Kraken Pays $30 Million to Settle SEC Lawsuit and Halts U.S. Staking
Kraken agreed to a $30 million penalty to resolve the SEC's securities‑law lawsuit and will shut its staking service for U.S. customers. The settlement underscores growing regulatory pressure on crypto exchanges.
Adjusted Stablecoin Volume May Reach $700 Trillion+ by 2035 : Research
Chainalysis forecasts that adjusted stablecoin transaction volume will reach $719 trillion by 2035 through organic growth, and could climb to $1.5 quadrillion when macro catalysts are considered. The firm expects stablecoin payments to rival Visa and Mastercard off‑chain volumes between 2031 and...
Circle CEO Says He Won’t Freeze USDC without a Court Order Even as Hackers Walk Away with Millions
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire reiterated that the company will only freeze USDC wallets when directed by a court order or law‑enforcement request, rejecting real‑time intervention during hacks. Critics, citing incidents such as the recent $280 million Drift Protocol exploit, argue that...
Mastercard and Google Put Passkeys at the Heart of AI Payments
Mastercard and Google have unveiled Verifiable Intent, an open‑source cryptographic framework that secures AI‑driven purchases with biometric, passkey‑grade authentication. The system bundles a consumer’s verified identity, the AI agent’s instructions, and the resulting transaction into a tamper‑resistant record. Built on...
Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
Fintech activity surged this week as Gr4vy introduced AI‑driven agentic payments and a developer kit, while Adyen rolled out its Intelligent Money Movement platform to unify payments, liquidity and payouts. GoCardless reported a 22% growth rate for FY25 and posted...
Insurteam Raises $1.3m to Expand MGA Ops in Europe
Swiss InsurTech Insurteam closed a $1.3 million round to accelerate its Managing General Agent (MGA) rollout across Europe. The capital will fund the deployment of its AI‑driven platform that can slash claim‑handling costs by up to 80% and shrink processing times...
SoFi Taps Galileo to Offer Send And Receive Capabilities Through FedNow
SoFi Bank N.A. has partnered with Galileo Financial Technologies to enable real‑time send and receive payments through the Federal Reserve’s FedNow service. The integration allows SoFi members to move money between banks in seconds, 24/7, including weekends and holidays, eliminating...
OpenID Launches Working Group to Ease KYC with mDLs
The OpenID Foundation has launched an eKYC and Identity Assurance Working Group to address KYC gaps exposed by NIST’s draft SP 1800‑42 guidance on mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs). The group will extend the OpenID Identity Assurance Schema and OpenID Connect protocols...
Exclusive: HSBC Extends Tokenized Deposit Service to US
HSBC is extending its tokenized deposit service to the United States, adding the market to the four regions where the product already operates—Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg and the U.K. The on‑chain offering lets corporate clients move money instantly across domestic and...
Expensive Tabs Shift to Mobile: Stripe
Stripe’s latest checkout report shows U.S. shoppers increasingly using mobile devices for higher‑priced purchases, with mobile share rising across every price tier over the past two years. Mobile transactions grew by 4.1 percentage points for purchases between $500 and $2,000,...
Kalshi Is Half Right About Prediction Markets and Gambling
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour argues that its peer‑to‑peer prediction‑market platform differs from traditional sportsbooks because the house takes no position on outcomes, only fees. While the fee‑based, balanced‑book model mirrors the exchange‑style betting that has existed since the 1940s, it does...
Notch A Credit Union Win for Payroc
Payroc LLC announced a new partnership with Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union, extending its payment‑processing platform to the credit union’s more than 100,000 members. The Tinley Park‑based firm will provide point‑of‑sale systems, online payment gateways, electronic invoicing and related services to the...
Hungary’s Payment Revolution Begins? What Magyar’s Win Means for Fintech
Hungary’s new Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar, won a two‑thirds supermajority, ending the Orbán era and opening the door to EU funding and regulatory reform. The government is poised to unlock roughly $19.6 bn in frozen EU cohesion and recovery...
Bunq Wins AI AML Battle, Expands to US
How bunq is reinventing the Neo-banking model for 2026. 🏦✨ Ali Niknam, CEO of bunq, just sat down at Davos to reveal how they became the first profitable EU neo-bank and their bold plan for the US. 💎 Watch the full deep...
Netstars, Bitget Wallet Exploring Japanese Crypto Payments Union
Bitget Wallet is in talks with Japanese payment infrastructure provider Netstars to integrate self‑custodial stablecoin payments into the country’s QR‑based cashless ecosystem. The collaboration will use Netstars’ StarPay‑X gateway to connect Web3 wallets with existing merchant networks, enabling in‑store and...
MrBeast Acquires Fintech App Step, Targeting 7 Million Young Adult Users
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, has purchased the fintech app Step, which serves roughly seven million young adult users. The acquisition integrates Step’s instant payment and budgeting features into MrBeast’s creator ecosystem, enabling fans to tip, buy merch, and earn...
Broker’s Call: Paytm (Outperform)
Haitong International initiates coverage of One 97 Communication (Paytm) with an Outperform rating and a target price of ₹1,410 (≈ $17), above the current market price of ₹1,106.85 (≈ $13.5). The broker highlights Paytm’s leadership in retail digital payments and its aggressive push to...
95% of UK SMEs Turn to AI to Tackle Hidden Payment Losses
UK small‑and‑medium enterprises are bleeding roughly $202,000 per year each from failed payments, abandoned checkouts and churn, creating a hidden revenue gap worth hundreds of millions across the economy. Research by Access PaySuite of 250 finance leaders shows 3.4% of...
NCUA Opens Fifth Deregulation Round for Credit Unions, Comments Due April 13
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has opened a comment period for its fifth round of deregulation proposals, targeting rules that regulators deem redundant or overly prescriptive. Stakeholders have until 11:59 p.m. ET on April 13, 2026, to submit feedback, a move that...
E& Money Offers Gold Trading in UAE
E& Money has introduced a digital gold investment service in the United Arab Emirates, partnering with SafeGold to let users buy and sell 24‑karat gold of 99.99% purity through its mobile app. Customers can start with as little as AED 10...
Visa’s Neat Deal and Other Digital Transactions News Briefs From 4/13/26
Visa has teamed with insurance‑tech firm Neat to let European cardholders file digital claims, expanding its value‑added services. Repay Holdings defended its $372 million purchase of Kubra Data Transfer after investor Veradace Partners called the deal misguided. Klarna announced support for...
MTN Zambia Runs Promotion to Reward MoMo Transactions with Prizes Including New House
MTN Zambia has rolled out the "Wina Nyumba na MoMo" promotion, offering a brand‑new house and thousands of cash prizes to users who make transactions via the MTN MoMo app or the star‑115 shortcode. The campaign, which runs from April...
Recruitment Finance Specialist Expands Funding Offer with New Appointment
Flo Group, a UK specialist in back‑office services, software and finance for recruitment agencies, has appointed Tom O’Dell as commercial director. The hire follows a drawdown of an £8 million (≈$10 million) funding facility that expands the firm’s invoice‑finance capacity. Flo now...
MTN Liberia Uses GWCU Credit Scoring Product for Mobile Money
MTN Liberia has partnered with Canadian fintech GWCU to embed its proprietary credit‑scoring product into the operator’s Mobile Money platform. The integration enables instant liquidity for MTN’s more than one‑million subscribers via USSD codes and a mobile app, effectively doubling...
The Fintech Landscape of Brazil in 2026
Brazil’s fintech ecosystem has matured into one of the world’s most sophisticated emerging‑market financial systems, driven by public‑policy initiatives and a surge of private‑sector innovation. The Central Bank’s Pix platform now handles over 6 billion transactions a month, moving roughly $550 billion...
Robinhood Takes a Curated Approach to Prediction Markets, Avoiding High-Risk Contracts
Robinhood is deliberately narrowing its prediction‑market catalog, opting to exclude high‑risk contracts such as "mention markets" that could be exploited for insider information. The platform now works exclusively with CFTC‑regulated exchanges like Kalshi and ForecastEx, keeping its offerings confined to...
GoCardless Sees Revenue Boost, Undertook 2025 Restructure
GoCardless reported a year‑on‑year revenue increase to £155.5 million (≈$194 million) for FY 2025, driven by new customers, renewals and the Nuapay acquisition. The fintech doubled its processed payments volume to £79.2 billion (≈$99 billion) and narrowed losses to £25.5 million (≈$31.9 million), posting its first adjusted...
OPay Named Nigeria’s Most Trusted Digital Financial Company at 2026 ISO Awards
OPay was named the Most Trusted Quality Mobile Money and Digital Financial Services Company of the Year at the 2026 ISO World Corporate Brand of the Year Awards in Lagos. The accolade was based on a 4.6 online referrer rating...
Wise Set to Downgrade London Listing This Quarter
Wise confirmed it will move its primary listing from London to Nasdaq on May 11, completing the transition this quarter. The fintech cites greater U.S. visibility, deeper capital pools, and a more liquid market as key benefits. In Q4, transaction volume...
Duplo and Ozow Announce Strategic Partnership
Duplo and South Africa’s leading payment gateway Ozow have forged a strategic partnership to integrate Ozow’s instant EFT payment rails with Duplo’s end‑to‑end financial operating system. The combined solution lets merchants automatically match payments to invoices, reconcile accounts and manage...
DWTC Free Zone Teams with Wio Bank to Launch Digital Banking Solutions for Businesses
Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) Free Zone has signed a memorandum of understanding with Wio Bank PJSC to deliver digital banking services to companies operating in the zone. The partnership promises faster account opening, dedicated relationship support, and a potential...
India’s UPI Turns 10 Approaching 1 Trillion Transactions
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) celebrated its tenth anniversary on April 11, 2026, marking a decade of rapid adoption. The platform is now on track to surpass one trillion cumulative transactions, a milestone that underscores its scale. UPI processes payments at roughly...
ClearToken Hires Veteran Risk Manager Fernando Cerezetti as CRO of Its CCP Arm
ClearToken announced the appointment of Fernando Cerezetti, a risk veteran from ICE Clear Europe and the Bank of England, as chief risk officer of its subsidiary ClearToken CCP Limited. The hire strengthens the firm’s push to become an authorised central...
Standard Bank Continues to Back Optasia with $330m Syndicated Refinancing
Standard Bank, Africa’s largest lender by assets, acted as joint lead arranger and underwriter for a $330 million syndicated refinancing of Optasia, the continent’s leading AI‑driven fintech. The package includes a $180 million term loan and $150 million of bank guarantees, expanding the...
6 Risk Controls Fintechs Should Use in Trading Apps
The European Union is rolling out a new digital border system that replaces traditional passport stamps with biometric verification, aiming to streamline cross‑border travel. While the technology promises faster, paper‑less processing, the rollout has been hampered by long queues and...
Nu Holdings: Doubling Down Despite U.S. Expansion Concerns
Nu Holdings (NU) continues to pursue aggressive growth in Latin America, leveraging its founder‑led, digital‑first model that delivers 45% FX‑neutral revenue growth and a 33% return on equity. The bank’s unit economics remain strong, with low‑cost customer acquisition and prudent...
AI Agents Are Now Autonomous Players in Crypto Economy
🚨 UPDATE Something crazy is happening between AI and Web3 that most people aren’t fully getting yet and not using to its full potential. AI agents aren’t just tools anymore, They’re becoming a big part of the global economy. They hold wallets,...
B2PRIME Group Awarded FX Solution Provider at WealthBriefing 2026
B2PRIME Group was named the FX Solution Provider at the WealthBriefing European Awards 2026, an accolade decided by an independent panel of wealth‑management experts. The award highlights the firm’s innovative foreign‑exchange liquidity platform and its operational excellence over the past...
Cashfree Payments Appoints Sameer Gandhi as CFO
Cashfree Payments has named Sameer Gandhi as its chief financial officer, tapping more than two decades of experience from Visa India, Vodafone, and ING. Gandhi will steer the firm’s financial strategy toward higher operational efficiency and stronger revenue planning as...
Money20/20 Asia Unveils the Intersection Stage: The Epicenter Where TradFi and DeFi Converge
Money20/20 Asia introduced the Intersection Stage, a dedicated arena where traditional finance firms and decentralized finance projects can showcase joint solutions. The platform features live demos, panel discussions, and a sandbox for real‑time tokenisation, cross‑border payments and regulatory pilots. HSBC...
Regulated Bitcoin Platform Powers UK's Digital Asset Future
The UK’s future depends on leading in digital assets. Leaders like Nigel Farage get it. Innovation is more than a talking point, it drives growth. Proudly British born, we care about the future of crypto in the UK. Today’s transaction proves...
Nordic‑Baltic Nations Deploy Offline Card Payments for Essentials
Nordic/Baltic states are creating system to allow offline card payment purchases for essentials like gas/medicine/food to continue in case of internet/grid outage due to war/cyber/sabotage. Systems supposed to be in place this yr. Announcement last yr: https://t.co/KKJqG76TR9
Round Raises $6M to Automate the Finance Workflows that Still Require a Human to Press a Button
London fintech Round announced a $6 million seed round led by Alstin Capital, with participation from Backed VC, Love Ventures, and several angel investors including Indeed co‑founder Paul Forster. The funding backs the launch of two new products—a natural‑language Agentic Workflow Builder and an...
Financial Services Face Biggest AI Gains—And Risks
Financial services has the most to gain – and the most to lose – from #AI https://t.co/hwIgXUEg7M #Fintech #Artificialintelligence
Fintech Landscape in the Caribbean: The Bahamas in 2026
In 2026 the Bahamas, a $15 billion economy of just over 400,000 people, has cemented its reputation as a Caribbean fintech pioneer. The Central Bank’s Sand Dollar, the world’s first retail CBDC, has expanded into government payments, retail transactions and financial‑inclusion...
Payments Firm Wise Heads to New York With £181 Billion Year Behind It
Wise reported a 26% jump in Q4 FY2026 cross‑border volumes to £49.4 billion (about $63 billion) and a 25% rise for the full year to £181.7 billion (≈$233 billion). Active customers grew 22% to 11.3 million and underlying income rose 24% to £435.3 million (≈$557 million). The...
Toronto FinTech Symposium 2026: Open Banking, AI, Digital Finance
Excited to be heading to #Toronto next month for the Canada FinTech Symposium 2026! If Open Banking, AI, and digital finance are part of your 2026 strategy, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. Register Now 👉 https://t.co/bYuAXP2loh @chyppings @CanadaSymp70327...
India Unveils New Security Standards for Its Digital Payments System to Drive Global Adoption
India’s Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has rolled out new security norms covering biometric authentication, QR‑code payments, and digital‑currency handling. The guidelines aim to curb fraud, improve interoperability, and build consumer confidence in the country’s fast‑growing fintech ecosystem. BIS consulted...
UK Fintech Wise to Downgrade London Listing This Quarter
Wise confirmed it will move its primary listing from London to the United States this quarter, publishing its next‑year results in dollars. The fintech reported a 26% jump in cross‑border volumes to roughly $63.5 bn and a 22% rise in active...
Neo4j CTO Highlights Graph Technology as Foundation for Reliable AI
Neo4j CTO Philip Rathle told Fintech Times that graph technology is becoming the backbone for reliable generative AI in finance. He highlighted how knowledge graphs complement large language models by providing deterministic, auditable facts, reducing hallucinations in regulated banking environments....