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Bank Of Cyprus Remu Secures Remarkable Turnaround In Asset Disposition

The Bank of Cyprus’s property management unit has engineered a remarkable turnaround, with its property sales surpassing new asset acquisitions since 2019. This strategic shift, highlighted in the bank’s nine-month financial results ending September 30, 2025, underlines a focused approach to revitalizing non-core asset portfolios.

Substantial Gains In Asset Recovery

The Real Estate Management Unit (REMU), dedicated to liquidating properties acquired through debt-for-asset swaps, has recovered approximately €1.3 billion in asset sales since 2019. This performance far exceeds the €0.5 billion in property acquisitions during the same period, showcasing a disciplined divestment strategy.

Impressive Sales Performance And Profit Expansion

In the nine months leading up to September 30, 2025, REMU finalized property sales totaling €231 million, a significant rise from €82 million during the corresponding period in 2024. Profit from these transactions nearly doubled to around €10 million compared with €5 million in the previous year, underscoring the unit’s improved operational efficiency.

Portfolio Dynamics And Market Shifts

The reported sales spanned all property categories, with approximately 40 percent of the gross sales value derived from land transactions. The unit executed sales agreements for 289 properties, valued at €250 million. This contrasts with the prior year’s 367 properties, which amounted to €94 million, including a €3 million transfer. Additionally, advanced sale procedures for properties were recorded at €26 million, with €14 million of that figure confirmed through signed agreements, down from €53 million (with €27 million confirmed) in September 2024.

Contraction In New Asset Intake And Book Value Reduction

New asset intake was significantly lower in 2025, with properties worth €9 million taken over via debt-for-asset swaps and recoveries, compared to €28 million in 2024. Concurrently, the net book value of recovered properties under management decreased to €419 million by September 30, 2025, marking a 45 percent reduction from €764 million in the previous year—largely due to a major disposal completed in June 2025.

Strategic Outlook And Market Considerations

With its concerted efforts, REMU has already met its goal of reducing its non-core asset portfolio to around €0.5 billion by the end of 2025. Nevertheless, the bank cautions that “REMU profits remain volatile,” acknowledging the ongoing uncertainties within the real estate market.

payabl. Launches Click To Pay With Visa To Help Merchants Improve Checkout Conversion And Reduce Fraud

payabl. has launched Click to Pay with Visa, a new card payment experience designed to help merchants reduce checkout friction, improve authorisation rates, and deliver a faster, more secure online payment journey.

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Click to Pay replaces manual card number entry with a token-based checkout experience. Once a customer’s card is enrolled, they can complete purchases in just a few clicks, without re-entering card details. The result is a faster checkout that mirrors the ease of contactless payments in-store, while maintaining strong security standards.

For merchants, the impact is measurable. According to Visa, Click to Pay can deliver up to a 11% uplift in authorisation rates compared to manual card entry, alongside significant fraud reduction through network tokenisation. Faster checkout also helps reduce cart abandonment, particularly on mobile, where typing card details remains a major source of friction.

“With online checkout, every extra step costs conversion,” said Breno Oliveira, Chief Product Officer at payabl. “Visa Click to Pay removes one of the biggest points of friction at the moment of purchase. It helps merchants approve more legitimate transactions, reduce fraud exposure, and give customers the experience they already expect.” 

Visa Click to Pay is available through payabl. checkout, enabling merchants to activate the service without additional integration complexity. The solution works across devices and supports existing security flows, including 3D Secure where required.

“Consumers have come to expect a highly personalised, intuitive, and seamless payment experience, whether they’re buying a coffee, shopping online, or applying for a loan. Visa Click to Pay aims to meet these expectations by removing the need to manually enter card details, thus enhancing both security and the consumer experience in online card payments. With the support of network tokens, Visa Click to Pay enabled a more secure and smoother transaction process, available in many countries around the world. According to European VisaNet data, Visa Click to Pay may allow a 4.5% uplift in merchant sales, meaning a possible annual increase of €51 bn in SMB eCommerce sales in the UK and EU,” said Michael Ioannides, Country Manager, Visa Cyprus.

The launch forms part of payabl.’s broader focus on checkout optimisation, helping merchants improve conversion, approvals, and payment reliability at scale. Click to Pay with Visa is now live for eligible merchants across Europe. 

Checkout expectations are rising across Europe 

Insights from payabl.’s State of European Checkouts report underline why frictionless checkout experiences are becoming a commercial priority. The research found that consumers cite speed (46%), convenience (44%), and security (41%) as the top reasons for choosing a payment method. More than half of consumers (53%) are open to switching to newer payment methods and nearly half (48%) are open to one-click checkouts, provided the solution is backed by a trusted brand such as Visa.

“Checkout is no longer just the final step of a transaction,” said Oliveira. “It is a critical part of the overall customer experience. Our research shows that 43% of European consumers will not return to a site after a poor checkout experience. For merchants across the UK and Europe, that translates directly into lost customers and lost revenue.”

The launch forms part of payabl.’s broader focus on checkout optimisation, helping merchants improve conversion, approvals, and payment reliability at scale. Click to Pay with Visa is now live for eligible merchants across Europe.

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