The European mobile payment provider Bluecode is expanding its management team: Since the beginning of January 2020, Jens Lütcke (aged 48) serves as new Deputy CEO of Bluecode and in this role is responsible for partner management in the area of retail banks. Lütcke, who holds a PhD in law, has 15 years of experience in the payment and e-commerce industry. As co-founder and former managing director of Sofort GmbH, he developed ‘Sofort Überweisung’ into the leading payment initiation service provider in Europe within 12 years. After the successful sale to the Swedish Klarna Group, he additionally managed the DACH region (Germany, Austria & Switzerland) for Klarna from 2014. Until 2017, he led Klarna to the top of the German e-commerce invoice market. During this time, he also played a key role in shaping the second EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which must be implemented by European banks as of 14 September 2019. It enables fintech companies to cooperate with banks and to offer innovative payment solutions via PSD2 interfaces. Most recently, Lütcke served as CEO of the software and service provider ipan Group, as well as start-up consultant and business angel.

Bluecode as European mobile payment alternative
“The vision of Bluecode to create a European mobile payment system for banks, retailers and end customers has inspired me. I’m looking forward to pushing the idea of an account-based payment method, which I have already pursued with Sofort - without any intermediate US-based card schemes”, says Jens Lütcke, Deputy CEO of Blue Code International AG, about his goals. “With my technical and legal know-how regarding PSD2 interfaces, I want to support banks in the field of issuing, in order to accelerate the offering of a European mobile payment solution to their customers as an alternative to US providers such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. I do not regard payment as a silo, but as an integral part of the value chain - in other words, as a process that digitally connects customers and retailers and integrates value-added services. Therefore, we are developing Bluecode Express as a new way to quickly connect banks to our mobile payment system, ultimately bringing the bank account to the point of sale.” More than 100 European partner banks have already joined the Bluecode payment system, including dozens of Raiffeisen banks, the BKS bank and several HYPO banks in Austria, as well as numerous Savings Banks (Sparkassen) in Germany, including four of the top five institutions in the Savings Banks Finance Group.

Reshaping the value creation by mobile payments in favour of Europe
Christian Pirkner, CEO of Blue Code International AG, is pleased about the top-class addition to the management team: “Jens Lütcke is a leading personality with many years of experience in the strategic development and internationalisation of innovative payment solutions. His regulatory expertise regarding the second EU Payment Services Directive PSD2 will help us to roll out secure mobile payment by Bluecode in combination with value-added services according to European rules. In particular, Jens Lütcke will support our partner banks in keeping the value chain of mobile payment transactions in their hands and in reshaping it in the interest of all European participants - from banks to retailers and end customers.”