MoonPay Launches Non-Custodial Financial Layer to Power the Autonomous AI Agent Economy
MoonPay announced MoonPay Agents, a non‑custodial software layer that gives AI agents direct access to crypto wallets and funds. Built on the MoonPay CLI, the platform lets users complete KYC, fund a wallet, and then allow autonomous agents to trade, swap, and move assets without further human input. The solution supports virtual accounts, fiat‑crypto ramps, recurring buys, and x402 machine‑to‑machine payments, aiming to scale from thousands to millions of agents. MoonPay positions the offering as the financial backbone for an emerging autonomous AI‑agent economy.
Spreedly Activates Agentic Commerce Channel
Spreedly announced the launch of an agentic commerce channel that lets AI‑driven agents initiate transactions through merchants’ existing payment service provider relationships while the merchant remains the record of sale. The new channel runs on Spreedly’s open payments platform, preserving...
Tokenized Assets Exceed $25 Billion After Nearly Quadrupling in a Year
Tokenized real‑world assets have surpassed $25 billion in on‑chain value, nearly quadrupling from $6.4 billion a year earlier. Growth is led by U.S. Treasuries, private credit and commodities, with major managers such as BlackRock, Fidelity and WisdomTree launching tokenized funds. The number...
Canton’s Yuval Rooz Says Smart Contract Blockchains Face a Reckoning over Value Gap
Yuval Rooz, CEO of Digital Asset and co‑founder of the Canton Network, warned that most smart‑contract blockchains are over‑valued because they generate little real‑world financial throughput. He argues that token designs copied from Bitcoin reward validators without tying value to...
SumUp Expands Form3 Partnership to Bring Real-Time SEPA Payments to Millions of European SMEs
SumUp announced an expanded partnership with cloud‑native payments platform Form3 to power real‑time SEPA Instant, Credit Transfer and Direct Debit across Europe. The move extends the existing UK‑focused integration, giving SumUp’s 4 million merchants in 37 countries access to instant European...
Liquid Crypto Funds Have a DeFi Problem Nobody Talks About
Liquid crypto funds are expanding rapidly, with DeFi strategies gaining legitimacy and institutional interest. Yet most managers still rely on spreadsheets, custom scripts, and manual reconciliation to track assets across multiple exchanges, chains, and protocols. This fragmented approach makes calculating...
Fideo Intelligence Expands Dark Web Monitoring
Fideo Intelligence has broadened its dark‑web monitoring to deliver early‑stage fraud signals for banks, fintechs, PSPs and merchants. The upgraded service surfaces synthetic identity creation, account takeovers and credential‑replay attacks before they reach a transaction. Integrated into its Verify and...
Best Crypto Presale February 2026: Bitcoin ETFs Record $145 Million in Inflows While Fear Sits at 10 as Pepeto Builds...
US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $145 million of inflows in a single day while the Fear and Greed Index lingered at an extreme 10, echoing patterns that preceded past rally cycles in 2015, 2019 and 2020. The influx signals institutional investors...
Best Crypto Presale 2026: Ark Invest Rotates $19 Million Out of Coinbase Shares as Institutional Portfolios Reposition and Pepeto Offers...
Ark Invest sold about 119,000 Coinbase shares worth $19 million in early February 2026 and simultaneously increased its position in Bullish, a crypto‑linked equity. The trade was described as a tactical rotation aimed at managing near‑term price risk rather than abandoning its...
DLocal and Open English Introduce Bre-B Instant Payments to Eliminate Checkout Friction in Colombia
dLocal and Open English have launched Bre‑B, Colombia’s government‑backed real‑time payment rail, as an instant checkout option for the e‑learning platform. The integration lets students pay via bank‑linked llaves or QR codes, confirming transactions in seconds and eliminating the need...
Best Crypto to Buy Now 2026: Tokenized Real-World Assets Surge 13.8 Percent to $24.9 Billion Despite the Market Drawdown as...
Tokenized real‑world assets (RWA) on public blockchains grew 13.8% in the last thirty days, pushing total on‑chain value to $24.9 billion despite a broad crypto market downturn. Ethereum led the expansion with $1.7 billion of net inflows, followed by Arbitrum and Solana,...
Best Crypto Presale March 2026: SoFi Bank Launches a US Dollar Stablecoin With BitGo as LINK Powers a Visa Cross-Border...
SOFI Technologies and BitGo launched SoFiUSD, a U.S. dollar‑pegged stablecoin issued directly by the federally insured SoFi Bank. In parallel, Visa completed a cross‑border settlement pilot with ANZ, ChinaAMC and Fidelity, using Chainlink’s oracle to settle tokenized assets on multiple...
PhonePe’s Merchant Network Cross 47 Million Businesses Ahead of IPO
PhonePe’s updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus reveals its merchant ecosystem now spans 47.19 million businesses, covering 98.6% of Indian pin codes and representing roughly 78% of the nation’s trade and services merchants. The platform supports 9.19 million physical payment devices and a...
“We Are Building on Top of an Immature Ecosystem”: Day 1-1000 of Bujeti
Bujeti, a Lagos‑based fintech founded in 2021, has transformed from a diaspora remittance app into a comprehensive finance control centre for African businesses. The platform now offers corporate cards, expense limits, payroll, automated VAT vaults and an AI‑powered assistant, serving...
Florida Senate Passes State-Level Stablecoin Bill, Awaits DeSantis’ Signature
Florida’s Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 314, creating the nation’s first state‑level regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The bill amends the state’s anti‑money‑laundering statute to explicitly cover stablecoins and requires issuers to register with the Office of Financial Regulation, with...
Have We Underestimated the Benefits of Mastercard Priceless?
Mastercard’s Priceless program provides cardholders with exclusive discounts, elite status upgrades, and hard‑to‑get tickets to events across the UK and globally. Recent experiences show access to sold‑out theatre shows, backstage ballet rehearsals, and charity‑linked UEFA Champions League tickets. Many offers,...
CFOs See Month-End as the Front Line of Finance Automation
Month‑end close remains one of finance's most labor‑intensive tasks, with spreadsheets and manual reconciliations still dominant despite ERP deployments. CFOs are now adding automation layers that ingest data from payments, banks, and internal systems to reconcile records using rules and...
Alchemy Pay Hits 15 Money Transmitter Licenses With Delaware Win
Alchemy Pay announced it secured a Money Transmitter License in Delaware, bringing its total U.S. state coverage to 15. The company added four licenses this year, including Nebraska, South Dakota and West Virginia, expanding its regulated fiat‑crypto payment network. Alchemy...
First Fidelity Bank Taps Bud Financial for Insight-Driven Digital Banking Upgrade
First Fidelity Bank (FFB), a regional community bank with $2.9 billion in assets, has gone live with Bud Financial’s Enrich and Engage platforms to upgrade its digital banking experience. The partnership embeds Bud’s transaction‑data enrichment and personal financial management (PFM) widgets—such...
Banking Associations Push Back on Kraken Fed Account as Stablecoin Issuers Wait
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City granted Kraken Financial a limited‑purpose account, marking the first pilot of a Fed‑backed banking solution for a crypto exchange. The American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute quickly criticized the move, arguing...
Swift Moves Ahead with Retail Cross-Border Payments Network
Swift has introduced a new framework for retail cross‑border payments, with over 25 banks slated to process transactions under the rules by June. The initiative expands Swift’s traditional focus on interbank and commercial transfers to consumer‑level payments, targeting faster settlement,...
Scotland Explores Non-Biometric IDV for ScotAccount
Scotland’s ScotAccount digital identity platform is broadening verification beyond biometrics by introducing knowledge‑based verification (KBV) and tapping alternative public‑sector data sources. Existing alternatives such as landline‑based two‑factor authentication for older users, the Young Scot NEC, and a CivTech‑sponsored vouching pilot already...
Cicada Raises $13.5M Series A Round
Cicada, a US‑based fintech, closed a $13.5 million Series A round led by Citigroup, with participation from L4, Kaszek, Dila Capital and Crestone. The company runs an electronic trading platform that lets institutional investors buy and sell Mexican government and corporate bonds...
These Two Young Billionaires Run Rival Betting Sites and Despise Each Other
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, both under 30 and billionaires, are locked in a public feud that is influencing the direction of the online prediction‑market industry. Mansour has spent years securing CFTC approval for Kalshi, positioning...
Boston Fed Touts FedNow
The Boston Federal Reserve is championing FedNow, its real‑time payments platform, to draw more banks into instant‑payment services. A forthcoming Fed survey shows nine in ten consumers would increase bank usage if instant payments were offered, while 55% reported overdraft...
ICYMI Fintech Funding Round-Up: Wealthyhood, Payr, Pluvo, and More
FinTech Futures’ ICYMI roundup highlights a wave of European‑focused funding, with Wealthyhood securing €6 million Series A, Pluvo raising $5 million seed, and TaxDown obtaining €4 million from BBVA Spark. Compliance‑focused AI startups Diligent AI and Vivox AI attracted $2.5 million and £1.3 million respectively, while proptech Payr...
Executive Turntable: Spotify, CD Baby Vets Bound for beatBread — Plus, BMI Hires Top People Person
BeatBread, the finance platform for independent musicians, announced three senior hires: Christine Barnum as head of financial operations, Michael Poole as chief financial officer, and Jameson Toole as a board advisor on AI and machine learning. Barnum arrives from CD...
Affirm Pursues Affluent Consumers
Affirm is pivoting its buy‑now‑pay‑later offering toward affluent, high‑credit consumers by expanding 0% interest promotions. The company says interest‑free loans drive an 80% probability of repeat usage and currently account for about 16% of its transaction volume, with 80% of...
Why EWA Services Matter
Earned‑wage access (EWA) is gaining traction as hourly workers demand daily pay to bridge cash‑flow gaps between biweekly checks. Executives often view the concept as risky, yet the reality of paycheck‑to‑paycheck living drives demand for instant wage disbursement. Recent growth...
69% of Africa’s Biometric Fintech Fraud Is Now AI-Generated, Says Report
A Smile ID report reveals that 69% of biometric fraud in Africa’s fintech sector is now AI‑generated, with a single syndicate using 100 stolen faces to launch over 160,000 verification attacks in one month. Fraud has shifted from fake‑ID onboarding...
Nigeria Exited the FATF Grey List. Now It Wants to Set the Rules for African Fintech
Nigeria was removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 after completing a 19‑point anti‑money‑laundering reform that brought it into compliance with 37 of the 40 FATF recommendations. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s new Fintech Policy...
Fintech Regulation Explained: Licenses, Banks & Compliance
Fintech firms navigate a fragmented regulatory maze, with the United States hosting multiple agencies—from the OCC to FinCEN—each overseeing a slice of the financial pie. The United Kingdom relies on a twin‑peaks system where the PRA ensures solvency and the...
Alchemy Pay Gets License and Other Digital Transactions News Briefs From 3/6/26
Alchemy Pay announced it secured a money‑transmitter license in Delaware, marking its 15th U.S. state approval. Strike also received both a BitLicense and a money‑transmitter license from New York, expanding its regulated crypto services. Meanwhile, Cinnaholic returned to Square’s point‑of‑sale...
How Visa Uses AI in the Fight Against Fraud with AI…
Visa has invested €10 billion in payment security and now blocks over 150 million fraudulent transactions each year. While e‑commerce fraud rates in Europe are falling, fraudsters have turned to AI‑generated social engineering, making scams five times more likely to succeed. Retailers...
Digital Rupee vs Digital Euro: Which CBDC Is More Business-Friendly?
The article pits India’s Digital Rupee against the EU’s Digital Euro, evaluating which central bank digital currency (CBDC) best serves commercial users. It notes the Digital Rupee’s near‑real‑time settlement, open‑source APIs, and early integration with Indian e‑commerce giants, while the...
India’s Digital Rupee (E₹) and E-Commerce Giants: Facts and Myths Around Retail CBDC Launch
India’s central bank has continued its digital rupee (E₹) pilot, but a retail rollout on e‑commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart remains unrealised. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has onboarded a handful of banks, fintechs and select merchants...
Piero Cipollone: Digital Euro
The European Central Bank entered the current preparation phase for a digital euro in November 2025, concentrating on technical readiness, market engagement, and legislative support. A controlled pilot with real‑world transactions is slated for mid‑2027, with a potential first issuance targeted...
InsurTech Funding Tops $1bn in February as AI Investment Surges
Global InsurTech funding topped $1 billion in February, propelled by a $703 million debt raise from Howden Group. Excluding Howden, venture‑backed firms secured roughly $376 million across 11 deals, keeping pace with January’s activity. AI‑centric companies dominated the venture pool, with notable rounds...
Dacadoo’s Role in the Health and Finance Revolution
FinTech Global interviewed Thomas Dijohn, senior vice‑president Asia‑Pacific at dacadoo, about linking health metrics to financial services. He argued that physically and mentally healthy individuals represent higher‑earning, lower‑risk customers, making health data a valuable segmentation tool for banks. dacadoo provides...
Nexi Sets Course for €2.4 Billion Cash Generation and Sustained Dividend Growth Through 2028
Italian payments leader Nexi announced a strategic plan to generate €2.4 billion of free cash flow by 2028 while maintaining a rising dividend trajectory. The roadmap hinges on expanding merchant services, scaling digital‑payment solutions, and completing targeted acquisitions across Europe. Nexi...
Finastra Launches OperatorAssist AI Payments Tool
Finastra has launched OperatorAssist, an AI‑driven add‑on for its Global PAYplus and Payments To Go platforms that automates payment exception handling. The tool analyses payment errors, suggests fixes and guides users through resolution steps, aiming to cut manual investigation time...
Crypto Payment Gateways Market Set to Grow From $1.2B Today to Nearly $6B by 2035
The crypto payment gateway market, valued at roughly $1.2 billion in 2023, is projected to surge to $6.03 billion by 2035. Analysts forecast a robust 13.6% compound annual growth rate, reflecting a shift from niche tools to a core operating layer for...
Kids Saver: Securing AUM in the Great Wealth Transfer
The article highlights the imminent multitrillion‑dollar wealth transfer from Baby Boomers to younger generations and warns that wealth managers risk losing assets under management (AUM) if they fail to engage heirs. Kidbrooke proposes a "kids saver" framework that turns a...
SpareBank 1 and Tieto Banktech Transform Digital Mortgages
SpareBank 1, Norway’s leading mobile‑banking provider, has teamed up with Tieto Banktech to build a data‑driven digital mortgage platform. The multi‑year partnership will embed a dynamic, self‑service loan application into SpareBank 1’s mobile app, leveraging AI and real‑time data to...
KYND Hires US Insurance Lead Aaron Aanenson
Cyber risk intelligence firm KYND has appointed Aaron Aanenson as Head of Insurance for North America, bolstering its leadership as demand for SME cyber‑risk insight rises. Aanenson brings over 18 years of experience in cybersecurity consulting, management consulting and insurance,...
Paysafe Unveils Strategic Partnership with Spreedly to Boost Global Open Payments
Paysafe announced a strategic partnership with payment‑orchestration provider Spreedly, integrating its gateway as an acquirer on Spreedly’s Open Payment Platform. The collaboration instantly enables card‑present and card‑not‑present transactions for merchants in Europe, North America and other regions, leveraging Spreedly’s connections...
3S Money Expands European Footprint with French IBANs and New Paris Office
3S Money announced the launch of French‑issued IBAN accounts, allowing European customers to hold and transact in euros locally. The fintech also opened a new office in Paris, staffed with a team focused on regulatory compliance and business development. These...
Investment Platform Competition Heats up – What It Means for Your Fees
Investment platforms are slashing fees as digital neobrokers gain market share, forcing incumbents to follow suit. Hargreaves Lansdown reduced its headline annual fee from 0.45% to 0.35% in March, while eToro and other app‑based brokers continue offering low‑cost structures. The...
Dubai Crypto Regulator Says KuCoin Exchange Is Operating without Proper License and Must Stop
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has ordered cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin to cease operations in the emirate, citing the absence of a required local licence. VARA also warned that any promotion or solicitation of KuCoin’s services violates its regulations and...
FedNow Pushes FEMA Disaster Aid From Days to Seconds
The Federal Reserve’s FedNow service now powers FEMA’s disaster‑relief payouts, moving funds from days or weeks to seconds. Transaction limits have been raised to $10 million, enabling large‑scale disbursements directly to states, municipalities and households. This capability is part of a...