Visa, PayPal Execs React to K-Shaped Economy
Visa’s product chief says processed‑transaction volume remains stable and resilient, downplaying a K‑shaped split. PayPal’s CFO notes a 1% deceleration in branded checkout growth, attributing it to divergent spending among middle‑ and lower‑income consumers. Shift4’s CFO points to lodging and experience‑economy data that clearly illustrate a high‑low income divide. Collectively, the executives acknowledge polarized consumer behavior while emphasizing overall growth continuity.
Stablecoin Use Surges
Stablecoin transaction volume more than doubled in the past year, climbing from $668 billion in February 2025 to $1.78 trillion last month, according to Macquarie Group. The market capitalization of the 13 largest stablecoins rose to $311.81 billion, up from $196.61 billion a year earlier....
Remitian Raises $7 Million, Unveils Tax Payment API
Remitian announced a $7 million seed round and the launch of its Tax Payment API, aimed at streamlining the final mile of tax remittance for accounting firms and fintech partners. The API embeds payment initiation, validation, and real‑time tracking directly into...
Stockpile To Close On April 17, 2026 – Accounts Transferred To Public/Stash/Apex
Stockpile, a niche stock‑gifting platform, announced it will cease operations on April 17, 2026. All existing user accounts will be migrated to three competing fintech services—Public, Stash, or Apex. The service, once distinguished by credit‑card funding, added monthly subscription fees...
Zimperium Report: Banking Malware Targets 1,200+ Apps
Zimperium’s 2026 Banking Heist Report reveals that 34 active malware families are targeting 1,243 mobile banking apps across 90 countries. Android‑based financial fraud surged 67% year‑over‑year in 2025, with sophisticated campaigns that can fully control devices and bypass traditional defenses....
The 19th Century Banking Problem that AI Hasn’t Solved Yet
Salesforce researchers argue that while technical protocols for AI‑to‑AI communication are emerging, the trust architecture that enabled 19th‑century bank clearing houses is still missing for autonomous agents. They highlight four pillars—registered identity, reputation infrastructure, boundary‑based governance, and structured accountability with...
Over $1.1bn Raised Across Funding Raises in Red-Letter Week for FinTech
FinTech saw a record week in 2026, raising over $1.1 billion across 23 deals. Consumer‑first privacy firm Cloaked led the pack with a $375 million Series B and growth financing round. CyberTech dominated the deal count with nine transactions, while the United States...
Kalshi Launches $10 March Madness Promo for All 50 States
Kalshi, the regulated prediction‑market exchange, rolled out a $10 sign‑up bonus for new users who place $10 in March Madness trades. The offer, valid in all 50 states, positions Kalshi as a legal alternative to sportsbooks in jurisdictions where sports...
What Banking Customers Want—And Don’t Want—From Chatbots
Banks increasingly rely on mobile apps as the main customer interface, but chatbot satisfaction remains low. Research from Javelin Strategy shows bots often serve as complex call‑routing tools that frustrate users, especially younger consumers who expect swift human assistance. Institutions...
Starling Bank Rolls Out “UK’s First Agentic AI Financial Assistant”
Starling Bank announced the launch of the UK’s first agentic AI financial assistant, dubbed Starling Assistant, to automate everyday banking tasks. The voice‑enabled tool can set up savings goals, allocate funds across dedicated spaces, and schedule bill payments through natural...
Why Real-Time Intelligence Sharing Is Now a Legal Must
Regulators across Europe are turning real‑time financial‑crime intelligence sharing from a voluntary practice into a legal requirement, with the Payment Services Regulation (PSR) Article 83 and AMLR Article 75 mandating connections to domestic and international networks from 2027. Salv Bridge, a four‑year‑old...
Spotware Rolls Out cTrader Mobile 5.8
Fintech firm Spotware Systems launched cTrader Mobile 5.8 for iOS, delivering a suite of usability upgrades. The update revamps in‑app notifications with actionable taps, adds an audible order‑filled alert, and redesigns chart‑control bottom sheets for faster tool access. An enhanced crosshair...
Exclusive: Fintech Startup Fintake Launches Cloud-Native Trading Platform Helio
Cyprus‑based fintech startup Fintake has launched Helio, a cloud‑native, multi‑asset trading platform aimed at margin and CFD brokers. After 18 months of development, Helio is now live with early partners, offering active‑active multi‑region architecture, zero‑downtime deployments, and AI‑ready infrastructure. The...
AI Agent Oversight Gap Prompts Aveni to Form Industry Council
Aveni has launched the Agent Assurance Expert Council (AAEC) to tackle governance challenges posed by autonomous AI agents in financial services. The council, convened first in Edinburgh, brings senior risk, compliance and advisory leaders together to craft practical oversight frameworks....
Mynk Launches Mobile App in Morocco to Simplify Peer-to-Peer Payments
Mynk, a Moroccan fintech platform, has released a mobile app that lets users send and receive money using only a phone number, eliminating the need for IBANs or bank details. The app functions as a digital wallet, supporting peer‑to‑peer transfers,...
Sunstate Bank Adds Investing to Online Banking with InvestiFi
Sunstate Bank announced a partnership with InvestiFi to embed stock, ETF and digital‑asset investing directly into its online banking platform. The integration lets account holders trade and allocate funds from their checking accounts while accessing InvestiFi’s Guided Investing robo‑advisor and...
MLB Teams Up with Polymarket and CFTC to Guard Baseball’s Integrity
Major League Baseball announced an exclusive partnership with prediction‑market platform Polymarket and a memorandum of understanding with CFTC Chair Michael S. Selig. The agreements give Polymarket league data and branding while establishing a joint integrity framework to monitor and respond...
Fintech Must Prioritize Precision Over Speed in Emerging Markets
Fintech strategies that work in developed markets often break in emerging ones. Volatile currencies, fragmented identity systems and shifting regulations force a completely different level of precision in how products are built and operated. What looks like speed in one market...
Finfluencers Drive Inclusion but Expose Consumers to Risks
At the FSCA Conference 2026 regulators warned that South Africa’s booming finfluencer market is a double‑edged sword. While creators are making finance more accessible and boosting financial literacy, many operate without licences and provide weak or hidden disclosures. The FSCA...
Regional Central Banks Sign Landmark MoU to Implement PSP License Passporting Framework
The Central Bank of Kenya and the National Bank of Rwanda have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a licence‑passporting framework for payment‑service providers operating across both countries. The arrangement will allow mutual recognition of PSP licences, eliminating duplicate...
Matrixport Rebrands as BIT in Strategic Repositioning
Matrixport has rebranded as BIT, signaling its evolution in digital‑asset financial infrastructure. The firm released a BIT 2026 Trust Whitepaper that details its governance, risk‑management and operational frameworks amid growing institutional demand. BIT, a Singapore‑headquartered unicorn valued over $1 billion, manages...
FONIX MOBILE: BUILDING A SCALABLE PAYMENTS ENGINE BENEATH THE SURFACE - 20/03/26
Fonix Mobile leverages carrier‑billing and SMS to let consumers pay via their phone bill, securing high‑retention contracts with broadcasters, charities and major media brands. Its proprietary campaign platform captures interaction data, enabling targeted upsell and creating a feedback loop that...
Is the Future Digital Identity Your Heartbeat?
The article envisions a near‑term shift to heartbeat‑based digital identity for financial transactions, replacing cumbersome fingerprint, facial scans and OTPs with a ring‑mounted sensor. It argues that a unique cardiac signature can authenticate trades on platforms like Coinbase or IG...
Payaza CEO: Infrastructure Directness Is the Ultimate Moat
Payaza has become the only Visa‑certified payment processor headquartered in Sub‑Saharan Africa, choosing to bypass traditional aggregators and secure direct access to card schemes. This infrastructure‑first strategy cuts intermediary fees, improves margins and enables reinvestment in product development. The firm...
Quick Fire 🔥 with Ibukun Adedeji
Ibukun Adedeji, a product leader at Moniepoint, shares insights from his fintech career across Africa. He emphasizes that reliability, not just features, builds user trust and that operations knowledge is essential for product success. Adedeji highlights the rapid user‑driven adaptations...
Why Global AI and SaaS Startups Are Rethinking Cross-Border Payments
Global AI and SaaS startups are feeling the strain of outdated cross‑border payment rails, especially when moving funds from the US to India. Traditional bank wires can take three to five days and often deliver FX rates that differ from...
Perseus Android Malware Targets Mobile Banking Users via Fake IPTV Apps
Researchers at ThreatFabric have uncovered a new Perseus Android malware variant that masquerades as IPTV streaming apps to infiltrate smartphones. The strain builds on Cerberus and Phoenix code, leveraging Accessibility Services to stealthily control devices, scan note‑taking apps, and overlay...
Exciting News Ahead: Stay Tuned for Updates
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Stablecoins Remain Niche, Fit Only Specific Markets
Stablecoin market fit depends on the market https://t.co/wMsS3MtMEO "Takeaway: Stablecoins are today a niche product for a narrow population." https://t.co/xdseacqiH9
AvidXchange Expands AppFolio Partnership with Embedded AP Automation Solution for Property Management
AvidXchange has launched an embedded accounts‑payable‑as‑a‑service (APaaS) solution for the AppFolio Property Manager platform, now listed in the AppFolio Stack Marketplace. The integration lets property‑management teams initiate and approve supplier payments directly within AppFolio, eliminating the need for separate finance...
Join Canada FinTech Symposium for Open Banking, AI, Digital Finance
Excited to be heading to #Toronto in May for the Canada FinTech Symposium 2026! If Open Banking, AI, and digital finance are part of your 2026 strategy, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. Register Now 👉 https://t.co/oUHyKvkGkx @chyppings @CanadaSymp70327...
Inside Tempo Mainnet & Machine Payments with Liam Horn
Exclusive chat with @tempo product lead @liamihorne We cover the Tempo mainnet and Machine Payments Protocol Search for the Tokenized Podcast @TokenizedPod and subscribe so you don't miss it Drops Monday 👇 https://t.co/vQE3be52gF
Express Wages Brings Earned Wage Access to Good Hands Home Care
Express Wages has teamed up with Good Hands Home Care to offer caregivers and staff on‑demand access to earned wages, allowing advances of up to $200 per day. The service uses a no‑fee Visa prepaid card, ACH, or instant debit...
Public Ethereum Beats Consortia Chains, Yet Commercial Blockchains Thrive
A market needs many actors Having been at @Consensys when we ran a dozen consortia chains and concluded that nothing matches public @ethereum this essay is re energizing Fintech and corporate chains will be massively commercial, just like @AnthropicAI and @OpenAI But...
Finance Bots Are Now Negotiating for Customers
#FlashbackFriday In 2020, I suggested the future of finance would be bots negotiating with bots on behalf of customers. That future feels rather closer now. https://t.co/aAxDaqNeF0 Yesterday’s future. Progress optional.
Wise Appoints Former ICE CFO Scott Hill to Board of Directors as Cross-Border Ambitions Grow
Wise has appointed former Intercontinental Exchange CFO Scott Hill as an independent non‑executive director. Hill brings 14 years as ICE CFO and prior leadership roles at IBM, CS Disco, and Cardlytics. Wise aims to leverage his public‑company and U.S. market...
EtherFi to Tap Plume's Nest Vaults for Real-World Asset Yield
EtherFi, a crypto neobank with roughly $6 billion TVL, is integrating Plume Network’s Nest Vault infrastructure to offer tokenized real‑world asset yield via the nBASIS vault powered by Superstate’s USCC fund. The partnership will initially re‑allocate capital to the vault, followed...
As Credit Card Balances Hit Record Highs, Is a Rate Cap the Answer?
A record 111 million U.S. consumers carried credit‑card balances at year‑end, pushing total debt past $1 trillion. The average annual percentage rate slipped to 22.3% in Q4 2025, down from 22.8% a year earlier. Policy advocates propose a 10% interest‑rate cap, arguing it...
Why Treasurers Must Prepare for the BNPL “Regulatory Cliff-Edge”
The FCA will bring the £13 billion UK BNPL market under full regulatory oversight starting 15 July 2026, requiring lenders to conduct mandatory affordability assessments and provide standardized pre‑contract disclosures. A Temporary Permissions Regime opens from 15 May to 1 July 2026, after which firms must...
Klarna: Potential 5x Upside Amid Subprime Risks
Klarna: 5x Opportunity or a Subprime Lender? $KLAR offers a uniquely asymmetrical profile: - Beat Down Stock - Expanding into Banking - Strong Growth - Potential for improving profits https://www.globalequitybriefing.com/p/klarna-5x-opportunity-or-a-subprime?r=39awso&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
EU and UK Listings Now Live on Fiscal AI API
I am thrilled to announce all EU and UK listings are now live in the @fiscal_ai API. They roll into the Terminal shortly. The complexities of making this happen, the edge cases, the quality control, the source material ... extremely hard. So proud...
How Gradient Labs Is Thinking About the Shift to Agentic Banking
At FinovateEurope 2026, Gradient Labs CEO Dimitri Masin outlined the industry’s move from mobile‑first interfaces to "agentic banking," where AI agents execute complex, judgment‑heavy tasks. He argued that traditional fintech apps still rely on large human back‑offices, creating friction for...
Hackers Breach Firewall Provider, Exposing 672k Personal Records
Every day, in every way, it gets worse. Marquis says 672,075 people had their names, dates of birth, postal addresses, social security numbers, bank account and card details stolen after hackers got in to their firewall provider’s system. https://t.co/Wes13lLF1N https://t.co/vnLfmf8HsP
Permissioned Data Turns Noise Into Relevant Messaging
The difference between noise and relevance is data. Understanding customer preferences allows financial institutions to deliver the right message at the right moment. Download The Power of Customer Permissioned Data for free: https://t.co/2JDFLgM4mB https://t.co/SsGg8LpUyu
Robinhood Launches Social Platform For Trading, Markets Discussion
Robinhood has begun beta‑testing Robinhood Social, a social‑media platform for traders that lets users post trades in stocks, single‑leg options, crypto and prediction markets. The initial rollout reaches 1,000 carefully selected customers, with a plan to add 10,000 more in...
Unlocking Bitcoin's Potential for Lending and Yield
Bitcoin is a $1T+ asset — but barely used in finance. Can that change? On Unchained, @EmanAbio joins me to discuss a new approach to using BTC for lending, credit, and yield — and why previous attempts haven’t worked. https://t.co/oU2EeDw6Mf
AI Agent Now Thrives in Real Markets with Structured Memory
This AI agent can now survive real markets. @overdotcomputer built the execution layer that changes that. Every decision becomes structured memory that sharpens the next one. Arena is live → https://t.co/LE78hfbP3D
Mastercard to Acquire BVNK for Up to $1.8B, Adding On‑Chain Payments to Card Network
Mastercard announced a definitive agreement to acquire BVNK, a stablecoin‑infrastructure provider, for up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments. The deal gives Mastercard a ready‑made on‑chain payments platform, positioning it to bridge traditional card networks with crypto assets as...
Predictive Analytics Flagged BVNKFinance Before Mastercard Deal
Crunchbase called it. Three months ago, we flagged @BVNKFinance as a likely acquisition target, & @Mastercard just announced plans to acquire it for up to $1.8B. That’s the power of predictions — you can spot opportunities early & move before competitors....
Now Available: 2026 Directory of U.S. Merchant Acquirers
TSG has launched its 2026 Directory of U.S. Merchant Acquirers, a subscription‑only research tool sponsored by Deluxe Merchant Services. The guide profiles more than 300 merchant acquirers, representing over $13.5 trillion in processing volume, 550+ sponsor‑bank ties, and 55+ proprietary processing...