Know What's Happening in FinTech
Know What's Happening in FinTech
FinTech Pulse
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EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
HM Treasury hosted U.S. Treasury officials and regulators in London on 26 January 2026 for senior‑level industry engagement of the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future. The dialogue explored ways to tighten capital‑market links and coordinate on digital‑asset policy. The Taskforce, created in September 2025 during President Trump’s state visit, aims to align regulatory approaches between the world’s two leading financial hubs. Additional joint sessions are planned in the United States, with a formal recommendation report due in summer 2026.
NEW: Ahead of today’s White House meeting on stablecoin yield, Treasury Secretary Bessent criticized delays to the CLARITY Act and urged compromise to deliver regulatory clarity now. Sources: @Cointelegraph & Fox News https://t.co/tHSmJcaGG3
In this episode, Fauwaz Hussain, Senior Director of B2B Partnerships and Strategy at Global Payments, breaks down why B2B payment processes remain tangled and how companies can streamline them. He highlights the friction points of card‑not‑present transactions, partial shipments, and...
Square announced the UK launch of SquareAI, a free conversational AI tool that helps merchants interpret sales data and make faster decisions. Blue Payment Agency expanded its services to high‑risk e‑commerce merchants selling restricted items, while Duck Creek Technologies will...
The episode explains how modern payment gateways, especially Authorize.net, enable small and mid‑size businesses to accept a wide array of payment methods—from cards and eChecks to digital wallets and contactless options—through a single, integrated solution that often includes a merchant...
Blockchain.com has been added to the FCA’s register of licensed crypto companies under the trading name “BC Operations,” marking its return to the UK regulatory framework after withdrawing its licence application in March 2022. The registration permits the exchange to...
Airwallex just crossed a $1B rev run rate and feels like no one talked about them until late last year. Crazy.
Robinhood has launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 network built on Arbitrum that already holds over $2.3 billion in total value locked. The testnet gives developers access to tools, documentation, and testnet‑only assets such as tokenized stocks,...
Fosun Wealth’s Asian Yield-Bearing RWA Stablecoin Finds Its Home on Avalanche https://t.co/na0QP4gUl5 FinChain and ChinaAMC just launched Hong Kong's first yield-bearing RWA stablecoin (FUSD) on Avalanche enabling institutional liquidity on-chain today. https://t.co/5HDATqXC0e
Lidl Germany has introduced SEPA bank‑transfer as a checkout option, allowing shoppers to pay directly from their bank accounts. The move sidesteps traditional Visa and Mastercard processing, which dominate European retail payments. By leveraging the Euro‑area’s low‑cost SEPA network, Lidl...
UK Finance warns that 2026 will be a turning point for British banks as new prudential standards, the motor‑finance redress scheme and cross‑border restrictions reshape the sector. Basel 3.1 and Small Domestic Deposit Takers rules take effect on 1 January 2027, while the...
Treasury leaders are shifting from isolated point solutions to a single, real‑time operating system that unifies cash, debt, investments and risk across dozens of banks and multiple ERP platforms. Kyriba’s Tom Callway argues that the missing piece is a connectivity...
The UK Financial Conduct Authority has initiated High Court proceedings against cryptocurrency exchange HTX, alleging illegal promotion of crypto services to British consumers. The case, filed in the Chancery Division, falls under the FCA’s Financial Promotions (FinProm) regime introduced in...
Small business owners often mistake persuasive financial messaging for genuine confidence, leading to decisions based on borrowed reassurance. Over time, they learn to differentiate surface‑level certainty from deep structural understanding, focusing on how obligations interact with revenue and risk. The...
Animal‑rescue organizations are increasingly accepting cryptocurrency as a donation channel, allowing instant, borderless contributions that bypass traditional banking delays. The blockchain’s traceability gives donors confidence that funds reach emergency medical care, food supplies, and long‑term shelter needs. Crypto giving also...
District courts have attempted to classify earned‑wage‑access (EWA) services as loans under the Truth in Lending Act and Military Lending Act, prompting appeals to the Ninth Circuit. The cases involve fintech firms such as Cleo AI, Empower (now Tilt), Dave...
Governor Irena Radović opened a regional conference in Podgorica, highlighting the Western Balkans’ push toward instant payments and deeper SEPA integration. She noted that more than forty central banks are collaborating to prepare for the July 2026 launch of Montenegro’s TIPS Clone...
Wise’s Commercial Director for the Americas, Lauren Langbridge, drove two domestic payment network expansions—Direct Pix in Brazil and Zengin in Japan—while laying groundwork for additional connections. She secured new partnerships with Wealthsimple and Interactive Brokers (IBKR), extending the Wise Platform’s reach into retail...
Indonesia, home to one of the world’s largest unbanked populations, is accelerating digital finance to boost inclusion. The Financial Services Authority outlined three policy priorities—sector resilience, a contributive ecosystem, and sustainable finance—to guide the effort. PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI)...
Yieldschool, founded by former crypto regulator Frank Hepworth, offers a crypto‑native consulting service that uses his Crypto Native Protocol to give high‑net‑worth clients access to primary markets, rigorous research, and white‑glove execution. The firm now serves over 1,000 clients with...
Saudi‑based MOZN, founded in 2017, launched FOCAL—a unified fraud, AML and KYC platform powered by Agentic AI. The solution combines multilingual name‑matching, graph analytics and dynamic risk scoring to cut false positives and deliver over 90% fraud reduction for major...
Professor Derek Horstmeyer warns that the Federal Reserve’s traditional metrics will lag in an AI‑driven economy where stable‑coin transactions and compute‑intensive agents dominate. He proposes three actions: tracking compute and energy costs, gaining visibility into a burgeoning shadow‑banking sector, and...
Alpaca Markets announced the integration of U.S. corporate bonds into its Broker API, adding over 500 investment‑grade and high‑yield issues alongside its existing Treasury bill offerings. The fintech also raised its excess SIPC protection, now covering up to $75 million in...
Technology is reshaping regulatory compliance for UAE businesses, with RegTech platforms replacing spreadsheets and manual filing. Real‑time monitoring, AI‑driven document analysis, and blockchain audit trails ensure firms meet anti‑money‑laundering and KYC requirements instantly. Automation cuts human error, lowers audit costs,...
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are increasingly being used as investment vehicles, with 4 million accounts – about 10% of all HSAs – holding invested assets, a 23% year‑over‑year rise. Total HSA assets grew 16% to $159 billion, and investment‑linked assets now represent...
Enterprises that rely on price intelligence must see prices exactly as local shoppers do, making geo‑targeted data collection essential. Generic proxies often deliver low‑reputation IPs, unstable sessions, or leaked locations, leading to blocked or distorted pricing data. A purpose‑built proxy...
CRS 2.0 and the Crypto‑Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) became fully operational in 2026, modernising the original Common Reporting Standard. Institutions that approached the updates as a narrow compliance exercise are now grappling with operational strain, fragmented data and intensified regulator...
Leverage trading has moved from niche desks to mainstream Indian crypto investors in 2026, driven by clearer regulatory guidance and FIU‑IND compliant platforms. By borrowing funds, traders can control positions many times larger than their capital, magnifying both profit potential...
The UK film industry relies on specially printed prop money instead of real cash to stage high‑value scenes safely and affordably. Legal replicas must follow Bank of England rules, such as a 25% size deviation or a clear “SPECIMEN” label,...
Skubl, founded by Cameron Batt, offers an autonomous “Customer Experience Agent” platform that detects and repairs digital friction in real time. Unlike typical GPT‑4 wrappers, Skubl combines proprietary causal inference models and computer vision to act as an immune system...
James River Insurance Company has entered a technology partnership with InsurTech firm Kalepa to embed an AI‑driven underwriting platform across its excess and surplus (E&S) lines. The collaboration targets faster quote generation, reduced manual processing, and stronger underwriting discipline to...
Safaricom launched Ziidi Trader, integrating NSE share trading into the M‑PESA app for its 37 million users. The service eliminates the need for separate CDS accounts and brokerage paperwork, using a pooled account managed by licensed brokers while settlements occur instantly...
Amazon has introduced Pay by Bank on its UK site, letting shoppers pay directly from their bank accounts without using cards. The service connects to customers' banking apps for biometric or PIN authentication, eliminating the need to store card details....
Viche Financials launched Finance Flow, an intelligent financial‑orchestration platform that consolidates cash‑flow, receivables, payables, scenario modelling, alerts and funding‑strategy insights into a single dashboard. The solution applies time‑series analysis, machine‑assisted pattern recognition and predictive analytics to forecast cash gaps and...
Polygon Labs is positioning its blockchain platform as a next‑generation payment rail that can seamlessly move money across fiat and crypto ecosystems. In an interview, CEO Marc Boiron explains how the company’s stablecoin framework aims to address legacy finance pain...
Ramadan philanthropy is rapidly shifting from cash boxes to contactless and mobile donation platforms. Digital tools such as NFC, QR codes, and mobile wallets enable donors to give instantly from anywhere, boosting fundraising speed and reach. Subscription-based giving and multi-currency...
The UK is at a crossroads as Labour backbenchers propose legislation to force banks to broaden affordable lending for SMEs and underserved founders. The Entrepreneurship Revolution report, commissioned by Block, reveals that over five million Britons could start a business...
Red Oak, a compliance connectivity platform for financial services, announced the appointment of Kirk Sadler as chief product officer. Sadler joins with over twenty years of B2B enterprise software experience, most recently as vice‑president of product at Mitratech. His role...
Gemini announced it will withdraw its operations from the United Kingdom, European Union and Australia to concentrate on the United States and Singapore. The move underscores the difficulty of expanding into markets where regulatory frameworks remain unsettled. UK officials had...
Australian fixed‑income firm FIIG Securities was hit with a AU$2.5 million civil penalty after the Federal Court found it failed to protect client data for over four years. A 2023 ransomware attack exfiltrated roughly 385 GB of personal and financial information belonging...
How would you define Resilience ? → https://t.co/A4KJbkxo41 That's a question I was asked recently while preparing for a panel of an upcoming InsurTech conference. Which makes perfect sense as the word is gaining momentum, though still in its early days. https://t.co/iLT5SURyPk
Late payments remain a chronic issue in construction, with 70% of contractors and subcontractors reporting regular delays that inflate costs and jeopardize projects. The financial strain forces firms to increase bids by roughly 8% and pushes material prices up by...
Payments orchestration, once a back‑office utility, is now being positioned as a profit center for merchants. By inserting a control layer between merchants and multiple acquirers, processors and wallets, the technology enables real‑time routing decisions that optimize cost, authorization rates...
Professional sports teams generate massive game‑day revenue, but cash arrives days or weeks later, creating a structural mismatch between inflows and outflows. Immediate expenses—player payroll, travel, security—must be paid upfront while ticket, merchandise, and media earnings settle on staggered schedules....
RootstockCollective, a DAO on the Rootstock sidechain, distributes Bitcoin‑linked rewards through fully on‑chain rules that anyone can audit. The platform allocates 75% of payouts in rBTC, with the remainder in RIF and USDRIF, on a bi‑weekly cycle. Rewards are earned...
A PYMNTS Intelligence survey of 3,066 U.S. consumers reveals that premium credit‑card holders—those paying annual fees above $100—are the most engaged segment, with 74% redeeming at least one card‑linked offer in the past year. By contrast, only 32% of free‑card...
South Korean Crypto Exchange Accidentally Gave Away $43 Billion Worth of Paper Bitcoin 😲 Source: https://t.co/lPGnMSdHAO https://t.co/gUs3bb70KS
Mastercard has introduced BIN Sponsor Plus, an accreditation program for UK Bank Identification Number sponsors that enable fintechs to issue cards. The initiative formalizes higher standards for training, due diligence and operational rigor, while offering accredited sponsors dedicated Mastercard support....
LMAX Group launched Omnia Exchange, a unified multi‑asset platform that lets institutions trade any currency, crypto, stablecoin or digital asset directly against any other 24/7. The service removes size and type limits and offers settlement on traditional clearing rails or...
U.S. bitcoin exchange‑traded funds posted back‑to‑back net inflows of $616 million, ending a redemption streak that began in mid‑January. The first day saw $471.1 million, followed by $144.9 million as bitcoin rallied from a $60,000 low to around $70,000. Despite a 50 % price...
