Plaid Launches Upgraded Engine for Plaid Income, Boosting Verification Accuracy
Plaid announced a rebuilt engine behind its Plaid Income product, delivering a 48% lift in income classification accuracy and 84% precision for earned‑income detection. The upgrade adds a transformer‑based model and a richer six‑tier taxonomy, promising lower friction for fintech lenders and broader borrower coverage.
A New Frontier for Digital Asset Management | The CSE Podcast E9-S5
In this episode, Demetri Gaylord interviews D.D.A. Laval, CEO of Tetra Digital Group, about the company’s role as a regulated Canadian trust and digital‑asset custodian, its Unity platform for on‑chain monitoring and reconciliation, and its upcoming Canadian‑dollar stablecoin. Laval explains...
SoFi Posts Record Growth, yet Shares Tumble 15%
$SOFI just printed the cleanest fintech beat I've seen in years Net revenue up 43%, hit 1.1B for the first time Net income 167M EBITDA up 62% 18 straight Rule of 40 quarters Stock dropped 15% the same day Why? Two reasons that are actually fair...
The Fees That Fund Your Rewards Credit Card Are Facing a State Battle
Illinois will enforce a law this summer that prohibits credit‑card interchange fees on taxes and tips, directly targeting the revenue stream that funds many rewards programs. The measure pits banks and card issuers against merchants, with banks warning that smaller...
Eye on Agentic Commerce: Experian’s Tool for Verifying Consumer, Agent Link; Kite’s Wallet Service for AI Agents
Experian has unveiled Agent Trust, a service that creates a verifiable link between consumers and AI agents using a "know‑your‑agent" framework and real‑time trust tokens. The offering aims to embed identity and accountability into AI‑driven transactions, addressing fraud concerns as...
The Five A’s of Cash in 2026: Why Cash Still Matters in a Hybrid Payments World
The Five A’s of Cash in 2026 argue that cash remains a cornerstone of payments despite the surge in digital and AI‑driven solutions. By framing cash through Accessibility, Affordability, Availability, Acceptance, and Assurance, the piece shows how physical money complements...
Nacha Confab Fun Included Swag, Mixers and Games
The Nacha Smarter Faster Payments conference in San Diego attracted over 2,300 industry professionals and featured roughly 100 exhibitor booths. Attendees enjoyed interactive swag such as custom‑stitched caps, “Fraud Fighter” backpacks, and novelty toys, while startups turned compliance topics into...
Socure’s Ori Snir Discusses Nacha Updates, Verification Technology
Socure has launched a Bank Account Verification service that now spans more than 30 countries, aligning its rollout with the March 20 update to Nacha’s ACH rules. The new rules demand that institutions confirm an account is active, in good standing,...
Global Regulators Now Focused on Paving Clearer Pathway for FIs to Engage with Digital Assets : Analysis
Global regulators are moving from debating crypto participation to defining how financial institutions should manage digital‑asset risk. Recent US OCC interpretive letters, the GENIUS Act, the EU's MiCA regime, and Hong Kong's Stablecoins Ordinance collectively provide clearer permission for crypto...
Crypto Meets AI in MoonPay’s New MoonAgents Card
MoonPay, the New York‑based crypto on‑ramp, unveiled the MoonAgents Card, a Mastercard‑branded debit card that lets users spend stablecoins directly at any merchant that accepts Mastercard. The card links to a self‑custodial wallet and uses Monavate’s issuing platform to convert...
HB Wealth Adopts Arch to Scale Private Markets Ops
HB Wealth, a fee‑only wealth manager with $30 bn in assets under management, has deepened its partnership with Arch, a private‑markets operations platform, to automate reporting for its $5 bn private‑markets portfolio. The firm now uses Arch to handle document collection, K‑1...
Inside Fino Payments Bank’s Troubles And Transition To A Small Finance Bank
Fino Payments Bank reported a 43% YoY profit decline to ₹52.5 Cr (≈$6.3 M) in FY26, with Q4 profit plunging 70% to ₹7.1 Cr (≈$0.86 M). The slump stems from RBI’s 2024 remittance circular, stress in NBFC/MFI sectors, and a shutdown of its digital...
ICYMI Fintech Funding Round-Up: Marloo, Onsetto, Tenora, and More
FinTech Futures’ weekly ICYMI roundup highlights six notable funding events. Danish AI‑native wealth‑management platform Performativ raised $14 million Series A, while London‑Sydney AI adviser Marloo closed a $10 million seed round. US business‑banking startup Onsetto secured $9 million seed‑II, San Francisco’s AI advisory platform...
MTN South Sudan Launches Mobile Money Agent Forum to Restore Customer Confidence
MTN South Sudan’s mobile money division has rolled out a nationwide agent forum aimed at rebuilding trust after a series of service disruptions. The initiative brings together frontline agents to tackle operational bottlenecks, especially around cash‑withdrawal availability, which is critical...
Something for the Weekend - Why We Should Build on Authentication Rather than ID. Pain Points From the UK, Learnings...
British officials are pushing a national digital ID scheme while a UK parliamentary inquiry highlights a deeper problem: authorization. Estonia’s success stems from a legally‑mandated framework that lets parliament, an ombudsman and an audit bureau control data access, not just...
DeFi Can Freeze Stolen Funds, but Not Everyone Agrees It Should
DeFi protocols are beginning to freeze stolen assets, highlighted by Arbitrum’s security council locking 30,766 ETH (about $55 million) after the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit. By contrast, centralized stablecoin issuers such as Circle wait for legal orders before freezing USDC, drawing criticism...
FinTech Futures: Top Five News Stories of the Week – 1 May 2026
The week’s top fintech headlines include the RBI’s abrupt cancellation of Paytm Payments Bank’s licence, prompting a winding‑up application. UK fintech Ebury announced a $700 million capital raise, with Santander increasing its ownership to 55 %. Axis Bank disclosed a reduction of...
Snapchat Partners With Credit Data Company Experian to Deliver Financial Education to Younger Consumers
Snapchat and credit‑reporting giant Experian have teamed up to embed an AI‑powered financial‑education experience within Snapchat’s Sponsored Snaps and chat interface. The partnership lets Gen Z and Millennial users ask money‑related questions and receive instant guidance, extending Experian’s recent ChatGPT‑driven...
How AI Is Bettering B2B Payments
Billtrust, the accounts‑receivable software firm owned by EQT, is accelerating AI integration while eyeing European expansion. CEO Grant Halloran highlights AI‑driven automation of AR communications, voice and chat interfaces, and a roadmap toward fully autonomous operations. The company serves 2,600...
Robinhood Lands $100 M Treasury Contract for "Trump Accounts" Child‑benefit Program
Robinhood Markets was selected by the U.S. Treasury as the exclusive broker and initial trustee for the new "Trump Accounts" program, which will deposit $1,000 into investment accounts for every child born between 2025 and 2028. The partnership adds $100 million...
WealthStack Roundup: Bill Crager's iAlta Acquires Precept
iAltA Holdings has bought Precept, an AI‑powered wealth‑technology platform that delivers real‑time, low‑cost integrations across custodians, CRMs and analytics tools. The deal follows iAltA’s earlier BridgeFT purchase, positioning the firm to unify infrastructure for both public and private markets. The...
Axos Bank Posts 18.5% Net Income Rise, Highlights $2.3B Deposit Acquisition
Axos Bank posted a $127 million net income for Q3 2026, up 18.5% year‑over‑year, driven by strong loan growth and a surge in deposits. The online‑only lender also secured a $2.3 billion Genius Bank deposit acquisition and is pursuing a $3.2 billion IRA/CD...
Y Combinator Alum Skio Exits for $105 M Cash After Raising Just $8 M
Skio, the 2020 Y Combinator graduate founded by Kennan Frost, was bought by competitor Recharge for $105 million in cash. The deal came after the startup raised only $8 million, reached $32 million ARR and processed $4 billion in payments, underscoring a high‑return exit for...
Bunq Partners with Blockrise to Launch Bitcoin Banking‑as‑Service in the Netherlands
European neobank bunq and Dutch Bitcoin platform Blockrise announced a Banking‑as‑a‑Service partnership on 29 April 2026. The joint offering lets users open fully regulated bank accounts that integrate Bitcoin transactions, with deposits protected up to €100,000 ($108,000). The deal signals a deeper...
IFAST Global Bank Pioneers Open Banking v4.0 Transition with Ozone API
iFAST Global Bank completed a full migration to the UK Open Banking Standard version 4.0 in January 2026, leveraging a strategic partnership with Ozone API. The upgrade aligns the bank with ISO 20022 messaging, the FAPI 1.0 Advanced security profile, and new transparency...
Loyyal Launches OfferPoint and Other Digital Transactions News Briefs From 5/1/26
International payments and loyalty platform Loyyal unveiled OfferPoint, a marketplace designed to help banks and digital wallets increase card‑based spending and deepen consumer engagement. Credit‑card specialist Collectly announced a partnership with fintech Sunbit to offer financing before or after medical...
Fueling Agentic Commerce with Dual-Rail Recurring Billing
PhotonPay unveiled a dual‑rail recurring billing platform that lets businesses process subscriptions on both fiat and stablecoin networks through a single integration. The system abstracts cross‑border payment complexities, enabling AI‑driven firms to focus on product growth while reducing payment‑related churn....
EU-UK Financial Institutions Plan Greater Allocation to Digital Assets
Research by Coinbase Institutional and EY‑Parthenon shows that 73% of EU and UK financial institutions intend to increase their digital‑asset exposure this year. Current allocations average about 5% of assets under management, but respondents expect the share to climb to...
How Fleet Payments Are Evolving in the Era of Digital Tolling
Digital tolling is rapidly expanding across the United States and Canada, pushing fleets to handle a growing volume of fragmented toll transactions. Traditional prepaid and card‑based payment methods are straining finance teams with constant reconciliation and limited spend visibility. In...
Tourism Group Decries Credit Card Bill
The newly formed U.S. Tourism Economy Alliance, backed by the Electronic Payments Coalition, issued a press release condemning the Consumer Credit Card Competition Act. The bill would require credit‑card issuers with at least $100 billion in assets to offer an alternative...
Fintech Funding Shifts to Fewer AI-Driven Mega‑Deals
Q1 2026 Fintech Funding Concentrates: $12B Raised Across 31% Fewer Deals Crunchbase data: total funding up 5% YoY, but flowing into far fewer, larger "mega-deals." Flight to quality = investors prioritizing AI-native fintechs solving mission-critical workflows over broader consumer applications. Consolidation...
From Libra to Meta: David Marcus on Agentic Commerce
Fresh off the Meta doing Stablecoins, and @lightspark announcing grid global accounts We have the PERFECT guest coming Monday @davidmarcus Former PayPal CEO, reflects on the journey from Libra, to Meta doing Stablecoins to Agentic commerce 👇
Decentralized Perpetual Futures Platform Wasabi Protocol Loses Millions in Deployer Key Compromise
On April 30, 2026, Wasabi Protocol, a decentralized perpetual futures platform, suffered an exploit that drained approximately $4.5‑5.5 million across its Ethereum, Base, Berachain, and Blast deployments. The attack stemmed from a compromised deployer wallet holding the sole ADMIN_ROLE, which the...
From DIY DeFi to AI-Driven Financial Delegation
DeFi was about disintermediation Agentic finance is about delegation You went from "be your own bank" to "your AI is your CFO" The philosophical shift is more radical than the technical one.
Nubank Rolls Out Interim Product with Lead
Mini-scoop: @nubank, which has already received conditional approval of its U.S. bank charter, appears to be launching an interim product with Lead Bank, per disclosures available on its site: https://t.co/o9MHWk0Alv
Currenc Group Inc. Announces FY2025 Financial Results
Currenc Group reported FY2025 revenue of $37.8 million, a 10.3% decline, while gross margin expanded to 40.8% and operating expenses fell by 44% after divesting lower‑margin businesses. The company completed a $54.6 million related‑party loan conversion to equity and announced a $400 million...
Erebor Bank Taps Coastal Community as Correspondent
Mini-scoop: @ereborbank is leveraging Coastal Community Bank as a correspondent, per an investor presentation Coastal filed with the SEC earlier this week: https://t.co/wcCDzWsTIy
Banking's Future Measured in Agent Capital, Not Humans
The next evolution of banking may be measured in Agent Capital, not human capital. In this episode, Ryan Caldwell of @mX and Derek White of @Primitive_agent explore how AI agents will reshape the bank P&L and growth strategy. 👉 Watch the full...
Illuminate Financial Closes $135M Early Growth Fund to Back the Next Generation of AI & Fintech for Financial Services
Illuminate Financial announced the close of its $135 million Early Growth Fund, the firm’s fourth fund and first aimed at Series B+ enterprise AI and fintech companies. Backed by a roster of global banks and exchanges—including BNP Paribas, Citi, HSBC, Deutsche Börse, RBC and...
The Payments Association CEO to Step Down
The Payments Association announced that CEO Ben Agnew will step down after leading the trade body since 2020. During his tenure, membership and revenue grew markedly, and the organization launched a market‑leading platform. His departure follows a 2025 investment from...
Tomorrow's World
A recent post revisits the 1969 Point‑of‑Sale (POS) system used by Barclays, highlighting its reliance on a mainframe and on‑site data center. The rollout suffered multi‑year delays and required batch processing, which limited real‑time transaction insight. The legacy platform was...
Herb Morgan Pushes FI$Cal Modernization as Key to California’s $350B Budget Transparency
Herb Morgan, a former Wall Street CIO, is making FI$Cal modernization the centerpiece of his campaign for California State Controller, pledging a real‑time, AI‑enabled financial reporting platform. The effort targets the state’s $350 billion budget, aiming to flag suspicious spending daily...
Intelligence over Infrastructure: What Corporates Want From Cash Management Providers
Corporates are shifting focus from merely adding cash‑management infrastructure to extracting intelligence from it. Virtual account solutions, once the preserve of multinationals, are now within reach of mid‑market firms thanks to improved ERP and TMS integration, delivering granular visibility and...
Agora Finance Seeks U.S. Bank Charter to Scale Stablecoin-Backed Digital Dollar Services
Agora Finance, the issuer of the AUSD stablecoin, filed a national trust bank charter with the OCC to bring its digital‑dollar services to the U.S. market. The move follows a $50 million Series A raise and aims to unlock “tens of billions”...
Piggyvest Marks 10 Years with Documentary Exploring Its Impact on Saving Culture in Nigeria
Piggyvest celebrated its 10‑year anniversary by releasing a YouTube documentary that chronicles its evolution from a modest startup called Piggybank in 2016 to a leading digital savings platform serving over 6 million Nigerians. The company reports that it has processed more...
How EMIs Can Close the Gap in AML Architecture
Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) face AML gaps as instant payment rails leave no buffer for traditional monitoring. Regulators now apply the same due‑diligence standards as banks, exposing structural flaws in legacy AML stacks. Salv argues that consolidating screening, monitoring and...
Claude Cowork Commands, Scheduled Tasks & Automation Workflows: The Operator's Playbook 🤖
Claude Cowork, Anthropic’s AI‑powered operations assistant, launched publicly on April 9, 2026, offering a full suite of slash commands, scheduled tasks, and cloud‑based routines for just $20 a month. The tool is positioned as a low‑cost alternative to a full‑time...
EIDAS 2.0: Should Identity Teams Build or Partner?
eIDAS 2.0 will require European‑focused firms to accept EUDI wallet credentials by December 2027, turning identity verification into a new, cryptographically‑signed attribute model. Building compliance in‑house typically takes 18‑24 months and demands integration with 27 national trust registries, each with its...
YALO Launches Employee Marketplace to Help Nigeria’s Workforce Move Beyond Rent, and Into a Better Life
YALO, a Nigerian proptech firm, launched its Employee Marketplace, enabling salaried workers to acquire home appliances and essentials through monthly installments tied to rent payments. The service removes upfront costs, collateral, and traditional credit checks, delivering items directly while syncing...
PhonePe’s Share.Market CEO Ujjwal Jain Steps Down
Ujjwal Jain, CEO of PhonePe's Share.Market and wealth‑management units, stepped down after four years, marking the end of a "decade‑long Chapter 1." Jain had joined PhonePe following its 2022 $75 million acquisition of his startups WealthDesk and OpenQ, which powered the...