French Retailer Casino Secures Stake in Payments Startup Lyf Pay

French supermarket chain Casino on Monday announced that it has acquired an equity stake in Paris-based payment firm Lyf Pay, which rolled out its services across Europe last year to rival Apple Pay and Alibaba’s Alipay.

Lyf Pay was initially launched in 2017 as a joint venture between the grocery chain Carrefour and BNP Paribas and also received support from other players including Crédit Mutuel, Auchan, Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term processor Mastercard, Oney and oil company Total.

Casino, whose stock price has been hard hit by concerns over its debts, didn't disclose the terms of the deal Monday but said it stemmed from an existing partnership with Lyf Pay.

“We cannot just offer goods, we have to offer more services to our clients as well,” Casino’s deputy chief executive and chief operating officer, Julien Lagubeau, said.

Fierce Competition with US banks

Lyf Pay’s technology helps retailers unify all of the customers' payment cards, coupons, and loyalty points, with its app then used by smartphone owners to store their card details and pay for goods.

The app is the result of the Merger Merger A merger is defined as the absorption of the interest of another. It can include an estate, or contract. There are no specific rules or formats for a union in general. It is a method of combining two or more organizations, business concerns, or other related interests. The terms of a merger are usually by agreement of the parties involved. In the financial sphere, merger refers to an agreement between two or more companies or corporations, public and private, to merge into one entity. Mergers d A merger is defined as the absorption of the interest of another. It can include an estate, or contract. There are no specific rules or formats for a union in general. It is a method of combining two or more organizations, business concerns, or other related interests. The terms of a merger are usually by agreement of the parties involved. In the financial sphere, merger refers to an agreement between two or more companies or corporations, public and private, to merge into one entity. Mergers d Read this Term between two French mobile payments initiatives: Fivory, which brings together Crédit Mutuel, Mastercard, Total, Oney and Auchan, and the Wa! application provided by Carrefour and BNP Paribas.

The scope of the application covers in-store payments, online shopping, and even charitable donations. By integrating payment cards, loyalty cards, and coupons, Lyf Pay provides a comprehensive solution to simplify its users’ needs and create a relationship between consumers, merchants and banking partners.

The app is a coup for BNP Paribas, which owns more than 40 percent, with its fierce rival US banks in the midst of an aggressive push to sign up retailers and financial firms in the Europe for their payment solutions. It also competes against the digital wallets of Apple, Google and Samsung, all vying to replace the swipe of a payment card with the tap of a phone.

Last year, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) has agreed to acquire MCX’s payments technology to help expand Chase Pay, its smartphone-based payment system which allows consumers to pay retailers using their devices.