DOJ Presses Visa Antitrust Case
The Justice Department is advancing its antitrust lawsuit against Visa, alleging the company maintains an illegal monopoly in the U.S. debit‑card market. The case, filed in September 2024, now faces a scheduling battle as DOJ proposes a four‑month discovery delay while Visa pushes for a longer postponement. Both sides must report to the Southern District of New York by Jan. 16, and the dispute could shift a trial date well into 2027 or later. The outcome will hinge on how the court balances procedural timelines with the government’s push for swift resolution.
The CFPB's Small-Dollar Lending Rule Has Clearly Backfired on Consumers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2017 small‑dollar lending rule, revived in 2025, imposed strict payment‑attempt limits and mandatory notices. Online Lenders Alliance data show the rule has driven higher delinquency, default and collection rates, while forcing lenders to tighten credit...
Former Piedmont Bank Execs Start Georgia De Novo
Former Piedmont Bank executives have received FDIC and Georgia banking department approvals to launch Georgia Skyline Bank, a de novo community lender based in Roswell. They are closing in on a minimum $25 million capital raise, targeting $25‑35 million to fund operations and...
Google Opens the Ad Door to Prediction Markets and Keeps It Shut on Binary Options
Google announced that, starting Jan 21 2026, it will allow ads for exchange‑listed event contracts—commonly known as prediction markets—only from firms regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The policy draws a clear line between CFTC‑authorized platforms such as Kalshi and...
Meme Trading Volume Recovers, Pepeto Leads As The Next Crypto To Explode
Meme‑coin trading volume is rebounding, signalling renewed retail enthusiasm for the sector. Pepeto ($PEPETO) completed a $7.14 million presale at $0.000000175 per token and offers a 216 % APY staking rate. Unlike typical meme projects, Pepeto launched a functional bridge, zero‑fee swap...
Cross River Bank Shares 2025 Recap of Progress
Cross River Bank released its 2025 progress recap, highlighting a transformative year driven by AI and digital assets. The fintech‑first bank processed over $1 billion in payment transactions and facilitated $1.5 billion in loans, including its first $288 million CMBS deal. Its Principal...
Bitcoin Mining Data Center to Heat Greenhouse in Canada
Canaan Inc. is piloting a 3 MW Bitcoin mining data center in Manitoba that will capture and redirect waste heat to a nearby greenhouse operated by Bitforest. The proof‑of‑concept aims for a 90% heat‑capture rate and runs under a two‑year agreement....
Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Targets Women and Financial Inclusion with New Women Regulators Network
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at Cambridge Judge Business School has launched a Women Regulators Network (WRN) to tackle persistent gaps in women’s financial inclusion. The network will be overseen by a global council of senior women regulators...
How ETFs Inform the Next Phase of Tokenized Finance with Janus Henderson
In this episode, Nick Cherney, Head of Innovation at Janus Henderson, discusses how ETFs serve as a blueprint for the next wave of tokenized finance, highlighting the practical benefits of on-chain infrastructure for both DeFi-native demand and traditional investment products....
How the Principles of the Planogram Can Apply to Payments
The episode explores how retailers' planogram strategies—optimizing shelf space based on sales data—can be applied to payment orchestration, arguing that merchants should selectively adopt payment methods that maximize approval rates while controlling back‑office costs. Don Apgar explains that, like stocking...
Video: ABN Amro at Money20/20 USA - Building BUUT
ABN Amro’s new digital‑only bank BUUT was highlighted in a video interview with FinTech Futures at Money20/20 USA, where chief architect Annerie Vreugdenhil explained its launch strategy. BUUT targets millennials and Gen‑Z with a mobile‑first experience, leveraging ABN Amro’s existing infrastructure while...
Encompass Forms Executive Advisory Board to Drive Innovation
Encompass Corporation has launched an Executive Advisory Board (EAB) to steer its global corporate digital identity (CDI) strategy and accelerate innovation in KYC solutions. Chaired by Doris Honold, the board brings together former senior leaders from JP Morgan, HSBC, Standard Chartered...
Rimes Names Ex-Snowflake, FactSet Exec as CRO
Rimes announced Kieran Kennedy as its new Chief Revenue Officer, bringing over three decades of leadership in financial data, cloud platforms, and institutional investment workflows. Kennedy most recently oversaw Snowflake's data cloud partnerships, generating more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue,...
Capitolis Appoints Roy Saadon as Head of Market Development, Portfolio Optimisation
Capitolis has appointed Roy Saadon as Head of Market Development for its Portfolio Optimisation unit, based in London. Saadon brings 25 years of technology and financial‑services experience, including co‑founding Access Fintech and Traiana. He will drive product adoption, expand the client network, and...
Singapore Jails Two for Falsifying Accounts Linked to Wirecard
A Singapore court sentenced two men for falsifying escrow account confirmations linked to Wirecard, involving over €1 billion. Director R Shanmugaratnam received a 10‑year term, while British national James Henry O’Sullivan was sentenced to six and a half years. Between 2016 and...
Top 5 Prediction Market Platforms To Keep An Eye On in 2026
Prediction markets have evolved into multi‑billion‑dollar ecosystems, offering real‑time insight on events from elections to interest rates. In 2026 the sector is dominated by five platforms—Polymarket, Pariflow, Kalshi, PredictIt and Manifold—each catering to distinct trader profiles. Polymarket provides unmatched liquidity,...
Swift’s Blockchain Pilot Signals a Turning Point for Cross-Border Payments
Swift, Ant International and HSBC completed a pilot that moved tokenised deposits between HSBC entities in Singapore and Hong Kong using ISO 20022 messages over the Swift network. The test proved that blockchain‑based money can travel on the same messaging standards...
Payment Accessibility Is Now Business Critical: New Report Reveals Billions Excluded at the Checkout
Castles Technology’s new report warns that billions of consumers are excluded from modern point‑of‑sale systems due to visual, motor, hearing and cognitive impairments. The study estimates UK retailers lose £70 billion each year as disabled shoppers abandon purchases, and highlights the...
Real-Time Payments Have Rewritten the Risk Equation
Real-time payment rails now settle in milliseconds, reshaping customer expectations and forcing banks, fintechs, and processors to rethink risk management. The instantaneous nature of settlement compresses the window for fraud detection, rendering legacy AML and sanctions‑screening tools ineffective. Traditional batch‑oriented...
The Human Factor Shaping the Future of AI-Driven AML
Financial institutions are entering 2026 with a renewed focus on human oversight for AI‑driven anti‑money‑laundering (AML) systems. While AI continues to deliver real‑time monitoring, large‑scale data analysis and higher detection accuracy, the industry faces a widening skill gap that threatens...
Signals Q4’25: Who Authorized This Agent?
Fintech funding surged in Q4 2025, reaching $12.98 billion—a 36% rise quarter‑over‑quarter and 61% year‑over‑year. While the total capital pool expanded, the number of equity raises slipped 14% QoQ, pushing the average deal size up 57% QoQ (11% YoY). The market is...
AI Fuels US Productivity Surge While EU Falls Behind
US to extend productivity lead on back of AI boom, say economists EU continues to lag: Pro: US productivity was set to “pull away from other developed market economies” thanks to the country’s dynamic capital markets, flexible labour force and lead in...
Brits Turn Back to Cash as ATM Withdrawals Reach Record
Nationwide data shows UK ATM withdrawals reached £4.2bn in 2025, a new record surpassing the 2017 peak. The number of withdrawals rose 6% to 34.7 million and the average amount per transaction increased to £120. About 13% of Britons say using...
BIA Explained: How ChainThat’s Building the Future of Insurance Finance
ChainThat’s Beyond Insurance Accounting (BIA) platform automates the entire insurance finance workflow, capturing transactions at policy binding and generating real‑time accounts and billing schedules. By ingesting data from bordereaux, bank statements and emails with Gen‑AI tools, BIA eliminates manual reconciliations...
Pluto Debuts AI-Driven Lending Platform for Private Assets
Pluto Financial Technologies has unveiled an AI‑driven lending platform targeting investors with private market assets. The service, backed by $8.6 million in equity and hundreds of millions in lending capacity, offers a Wealth Equity Line of Credit that can be repaid...
Yuze and Zand Join Forces to Provide SMEs with Digital Business Accounts
Yuze, an AI‑enabled digital business banking platform, has teamed up with Zand, a UAE‑based AI and blockchain‑powered digital bank, to launch digital business accounts for eligible SMEs, startups, and entrepreneurs. The joint offering provides fast onboarding, an IBAN account, and...
Overdraft Fee Income Is on the Rise at These Big Banks
Several large U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citizens Financial and TD Bank, reported higher overdraft‑related revenue in the first three quarters of 2025, with JPMorgan up 7.66% and Citizens up 16.9% year‑over‑year. The increases come despite overall overdraft income remaining...
Citi Signs with CredAble for White Label Trade Finance Verification Package
Citi has partnered with fintech CredAble to launch a white‑label trade‑finance verification platform. The solution digitises invoice validation, cross‑checking more than ten critical fields against government‑backed digital infrastructure. By automating verification, it reduces exceptions, cuts manual follow‑ups, and accelerates capital...
Cash Withdrawals Rise for Fourth Year in a Row
UK ATM cash withdrawals reached a record £4.2 billion in 2025, surpassing the 2017 peak of £4 billion. Nationwide reported 34.7 million withdrawals, a 6% rise from 2024, with the average transaction climbing to £120. The growth occurs alongside a wave of bank‑branch...
StoneX Secures MiCA Authorisation
StoneX Group announced that its digital arm, StoneX Digital, has received a Crypto‑Asset Service Provider licence under the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA) from the Central Bank of Ireland. The CASP authorisation allows the firm to offer regulated execution...
TON Foundation Taps OpenPayd for Global Fiat Infrastructure
The TON Foundation announced a partnership with OpenPayd to provide a single‑API global fiat infrastructure for its blockchain ecosystem. The integration will enable seamless multi‑currency treasury management and faster grant disbursements across borders. TON’s blockchain, embedded in Telegram’s Mini App...
Stablecoins Shift Profits to Private, Risks to Public
Stablecoins: Privatizing Gains, Socializing Losses..... Don't believe me? Read this stunning passage: "People familiar with Bank of England thinking have told OMFIF that a systemic stablecoin that ran into liquidity or redemption turbulence would be able to draw on central...
High-Tech, Low-Touch Failure: How Banks Can Fix the Experience Gap
The episode examines why banks are falling short in delivering seamless, human‑centric experiences despite heavy tech investment, highlighting the "experience gap" between high‑tech tools and low‑touch service. It underscores the need for banks to adopt a customer‑first mindset, leverage generative...
Revolut, Wise and Bits Join the European Payment Council
The European Payments Council (EPC) announced that Revolut Bank, Wise and Bits became members on 1 January, raising the council’s total to 83 payment service providers and associations. The EPC positions itself as the key scheme manager for European account‑to‑account (A2A)...
Sagent Appoints Chris Marshall as CEO
Sagent announced that board chairman Chris Marshall will assume the role of chief executive officer on January 5, while retaining his board seat. Current CEO Geno Paluso will transition to vice‑chairman and serve as senior advisor during the handover. Marshall brings extensive mortgage‑banking...
VoPay Establishes Global Headquarters in Qatar
VoPay International Inc. announced that it will locate its global headquarters in Doha, Qatar, positioning the Gulf state as the central hub for its fintech infrastructure platform. The move supports VoPay’s strategy to modernize financial systems across the Middle East,...
Nigeria's Sterling Bank Joins Thunes’ Direct Global Network
Sterling Bank has joined Thunes’ Direct Global Network to offer Nigerians abroad faster, more transparent cross‑border payments. The partnership leverages Thunes’ infrastructure to roll out instant transfers across multiple European markets, serving an estimated 17 million Nigerian diaspora. Existing and new...
GTreasury Acquires Solvexia
Ripple-owned GTreasury has acquired Solvexia, a data‑driven reconciliation and compliance software provider, to extend its treasury management platform. The integration will automate reconciliation and regulatory reporting across fiat and digital‑asset transactions, replacing manual spreadsheet processes that heighten fraud and audit...
Bitcoin ATMs Cost Americans $333M in 2025 Fraud
Americans lost $333 million to Bitcoin ATM fraud in 2025 — FBI says there is a ‘clear and constant rise’ of this scam, and that it is ‘not slowing down.’ So this is the future of money? The authorities are acting...
Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF Signals Bright Future
Morgan Stanley entering the bitcoin ETF game is all you need to know about bitcoin's future prospects.
Marquis Breach Toll Rises to 80 Banks, 824,000 Consumers
A ransomware attack on marketing vendor Marquis Software Solutions has been revealed to have compromised personal data of at least 823,548 customers across 80 banks and credit unions. Internal emails suggest Marquis paid the Akira group to keep the stolen...
Fintech Professionals Share Their Most Bizarre Real‑World Tales
LinkedIn Fintech nerds. I'm writing something in a couple of weeks and I need your help. Share your war stories. What's the weirdest most "how is this even reality" story from Fintech? Comment below or DM if you want to stay anon.
AI Ready to Trade and Shape Capital Markets
The entire investment thesis of Robot Money is what @mustafasuleyman just said Can AI participate in the capital markets and economy
Experian Integrates Corporate Commercial Data to Its Ascend Platform
Experian announced that its full commercial data suite is now integrated into the cloud‑based Ascend platform. The addition gives users access to over six years of granular credit information on more than eight million UK businesses, including risk scores and...
US Investors May Discount LatAm Fintech Valuations
PicPay files for U.S. IPO on Nasdaq PicPay's Nasdaq filing reflects strategy: Build in Brazil, list in U.S. for valuation multiple expansion. Question: Do U.S. investors understand LatAm fintech economics or discount for market risk? https://t.co/y5xEAKdJNV https://t.co/vpUASSRXX8
Serving the Underserved Is No Longer Optional
[New Episode] Serving the underserved is no longer optional for financial institutions. It is the strategy gap holding the industry back, according to this powerful discussion. Watch the full episode now: https://t.co/m6PArSdD2z https://t.co/gChE8uddFq
120+ AI Use Cases From Leading Startups & Internet Companies 🚀🧠
The episode spotlights a curated database of over 120 production AI use cases spanning fintech, healthcare, security, dev tools, creative software, and more, detailing what each startup builds, how AI is embedded, and the business impact. It highlights concrete examples...
Asia Leads 2026 Digital Finance Revolution
Great perspective from an Asia-centric PoV. 2026 digital finance: From pilots to production • Asia leads CBDC/stablecoin real-world use • Tokenized deposits + assets boom • AI agents automate banking ops • Regulatory green lights accelerate shift #fintech #tech #finserv #AI @BetaMoroney @efipm @BrettKing @spirosmargaris @jasuja @enricomolinari @mikeflache https://t.co/sCNXBRoTuk
Smart Contracts Power Carbon‑Neutral, Inclusive Investing
Imagine investments that automatically support carbon-neutral and inclusive outcomes. Smart contracts make this possible. Learn how in The Rise of Technosocialism. Get your copy today: https://t.co/jyXuGZfElq https://t.co/LEQQiVX1Jj
DTCC Partners with Digital Asset to Tokenize U.S. Treasuries on Canton Network
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has teamed with Digital Asset and the Canton Network to launch a tokenized version of U.S. Treasury securities. The partnership follows a recent SEC no‑action letter that clears the regulatory path for real‑world...