Poland’s BLIK Breaks Into the Eurozone and 21 Million Users Could Soon Shop Across Europe Without Switching Apps
Polish mobile payment platform BLIK has extended its service to Slovak online merchants, allowing its 21 million users to pay in euros without installing new apps. The rollout follows BLIK’s acquisition of Slovak fintech VIAMO and a pilot with Tatra Banka and PayU, with broader testing slated for April 2026. A reciprocal link for Slovak users is planned by the end of 2026, and BLIK’s participation in the EuroPA Alliance positions it for pan‑European interoperability. The move targets a market where cross‑border transactions total about $1.43 trillion and e‑commerce is projected at $660 billion by 2026.
Walmart Alumni Open POS Test Lab
Retail technology firm Kitestring Technical Services, founded by former Walmart engineers, has opened a vendor‑neutral point‑of‑sale (POS) demonstration lab in Bentonville, Arkansas. The lab showcases seven software and fourteen hardware vendors, allowing retailers to evaluate solutions side‑by‑side. POS selections are...
Vantage Announces Integration with MetaQuotes’ Ultency Matching Engine
Vantage Global Prime has integrated its institutional liquidity and multi‑asset suite with MetaQuotes’ newly launched Ultency Matching Engine for MetaTrader 5. The partnership lets MT5 brokers tap Vantage’s ultra‑low latency execution directly inside the native platform, eliminating the need for external...
Flutterwave Secures Full Banking, Microfinance and Microlending Licences in Nigeria
Flutterwave has been granted a full banking licence, a micro‑finance bank (MFB) licence and a microlender licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The regulatory approvals let the payments giant accept deposits, issue loans and run end‑to‑end financial operations for...
Murex and Quant Partner to Embed Digital Assets Into Core Capital Markets Infrastructure
Financial‑technology firm Murex has partnered with programmable‑money platform Quant to embed Quant’s Flow and Overledger infrastructure into its MX.3 capital‑markets system. The integration brings institutional‑grade tokenized‑asset issuance, settlement and post‑trade processing into existing trading, risk and collateral workflows. By providing...
A Subprime Lender’s Woes Raise Bigger Concerns About Canadian Households
Goeasy, a Canadian sub‑prime lender, disclosed a sharp rise in net charge‑offs stemming from its LendCare unit, which supplies auto‑dealer and powersports loans and represents 43% of its portfolio. The fallout triggered staff cuts, a leadership shuffle and a renewed...
How the U.S. Built Its Faster Payments Ecosystem
A decade after the Federal Reserve outlined a real‑time payments vision, the U.S. now operates two thriving instant‑payment networks—The Clearing House’s RTP and the FedNow service. RTP processes up to 2 million transactions daily, hitting a single‑day value record of $8.36 billion,...
Chime Unveils Chime Prime and Other Digital Transactions News Briefs From 4/3/26
Chime Financial introduced Chime Prime, a rewards platform that offers 5% cash back on select card purchases for customers who maintain at least $3,000 in monthly direct deposits. UnionPay announced an open protocol framework enabling AI agents to initiate payments,...
FNB CEO Bets on Smaller-Bank Innovation
FNB Corp., a $50 billion‑asset regional lender, says smaller banks can out‑innovate the megabanks by deploying AI‑driven tools more nimbly. CEO Vincent Delie Jr. highlighted the bank’s eStore platform, which consolidates about 50 products into a single application, and its upcoming...
Earned Wage Access Programs Are Simply Not Loan Products
Earned wage access (EWA) programs let workers withdraw earned wages before payday without interest, fees, or credit checks. A University of Oregon study found first‑time users increased net monthly income by $334, an 11.5% rise, with no rise in overdraft...
How Fifth Third Grew Embedded Banking Fee Revenue 53% in 2025
Fifth Third’s Newline embedded‑banking platform posted a 53% year‑over‑year increase in fee revenue for 2025, making it the fastest‑growing segment of the bank’s commercial payments business. The growth was driven by new partnerships with Stripe, Trustly, ADP and Corepay, and by...
Brazil Rejects U.S. Push to Change Pix Instant Payment System
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced the government will not alter the Pix instant‑payment platform after a U.S. report accused it of distorting trade. The stance highlights Brazil’s commitment to a state‑run fintech model that serves over 120 million...
Coinbase Legal Chief Says Senate CLARITY Act Stablecoin Yield Clause Near Passage
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal told Fox Business the Senate Banking Committee is moving toward a markup of the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act’s stablecoin‑yield provision, putting the bill "very close" to a floor vote. The comment marks the...
ANT Scales 300% Revenue, Expands Across Asia
ANT`s performance Hong Kong HQ (since April 2025) → 300+ partners + 10K+ biz customers → 300% revenue growth. Regional momentum: Malaysia (Kenanga Investment Bank wealth Super App, TNG Digital 16M verified users), Indonesia, Philippines, driving growth. ZOLOZ eKYC deployed...
Amazon, U.S. Bank and Mastercard Launch Business Credit Cards for SMBs
Amazon announced a partnership with U.S. Bank and Mastercard to introduce two new small‑business credit cards – a Prime Business Card with 5% back for Prime members and an Amazon Business Card with 3% back for non‑Prime users. The move...
Orange Money Botswana Signs up Taxi Association to DuelaEasy for Fare Payments
Orange Money Botswana has struck a nationwide partnership with the country’s Taxi Association, integrating its DuelaEasy digital payment platform into taxis and kombis. The collaboration will see extensive branding of participating vehicles and allow passengers to settle fares directly from...
Dunamu X Naver Financial: Merger Delayed
Dunamu and Naver Financial have pushed back their share‑exchange deadline from June to September after the Korea Fair Trade Commission extended its review. A Financial Supervisory Service correction order on April 3 added further regulatory uncertainty. The merger, valued at roughly...
Canadian FinTech Funding Rose by 52% YoY in Q4 2025 as Investor Confidence Grew
Canadian fintech companies raised a record $1.6 bn in Q4 2025, a 52% year‑over‑year increase despite completing only 18 deals. The average transaction size jumped to $89.1 m, up 34% from the same quarter last year, highlighting a shift toward larger, strategic investments....
Why Gen Z Uses BNPL and Installments Differently
Consumers are no longer choosing payment methods out of habit; they select tools that fit a specific financial objective at checkout. A PYMNTS Intelligence study shows that in January 2026, 31% of shoppers used credit‑card installment plans while only 12%...
Vodacom Tanzania Modernises M-Pesa with $28m Infra Upgrade
Vodacom Tanzania has completed a $28 million upgrade of its M‑Pay platform, replacing the legacy G2 system with a next‑generation fintech architecture. The modernised platform reduces downtime from hours to minutes and adds stronger security layers. It also expands transaction capacity...
Kenswitch Taps Visa as Kenya’s National Payments Switch Race Heats Up
Kenyan payments infrastructure firm Kenswitch has signed a framework agreement with Visa to co‑develop Kenya’s national payments switch. The partnership merges Kenswitch’s domestic network linking over 30 financial institutions with Visa’s global technology, aiming to create new products for banks,...
Money only Works in a Trusted, Shared System … Which Is Why Blockchains Don’t Work
The Bank for International Settlements paper argues that money’s value stems from a single, shared network, a principle that blockchain’s fragmented token ecosystems undermine. Each blockchain operates its own validators, incentives and governance, creating coordination challenges and higher transaction costs....
The Foundation of Trust: Why Royalty Infrastructure Is the Key to Artist Retention in 2026
In 2026 music platforms are prioritizing automated royalty payouts to retain artists, as manual delays drive talent to competitors. Create Music Group now delivers YouTube streaming revenue within three days, positioning itself as an artist‑first brand. Labels like Ninja Tune...
Match-Trader Expands Into Prediction Markets
Match‑Trader has unveiled a new prediction‑markets solution aimed at brokers, adding event‑driven contracts across finance, crypto, politics, sports and entertainment. The platform can be integrated as an add‑on to the existing Match‑Trader suite or offered as a standalone white‑label product....
Revolut Fined €13M in Italy, Compliance Gaps Persist
Reuters just reported `Italy fines Revolut over $13 million for alleged unfair commercial practices.` Some will say, the fine is small and is part of doing business. That isn't okay for the leading innovator and especially after a year-on-year increase in...
Stablecoins Enable Scalable Agentic Payments and Smart Contracts
If you want to deploy agentic payments and smart contracts at scale, stablecoins are the natural fit. The infrastructure already exists. That’s where innovation is happening. https://t.co/YK1SyELUqQ
Tokenization Makes Finance More Efficient but Introduces Risks: IMF
The International Monetary Fund warned that while tokenization can cut friction and boost transparency, it also introduces financial‑stability risks. About $27.6 billion of real‑world assets are already tokenized on‑chain, with forecasts ranging from $2 trillion to $16 trillion by 2030. The IMF highlighted...
Public Chain + ZK Proofs Enable Regulator Transparency, User Privacy
Every bank building tokenized deposits chose a private or permissioned chain. @monument_bank chose a public chain - 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐨’𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 - and solved privacy with zero-knowledge proofs. Regulators see everything. The public sees nothing. This is what convergence looks like in practice. https://t.co/JGUF1elkZI
Payments Innovation Accelerates: Two Decades of Digital Insight
Innovation in payments is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. In this re-release of our episode with Rich Clow from @BankofAmerica, he shares insights from more than two decades at the forefront of digital payments transformation. Watch the full episode: https://t.co/nTriooD0iX
JustMarkets Emphasizes Gold Trading Technology Leadership
JustMarkets announced a strategic push to overhaul gold trading through a high‑speed, low‑spread technology ecosystem. The platform promises instant order execution, ultra‑low spreads, one‑touch mobile liquidity, and automated risk controls. By targeting the 2026 gold market’s heightened volatility, JustMarkets positions...
Banks Adopt Fractional Investing, Threatening WealthTech Edge
🇸🇬Are banks crashing WealthTech's investing party? Fractional investing helped #WealthTech players like Endowus, Syfe, and StashAway stand out and scale fast in a crowded market. Now banks such as OCBC and DBS are launching similar features, turning a former differentiator into...
Retail CBDC Banned Until 2030, Private Digital Money Grows
In 2021 I said legal tender laws were mostly theatre, a CBDC mandate was unlikely, and private digital money would lead. Five years on, the Fed sits on the sidelines, the Senate bans a retail CBDC through 2030, and digital...
Guest Column: Why Every Airline Should Be Looking at Embedded Payments
Airlines are urged to adopt embedded payment systems that let passengers order and pay for onboard items directly from their devices, eliminating the need for crew‑mediated transactions. The column argues that friction—having to flag down crew, handle cards, or wait...
Money Needs Trust; Blockchains Lack It
Money only works in a trusted, shared system ... which is why blockchains don't work - https://t.co/NoJNSaq0iM
JD Power Study Shows 47% of Affluent DIY Investors Will Seek Human Advisors Within a Year
JD Power’s latest Canada Investor Satisfaction Study reveals that 47% of affluent DIY investors with at least $250,000 in assets intend to work with a human financial advisor within the next 12 months. The shift, driven by rising wealth and...
BHIM App Introduces Biometric Authentication for UPI Payments up to ₹5,000
NPCI’s BHIM Payments App now lets users approve UPI transactions with fingerprint or facial recognition, capping biometric approvals at ₹5,000 (about $60). The feature is available on both iOS and Android, aiming to replace manual PIN entry for everyday payments...
Versant Acquires AI‑Driven StockStory to Bolster CNBC’s Digital Investing Platform
Versant has purchased AI‑powered financial insights firm StockStory, bringing its data‑driven analysis into CNBC’s digital suite. The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, is part of Versant’s broader shift toward subscription‑based, technology‑focused growth after a 2025 earnings slump.
Report Slams Reg A Issuers Who Hide Pre-Money Valuations
KingsCrowd’s latest study of 880 Regulation A equity crowdfunding deals finds only 21.4% of issuers disclose pre‑money valuations, compared with 88.7% for Regulation CF offerings. The report criticizes issuers for burying valuation data behind low share prices and dense circulars, arguing...
America’s #1 Choice for Banking Expands Its Lead with the Launch of Chime Prime
Chime announced Chime Prime, a premium membership tier for customers who receive at least $3,000 in monthly direct deposits. The tier offers 5% cash back on a chosen spending category, a 3.75% APY on savings, travel perks, fee‑free overdraft and early‑pay...
Crowdfunding: Reg CF Contracted Dramatically in Q1 2026
Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) activity plunged in Q1 2026, with total capital commitments dropping 28% year‑over‑year to $87.8 million. New issuers fell 32% to 187 filings, the lowest quarterly count in years, while closed offerings fell from 485 to 258. Despite fewer deals,...
Plasma Leads Stablecoin Revolution with First Native Neobank
Pick the fastest-growing segment in crypto - and build the best product. That’s @Plasma I believe stablecoins are the killer application in crypto, and Plasma is building the rails for that future - supported by @tether and a growing set of...
Alloy President Laura Spiekerman on Agentic AI and Identity Risk
Alloy, a leading identity and fraud prevention platform, now serves over 800 banks, credit unions, and fintechs worldwide, leveraging agentic AI to automate risk decisions across the entire customer lifecycle. By orchestrating data from more than 200 sources through a...
Ripple's Acquisition Targets Long‑standing SWIFT Partner G Treasury
You know that G Treasury, which was acquired by Ripple. G Treasury has been a SWIFT partner since 2014, which would explain potentially why Ripple would acquire them... $XRP https://t.co/PCCNn7NaAB
How Raiffeisen Bank International Is Thinking About Digital Catch-Up
Raiffeisen Bank International is tackling its digital lag by focusing on process redesign rather than chasing GenAI hype. Vanja Tokic, head of Digital Channels and Conversational AI, stresses the difficulty of moving AI from proof‑of‑concept to regulated production. The bank...
Bitget Now Offers Crypto Card Enabled by Visa
Bitget has teamed with Visa and DCS to launch the Bitget Card across Asia Pacific markets, initially as a digital‑only offering with a physical version slated for release in a few months. The Visa‑powered card enables instant crypto‑to‑fiat payments, aiming to...
CMB Monaco Accelerates Digital Transformation with Avaloq
CMB Monaco, a Monaco‑based private bank, has completed migration to an integrated platform that combines Avaloq’s core banking suite with BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth. The cloud‑based SaaS solution streamlines front‑, middle‑ and back‑office workflows, adds AI‑driven portfolio analytics and delivers a...
Fintech Bytes: Zocks Rolls Out MCP Capability for General AI Tools
Zocks introduced the Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector, allowing advisors to feed client‑specific data directly into general‑purpose AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude, eliminating manual copy‑paste and compliance risks. eMoney expanded its premium client portal branding controls across web...
Webull UK Scraps Commission on US and HK Shares
Webull UK, a subsidiary of Webull Corporation, announced it will no longer charge commissions on trades of US and Hong Kong shares. The move coincides with the launch of a flexible Stocks and Shares ISA, giving UK residents tax‑efficient access...
Liquidity CEO Discusses UAE’s Strategic Advantage Despite Regional Turmoil
Liquidity, an AI‑driven fintech lender with a multi‑billion‑dollar portfolio, operates its largest office in Abu Dhabi and a second hub in Tel Aviv. Amid escalating US‑Israeli strikes on Iran, more than half of its staff are located in the conflict...
Today’s Podcast Episode: A Deep Dive on BNPL Regulation and Other “Hot” Topics with Max Dubin of the New York...
Ballard CFS Group released a new Consumer Finance Monitor podcast featuring Max Dubin, Chief of Staff to the Acting Superintendent of Banking at the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). The conversation centers on DFS’s proposed framework to regulate...