Visa Direct gains Nordic payment access through Lunar's Moonrise

Visa Direct is partnering with Moonrise – the platform of Nordic challenger bank Lunar – to connect to local payment systems in Denmark, Sweden and Norway through a single API.

March 27, 2026
Payments

The agreement expands Visa Direct's global platform with local Nordic infrastructure. The integration provides access to virtual accounts, pay-ins and pay-outs across the three countries' national payment schemes – consolidated through a single technical connection.

What the agreement entails

For Visa Direct's clients, this means they can operate across all three Nordic markets without building separate integrations in each country. Moonrise handles the local infrastructure while Visa Direct delivers the global network on top.

Ken Villum Klausen (pictured), founder and CEO of Lunar, describes the logic this way: Visa is building the next generation of global payments infrastructure, and Moonrise is what brings the Nordics into that equation. By simplifying access to local systems, global players can deliver local payment experiences and scale in the region with greater speed and reliability – without having to manage separate national integrations.

Why the Nordics are challenging

Philip Konopik, SVP and Head of Commercial & Money Movement Solutions at Visa Europe, points out that access to genuine local accounts is becoming a key differentiator in European markets. The Nordics are technologically advanced, but each country operates with its own payment schemes and regulatory requirements – making the region complex to scale in for international players.

Moonrise's position

Moonrise was established as a standalone entity under Lunar Group in 2024, built on the company's Banking Services division from 2023. At launch, Lunar already had agreements with 14 companies, including Trustly, TrueLayer, PPRO and Currencycloud – the latter owned by Visa. The collaboration with Visa Direct is therefore an extension of an already established relationship, not a new starting point.

What the agreement does not say

The parties have not disclosed financial details, the duration of the agreement, or which specific Visa Direct clients will use the solution. It has also not been stated whether Moonrise gains exclusivity as Visa Direct's Nordic partner.

Sources: Visa Direct Collaborates With Moonrise by Lunar to Expand Local Payment Access and Virtual Accounts Across the Nordics

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