Calida Financial becomes Bluecode acquirer

New partnership to expand Bluecode ecommerce solutions across Europe

BERLIN, Jan. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Calida Financial has become a new acquiring partner for European payment scheme, Bluecode. Bluecode is an open mobile payment system made in Europe, for all Europeans. In July 2025, Calida Financial joined Bluecode as an issuing partner offering a European-wide prepaid solution for users. Now, Calida is also an acquirer for transactions made using Bluecode – delivering affordable, reliable, real-time payments for its merchants.

The new partnership is ideal for common payment use cases in the fashion industry, videogaming, FMCG, travel, as well as for digital products and services. It enables a seamless experience for users and merchants where frequent mobile app-based transactions are essential.

The Calida-powered Bluecode service offers competitive transaction fees, including payment guarantees with high convenience and conversion. Merchants also benefit from Bluecode's market reach and wide acceptance. The scheme is interoperable across all of Europe and in major international markets, which allows users to pay within local merchant acceptance networks in dozens of countries. Because Calida is now both an issuer and an acquirer, this means that merchants only need one payment partner to enable a flawless and seamless experience.

"The goal is to enable merchants to accept payments from anyone, anywhere," said Jens Bader, Calida Financial CEO. "Imagine a challenger ecommerce brand that is growing rapidly with a viral product, or an app developer whose app blows up on social channels. They suddenly have customers in many countries, and need to meet this new demand without slowing down. We offer them a single integration to cover as many regions and customers as possible, so they can focus on growing their business. We can meet all their needs, while keeping transaction costs, chargebacks and fraud way down."

"Our partnership enables local and pan-European merchants to access a seamlessly embedded payment solution with an attractive business case, efficient transaction handling, and a scalable architecture. Integration into merchant apps is one example of how we support modern ecommerce use cases," said Chris Pirkner, CEO of Bluecode.

About Calida Financial:
Calida Financial is a licensed e-money institution headquartered in Malta. It builds tailored financial infrastructure for companies across the EU and EEA. From embedded wallets and prepaid programs to full-stack distribution of digital value, it enables partners to launch and scale financial products with confidence. The Calida platform combines regulatory strength with technical flexibility, built for PSPs, fintechs, merchants, and digital-first innovators.

About Bluecode:
Bluecode is a pan-European payment system that enables cashless payments via mobile phone. The system uses a one-time payment token, represented as either a barcode or QR code, which can be scanned or transmitted via NFC (Near Field Communication). Bluecode is either directly linked to the user's bank account or used as a prepaid solution. Accepted by a wide network of merchants, Bluecode is accessible through apps from banks, merchants, and other providers, as well as through the Bluecode app. Furthermore, Bluecode can be used with existing customer loyalty programmes. Bluecode also collaborates with international payment networks such as Alipay+, Discover Network, and EMPSA (European Mobile Payment Systems Association) to support international payments in Europe and globally through interoperability. Consequently, Bluecode is accepted worldwide. More www.bluecode.com