Know What's Happening in FinTech
Know What's Happening in FinTech
FinTech Pulse
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EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Bank of America launched real‑time payment sending in March 2024, following its receipt‑only capability introduced in November 2018. The bank’s smart, future‑proof design allowed it to add the send function without cannibalizing its $1.9 trillion‑daily wire transfer volume. Industry forecasts suggest 70‑80% of U.S. institutions will receive instant payments by 2028, yet only 30‑40% will be able to send them. BofA’s experience shows that expanding into instant‑payment sending can grow the overall payments pie rather than shrink wire‑transfer revenue.
Z1 is a Brazilian fintech neobank built for teenagers and young adults across Latin America. It delivers a digital banking platform that includes prepaid debit cards, peer‑to‑peer transfers, and integrated financial‑education tools. By focusing on early financial habits, Z1 aims...
American Banker’s 2026 Value of On‑Chain survey of 199 banking professionals shows large banks are furthest along in adopting on‑chain technology. About 30% have implemented or piloted on‑chain solutions, with cross‑border payments emerging as the leading use case for both...
Feedzai has launched RiskFM, a fraud‑prevention platform that moves beyond sole reliance on card‑network data by incorporating customer onboarding, payments and broader digital activity. The solution processes roughly $9 trillion in global payments across 120 billion events each year. Early testing is...
In 2026 eSIM technology is reshaping travel connectivity by replacing physical SIM cards with embedded, software‑provisioned modules. By Q1, eSIM‑compatible devices accounted for roughly 60% of premium smartphone sales and are projected to exceed 75% by year‑end. The shift enables...
Kevin Busque, former TaskRabbit VP, discovered that only 36% of employees used the company’s 401(k) plan, exposing costly, clunky legacy systems. He co‑founded Guideline in 2015 to build a transparent, fee‑free retirement platform for SMBs, designing the entire software stack...
On March 24, 2026, a new podcast episode launched as part of the Global Regulation Tomorrow Plus Future of Payments series, focusing on the EU’s upcoming Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR). The hosts, joined by...
Fira, an Ethereum‑based DeFi lending protocol, launched with roughly $450 million in deposits, largely migrated from Euler Finance users. The platform introduces a fixed‑rate credit market that lets borrowers lock costs and lenders lock returns for defined maturities, mirroring traditional fixed‑income...
Spade announced a $40 million Series B round led by Oak HC/FT, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and other fintech investors. The New York‑based fintech reported 470% year‑over‑year growth and a peak daily transaction volume of 1.9 billion, underscoring rapid adoption. The capital will...
The Electronic Transactions Association announced it is acquiring the American Transaction Processors Coalition to bolster its advocacy, education, and member‑engagement capabilities. ATPC’s executive director, Jay Morgan, will join ETA as an advisor, reinforcing the trade group’s policy work. The combined...
Tether announced it has engaged an unnamed Big Four accounting firm to perform its first full financial‑statement audit of the $184 billion USDT stablecoin. The audit will scrutinize the token’s assets, liabilities, internal controls and reporting processes, moving beyond the periodic...
Bank of Montreal (BMO) announced a tokenized cash platform built with CME Group and Google Cloud, aiming to deliver near‑instant settlement for capital‑market participants. The service will allow continuous fund movement, eliminating traditional banking‑hour constraints and reducing capital tied up...
SPAYZ.io introduced a P2P Agent Dashboard that consolidates agent activity, automates commissions and provides real‑time reconciliation for high‑risk merchants in over 35 markets. The tool aims to cut manual errors and accelerate geographic expansion for iGaming, Forex and crypto operators.
AI agents are transforming AML operations by automating the labor‑intensive alert review and decisioning stages, where most costs reside. WorkFusion’s Evan can analyze adverse media results in two to three minutes, cutting review time by 80‑90% compared with human analysts....
The Solana Foundation unveiled its Solana Developer Platform (SDP), targeting enterprise developers building tokenized real‑world assets and stablecoin solutions. Early adopters include Mastercard for stablecoin settlement, Worldpay for merchant payments, and Western Union for cross‑border transfers. SDP launches with issuance...
The Solana Foundation has unveiled the Solana Developer Platform (SDP), a toolkit that lets enterprises build tokenized assets, stablecoins and payment flows on Solana via APIs. Early adopters include Mastercard, Western Union and Worldpay, signaling strong institutional interest. SDP bundles...
Banks are racing to modernize payments as real‑time transactions surge and AI reshapes the industry. A recent ACI survey of 200 banks placed payments modernization as their top priority, emphasizing faster product launches and innovative customer solutions. Executives highlighted the...
European banks have formed a consortium called Qivalis to issue a euro‑denominated stablecoin, marking the first large‑scale, bank‑led effort to internationalise the euro in digital form. The project receives backing from the European Central Bank’s regulatory sandbox, signaling official support...
Omnes and Apex Group announced a tokenized secured debt note, the Omnes Mining Note (OMN), that provides institutional investors exposure to Bitcoin mining hash‑rate on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer‑2 network. The structured note packages mining output into a regulated on‑chain...
Mitchell Amador argues that DeFi will not fracture under regulation but will evolve into interoperable tiers ranging from fully permissionless to highly compliant. In 2026 regulatory pressure will push institutions toward on‑chain liquidity, creating a hybrid ecosystem where compliant players...
OpenAI has selected Brex’s AI‑native corporate card and spend‑management platform to run its global financial operations. The deal incorporates Brex’s new ChatGPT integration, enabling finance teams to query expense data and policy details directly in a chat interface. Brex reports...
Worth, the fintech startup founded by Stax alumni Sal Rehmetullah and Suneera Madhani, announced a $30 million Series A round. The funding, led by Amex Ventures, Fulcrum Equity Partners and TTV Capital, reflects the founders' proven track record and strategic investor relationships....
Zalos, a London‑San Francisco fintech, raised a $3.6 million seed round led by 14Peaks Capital to develop AI agents that automate finance‑team workflows. The startup’s agents log into existing ERP, CRM, spreadsheet, and banking systems, handling tasks without requiring a stack...
Worldpay announced its admission as a principal member of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), the continent‑wide effort to build a unified, low‑cost payment scheme. The move gives Worldpay direct influence over EPI's governance and access to its expanding network of...
Paper checks remain a costly, fraud‑prone legacy in the United States. In 2024 the Federal Reserve processed $175 billion in checks, incurring nearly $700 million in support costs, while checks accounted for 65% of payment‑fraud losses. Check volume has dropped 83% over...
The GSMA’s 2026 State of the Industry Report shows mobile money transactions surpassed $2 trillion in 2025, doubling the value reached just four years earlier. Active 30‑day accounts grew 15% to 593 million, driven largely by Sub‑Saharan Africa, while monthly usage climbed...
Optasia, the South African fintech that pioneered AI‑driven credit vetting via mobile wallets, is expanding into formal banking. The company’s micro‑financing line now generates 63% of revenue and posted a blended default rate of 1.2% for 2025. FirstRand Group invested...
Addi, the point‑of‑sale financing platform, has been named to Fast Company’s 2026 list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. The company recently closed a $200 million Series C round, bringing total funding to $350 million and expanding its operations into the United States....
Regulators worldwide are elevating enterprise‑wide financial crime risk assessments from a compliance formality to the core blueprint of AML/CTF programmes. The new standard demands assessments that are accurate, complete, evidence‑based and fully integrated with governance, controls and risk appetite. Generic...
The Payments Vision Delivery Committee released the Payments Forward Plan, a three‑year roadmap outlining the future of payments. The plan targets faster, more secure, and interoperable transaction infrastructure, bringing together banks, fintechs, and regulators. It highlights real‑time settlement, digital identity,...
The European Central Bank is intensifying its focus on AI, tokenised finance, and cross‑border payment integration to boost euro‑area productivity and market efficiency. ECB officials estimate AI could raise total‑factor productivity by 0.2‑0.4 percentage points per year, with employee adoption...
European fintech venture builder 0TO9, targeting 1,000 fintechs by 2045, launched Flow & Partners, a working‑capital financing startup. The firm offers cash‑flow‑based funding and factoring for deals up to €50 million ($54 million) across four European markets, with plans to expand to...
Liminal Custody and Swiss security firm Securosys announced the Liminal HSM Vaults, an institutional‑grade custody platform that blends multi‑party computation with certified hardware security modules. The solution targets banks, custodians and fintechs seeking FIPS‑level protection and policy‑driven authorization for digital‑asset...
Resolv Labs' USR stablecoin was compromised when a hacker accessed a privileged off‑chain key, minted roughly $80 million worth of unbacked tokens and extracted $25 million in ETH. The flood of USR drove the peg down to as low as $0.025, sparking...
Mobile money transaction volume surpassed $2 trillion in 2025, doubling the $1 trillion milestone reached four years earlier. The GSMA report shows registered accounts climbed to 2.3 billion, with active 30‑day users rising 15% to 593 million, driven largely by Sub‑Saharan Africa. Providers expanded...
🔺 The "Vanguard Moment" for Crypto? Not quite. Most investors treat crypto like equities, but the data tells a different story. If you’re trying to build a crypto index that actually beats Bitcoin, you’re fighting a structural uphill battle. Delve into...
ServiceNow and Visa Bind Agentic AI to Payments: A Live Test of Enterprise AI in Regulated, Revenue-Critical Workflow AI-powered payment dispute platform automating end-to-end workflows. ServiceNow's agentic AI + AI Control Tower applied to regulated payments operations. https://t.co/q1KioQdJwE
South African fintech littlefish has closed a $9.5 million Series A round led by Partech to accelerate its merchant operating system across the continent. The platform bundles point‑of‑sale, CRM, payments and API services into a white‑label SaaS solution that banks can offer...
JUST IN: 🚨 CFTC launches Innovation Task Force to create clear rules for crypto, blockchain, AI, and prediction market innovations https://t.co/YCAYilyiso
Great piece on Zero Human Companies from @Uptodatenow at @glxyresearch Cover $ROBOTMONEY @RobotMoneyAgent and how the project expects to plug into this world.
DB Investing has launched DB Pay, a payments and digital‑asset platform that provides AED and USD IBAN accounts for individuals and businesses across the UAE and wider MENA region. The service uses a subscription model—$3 per month for individuals and...
The fastest growth in payments is no longer plastic. It is mobile, and with agentic AI entering the picture, that shift is only going to accelerate. https://t.co/bVJV0KZtAo
Thanks to UKI Acquirer Innovation Hub for hosting me last month. We had a great discussion about 'Discoverability in an Agentic World', exploring how agentic commerce will reshape payments and why providers might need to rethink how they differentiate. https://t.co/irpi0R2B2k
The MVIS Digital India Index, the benchmark for VanEck’s DGIN ETF, is overhauling its methodology to mirror India’s shift from export‑focused IT services to a domestically driven digital economy. A new rule requiring over 50% of revenue from Indian customers...
Fintech firm GTN obtained a Type 1 licence from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission, expanding its regulatory footprint. The licence creates a dedicated Hong Kong team, making GTN its sixth licensed subsidiary after the UK, US, Singapore, UAE, and South...
Armenia’s fintech sector has moved from an emerging niche to a structured ecosystem, leveraging a decade of government‑backed digital‑economy investments and a talent‑rich labor pool. By 2025 startup activity rose 22.8% and total funding reached roughly $164 million, while the banking...
Enterprise resource planning systems often delay financial closes, forcing manual reconciliations that can take weeks. Rillet, an AI‑native accounting platform, was built for a continuous close and offers native integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Stripe. By leveraging Zapier’s extensive app...
At ITB Berlin’s 60th anniversary, YeePay introduced a one‑stop Global Corporate Account solution that streamlines cross‑border payments for airlines and travel agencies. The platform leverages over two decades of Chinese aviation expertise, linking all Chinese carriers and nearly 10,000 OTAs...
MyPoV: @_RituSingh interviewing legendary CEO @Bajaj_Finserv @sanjivrbajaj He’s talking about how strong the digital public infrastructure is in India from payments to wealth management. The Indian government has strong private public cooperation @IndiasporaForum #IndiasporaForum
In this episode, Jana Scott, former IRS enrolled agent and founder of DeFi Tax, reveals that the crypto tax industry is built on fundamentally flawed methodologies, with her forensic audits of 14 major tax platforms and 53 crypto‑tax firms showing...
