In a significant advancement for cross-border European payment infrastructure, Viva.com, the tech bank for businesses, has established a direct connection to Multibanco, Portugal’s national payment network. The technical milestone establishes Viva.com as the first international bank to achieve direct connectivity with the MB Scheme, enabling seamless acceptance of domestic MB cards and MB WAY transactions across its merchant ecosystem.
The direct integration provides local and European businesses operating on the Viva.com platform with direct access to more than 9 million active MB cardholders and over 7 million MB WAY users. By incorporating Portugal’s leading domestic payment methods into its centralized infrastructure, the bank allows merchants to process both in-store and e-commerce transactions without relying on intermediary payment processors.
Navigating European Payment Fragmentation
The addition of the MB scheme and MB WAY highlights Viva.com’s strategic focus on building pan-European payment and banking infrastructure. Rather than approaching the European single market through a uniform, standardized lens, Viva.com systematically connects directly to individual national payment systems across the continent. This localized approach allows the institution to streamline fragmented payment channels into a single unified platform while preserving native consumer checkout preferences.
By embedding regional payment schemes into its global software stack, Viva.com enables European merchants to cater to cross-border shoppers. Following this rollout, Viva.com merchants operating across Europe will be capable of accepting MB and MB WAY payments directly from Portuguese consumers traveling or shopping internationally.
“We are proud to be the first international Bank to have direct connectivity to the national MB payment scheme, processing MB and MB WAY transactions through our own terminal software,” stated Pedro Saldanha, country manager of Portugal at Viva.com. “This is part of Viva.com’s drive to deliver innovation for Portuguese businesses and enable their digital transformation. We are a one-stop partner for local businesses and European commerce.”
Omnichannel Acceptance and Merchant Capabilities
The integration brings MB card and MB WAY acceptance—supporting both QR code and contactless payment flows—directly into Viva.com’s omnichannel ecosystem. For physical point-of-sale environments, acceptance is enabled via the bank’s “Tap on Any Device” technology across more than 1,215 supported Android devices and iPhones. For digital commerce, transactions are routed through its Smart Checkout gateway, as well as integrated marketplace environments.
As a result of the partnership, Portuguese merchants using Viva.com gain access to a broad payment setup featuring:
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Extensive Payment Variety: Support for over 40 international and local payment methods, including MB and MB WAY.
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Real-Time Liquidity: Instant settlement options alongside advanced merchant analytics and reporting dashboards.
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Commercial Incentives: Competitive fee structures with potential transaction rates down to 0%, alongside tailored business financing solutions.
Operating across 31 countries, Viva.com provides an integrated financial suite spanning payment acceptance, merchant deposit accounts, card issuing, financing, and fiscalization services. By establishing direct rails into Portugal’s primary payment network, the European tech bank continues to strengthen its position as a critical provider of localized, high-performance financial infrastructure.
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