Rakuten Deutschland expands its partnership with Wirecard

Rakuten Deutschland, a subsidiary of Japan’s largest e-commerce site, has expanded its existing partnership with Wirecard to offer a wider range of payment methods.

The subsidiary provides shop software for merchants and a marketplace for end customers in one solution, as well as handling payment processing. According to Rakuten, around 7,000 suppliers use the platform to sell 22m products.

Frank Hümmer, CPO at Rakuten Deutschland GmbH, said: “We have already been relying upon Wirecard AG’s payment offers for about ten years now. By offering additional services, merchants and consumers can benefit at the same time, as now even more international payment processes and risk management processes are available.”

Under the expanded partnership, merchants can offer payment via JCB and Diners credit cards, including the safety features J Secure and Diners’ ProtectBuy.

According to Marion Laewe, vice president of Consumer Goods at Wirecard, “Digital marketplaces such as Rakuten have revolutionised the retail sector with their aggregation model, which brings buyers and sellers together. As a payment service provider and acquiring bank, we positioned ourselves in this exciting environment early on and can now provide tailored offers.”

This partnership is Rakuten’s latest payments expansion. At the end of 2016, rakuten.com partnered with World First USA, the international currencies and money transfer company’s American office. As part of the deal, the company will provide exchange services in 140 currencies and 45 countries.

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