
49,987 ATMs
2.1 million CB merchant contracts
13.2 billion payments, i.e. a volume of €535 billion
More than 65% of current household consumption in France is paid for with a CB card, making CB the preferred means of payment for French people.

For more information, please visit https://www.cartes-bancaires.com/