The Long Patience Behind a Business That Finally Made Payments Make Sense
Sabeer Nelli, founder of Zil Money, grew frustrated with fragmented payment systems that delayed payroll, vendor payments, and cash flow for his own businesses. After a processor froze his account, he realized the root problem was cultural—financial tools lacked empathy for users. He first launched OnlineCheckWriter.com to digitize checks, then built Zil Money to unify checks, ACH, wires, and virtual cards in a single, reliable workflow. Bootstrapped and trust‑focused, Zil Money now offers SMBs a cohesive payment platform that reduces error and stress.
Only Stock Tokens Offer Real Ownership, Not Crypto
Visa: Credit Card Competition Act Not Needed
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney reiterated that the Credit Card Competition Act is unnecessary and would harm the economy, weaken security, and reduce credit access and rewards. He emphasized Visa’s role in educating lawmakers about the bill’s negative consequences. The company...
Banks Reduce Reliance on OpenAI
Evident’s AI Index shows the world’s largest banks are cutting back on OpenAI, with its share of disclosed AI projects dropping from roughly 50% to about one‑third by the end of 2025. Banks are increasingly turning to Anthropic and Google...
Nationwide Tops UK Current Account Switching Table
Over a million Britons switched banks in the past year, with the Current Account Switch Service processing 1,054,521 transfers for the third consecutive million‑plus period. Nationwide led Q3 net gains, adding 41,450 accounts thanks to a £175 incentive and profit‑sharing...
El Salvador's Central Bank Buys $50 Million of Gold as Government Keeps Adding Bitcoin
El Salvador’s central bank announced a $50 million purchase of gold, adding 9,298 troy ounces to its reserves and bringing total gold holdings to about 67,403 ounces, valued near $360 million. The government also continued its daily bitcoin acquisition program, buying one...
What Does 2026 Hold for Fintech?
Founders and investors see 2026 as a turning point for fintech, with stablecoins poised to become core infrastructure for cross‑border payments. AI is rapidly moving from theory to production, driving faster product launches and embedding agentic capabilities in financial workflows....
Gulf Regulatory Outlook 2026
Regulatory momentum in the Gulf is shifting from rapid framework‑building to concrete execution, as authorities embed recent reforms into supervision, enforcement and market infrastructure. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are loosening foreign‑ownership rules and aligning with IOSCO standards to attract...
21Shares Launches First Jito Staked Solana ETP in Europe
21Shares has introduced the JSOL exchange‑traded product, the first Europe‑listed ETP backed by JitoSOL, offering direct exposure to Solana with built‑in staking rewards. The ETP trades in USD and euros on Euronext Amsterdam and Paris and holds JitoSOL, a liquid‑staking...
Nubank Receives Conditional OCC Approval for US Charter
Nubank, Brazil’s leading neobank, received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to operate a de novo national bank. The approval, granted after a 121‑day review that aligns with the OCC’s 120‑day timeline, allows Nubank NA...
It Seems People Are Still Confused About How to Handle Our First Tax Season Without Checks
In March 2025 President Trump signed Executive Order 14247, mandating the elimination of paper checks for all federal payments by September 30 2025. The order, citing $657 million in annual Treasury costs and fraud risks, forces taxpayers, businesses, and vendors to transition to...
PicPay Prices IPO at $19 per Share
Brazilian digital bank PicPay priced its initial public offering at $19 per share, targeting roughly $434 million in proceeds. The offering comprises 22.9 million Class A common shares that will debut on Nasdaq under the ticker “PICS” on January 29, 2026. PicPay currently serves...
Shopify Updates Chargeback Rate Calculations to Include RDR
Shopify has revised its chargeback rate calculations to incorporate every dispute, including those resolved through Visa’s Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) program. The updated metric lets merchants filter data by dispute type, delivering a more precise view of account risk. By...
Bloomberg Pro Tips: Discover Curated Charts Faster Across Sectors with CHRT
Bloomberg’s latest Pro Tips episode showcases the CHRT tool on the Bloomberg Terminal, a centralized hub for curated charts across sectors, tickers, and portfolios. The feature lets users pull sector‑wide visualizations, apply custom filters, and export charts without leaving the...
Paytm Rebounds From Regulatory Ruckus With Sales Up 20%
Paytm posted a net profit of 2.25 billion rupees in the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, while revenue climbed 20% to 22 billion rupees. The fintech’s turnaround follows a series of cost‑cutting measures, the sale of its ticketing business, and a renewed...
Linking Payments Infrastructure Is a Key Component of India, EU Deal
The episode examines the newly signed India‑EU Free Trade Agreement, highlighting payments interoperability as a cornerstone, including real‑time cross‑border payments and remittances. It explains how the deal builds on the ECB’s plan to link its TARGET Instant Payment Settlement service...
GAO Chides OCC for Not Keeping Basel Records 'Confidential'
The Government Accountability Office issued a report warning the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that it lacks a clear policy for treating Basel Committee documents as federal records, violating the Federal Records Act. The GAO highlighted inconsistencies...
SOL ETFs Outpace ETH’s Early Rollout, But BTC Still Dominates
U.S. spot Solana ETFs launched in October 2025 attracted roughly $750‑$766 million in early inflows, outpacing Ethereum’s debut but remaining far behind Bitcoin’s $12.1 billion first‑quarter surge. By December 2025 Solana ETFs held about $950 million, roughly 1.35 % of Solana’s market cap, while...
Bolt Partners with Aethir to Power Open-Web Checkout for Games
Bolt announced a partnership with Aethir, the leading distributed GPU cloud provider, to deliver open‑web checkout for games hosted outside traditional app stores. The deal makes Bolt the preferred payments provider for studios on Aethir’s platform, enabling one‑click, browser‑based purchases...
When and Why, You Should Consider a PAN Card Update?
India’s Permanent Account Number (PAN) is the core identity proof for tax, banking and investment activities. Changes such as marriage, address relocation, or data errors require a PAN update, which can be filed online or offline through NSDL or UTIITSL....
How Personal Loans Are Helping Individuals Manage Planned and Unexpected Costs?
Personal loans are increasingly used to smooth both planned and unexpected expenses, converting large one‑time outlays into manageable monthly installments. By offering fixed repayment schedules and transparent terms, they let borrowers preserve emergency savings and avoid high‑cost informal credit. The...
How Crypto Payments Will Change in 2026
Crypto payments are shifting from a marketing gimmick to a settlement‑focused infrastructure as 2026 approaches. Merchants increasingly prefer hybrid crypto‑to‑fiat processors that convert digital assets instantly, avoiding exposure to volatility. Three models dominate: wallet‑to‑wallet for crypto‑native businesses, hybrid processors that...
Crypto Stocks Sink as Spot Volume Plunges and Bitcoin Tumbles Below $84,000
Bitcoin slipped below $84,000, a 6% drop that pulled crypto‑related equities lower across the board. Coinbase led the decline, falling 7% and extending its losing streak to eight sessions, its longest since September 2024, while other exchanges such as Gemini,...
Banana Pro Expands on BNB Chain, Bringing High-Speed Execution to One of Crypto’s Most Active Trading Ecosystems
Banana Gun has extended its Banana Pro platform to fully support BNB Chain, adding a high‑performance execution engine to one of crypto’s busiest on‑chain markets. The upgrade lets traders run swaps, limit orders and DCA strategies on BNB assets from the same...
Saxo Bank Hit with Fine in Denmark Due to Money Laundering Claims
Saxo Bank, a Danish online trading firm with over €115 billion in client assets, was fined DKK 313 million (about $50 million) by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority for AML compliance failures. The regulator cited inadequate due‑diligence on customer purpose and insufficient monitoring of...
Crypto Market Infrastructure Legislation, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, Advances Out of Senate Agriculture Committee
The Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, a crypto‑market‑infrastructure bill, cleared the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee on Jan. 29, 2026. Chairman John Boozman hailed the move as a step toward a comprehensive U.S. framework that safeguards consumers while supporting innovation. The...
Snapchat Shares Data on How Its Users Seek Info on Financial Products
Snapchat released a study with Ipsos of 1,100 U.S. daily social users who hold or seek financial products. The data shows daily Snapchat users hold more products and are 1.4 times more likely to take a new financial product within...
Visa Spending Study Reveals How US Consumers Will Leverage AI to Spend on Winter Sports
Visa’s new study shows AI is reshaping how U.S. consumers plan winter travel ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics. Over half of respondents (55%) intend to use AI tools for their next snowy getaway, and 71% say the technology slashes planning...
Marquis Blames Ransomware Breach on SonicWall Cloud Backup Hack
Marquis Software Solutions, a Texas‑based provider to over 700 banks and credit unions, attributes its August 2025 ransomware incident to a breach of SonicWall’s MySonicWall cloud backup service. The attackers allegedly used firewall configuration files stolen from SonicWall to bypass Marquis’s...
Aleo, Toku and Paxos Labs Launch Private Stablecoin Payroll Solution
Aleo, Toku, and Paxos Labs have launched the first fully private stablecoin payroll solution. The platform lets enterprises pay employees with USAD, a Paxos‑backed stablecoin, while zero‑knowledge proofs keep transaction details hidden. Integration with Toku’s API connects to HR systems...
OnePay Names Patrick O’Connell CFO
OnePay announced the appointment of Patrick O’Connell as its new chief financial officer. O’Connell, who most recently served as EVP and CFO of AMC Networks, will oversee finance, strategy, and long‑term planning. The hire comes as OnePay, a consumer fintech,...
The Five Forces Evolving the Insurance Industry in 2026 (and One Prediction for Each)
In 2026 insurers confront five converging forces: under‑scaled AI agents that risk rogue behavior, chronic data‑quality challenges, a consumer shift toward AI‑driven insurance shopping that slashes organic web traffic, a surge in AI‑generated fraud, and mounting climate‑related losses that could...
Dosh and One NZ Turn Everyday Spend Into Phone Reward
New Zealand telecom operator One NZ has teamed up with cash‑back platform Dosh to let customers convert everyday spending into points that can be applied toward phone upgrades. The partnership embeds Dosh’s reward engine into One NZ’s billing system, automatically...
Convera Appoints Meaghan Riley Chief Commercial Officer
Convera announced the appointment of Meaghan Riley as its new Chief Commercial Officer, bringing extensive experience from Google Cloud, DocuSign and SAP. Riley will oversee global go‑to‑market strategy, aiming to unify sales teams and accelerate revenue across regions. The company...
Bread Financial Mum on Trump's Interest Rate Cap Amid Earnings Beat
Bread Financial posted a strong Q4 2025, reporting $975 million in revenue—a 5.3% year‑over‑year rise—and $53 million net income, far surpassing analyst forecasts. The lender’s net interest margin improved to 18.9% and direct‑to‑consumer deposits grew 11% to $8.5 billion, now comprising 48% of its...
BigCommerce Expands Stripe Integration to Deliver Optimized Checkout Experiences
BigCommerce has broadened its partnership with Stripe, rolling out the Optimized Checkout Suite to merchants worldwide. The upgrade adds Link’s rapid repeat‑checkout, over 30 local and BNPL payment options, and Stripe Radar’s AI‑driven fraud protection. Merchants can activate the new...
FINNY Partners with Osaic to Expand AI Prospecting for Advisors
FINNY, an AI‑powered prospecting platform for financial advisors, has partnered with Osaic to roll its technology out across Osaic’s network of more than 270 institutions and roughly 11,000 advisors. The integration gives users access to FINNY’s predictive F‑Score engine, real‑time...
Traders Misreading Signals; Moves Reflect Deeper Market Forces
Steve Ehrlich speaks with @EvgenyGaevoy, founder and CEO of Wintermute, on what current market moves are actually responding to, and what traders may be misreading. https://t.co/JTgHPOAblZ
SEC Chair Says 'Time Is Right' For Pension Funds to Include Crypto, CFTC Head Says Digital Assets Set to Flourish
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the time is right for retirement plans, including 401(k)s, to add cryptocurrency, while CFTC Chair Mike Selig predicted digital assets will flourish once Congress passes a market‑structure bill. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the draft...
Zeidler Group: SEC Marketing Update Is Narrow, Not Seismic
Zeidler Group says the SEC’s latest Marketing Rule FAQs are a targeted clarification, not a market‑moving shift, and cautions asset managers against over‑reacting. The update focuses on model‑fee disclosures where performance may not reflect higher fees and on compensated testimonials...
WealthTech Buying: Three Red Flags to Avoid
Kidbrooke warns wealth managers that choosing analytics platforms based solely on features and price can lead to costly structural problems. It identifies three red flags: narrow‑scope analytics that hinder future expansion, opaque or expensive customisation that stalls innovation, and vendors...
Gold Rally Signals Bitcoin’s Liquidity Surge Amid Fiat Decline
The future is hyperbitcoinization, but that's not where we are today. Today, Bitcoin is too small to compete with sovereign debt, and that's ok. Gold running is bullish for Bitcoin. Fiat is dying. Gold front-runs liquidity. Bitcoin responds to liquidity. Nothing new....
Top Web Development Trends to Watch in 2026
Web development in 2026 is dominated by AI‑first tools, meta‑frameworks, and pervasive TypeScript, reshaping how code is written and deployed. AI agents now scaffold full‑stack applications from natural language prompts, while platforms like Next.js and Nuxt merge front‑end and back‑end...
Grading America’s Progress Toward Becoming the Crypto Capital of the World
One year after an open letter urging the United States to become the crypto capital, U.S. policymakers have made notable strides across three priority areas. Market‑structure legislation is advancing, stablecoin rules under the Genius Act have been enacted, and regulators...
The Cross-Border CFO Playbook: Using Local Collections for Growth
The article highlights a growing gap between outbound payment innovation and inbound collection capability for mid‑market firms expanding internationally. While large multinationals have long relied on local entities and bank accounts, smaller companies still depend on global cards and cross‑border...
Global Markets Crash as Everything Including Bitcoin Sells Off at Once Erasing Trillions
Global markets experienced a synchronized crash as the US equity open sparked a liquidity‑driven sell‑off across risk assets. Bitcoin slid to $84,000, gold fell $500 per ounce and oil surged above $71 a barrel amid rising US‑Iran tension. Over $800 million...
UMB CEO Takes ‘Measured’ Tone on M&A
UMB CEO Mariner Kemper said the bank will keep its M&A approach "measured," focusing on organic growth while staying open to strategic tuck‑in deals. The lender, which completed a $2.8 billion Heartland Financial acquisition last year, aims to avoid transactions that...
Trust, Payments, and Privacy: What FinTech Can Learn From the AI Girlfriend App Boom
AI companionship apps have evolved from novelty chatbots into a fast‑growing consumer‑tech category that blends conversational AI, voice, image generation, and always‑on availability. Their subscription‑based models bring fintech‑style challenges such as billing reliability, fraud risk, and regulatory compliance. Users judge...
Why Context Is the Missing Link for Trusted AI at Work
M‑Files CEO Jay Bhatt warns that today’s work spans multiple systems, teams and partners, leaving information fragmented and hard to trust. This operational friction slows decision‑making, inflates risk, and diminishes the value of automation and AI investments. Bhatt argues that...
Crypto Custody Firm Copper in Early Talks for IPO as Crypto 'Plumbing' Becomes New Wall Street Favorite
London‑based crypto custodian Copper is in early discussions about a public listing, potentially partnering with Goldman Sachs, Citi and Deutsche Bank. The decision will depend on the firm’s near‑term revenue performance, even as it publicly downplays immediate IPO plans. Copper...