CBN Caps New Mobile Banking Transfers at N20,000 for 24 Hours
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will limit transactions on newly activated mobile banking apps to N20,000 during the first 24 hours, effective 1 July 2026. The regulator also mandates single‑device binding, multi‑factor authentication for new device logins, and real‑time fraud‑monitoring systems across all banks. Customers may voluntarily opt out of instant payment services at any time, though the default remains opt‑in. Additional safeguards include biometric checks and live‑ness verification for online account opening and re‑activation.
Coinbase Prime Introduces Unified Cross-Margin Trading Across Spot, Derivatives, Perps
Coinbase Prime has launched a unified cross‑margin trading layer that combines spot, traditional derivatives and regulated perpetual futures into a single capital framework. The upgrade lets institutional traders view and manage exposure across more than 90 assets with one margin...
OKX Pivots to Activity-Driven Stablecoin Yield with Native Katana DeFi Integration
OKX has launched a native integration with Katana, a DeFi‑first chain backed by Polygon Labs and GSR, allowing users to earn stablecoin yield directly within the exchange. The solution ties rewards to on‑chain activity, a design that complies with U.S....
Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (March 14–15)
The latest T3/Inside Information Software Survey shows 52% of financial advisors now use AI search and generative tools, up from 42% a year ago, and 43% employ AI note‑taking solutions such as Jump and Zocks. Despite this growth, AI has...
As Charge-Backs Spike, Banks Should Avoid These 5 Missteps
Charge‑backs are accelerating, with Datos Insights forecasting 359 million disputes by 2029 and an average dispute value rising 16% to $251. Each U.S. dispute costs banks $9‑10 to process, translating into billions of annual expenses. Banks frequently err by rubber‑stamping claims,...
Better Lost $40M. Its CEO Has Never Been Bolder
Better Home & Finance reported a $40 million net loss for Q4, while revenue held steady at $44 million and loan volume surged 56% year‑over‑year to $1.5 billion. The AI‑native lender announced a partnership with a top‑5 non‑bank originator and reaffirmed its goal...
Global Scam Reporting Platform Launches with OpenAI Support
The Global Anti‑Scam Alliance (GASA) has launched scam.org, an AI‑powered platform built on OpenAI technology. The site consolidates scam education, reporting tools, prevention guidance, and victim support under one global hub. Backed by leading cybersecurity firms, it aims to improve...
Consumers Spend More When Payments Are Frictionless, an NMI Study Finds
A new NMI study of 1,000 U.S. adults shows that frictionless payments boost both purchase frequency and spend. Half of respondents say they shop more often when checkout feels seamless, and 48% admit to spending more at the point of...
Parliamentary Panel Calls For MDR On UPI To Ensure Sustainability
A parliamentary standing committee on finance has recommended re‑introducing a merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI transactions, arguing that the zero‑MDR regime strains government finances and limits fintechs’ ability to fund long‑term infrastructure. The committee notes that current government incentives...
LenDenClub Eyes ₹350 Cr In FY26 Revenue After Turning Profitable In FY25
LenDenClub projects FY26 revenue of ₹330‑350 cr, roughly a 50% year‑on‑year increase after posting a ₹28.6 cr net profit in FY25. FY25 revenue rose 28% to ₹227 cr, with total earnings of ₹241.4 cr including other income, while expenses grew only 5% to ₹201 cr....
Inside the World of 'PayPal's AG'
PayPal’s global financial‑crime chief, David Szuchman, leverages his two‑decade law‑enforcement background to counter a 600% surge in fraud attacks that threaten the fintech’s trillion‑dollar transaction flow. The company has integrated AI that evaluates over 500 data points and launched an...
Eye on POS: Restolabs Conversions Are a Bump for Restaurants; Finix Launches a Checkout App and Reader
Restolabs, a New York‑based online‑ordering platform, has rolled out a bundled POS solution aimed at independent restaurants, promising higher online conversion rates through features such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, upsell prompts, and streamlined menus. The service is priced between...
Bank of America Reports 30 Billion Digital Client Interactions in 2025 as AI and Mobile Usage Grow
Bank of America announced that its digital banking platforms logged roughly 30 billion client interactions in 2025, encompassing logins, AI‑driven solutions, and automated alerts. This volume marks a 14% rise from the prior year, underscoring accelerating adoption of mobile and AI...
Trade Receivables Marketplace Operator Velotrade Launches Crypto Prop Trading
Hong Kong‑based Velotrade, a decade‑old trade‑receivables marketplace, has launched Velotrade Re Ltd., a crypto‑funded proprietary trading platform. The service offers traders capital allocations from $5,000 to $200,000 with generous profit splits, and it relies on AI‑driven hedging and institutional liquidity...
AI Finance Converges: Upstart Seeks Bank Charter as Santander Deploys Agentic Payments Across Latin America
Upstart, the AI‑driven lender from Silicon Valley, announced it will apply for a U.S. bank charter, allowing its machine‑learning underwriting to operate within a regulated balance sheet and expand into new loan segments. At the same time, Santander launched an...
MetaComp Raises $13M to Expand Web2.5 Payment and Wealth Platform
MetaComp Pte. Ltd., a pioneer of unified Web2.5 payments and wealth management, closed a $13 million Pre‑A+ round, bringing its three‑month funding total to $35 million. The capital will fuel expansion of its StableX Network and accelerate AI development for hybrid fiat‑stablecoin...
Digital Assets Firm Circle Achieves Key Compliance Milestone
Circle announced that its Circle Mint platform received a SOC 1 Type 2 examination report, confirming the design and operating effectiveness of its internal controls. The audit, conducted by Deloitte for the fiscal year October 2024‑September 2025, covered transaction processing, system reliability, security, change...
The Global Rise of Instant Payments: How Real-Time Rails Are Reshaping Finance Across Every Region
Instant payments are moving from niche services to a global standard, with real‑time rails now covering most major economies. Regulatory mandates, consumer expectations for immediate settlement, and fintech innovation are accelerating adoption across Europe, Asia‑Pacific, Africa and Latin America. By...
CBN Mandates Liveness Checks and Device Limits to Fight Digital Banking Fraud
The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a new regulatory framework requiring real‑time liveness verification and BVN/NIN validation for all account openings and reactivations. Mobile banking apps must be bound to a single device, with additional multi‑factor authentication for any...
Ramp Acquires Payments Platform Billhop
Ramp announced the acquisition of Billhop, a UK‑ and Sweden‑licensed payments platform, to accelerate its European push. The deal brings Ramp its first international offices in London and Stockholm, giving direct access to UK and EU customers. Nearly half of...
Taming CRM Releases in a Regulated FinTech Environment
EXANTE replaced its manual Saturday‑only CRM deployments with a fully automated pipeline that now serves over 30 services across multiple jurisdictions. The new flow triggers on a Git tag, builds images, creates Jira tickets, posts to Slack, and uses Flux...
PhonePe Continues to Rule UPI Transactions with over 45% Market Share in Feb
PhonePe remained the dominant player in India’s UPI ecosystem in February, processing 9.28 billion transactions worth Rs 13.10 trillion and capturing 45.5% of total transaction volume and 48.8% of value. Google Pay stayed second with 6.76 billion transactions, representing 33.2% of volume and 33.6%...
K&H Focuses on Digitalisation, AI as Digital Banking Grows in Hungary
K&H Group is accelerating its digital transformation in Hungary, centering its strategy on AI‑driven services and a unified banking‑insurance mobile platform. The bank’s AI assistant Kate, with over 300 functions, supports 150,000 users and logged 1.7 million conversations in 2025. Digital...
Teybridge Capital Europe Plans €5.2 Million UK Expansion, 30 London Jobs and Pledges €694.9 Million for British SMEs
Dublin‑based fintech Teybridge Capital Europe announced a €5.2 million investment in the UK over the next three years. The plan includes creating up to 30 new jobs in its London office and pledging €694.9 million to finance British SMEs. The UK now...
Solance Selects SaaScada to Power Next-Generation Payments Platform
Solance, a Dublin‑based specialist financial institution, has chosen SaaScada’s cloud‑native banking platform to power its upcoming multi‑currency payments solution. The partnership supports Solance’s European launch, targeting a 2026 go‑live after completing its Irish licensing process. SaaScada will provide real‑time payments...
Robinhood Trading Volumes Slow in February 2026, Client Assets Down 3%
Robinhood reported a mixed February 2026 performance, with equity trading volumes falling 14% month‑over‑month but remaining 36% higher than a year ago. Crypto activity surged, posting a 9% monthly increase and a 74% year‑over‑year jump, while its fast‑growing Event Contracts...
CIO Chris Ortega Automates Lake Michigan Credit Union
Lake Michigan Credit Union (LMCU) has leveraged robotic process automation (RPA) and generative AI to overhaul its mortgage processing, slashing cycle time from 55 hours to 10 hours while handling a 15% surge in applications. CIO Chris Ortega partnered with...
Fintech Company & ADCB Launch Egypt’s First Transactional Fraud Solution Powered by AI
Network International and ADCB Egypt have launched Egypt’s first AI‑powered transactional fraud solution, FICO Falcon Fraud Manager. The system leverages machine‑learning to build behavioral profiles and analyze millions of transactions in real time, instantly flagging suspicious activity. Deployment marks a milestone in...
Why Payment Technology Is Now Central to the Restaurant Experience, Especially on Mother’s Day
Lloyds Merchant Services’ latest research shows contactless payments, mobile wallets and integrated point‑of‑sale systems are reshaping the restaurant experience, especially on high‑traffic days like Mother’s Day. The study found a 45% year‑over‑year rise in contactless transactions within hospitality and a...
Why Vlad Tenev Thinks You’ll Want Robinhood’s ‘James Bond’ Credit Card
Robinhood unveiled its Platinum credit card, a 50‑gram, $695‑annual‑fee metal card that offers 5 % cash back on dining and can only be used online through the Robinhood app. The card, backed by Coastal Community Bank, is positioned as a luxury,...
Revolut to IPO Above $100bn, Says Former Licence Boss
Revolut’s former head of international licences, Will Mahon‑Heap, told City AM the fintech could launch an IPO valued well above $100 bn, even hinting at a $200 bn price tag. The company recently secured a full UK banking licence, bolstering its credibility as...
CQG Unveils Trading Enhancements in Latest Release of CQG One and CQG Desktop Platforms
CQG released version 11.2 of its CQG One and CQG Desktop platforms, introducing several user‑focused enhancements. The update adds a password‑recovery option directly on the login screen, streamlining account access for traders. It also integrates managed orders for OMS partners and...
Tencent Cloud Supports Iyzico European Cloud Platform Launch
At Mobile World Congress 2026, Tencent Cloud announced a partnership with Turkish fintech iyzico to launch its first European cloud‑based production platform, hosted on Tencent’s IaaS in Frankfurt. The deployment meets strict financial‑services regulations, delivering high‑availability, low‑latency payment processing across...
D2 Legal Technology's Simon Maharaj: Questions for Fund Managers as Tokenisation Momentum Builds
Simon Maharaj of D2 Legal Technology warns fund managers that tokenisation is moving from a niche experiment to a mainstream finance driver. He outlines the critical questions managers must address as digital asset platforms gain traction, including regulatory compliance, custody...
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'Women Are Better Borrowers': CEOs Call for More Female Leaders to Close Gaps
African women remain disproportionately unbanked, with half of Sub‑Saharan women lacking formal accounts, despite the continent’s mobile‑money boom. CEOs like Clara Arthur of Ghana’s GhIPSS and Hortense Mudenge of the Kigali International Financial Centre argue that increasing female leadership can boost...
Bybit Bridges Traditional Banking and Digital Assets with Direct AED Trading Pairs
Bybit, the world’s second‑largest crypto exchange, has introduced direct United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED) trading pairs, enabling users to trade USDT, BTC, ETH and SOL against AED without intermediate conversion. The service leverages local UAE bank transfers, allowing instant on‑exchange...
What Is X402 and Why Will It Transform Payments?
The x402 protocol, launched by Coinbase in May 2025, introduces an open‑source, web‑native payment standard that treats money like an HTTP request. It leverages stablecoins—primarily USDC—and is backed by infrastructure partners such as Cloudflare, Circle, Stripe, and AWS. By using the...
AI Is Coming to Your Accounting Software
Sage, the London‑listed accounting software provider, unveiled Sage AI in Johannesburg, embedding artificial intelligence across its finance, payroll and HR products for small businesses in Africa and the Middle East. The platform relies on roughly 40,000 domain‑specific models and claims...
Smart50 to the ASX: Business Points Platform Pay.com.au Eyes IPO
Pay.com.au is preparing an April ASX listing that could value the fintech at $850 million and raise an additional $85 million. The platform lets SMEs earn PayRewards points on everyday payments, including payroll and tax, with 75,000 business customers redeeming 10 billion points...
Interoperable Digital Payment Systems Bridge More Markets- #CapitalMarkets #Finance #Treasury #Finance
Cross‑border digital payments are rapidly becoming interoperable as governments link domestic payment infrastructures. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has launched in over eight countries, enabling Indian travelers to pay in rupees abroad, while China’s DuitNow QR connects millions of Malaysian...
SE Asian Payments Project Advances in Philippines-
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has hired senior executives and established a Singapore‑based firm to operate Project Nexus, a cross‑border payments initiative. Project Nexus will standardize and streamline connections among the domestic instant payment systems (IPS) of six Southeast...
Hyatt Changes Card Surcharge Practices as ACCC Compliance Monitoring Continues
Hyatt hotels in Australia have overhauled their card‑payment surcharge practices after the ACCC flagged excessive debit‑card fees at the Hyatt Regency Sydney. The regulator required the chain to separate debit and credit surcharges and ensure they do not exceed actual...
Squarespace Launches Balance to Bring Business Banking In-House
Squarespace announced Squarespace Balance, a native business‑banking account embedded within its Squarespace Payments platform. The service lets merchants view earnings, manage cash flow, access funds within hours, earn rewards, and spend via a Squarespace Visa Commercial card. By bringing banking...
CRM Software Top of Mind Among Advisers’ Tech Options
Advisory firms now use CRM software at a record 91.08% penetration, up from 86.33% in 2025, with Orion Redtail capturing 42.53% market share. While CRM tools rank highest in perceived value, adoption of cybersecurity platforms (21.69%) and data‑warehouse solutions (3.27%) remains...
David Rubenstein Show: Jeremy Allaire
Circle, the world’s largest regulated stablecoin network, completed a landmark 2025 IPO that valued the company at roughly $20 billion and saw shares close at $80, far above the $31 offering price. Co‑founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire highlighted the firm’s mission...
BioCatch’s DeviceIQ Brings Pre-Login Mobile Device Intelligence to Digital Banking
BioCatch introduced DeviceIQ, a pre‑login device identification platform for digital banking that evaluates device trustworthiness before users reach authentication screens. The solution tackles sophisticated fraud tactics such as emulators, spoofed devices, cloaked browsers, and jailbroken handsets, while maintaining a persistent...
AuthID and Section 2 Tie Biometric Authentication to Financial Crime Intelligence Workflows
authID has partnered with Section 2 to embed biometric verification and its Mandate AI governance framework into Section 2’s TENet and TRACC financial crime intelligence platforms. The integration creates an auditable chain of custody, linking every AML or threat‑finance output to a...
How Can Financial Institutions Leverage eIDAS 2.0 for Strong Growth?
The EU’s eIDAS 2.0 revision introduces a mandatory European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet that will let financial institutions exchange verified, portable credentials instantly. Key regulatory milestones are the July 2027 AMLR harmonisation and the December 2027 wallet‑mandate, which together replace 27 national KYC...
10 Reasons Why Coinbase Is a Crypto Broker You Can Trust
Coinbase positions itself as the most trusted crypto broker by emphasizing full‑reserve custody, extensive offline storage, and rigorous third‑party audits. The platform also underpins major Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, holds a suite of advanced security tools such as MPC‑protected cold...
SEC Issues Guidelines for New Online Lending Platforms
The Philippine SEC released draft guidelines to end the 2021 moratorium on registering new online lending platforms (OLPs). The proposal outlines prudential, disclosure and market‑conduct standards, a single entity‑level certificate of authority, and a graduated asset‑based licensing fee effective 2027....