Kiwi Co‑Founder Mohit Bedi Moves From CBO to Advisory Role Amid Scaling Push
Kiwi fintech announced that co‑founder Mohit Bedi will resign as chief business officer and transition to an advisory position, remaining with the company until July 2026. The move comes as Kiwi, which has issued over 200,000 credit‑on‑UPI cards and raised $43 million, appoints Sumeet Basrani as the new CBO to drive its next growth phase.
CoinDesk University Rolls Out AI Agent and Stablecoin Courses to Fill Web3 Talent Gap
CoinDesk has launched CoinDesk University, offering new curricula on AI agents and stablecoin payment systems. The initiative targets developers, product managers and other blockchain professionals who need to master the convergence of artificial intelligence and digital asset finance, a skill...
GCC Exchange and ABHI Launch Instant Wage‑Access and Remittance Service in UAE
GCC Exchange and ABHI Middle East Limited announced a joint service that lets UAE‑based workers instantly withdraw a portion of earned wages and send money abroad. The partnership leverages GCC Exchange’s remittance network and ABHI’s earned‑wage‑access platform, reaching more than...
Basis Trade Collapse Clears Path for On‑Chain Options Yield
I hadn't fully understood how much the basis trade was crowding out onchain options as a yield product until this conversation. @itseneff and @maybeltr lay out why this moment is different from every failed experiment before. @unchained_pod: https://t.co/wbU8NeFLsm Timestamps: 🚀 0:00 How crypto...
UK’s Allica Bank Reports Profitability and Remains Focused on SME Clients
Allica Bank posted its third consecutive year of profit, with underlying profit before tax jumping 34% to $55.5 million despite a $38 million technology spend. Total revenue rose 27% to $471 million and its lending portfolio grew 23% to $4.7 billion, while deposits increased...
Congress on Verge of Making Regulated Dollar Stablecoins Act Almost Like Digital Cash
Congress is aligning regulated dollar‑pegged stablecoins with cash by pairing the GENIUS Act’s licensing framework with the Digital Asset PARITY Act tax draft. The PARITY draft would exclude modest gains and losses on qualified stablecoins from gross income, provided the...
Scale Demands Automation, but Human Review Remains Essential
When you're at a scale where you need an automated system to flag deviants, fraudsters, and other nefarious kinds of users, laws of scale dictate that your automation tooling will produce a significant number of very dangerous false positives. NEVER seen...
AI Operating Systems, ByAllAccounts Sale and Advisor Workforce Cuts Redefine WealthTech
Morningstar announced the sale of its data‑aggregation platform ByAllAccounts to Pello Companies, while Jump secured $80 million to launch an AI Operating System for advisors. At the same time, RIA Range disclosed plans to eliminate most human advisors within three years,...
Comviva CEO Says AI Will Power Zero‑touch Operations as Revenue Target Nears $480 M
Comviva chief executive Rajesh Chandiramani announced that artificial‑intelligence‑driven platforms will enable zero‑touch, autonomous operations for telecom operators. The company aims to double its revenue to roughly ₹4,000 crore (about $480 million) within three years, shifting from scale‑led growth to platform‑led value creation.
Deloitte and IIF Release Study on Five Enablers Driving Digital Transformation in Finance
Deloitte and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) unveiled a new report pinpointing five overlapping themes that enable digital transformation in banks, insurers and regulators. The study draws on interviews with more than 80 senior leaders and marks the second...
Wayne County Bank Adopts Apiture Platform to Accelerate Digital Growth
Wayne County Bank announced it will implement Apiture's digital‑banking platform to support its next growth phase. The $560 million Tennessee‑based bank aims to boost business‑banking capabilities and deliver a modern, API‑driven experience for consumers across eight branches.
Lobster.cash Teams with Mastercard to Power AI-Agent Payments for Cardholders
Lobster.cash announced a partnership with Mastercard to embed Mastercard Agent Pay and Verifiable Intent into its platform, allowing AI agents on OpenClaw and other ecosystems to spend cardholders' existing Mastercard cards. The move adds network‑backed trust and issuer controls to...
Morgan Stanley Launches Spot Bitcoin ETF at 0.14% Fee, Beats BlackRock on Cost
Morgan Stanley entered the spot Bitcoin ETF market with the MSBT fund, charging a 0.14% management fee that undercuts BlackRock's 0.25% offering. The product attracted $34 million in inflows on its first day, pushing total spot Bitcoin ETF assets to $56.5 billion...
BitsStrategy Unveils a Quantum AI Trading App Designed for Faster, Data-Driven Trading Decisions
BitsStrategy announced a quantum AI trading app that leverages artificial intelligence to parse real‑time market data and generate faster, data‑driven trade signals. The app emphasizes a streamlined, app‑first experience, offering new registrants a $10 real‑earnings credit to encourage trial. By...
Fast 45% LTV XRP Loans via Arch Lending
DWP has three lending partners for XRP-backed loans: Mabel Finance, Galaxy Digital, and Arch Lending. Arch handles most clients, funds in 45 minutes, holds assets at Anchorage, and offers 45 percent LTV with a $25,000 minimum. Understand the risks before...
Payoro Finance Registers with Bank of Canada Under RPAA, Expanding Regulated Payment Services
Payoro Finance Ltd. announced it has been registered with the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act, adding to its existing FINTRAC MSB status. The dual regulatory footing is positioned to enhance the firm’s operational resilience and expand...
Payabl. Rolls Out Visa Click‑to‑Pay Across Europe, Promising up to 11% Higher Auth Rates
payabl. has launched Visa Click‑to‑Pay for eligible European merchants, a token‑based checkout that can boost authorisation rates by as much as 11% and lift merchant sales by roughly 4.5%, equating to an estimated $55 bn annual gain for SMB e‑commerce. The...
ClearBank Posts Third Year of UK Profit as Revenue Jumps 34% and Payments Surge 57%
ClearBank announced a 34% rise in normalized revenue to £121.6 million and a 57% jump in payment volumes to 262 million transactions for 2025, delivering a £12.2 million pretax profit in the UK. The results highlight the bank’s shift to fee‑based income and...
U.S. Spot XRP ETFs Pull in $41.6 Million, Biggest Weekly Inflow Since January
U.S. spot XRP exchange‑traded funds drew $41.64 million in net new cash during the first four days of the week, the strongest weekly inflow since mid‑January. The surge lifted the Bitwise and Franklin XRP ETFs to record asset levels and helped...
Looks Don't Matter—Accurate Real‑time Data Drives Alpha
Looking “pretty” isn’t going to generate alpha. Funny when you see all these vibe-coding, clickbait tweets about all these fintech tools being built with Claude code when they don’t really tell you that you still need to subscribe to...
![$220K Lost to a Fraud Model That Passed a 0.82 Accuracy Check [Edition #5]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fOxT!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F444d8dff-2e3d-4216-b86d-30b379177d49_1200x1200.png)
$220K Lost to a Fraud Model That Passed a 0.82 Accuracy Check [Edition #5]
FinFlow AI, a Series B fintech processing 15 million daily transactions, lost $220,000 after a schema change rendered the merchant_zip feature null. The XGBoost fraud model still met its 0.82 accuracy threshold, so the corrupted data went undetected and fraud capture...
SPAYZ.io Unveils 2026 Global Payments Forecast, Spotlights Mobile‑First Shift in High‑Risk Sectors
SPAYZ.io released its 2026 Payment Methods Forecast, revealing that mobile‑first payment solutions now surpass cards and legacy transfers in more than 35 countries. The report flags accelerating regulatory pressure in markets such as Thailand, Japan and Turkey, creating a tension...
Citadel Securities Looks at Prediction Markets as Trading Scales
Citadel Securities, the leading market‑making firm, is actively evaluating entry into the burgeoning prediction‑market space. President Jim Esposito said the firm is monitoring developments but cites limited liquidity as a barrier, while anticipating that the market will scale. Competitors such...
WaFd Posts 12% Loan Growth as COO Pushes Operational Scaling
WaFd Financial Corp posted a 12% quarter‑over‑quarter increase in loan receivables, adding $119 million and originating $1.5 billion in new loans. Executives highlighted a push to scale operations through a next‑generation mobile app, an AI‑powered call center and accelerated software development, aiming...
XRP Serves as Neutral Bridge for Diverse Stablecoins
Financial institutions will not settle in ROUSD. They will issue their own stablecoins and keep the yield. That means every counterparty is running a different stablecoin and none of them will accept each other's. XRP is the neutral bridge in...
Safaricom Penalizes Diaspora Users After My
This is what @safaricom does to their diasporan customers after forcing them to move to their new Myoneapp. Wueh. https://t.co/syTE56DLno
Circle Launches USDC Bridge to Simplify Cross‑chain Stablecoin Transfers
Circle introduced the USDC Bridge, a user‑friendly interface built on its Cross‑Chain Transfer Protocol, enabling native transfers of USDC across at least 17 EVM‑compatible blockchains. The launch comes as Circle faces a $230 million class‑action lawsuit tied to a recent exploit,...
Poland's Second Override Attempt Fails, Market Uncertainty Persists
JUST IN: Poland's second attempt to override the crypto bill veto has failed, extending market uncertainty.
Blocking Stablecoins Harms Banks Like Rejecting Computers
Blocking yield-bearing stablecoins to protect small banks is like refusing to adopt computers because some businesses can't keep up. That's @KavitaGupta19's framing, and it's hard to argue with. @bitsandbips 🎧 https://t.co/mzefkCBYaF
Digital Banking : Nubank Subsidiary Nu Mexico Reports 15M Customers
Nubank’s Mexican arm, Nu Mexico, has surpassed 15 million customers, placing it among the country’s three largest banks by user base. The digital‑only bank added roughly 12,000 new accounts each day, delivering 36% year‑over‑year growth and tripling its scale in two...
AI-Driven Dynamic Pricing Aligns Sales and Finance
Machine learning enables dynamic pricing through demand signals and competitive data in real time. As margins narrow and volatility grows, algorithmic updates align sales and finance around measurable targets and limit manual pricing decisions. Microblog by @antgrasso https://t.co/qNFrchAIzD
Charles Schwab to Offer Retail Spot Bitcoin Trading on Schwab Crypto Platform
Charles Schwab announced that its Schwab Crypto platform will soon allow retail clients to trade spot Bitcoin and Ether, charging 0.75% per transaction. The move follows a record‑breaking quarter for the brokerage and signals a push into mainstream crypto access.
Galaxy Digital Strengthens Institutional Offerings with Business Focused Platform
Galaxy Digital has launched GalaxyOne for Business, extending its GalaxyOne platform from retail investors to U.S. LLCs, trusts and similar entities. The new solution bundles cash management, brokerage and crypto custody, offering up to 8% passive returns on cash and...
JanelaRAT Malware Now Hijacking Banking Sessions of Users in Latin America : Research
Kaspersky’s GReAT team has identified a new JanelaRAT variant that specifically targets online banking customers in Brazil and Mexico. The malware disguises itself as a pixel‑art program and is delivered via phishing emails containing malicious VBS scripts. Unlike earlier versions,...
Uganda’s Taxation of Smartphones, Mobile Money Dents Financial Inclusion Quest
Uganda’s drive toward a digital economy is being hampered by taxes on mobile‑money withdrawals and entry‑level smartphones. A 0.5% excise duty on the full value of withdrawals and combined 10% import duty plus 18% VAT on low‑cost phones raise device...
Stripe Walks Away From $1.2B Airwallex Deal, Sparks Direct Rivalry
Stripe abandoned a $1.2 billion bid to acquire Airwallex, prompting the Melbourne‑based fintech to double down on its own global expansion. The split turns two former collaborators into head‑to‑head rivals in the cross‑border payments arena.
Paxos Labs Secures $12 Million to Accelerate DeFi Infrastructure for FinTech Giants
Paxos Labs announced a $12 million funding round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Robot Ventures, Maelstrom and Uniswap Labs. The capital will fuel its DeFi‑focused platform that lets fintechs launch stablecoins, earn interest and offer crypto‑backed loans, positioning the...
Kyrgyzstan‑Registered Grinex Blames Western Intelligence for $15 Million Crypto Hack
Grinex, a Kyrgyzstan‑registered exchange sanctioned by the U.S., said it is suspending operations after a $15 million cyber‑theft it attributes to Western intelligence. The claim, made amid ongoing sanctions and a parallel breach at TokenSpot, could intensify scrutiny of crypto platforms...
The Fintech and Wider Digital Overview of Japan in 2026
Japan’s fintech sector in 2026 is evolving through disciplined, incremental reforms rather than radical disruption. Cashless payments now account for about 45% of all transactions, reflecting steady consumer adoption backed by government incentives. Over 100 banks have deployed open API...
OpenAI Makes Second Move Toward RIA Business with Catch-and-Kill of Financial Planning Website, Hiro; Artificial Intelligence Is Powerful, and Sam...
OpenAI announced the acquisition of Hiro Finance on April 14, promising to cease Hiro's operations by May 13 and delete its client data. Hiro, which used an AI chatbot to manage budgeting scenarios for more than $1 billion in retail assets,...
FINNY Launches ‘Hunter’ AI Agent to Automate Advisor Growth Strategies
FINNY introduced Hunter, an AI‑driven growth engine that designs, executes and optimizes marketing campaigns for financial advisors. The launch follows a $17 million Series A funding round and marks the firm’s first foray into autonomous sales‑and‑marketing agents.
Nigeria’s Digital Payments Surge, but Fraud Losses Top $110 M
Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem has expanded more than 300% since 2019, processing trillions of naira each month. At the same time, fraud losses have surged past ₦52 billion ($113 million), exposing gaps in security. Regulators and banks are now racing to align...
Morgan Stanley Upgrades Affirm to Overweight, Sets $76 Target as Private Credit Fears Seen Overblown
Morgan Stanley upgraded Affirm Holdings to Overweight and named it a top pick, lifting its price target to $76. The firm argues that market concerns over private‑credit funding are exaggerated and points to a May 12 investor forum as a...
Spektr Secures $20 Million Series A to Scale AI Compliance Platform
Spektr announced a $20 million Series A round led by NEA, with participation from Northzone, Seedcamp and PreSeed Ventures. The funding will accelerate its AI‑powered compliance platform aimed at automating manual KYC/KYB work for banks and fintechs, underscoring growing VC interest...
Revolut Rolls Out GlobalHire, a $634‑Per‑Employee Cross‑Border Hiring Platform
Revolut has introduced GlobalHire, a cross‑border hiring and payroll service embedded in its Business app, priced at £499 ($634) per employee per month. The tool automates recruitment, tax and payroll compliance for firms expanding internationally, adding a new HR layer...
Cellulant Names Anthony Hernandez COO to Drive AI‑Powered Customer Operations
Cellulant, Africa’s leading payment‑technology platform, announced the appointment of Anthony Hernandez as chief operating officer. Hernandez will steer an AI‑enabled strategy to automate customer onboarding, transaction monitoring and real‑time reporting, aiming to deepen operational discipline as the firm scales across...
Aurionpro Unveils Fintra, AI‑Native Platform to Slash 70% Trade‑Finance Rejection Rate
Aurionpro announced the launch of Fintra, an AI‑native trade‑finance platform built on its Aurion AI stack. The solution promises to cut the industry’s 70% first‑presentation rejection rate and is now open for pilot projects in India, the Middle East and...
Slash Financial Secures $100 Million Series C, Valued at $1.4 Billion
Slash Financial closed a $100 million Series C round, valuing the AI‑powered business banking platform at $1.4 billion. Led by Ribbit Capital with participation from Goodwater and Khosla, the funding fuels product expansion and deeper market penetration.
AI Predictive Tools Poised to Reshape DeFi in 2026
Predictive artificial‑intelligence tooling is emerging as the most transformative upgrade in decentralized finance for 2026. Robinhood’s AI‑powered risk flags and Barry Silbert’s infrastructure bets signal a move from reactive to proactive risk management across lending, AMMs and yield platforms.
Russia Introduces Bill to Criminalize Unregistered Crypto Services
Russia’s lower house has received a draft bill that would criminalize any crypto‑related service operating without a Bank of Russia licence. Violators could face fines up to 1 million rubles (about $13,100) and imprisonment of four years, with harsher penalties –...