Nigeria’s Daya Taps Aptos to Power Africa-Middle East Stablecoin Payments
Nigeria‑based B2B payments startup Daya has teamed up with the Aptos Foundation and Dubai‑based exchange HashKey MENA to launch a pilot stablecoin settlement corridor linking African businesses with the Middle East. The corridor lets firms convert local currencies into stablecoins, settle transactions on the Aptos blockchain, and receive destination‑country fiat via regulated on‑ and off‑ramps. HashKey MENA will provide the Middle‑East fiat bridge while Daya handles African fiat connectivity, creating a cross‑border payment pipeline that integrates APIs, virtual accounts and bank transfers. The initiative expands Aptos’ push into emerging‑market payments beyond its DeFi origins.
Chhangani’s Piece on Digital Yuan Cited in European Central Bank’s Report on the International Role of the Euro
The European Central Bank’s June 2026 report on the international role of the euro references Alisha Chhangani’s recent analysis of China’s digital yuan. The citation underscores the growing relevance of the digital yuan as a cross‑border payment instrument and its potential...
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Pushes Back on Jamie Dimon's Attack Over CLARITY Act
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly rebuffed JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon's harsh remarks about the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, defending the legislation as beneficial for both banks and crypto firms. The clash highlights the widening regulatory rift between traditional...
Fintechs Redesigning with AI Achieve 5× Developer Productivity
AI is delivering 5x developer productivity at fintechs that fully redesign their engineering model around it. Not just copilots — end-to-end workflow transformation. The firms still running scattered pilots are being outbuilt. BCG + FT Partners Global Fintech Report 2026 https://t.co/zPh99Mx5T0
Chhangani’s Research on China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System Cited in FDD
Alisha Chhangani’s research on China’s Cross‑border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) was referenced in a recent Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) analysis. The citation underscores growing U.S. scrutiny of how China’s payment infrastructure facilitates Iran’s ability to evade sanctions. Chhangani’s...
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Money20/20 Europe Day Three: Inclusion, Identity, and the Future of Payments
Money20/20 Europe wrapped its tenth edition with a focus on agentic AI, financial inclusion, and the convergence of traditional payments with digital assets. Panels highlighted the need for a "know‑your‑agent" (KYA) framework to replace static KYC, while Revolut’s recent UK...
Why Adyen, Stripe, and PayPal Still Can't Fix Global Payments - Davi Strazza (CBO, Lightspark)
In this episode, Sam talks with Davi Strazza, Chief Business Development Officer at Lightspark, about the persistent failures in global online payments—about 15% of transactions still fall through despite the dominance of providers like Adyen, Stripe, and PayPal. Strazza explains...
Grey Business Processes $61 Million as Stablecoins Dominate Payments
Grey, a US‑based cross‑border payments platform, processed $61.4 million in total payment volume within four months of launch. The company’s Business product lets startups and SMEs open USD corporate accounts and move money using stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, which...
Flutterwave Targets Multi-Rail Stablecoin Payments with Tempo Partnership
Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments platform, announced a partnership with the payments‑first blockchain Tempo to add a new stablecoin settlement rail alongside its existing Polygon integration. The integration will enable wallet‑to‑wallet transfers of USDC and USDT through Flutterwave’s Send App and...
Interswitch Enters Banking Tech Race with Temenos Deal
Interswitch announced a strategic partnership with Temenos, moving beyond payments to provide full‑stack banking technology across Africa. The deal integrates Temenos’ core, digital, payments, wealth‑management and anti‑fraud systems into Interswitch’s cloud and on‑premise platform, targeting legacy banks in Nigeria, Kenya,...
Adyen Replaces Stripe as GDS Payments Provider
Britain’s Government Digital Service has selected Adyen to replace Stripe as the payment services provider for GOV.UK Pay, covering non‑Crown card and pay‑by‑bank transactions. The change affects roughly 1,000 public‑sector entities, including local councils, the armed forces and police forces....
Stable Money’s Mutual Fund Distribution Biz Suspended by AMFI for 6 Months
The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has suspended Stable Finserv, the mutual‑fund distribution arm of fintech startup Stable Money, from issuing any mutual‑fund products until November 2026. The ban, effective May 21‑Nov 20, has already caused SIP transactions to fail for...
From CTO to CEO: Anext Bank Taps Financing AI Hardware to Grow SME Lending
Anext Bank, the Singapore‑based digital wholesale lender owned by Ant International, has doubled down on AI‑driven financing under CEO Qiu Kai, a former CTO. The bank is pioneering GPU financing, allowing firms to pledge AI hardware as collateral, while its...
The US$0.20 Payment that Could Rewire Asia’s Financial Rails
The Morph report highlights that the average AI‑agent payment in Asia is just $0.20, far below the minimum fee of traditional card networks. This gap is driving a shift toward the x402 protocol, which uses stablecoins to settle micropayments instantly...
Big Banks Launch Tokenized Deposit Network to Fight Off Stablecoin Threat
The United States' biggest banks – JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and peers – are co‑creating a tokenized‑deposit blockchain network slated for launch in the first half of 2027. Operated by The Clearing House, the system will bridge...
Trade-PMR and Wells Fargo Renew Vows to Extend Custody Union Until 2032, yet Each Is Madly Racing to Begin Replacing...
Wells Fargo is accelerating its push into the independent advisory space, extending its FiNet network and launching a nascent RIA custody unit to retain and attract advisors through 2032. The firm promises higher payouts—92% for FiNet advisors—and a modern platform with...
Bank Regulators Push Stablecoin Rules While Warning on AI Risks
The House Financial Services Committee hearing highlighted regulators’ push to formalize stablecoin oversight through the GENIUS Act and to address AI‑driven cyber risks. Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman warned that AI accelerates vulnerability discovery, while OCC, NCUA and FDIC leaders...
Finastra Unveils New Analytics Solution for Lenders Data Insights 2.0
Finastra launched Data Insights 2.0, an analytics add‑on for its Originate Mortgagebot platform. The solution gives mortgage lenders real‑time visibility into the borrower journey, pinpointing drop‑off points and offering benchmarking against more than 1,000 originators. Early adopters such as United...
FDIC Moves to Impose AML/CFT Rules on Stablecoin Issuers Under GENIUS Act
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved a new rulemaking proposal that would subject permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs) to Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance requirements. The move, tied to the GENIUS Act, aims to align stablecoins with traditional financial...
Siemens’ Heiko Nix Details the Corporate Treasury Tech Upgrade
Heiko Nix, Siemens' global treasury head, detailed a three‑year technology overhaul aimed at real‑time, 24/7 cash visibility and payments. The company is replacing legacy file‑based messaging with API‑driven integration, leveraging JPM Coin and tokenized money while distinguishing stablecoins from central‑bank...
Inside Parafin’s Push to Close Small Business Finance’s $2 Trillion Gap
Parafin, an embedded finance startup, is tackling the roughly $2 trillion small‑business funding gap by leveraging platform data and AI‑driven underwriting. Since its 2017 inception, the company has financed close to 50,000 merchants and secured partnerships with Amazon, Walmart, DoorDash, Gusto,...
Forage Raises $40M in Series B
Fintech platform Forage announced a $40 million Series B round, led by Mouro Capital with participation from PayPal Ventures, Intuit Ventures, Nyca Partners and other investors. The capital infusion backs Forage’s recently launched consumer app that lets low‑income families securely check EBT...
BofA Plans to Launch Real-Time Cross-Border Payments
Bank of America announced it will add a real‑time cross‑border payment option to its CashPro platform, targeting corporate and commercial clients. The service, slated for a Q3 2024 launch, will initially connect to Mexico’s SPEI, the UK’s Faster Payments Service,...
Flipkart Leans Into Payments, Biometrics, and Loyalty to Boost Margins Ahead of a Potential IPO
Flipkart, the Walmart‑owned Indian e‑commerce leader, is deepening its foray into payments and financial services to tighten margins ahead of a potential IPO slated for 2025‑2026. Payments VP Gaurav Arora said each percentage‑point rise in payment completion translates into equivalent...
Identity Sector Moves to Close Trust Gap in Agentic Commerce
The identity sector is confronting a trust gap as autonomous AI agents begin handling purchases, prompting firms to prove who an agent represents and its authorization. Mastercard’s Agent Pay initiative showcases live, consent‑based agentic transactions across European banks, emphasizing tokenization,...
Coinbase to Launch Token-Backed Mortgage Down Payments This Summer
Coinbase and Better Home & Finance will launch a token‑backed mortgage product by summer 2026, letting qualified borrowers pledge Bitcoin or USDC as collateral for down‑payment loans on Fannie Mae‑backed homes. The initiative follows the FHFA’s 2025 directive that allows...
Another Potential AI Problem: Bored Humans Miss AI Mistakes
Banks are confronting a new facet of AI risk called automation complacency, where reviewers grow over‑reliant on highly accurate agentic AI and miss rare but costly errors. A Wolters Kluwer survey found 34% of U.S. bankers view automation bias as the...
The Crypto-Based Mortgage Is Now a Reality
Coinbase and Better have issued the first crypto‑backed conventional mortgage, allowing Bitcoin or U.S. dollar‑pegged stablecoins to serve as collateral for the down‑payment while the loan conforms to Fannie Mae guidelines. The product pairs a standard conforming loan with a...
HashKey MENA Pilots Stablecoin Payment Corridor Linking Africa and the Middle East
HashKey MENA, a Dubai‑based exchange licensed by VARA, has launched a pilot stablecoin payment corridor linking the Middle East and Africa. The corridor, built on the Aptos Layer 1 blockchain and partnered with Pan‑African payments platform Daya, will enable B2B settlements...
Robot Money Requires Auditable, Private Payment Protocols
Agent payments create a new compliance problem. If software can buy data, rent compute, pay APIs, settle services, and rebalance capital, every action becomes a financial event. That sounds powerful until the payment graph is fully public, commercially sensitive, and hard to...
Money20/20 Europe Launch: CFIT and Project Nemo Form Financial Inclusion Coalition to Develop Supported Payments Framework
The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) announced the launch of its fifth national Coalition with Project Nemo at Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam. Funded by HM Treasury, the Coalition will develop a Supported Payments framework that lets individuals appoint trusted...
Upstart (UPST) Partners with Community Choice Credit Union
Upstart announced a partnership with Community Choice Credit Union to launch digital personal loans, expanding its AI‑driven lending platform to credit‑union members. The company reported Q1 revenue of $308 million, up 44% year‑over‑year, while adjusted EBITDA fell to $40.5 million. CEO Paul...
Chime’s ‘#1’ Claim Raises J.D. Power’s Ire
Chime is facing a lawsuit from J.D. Power alleging the neobank illegally used the phrase “#1 ranking based on J.D. Power survey” in its advertising. The claim stems from a churn‑benchmarking study that only showed Chime leading new checking‑account openings,...
Revolut Launches FDIC‑Insured U.S. Bank with Stablecoin and Crypto Services
Revolut has filed for a US national bank charter and plans to roll out FDIC‑insured checking and high‑yield accounts, stablecoin deposits, stock and crypto trading from 2027. The move targets its one‑million US customers and positions the neobank as a...
Wave Cash App’s Magic Wand to Pay for Stuff
Cash App, the payments arm of Block, introduced a $25 "Cash App Wand," a pearlescent NFC‑enabled tag that functions like a debit card via tap‑to‑pay. The wand is the first product in a new Cash App Tag series, limited to...
Visa Pairs With Tech Firm Brale to Test Crypto Settlement
Visa announced a proof‑of‑concept partnership with fintech Brale to test settlement using Brale’s USD‑backed stablecoin, SBC, on the privacy‑centric Canton Network blockchain. The pilot will evaluate whether the stablecoin can serve as an alternative settlement layer for Visa’s card network...
Ramp Hits $44 Billion Valuation in $750 Million Raise as It Bets that AI Token Spending Is the Next Corporate...
Ramp announced a $750 million Series F led by ICONIQ, GIC and Ontario Teachers, pushing its valuation to $44 billion—nearly six times its level a year ago. The spend‑management platform now processes over $100 billion in annual purchases, serves 50,000+ customers, and has topped...
Interswitch Joins Race for Africa’s Banking Technology Market with Temenos Deal
Interswitch has partnered with Temenos to deliver managed banking services across Africa, adopting Temenos’ core, digital, payments, wealth‑management and fraud‑prevention platforms. The collaboration enables cloud‑hosted and on‑premise solutions, initially targeting Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya. It marks Interswitch’s strategic...
Paymentology Launches Lume Cloud-Native Issuer Platform
Paymentology, a global issuer processor for over 400 banks, has unveiled Lume, a cloud‑native issuer processing platform designed for worldwide scaling, localisation, and continuous innovation. The platform runs on a multi‑cloud AWS and Google architecture, employs an API‑first, zero‑trust model,...
Moneyhub and Brick Rewards Turn Rent Into Rewards
Moneyhub has partnered with Brick Rewards to embed its open‑banking platform into the London‑focused rewards app, automatically detecting rent payments and enriching transaction data. The integration awards points for on‑time rent and qualifying spend at partner merchants, which can be...
Klarna Is an Amex-Style Brand, CEO Says
Klarna’s CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski likened the Swedish BNPL firm to American Express, positioning it as a lifestyle‑card brand rather than a pure lender. He highlighted a strategic pivot toward fashion and beauty merchants, announcing a new partnership with Ulta Beauty and emphasizing...
Google Wallet Digital ID Support Keeps Growing, Faster Checkout with Google Pay
Google Wallet is extending its Digital ID feature to select European Union markets this summer, following earlier rollouts in India, Taiwan and the UK. The service will partner with Sparkasse Bank to verify users' age without exposing additional personal data....
Killing the Card? The UK’s Banks Eye a Payments Revolution
The UK’s major banks have launched a new joint venture, Payments UK, to build a domestic payments network that could sideline US card giants Mastercard and Visa. Backed by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest, the platform will support real‑time, low‑cost...
Indian Lender Hands Credit Decisions to AI
Trust Paisa, the Indian digital lender owned by Singapore‑based Fingular, has completed a full migration to AI‑driven credit decisioning, removing all manual review from its consumer loan approvals. The new system evaluates applications in real time, delivering decisions within seconds...
Outdated Payments Cost Singapore $7 Billion
Airwallex and the Centre for Economics and Business Research report that Singapore’s businesses lose roughly $7 billion each year because legacy cross‑border payment systems impose high fees, FX spreads and settlement delays. The study labels these hidden costs the “Global Growth...
PayPay to Acquire 70% of T&D Financial Life Insurance for $840 Million
PayPay Corp., SoftBank Group's payments arm, agreed to purchase a 70.2% stake in T&D Financial Life Insurance for ¥134.3 billion ($840 million). The deal, slated to close in October 2027, marks a major cross‑industry move as the payments leader adds life‑insurance distribution...
Mastercard Expands Offers Network in Asia
Mastercard announced the expansion of its Mastercard Offers Network across the Asia‑Pacific region, allowing banks to embed merchant‑funded promotions directly within their mobile apps. The move taps a market where digital payments reached nearly $16 trillion in 2025 and intra‑regional travel...
Stripe, Visa and Mastercard Team Up on New Stablecoin Platform, Coinbase Mulls Participation
Stripe, Visa and Mastercard are on the verge of launching a new stablecoin platform, while Coinbase is evaluating participation. The move targets a $325 billion stablecoin market currently led by Tether, and could reshape cross‑border payments.
Revolut to Launch Five Credit Cards in UK
Revolut plans to launch five distinct credit card products in the UK, announced by UK CEO Francesca Carlesi at Money20/20. The rollout follows the fintech’s recent acquisition of a UK banking licence, which enables it to expand into lending and...
Visa and Brale Test Privacy-Enabled SBC Stablecoin Settlement on Canton Network
Visa and stablecoin issuer Brale are piloting settlement of the USD‑backed SBC token on Digital Asset’s Canton Network, a permissioned blockchain that offers privacy for institutional participants. SBC, fully collateralized by cash and short‑term U.S. Treasury securities, has a circulating...