Viva.com has connected directly to Multibanco, Portugal's national payment scheme, enabling MB and MB WAY acceptance across its network.
According to the company, this makes it the first international bank to achieve direct connectivity with the MB scheme, rather than relying on a third-party processor or local partner for this type of integration.
The direct connection gives Viva.com's merchant network access to more than nine million MB cardholders and more than seven million MB WAY users in Portugal. MB WAY, Multibanco's mobile payment service, supports transactions via QR code and contactless methods, in addition to conventional MB card payments.
Viva.com has structured its approach to European payments around individual national schemes rather than a single pan-European standard, integrating separately with domestic infrastructure in different markets. The company frames the Multibanco connection as part of this wider strategy of supporting local payment preferences while consolidating acceptance onto one platform for merchants operating across several countries.
Platform capabilities
The MB and MB WAY integration has been added to Viva.com's existing omnichannel infrastructure. In physical retail settings, acceptance is enabled through the company's Tap on Any Device technology, which the company states is compatible with more than 1.215 Android devices as well as iPhone. For online transactions, acceptance runs through Viva.com's Smart Checkout gateway. The integration also extends to marketplace environments, where the company says it supports unified payment flows across different business models.
With the addition of MB and MB WAY, Viva.com states that merchants and partners in Portugal can now accept more than 40 payment methods through its platform. The company also lists real-time settlement, reporting tools, financing options, and transaction fees starting at 0% among the features available to merchants using the service. In addition, merchants using Viva.com elsewhere in Europe will be able to accept MB and MB WAY payments from customers based in Portugal.
Company statement
Pedro Saldanha, Country Manager of Portugal at Viva.com, said the direct connection to the MB scheme, processed through the company's own terminal software, forms part of its work to support the digital transformation of businesses in Portugal.
Multibanco is Portugal's interbank network, widely used for both card and mobile payments in the country. Viva.com's direct integration with the scheme adds to a series of country-specific payment connections the company has made as part of its European expansion.
