Know What's Happening in FinTech
Know What's Happening in FinTech
FinTech Pulse
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Scotland’s ScotAccount digital identity platform is broadening verification beyond biometrics by introducing knowledge‑based verification (KBV) and tapping alternative public‑sector data sources. Existing alternatives such as landline‑based two‑factor authentication for older users, the Young Scot NEC, and a CivTech‑sponsored vouching pilot already expand access. An equality impact assessment finds the scheme overall positive for inclusion but flags indirect discrimination for those lacking traditional IDs, recommending offline channels and diversified checks. The government aims to enroll half of the adult population by 2027‑28 and plans a 2026 app for digital age proof.
Americans deserve financial privacy, real consumer choice, and the freedom to innovate. Prohibiting a government-issued CBDC protects those values while allowing market-driven solutions like stablecoins and decentralized networks to modernize payments. The future of money should be open, competitive, and...
It was never stablecoins vs. cards. The true opportunity for stablecoins to become a mainstream consumer payments option was always stablecoins *and* cards. We discussed this in our Q1 State of Stablecoins and this week, @Visa and @Stablecoin announced they’re expanding their...
Cicada, a US‑based fintech, closed a $13.5 million Series A round led by Citigroup, with participation from L4, Kaszek, Dila Capital and Crestone. The company runs an electronic trading platform that lets institutional investors buy and sell Mexican government and corporate bonds...
In this episode, host Josh Dattar talks with Keith Smith, founder and CEO of Payouts Network, about the evolving landscape of real‑time payments and the persistent gaps that affect consumers. Keith shares insights on how innovations have both solved and...
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, both under 30 and billionaires, are locked in a public feud that is influencing the direction of the online prediction‑market industry. Mansour has spent years securing CFTC approval for Kalshi, positioning...
The Boston Federal Reserve is championing FedNow, its real‑time payments platform, to draw more banks into instant‑payment services. A forthcoming Fed survey shows nine in ten consumers would increase bank usage if instant payments were offered, while 55% reported overdraft...
FinTech Futures’ ICYMI roundup highlights a wave of European‑focused funding, with Wealthyhood securing €6 million Series A, Pluvo raising $5 million seed, and TaxDown obtaining €4 million from BBVA Spark. Compliance‑focused AI startups Diligent AI and Vivox AI attracted $2.5 million and £1.3 million respectively, while proptech Payr...
BeatBread, the finance platform for independent musicians, announced three senior hires: Christine Barnum as head of financial operations, Michael Poole as chief financial officer, and Jameson Toole as a board advisor on AI and machine learning. Barnum arrives from CD...
Affirm is pivoting its buy‑now‑pay‑later offering toward affluent, high‑credit consumers by expanding 0% interest promotions. The company says interest‑free loans drive an 80% probability of repeat usage and currently account for about 16% of its transaction volume, with 80% of...
Earned‑wage access (EWA) is gaining traction as hourly workers demand daily pay to bridge cash‑flow gaps between biweekly checks. Executives often view the concept as risky, yet the reality of paycheck‑to‑paycheck living drives demand for instant wage disbursement. Recent growth...
In this unannounced Friday Focus live session, the host reviews the rapid decline of paper checks in the UK and globally, the Bank of England's plan to extend CHAPS settlement hours, and the Swedish central bank's advice to keep cash...
A Smile ID report reveals that 69% of biometric fraud in Africa’s fintech sector is now AI‑generated, with a single syndicate using 100 stolen faces to launch over 160,000 verification attacks in one month. Fraud has shifted from fake‑ID onboarding...
Nigeria was removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 after completing a 19‑point anti‑money‑laundering reform that brought it into compliance with 37 of the 40 FATF recommendations. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s new Fintech Policy...
Fintech firms navigate a fragmented regulatory maze, with the United States hosting multiple agencies—from the OCC to FinCEN—each overseeing a slice of the financial pie. The United Kingdom relies on a twin‑peaks system where the PRA ensures solvency and the...
Alchemy Pay announced it secured a money‑transmitter license in Delaware, marking its 15th U.S. state approval. Strike also received both a BitLicense and a money‑transmitter license from New York, expanding its regulated crypto services. Meanwhile, Cinnaholic returned to Square’s point‑of‑sale...
Lombard (BARD) has positioned itself as Bitcoin’s first on‑chain DeFi engine, issuing the liquid‑staked LBTC token that amassed $1 billion in total value locked within just 92 days. Backed by heavyweight investors such as Polychain, Franklin Templeton and Binance Labs, the...
Visa has invested €10 billion in payment security and now blocks over 150 million fraudulent transactions each year. While e‑commerce fraud rates in Europe are falling, fraudsters have turned to AI‑generated social engineering, making scams five times more likely to succeed. Retailers...
The article pits India’s Digital Rupee against the EU’s Digital Euro, evaluating which central bank digital currency (CBDC) best serves commercial users. It notes the Digital Rupee’s near‑real‑time settlement, open‑source APIs, and early integration with Indian e‑commerce giants, while the...
India’s central bank has continued its digital rupee (E₹) pilot, but a retail rollout on e‑commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart remains unrealised. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has onboarded a handful of banks, fintechs and select merchants...
The European Central Bank entered the current preparation phase for a digital euro in November 2025, concentrating on technical readiness, market engagement, and legislative support. A controlled pilot with real‑world transactions is slated for mid‑2027, with a potential first issuance targeted...
Global InsurTech funding topped $1 billion in February, propelled by a $703 million debt raise from Howden Group. Excluding Howden, venture‑backed firms secured roughly $376 million across 11 deals, keeping pace with January’s activity. AI‑centric companies dominated the venture pool, with notable rounds...
FinTech Global interviewed Thomas Dijohn, senior vice‑president Asia‑Pacific at dacadoo, about linking health metrics to financial services. He argued that physically and mentally healthy individuals represent higher‑earning, lower‑risk customers, making health data a valuable segmentation tool for banks. dacadoo provides...
Italian payments leader Nexi announced a strategic plan to generate €2.4 billion of free cash flow by 2028 while maintaining a rising dividend trajectory. The roadmap hinges on expanding merchant services, scaling digital‑payment solutions, and completing targeted acquisitions across Europe. Nexi...
Finastra has launched OperatorAssist, an AI‑driven add‑on for its Global PAYplus and Payments To Go platforms that automates payment exception handling. The tool analyses payment errors, suggests fixes and guides users through resolution steps, aiming to cut manual investigation time...
The crypto payment gateway market, valued at roughly $1.2 billion in 2023, is projected to surge to $6.03 billion by 2035. Analysts forecast a robust 13.6% compound annual growth rate, reflecting a shift from niche tools to a core operating layer for...
The article highlights the imminent multitrillion‑dollar wealth transfer from Baby Boomers to younger generations and warns that wealth managers risk losing assets under management (AUM) if they fail to engage heirs. Kidbrooke proposes a "kids saver" framework that turns a...
SpareBank 1, Norway’s leading mobile‑banking provider, has teamed up with Tieto Banktech to build a data‑driven digital mortgage platform. The multi‑year partnership will embed a dynamic, self‑service loan application into SpareBank 1’s mobile app, leveraging AI and real‑time data to...
Cyber risk intelligence firm KYND has appointed Aaron Aanenson as Head of Insurance for North America, bolstering its leadership as demand for SME cyber‑risk insight rises. Aanenson brings over 18 years of experience in cybersecurity consulting, management consulting and insurance,...
Paysafe announced a strategic partnership with payment‑orchestration provider Spreedly, integrating its gateway as an acquirer on Spreedly’s Open Payment Platform. The collaboration instantly enables card‑present and card‑not‑present transactions for merchants in Europe, North America and other regions, leveraging Spreedly’s connections...
3S Money announced the launch of French‑issued IBAN accounts, allowing European customers to hold and transact in euros locally. The fintech also opened a new office in Paris, staffed with a team focused on regulatory compliance and business development. These...
Investment platforms are slashing fees as digital neobrokers gain market share, forcing incumbents to follow suit. Hargreaves Lansdown reduced its headline annual fee from 0.45% to 0.35% in March, while eToro and other app‑based brokers continue offering low‑cost structures. The...
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has ordered cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin to cease operations in the emirate, citing the absence of a required local licence. VARA also warned that any promotion or solicitation of KuCoin’s services violates its regulations and...
The Federal Reserve’s FedNow service now powers FEMA’s disaster‑relief payouts, moving funds from days or weeks to seconds. Transaction limits have been raised to $10 million, enabling large‑scale disbursements directly to states, municipalities and households. This capability is part of a...
Mobile payments are rapidly reshaping retail checkout, driven by consumer demand for speed and the pandemic‑induced shift to contactless transactions. Retailers report higher customer satisfaction, shorter transaction times, and lower processing costs as they adopt smartphone‑based wallets and biometric authentication....
PhonePe has launched biometric authentication for UPI payments, allowing users to approve transactions up to Rs 5,000 with a fingerprint or facial scan. The feature leverages the smartphone’s Secure Enclave, keeping biometric data on‑device and adding a hardware‑grade security layer. A...
In this special episode, Intuit’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of Mid‑Market, Ashley Still, challenges the traditional belief that fast‑growing companies must abandon QuickBooks for a heavyweight ERP. She introduces Intuit Enterprise Suite, an ERP that retains QuickBooks‑like usability...
Network International announced two strategic deals to deepen its footprint in North Africa. In Libya, it partnered with Al Seraj Islamic Bank to deliver an end‑to‑end digital payments platform, Visa sponsorship and prepaid issuing capabilities. In Egypt, the firm enabled...
Yesterday @0xPolygon shipped the Lisovo hardfork. This now enables: 1. Dampening of Gas fees spikes via dynamic block gas limits. This makes gas fees stable and predictable 2. Increasing transaction quality by re-broadcasting dropped txns 3. Passkey wallet support - Face ID and...
Look Morgan Stanley isn't "rushing into crypto" They're rushing into revenue Bitcoin ETFs generate management fees Wealth advisors get commissions The firm captures flow This has nothing to do with decentralization It's the oldest game in finance wearing a new mask
If private credit sucks liquidity out of the market The hyperscalers max out their cash Then there isn't enough money in the world for the compute build out
Circle: AI agents are already driving stablecoin demand. Arc testnet hit 166M transactions. Mainnet hasn't launched yet. The infrastructure race for machine-speed payments is underway — KYC/AML frameworks are not. How Circle Is Marrying Stablecoins With Agentic Commerce https://t.co/QuY14r2lgr
Bilt users are PISSED. Delayed or bounced rent payments. Customer service from unhelpful AI bots with human agents seemingly missing in action. Any info on what’s happening? My DMs are open.
Are Gen Z customers worth it? Absolutely. But they’re going to demand more transparency, more speed, more empathy, and more control. The real question is: Are banks ready for the friction that comes with higher expectations? https://t.co/pgkCkSGKYM
Look at the pattern: • Stripe adds USDC support • Coinbase builds Base L2 • Ethereum upgrades for scalability They're not competing for retail users anymore They're competing for autonomous agents that will process trillions in microtransactions The machine economy is the endgame
Forget old banking playbooks. The future is not about branches or products. It is about building tech-first solutions that scale globally. https://t.co/5GhOAJ3m8S
The UAE Central Bank just built the world's first sovereign financial cloud — AI for AML, fraud, CBDC, zero-trust access, quantum-resistant encryption. Sovereign compute is now a national infrastructure decision, not a vendor one. World's First Sovereign Cloud System for Finance...
Same asset, same rights, same outcome: The complex undertaking of interoperability in transacting and settling with #DigitalAssets across distributed ledgers. 🆕White Paper by @The_DTCC, @Clearstream, @EuroclearGroup, @BCG: https://t.co/WMoLfjd8GT #DLT #blockchain #securities https://t.co/94oTorfiKP
#FlashbackFriday In 2020, I argued that tokenisation would remake markets, with public and private money becoming digital assets on shared rails. We seem to be edging that way. https://t.co/Hx9fOy0aBT Yesterday’s future. Progress optional.
Swedish central bank urges public to horde cash in case of payments disruption https://t.co/ckNfNUQsve "The Riskbank is currently working on improving the possibility of making offline payments by card to strengthen resilience." https://t.co/yLYmWsDoh0
