Everything you need to know about the French Payments landscape (Q4 2025)

Between technological innovations, new partnerships and strengthened regulatory oversight, players in the sector must combine agility, compliance and strategy. This selection summarises the key highlights of the month: innovations from Wero, strategic alliances, the fight against fraud and legal developments in credit and crypto payments.

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Wero moves up a gear in online commerce

Wero is accelerating its development in online commerce. Backed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), the European payment solution entered the e-commerce space in October 2025, launching in Germany. After a 2024 debut focused on peer-to-peer payments, with 25 partner banks and 44 million potential users, Wero is targeting expansion into France and Belgium by mid-2026. Based on instant account-to-account transfers, the solution promotes European payment sovereignty and aims to compete with card and mobile payment giants.

Measures multiply to counter payment fraud

French authorities are stepping up efforts to fight payment fraud amid increasingly sophisticated attacks. A new law aims to centralize and quickly block fraudulent IBANs, while new obligations will target spoofing prevention. Artificial intelligence and behavioural scoring are enhancing strong authentication to detect suspicious transactions in real time. The goal: protect users and maintain trust in the financial system. Banks, fintechs, and merchants must adapt to these new requirements, which signal a shift toward a stronger culture of prevention.

86% of French companies affected by payment delays in 2025

In 2025, 86% of French companies experienced late payments, up from 82% in 2023. This increase particularly affects small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), straining their cash flow and supply chains. Delays can lead to financial stress or even insolvency. To mitigate this growing risk, companies must strengthen their invoicing and collection processes and optimize payment terms and follow-ups. For finance departments and consulting firms, managing payment delays has become a strategic priority for working capital optimisation. Read more here.

Stablecoins: Towards secure and regulated crypto payments

Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies, are emerging as a fast, secure, and low-cost digital payment method. Their rise is accompanied by tightened regulation, including the European MiCA regulation (June 2024) and the U.S. GENIUS Act. Players like Circle and Stripe are developing B2B and merchant use cases, bypassing traditional payment channels. However, the transparency of blockchains raises privacy concerns. Integrating privacy by design is essential to encourage widespread adoption and build trust in regulated crypto payments.

Strategic strengthening of integration between Pennylane and Adyen

Accounting fintech Pennylane has announced a partnership with payment technology platform Adyen to launch a new cash flow solution for French SMEs. Each partner brings its expertise to enhance Pennylane’s “Pro” solution, offering centralised access to accounting and payments. This collaboration aims to optimize the customer experience by combining accounting management and payment processing within a single platform. Read more here.

PayPal partners with Google to embed payment solutions into the technology giant’s ecosystem

PayPal has entered a strategic partnership with Google to integrate its payment solutions (Checkout, Hyperwallet, Payouts…) into Google’s core products. Simultaneously, PayPal will leverage Google Cloud to modernize its global infrastructure, improving performance and security. The goal: deliver a seamless, interoperable payment experience embedded within the Google ecosystem. This alliance responds to the evolution of online commerce and strengthens PayPal’s position as a preferred provider. By combining Google’s tech and AI capabilities with PayPal’s payment expertise, the two aim to redefine digital payment standards. Read more here.

Government to tighten rules on instalment payments

The French government plans to tighten regulations on instalment payments (“buy now, pay later”) to reduce the risk of over-indebtedness. This reform, stemming from the European Consumer Credit Directive (effective November 2026), will extend regulation to split payments, mini-loans, and lease-to-own options. It will require enhanced creditworthiness assessments. This popular payment method is used by 38% of French consumers, with 41% using it more than eight times a year. In 2024, it appeared in 17% of over-indebtedness cases, compared to just 1% in 2022.

About Projective Group

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