Exploring the Future of Crypto and Stablecoins
Fintech Times podcast featured Yap Global founder Samantha Yap discussing the rapid expansion of digital assets and Web3. The conversation highlighted stablecoins as a catalyst for faster, cheaper cross‑border payments and examined the UAE’s proactive regulatory sandbox. Yap noted that institutional interest is fueling market growth, while clear guidelines could position the Gulf as a fintech hub. The episode underscores the convergence of technology, finance, and policy shaping crypto’s future.
Starling Bank’s SaaS Business Expands to Fourth Country
Starling Bank’s Engine, its banking software‑as‑a‑service platform, has entered a fourth international market by signing a deal with New Zealand‑based SBS Bank. The Engine business posted FY25 revenue of £8.7 million, reflecting an almost 300% year‑on‑year increase. Existing deployments span Romania’s Salt...
Open-Loop Systems Help Modernize Transit Payments
Transit agencies worldwide are replacing cash and paper tickets with contactless payments that use bank‑issued cards and mobile wallets, delivering a tap‑and‑pay experience identical to everyday purchases. Open‑loop systems route each tap through global payment networks, meeting sub‑300 ms response times...
Planned Purchases Rise as Financial Stress Eases, Study Finds
The PYMNTS Intelligence report finds that as financial stress eases, U.S. consumers are increasingly planning purchases rather than using credit spontaneously. Yet 42 % still doubt they will be approved for a new card, and 15 % experience denial while 43 % never...
Crypto Exchange BTCC Adds TradFi CFDs
BTCC has launched BTCC TradFi, a cross‑market platform that lets users trade forex, commodities, indices and stocks using USDT as margin and settlement currency. The service builds on the exchange’s tokenized precious‑metal success, which generated $5.72 billion in 2025 trading volume...
4 Ways to Automate Notifications for Mercado Pago
Mercado Pago dominates Latin America’s online payments, but manual post‑purchase tasks still burden sellers. By linking Mercado Pago to Zapier, businesses can trigger workflows that instantly grant course access, update marketing databases, log transactions, and push real‑time alerts. The article...
JIM.com Brings Its AI-Powered Business Platform to Android, Opening the Door to Millions More U.S. Micro Entrepreneurs
JIM.com, the AI‑driven fintech platform for micro‑sellers, launched its Android app, extending its full suite of AI business agent features to the 45% of U.S. smartphones that run Android. The rollout follows an iOS‑only debut in early 2025 that already...
Grey Launches ‘Grey Business’ to Simplify Global Payments for African Startups and SMEs
Grey, a global fintech, launched Grey Business, a multi‑currency payments platform for African startups and SMEs. The service lets companies open USD corporate accounts, send and receive global payments, and convert currencies instantly at real‑time rates, also supporting USDC and...
VectifyAI Launches Mafin 2.5 and PageIndex: Achieving 98.7% Financial RAG Accuracy with a New Open-Source Vectorless Tree Indexing.
VectifyAI unveiled Mafin 2.5, a multimodal financial agent that achieved a record‑breaking 98.7% accuracy on the FinanceBench RAG benchmark, and released PageIndex, an open‑source framework that replaces traditional vector embeddings with a hierarchical tree index. The new stack natively ingests SEC...
It Looks Like Open Banking’s ‘Breakout Moment’ Is Finally Here
Open Banking in Australia is reaching a breakout moment as three notable consumer‑lending firms—an ASX‑listed billion‑dollar player, a $300 m listed firm, and a $60 m private company—have shifted from screen‑scraping to regulated Open Banking data feeds. This transition replaces insecure credential‑based...
Wellspring Debuts Treasury Management Tool for Small Businesses
Wellspring has launched Wellspring Institutional, a treasury management platform tailored for small and midsize businesses. The solution merges traditional banking APIs with regulated stablecoin settlement rails, delivering centralized cash visibility, domestic and cross‑border payments, and yield generation on idle balances....
Regtech HYPR Introduces Context-Based Attestation, Enhancing Identity Verification Beyond Traditional Checks
HYPR has launched a context‑based attestation framework to strengthen identity verification across hiring, onboarding, and account recovery. The method layers traditional document, location, and biometric checks with internal role data, workflow cues, calendar events, and peer validations. By continuously cross‑referencing...
North Korea’s Crypto Theft Machine Shows No Signs of Slowing After ByBit Hack : Analysis
Elliptic reports North Korea stole a record $2 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, pushing its total illicit haul past $6 billion and financing the regime’s weapons programs. The ByBit breach, which yielded $1.46 billion, saw more than $1 billion laundered within six months via...
Adyen Shares Drop Up to 20% Following Cautious Outlook for Future Growth
Adyen posted H2 2025 net revenue of €1.27 billion, a 17% year‑over‑year rise, and total processed volume of €745 billion, up 19% excluding a major client. EBITDA grew 23% to €702 million, delivering a 55% margin, while full‑year 2025 revenue reached €2.36 billion. The company’s...
Neuro-Symbolic AI and the Quest for Trusted Intelligence in Professional Sectors
Neuro‑symbolic AI merges deep‑learning intuition with symbolic logic, addressing the strict reasoning demands of legal, medical, and financial workflows. By 2026 hybrid models verify outputs against hard‑coded rules, delivering trustworthy, compliant results. The approach powers automated legal discovery, precision medicine...
Yotta’s Fraud Suit Against Evolve Bank Dismissed by San Francisco Judge, Provisionally
A San Francisco federal judge dismissed Yotta Technology’s fraud lawsuit against Evolve Bank & Trust, citing procedural deficiencies and the indispensable‑party rule. The ruling hinges on the bankruptcy of Synapse Financial Technologies, the middleware that linked Yotta’s prize‑linked savings app to Evolve’s...
Betterment Strengthens Client Offerings with Mortgage Partnership and Advisor Model Marketplace Expansion
Betterment announced a nationwide partnership with mortgage fintech Rate, giving eligible clients with at least $100,000 in assets a discount of up to 0.75% on 30‑year fixed mortgages and a $500 closing‑cost credit through December 2026. The platform also launched an...
Best Software to Watch Right Now: Analysts Say iPayr’s Proprietary Systems Are Outpacing Traditional “Bots” As Global Demand Accelerates
Fintech analysts are spotlighting iPayr International’s proprietary automation suite as a differentiated alternative to generic trading bots. The company’s four‑system framework, segmented by asset class, has moved from private stress‑testing to controlled global licensing in 2026. Early licensees report stronger...
How iPayr’s Capacity-Limited Licensing Strategy Is Driving International Momentum Across Exchanges
iPayr International is pursuing a capacity-limited licensing model, granting access to its proprietary four-system automation suite only after applicant review. This scarcity-driven approach contrasts with the open-subscription SaaS model common among retail trading bots and is credited with accelerating the...
Yoco’s Marcello Schermer Says the Next Test for African Fintech Is Smarter Tools
Yoco’s international expansion chief Marcello Schermer says African fintechs must evolve from passive transaction recorders to proactive financial partners. After a decade of digitising payments, the continent now hosts over 5,000 startups and attracted $1.37 billion in 2024, with fintech capturing...
Salt Lake City-Based Jump, a Provider of AI Tools for Financial Advisors to Automate Meeting Prep and More, Raised an...
Jump, a Salt Lake City fintech that provides AI‑driven tools for financial advisors, announced an $80 million Series B round led by Insight Partners. The capital will accelerate development of its meeting‑preparation, research, and compliance automation platform and expand its sales force....
Indie App Spotlight: ‘Summit’ Is an All-in-One Portfolio Tracker for iPhone and iPad
Summit is an indie‑made iOS/iPad portfolio tracker that consolidates investments from multiple brokerages into a single, clean dashboard. The app offers real‑time on‑device valuation, cost‑basis tracking, and an analytics tab, while requiring manual data entry or CSV import to populate...
Figure Technology Faces Major Data Breach Impacting Nearly One Million Customers
Figure Technology Solutions, the largest non‑bank home‑equity lender, disclosed a data breach affecting roughly 967,000 customer accounts. The breach resulted from a social‑engineering (vishing) attack on a single employee, allowing the ShinyHunters group to exfiltrate personal identifiers such as names,...
Iran’s Rial Collapse Mirrors Lebanon’s Crisis, Driving Citizens to Bitcoin
The Iranian rial has collapsed in 2026, spurring hyperinflation and prompting middle‑class savers to flee the banking system. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have attracted billions of dollars, echoing Lebanon’s 2019‑2021 crisis where crypto became a financial lifeline. On‑chain data shows...
Midnight Foundation Adds Blockdaemon, Shielded Technologies As Node Operators
Midnight Foundation announced that Blockdaemon and Shielded Technologies have joined Google Cloud and AlphaTON Capital as federated node operators for its fourth‑generation privacy‑enhancing blockchain. The network now counts four strategic partners and aims to secure ten before its mainnet launch...
10x Banking and HassemPrag Partner to Drive Core Banking Modernisation Across Africa
10x Banking, a cloud‑native core banking provider, has teamed up with South African digital platform HassemPrag to offer African banks a low‑risk path to replace legacy systems. The joint solution combines 10x’s modular, cloud infrastructure with HassemPrag’s regional integration expertise,...
Web3 Thoughts of the Week: Stablecoins, Bitcoin, Tokenization and AI
Tokenized real‑world assets (RWAs) posted a 36 % on‑chain market‑cap rise this year, outpacing a $1 trillion crypto market decline. Investors are shifting from speculative altcoins to yield‑bearing tokenized Treasury bills, bonds, and money‑market funds, highlighting a liquidity‑driven rotation. Meanwhile, AI is...
First Citizens Seeks New Mergers to Cross Growth Threshold
First Citizens BancShares, sitting at $230 billion in assets, is actively scouting acquisitions to push past the $250 billion regulatory threshold that imposes stricter capital and reporting rules. The bank recently secured 138 BMO Bank branches across 11 states, adding a solid...
The Philippines: Digital Banking Empowers Northern Negros Students
Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) launched its Cash‑Lite Campus Programme at the State University of Northern Negros, bringing digital banking to more than 2,000 students and campus partners. The initiative offers no‑deposit PISO Plus accounts, QR‑enabled person‑to‑merchant payments, and...
Shinhan Securities Signs Deal with OTC Security Token Consortium
South Korea passed tokenization legislation, enabling security token markets. Two consortia, led by Korea Exchange and Nextrade, received preliminary approval to operate OTC trading venues. Shinhan Securities signed an agreement with the Nextrade consortium to support fractional investments in real‑world...
One Billion Identity Records Exposed in Unsecured ID Verification Database
A cloud‑based identity verification database tied to IDMerit was found exposed without password protection or encryption, leaking roughly one billion personal records across at least 26 countries. The trove, estimated at one terabyte, contained names, dates of birth, addresses, phone...
Lightspark Teams Up with Cross River Bank for Fiat Payments via Bitcoin
Lightspark, a Bitcoin Lightning Network startup, has partnered with FDIC‑insured Cross River Bank to enable 24/7 fiat settlement of Lightning transactions via the FedNow service. The collaboration aims at B2B, cross‑border and retail payments where instant settlement can improve cash‑management...
Democratic Senators Press Bowman on Fed Changes
Democratic senators sent two letters to Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman questioning recent supervisory changes, including a 30% staff cut in the Fed's supervision arm and the removal of bank examiners at banks' request. They also demanded answers on her...
TNS Launches Smart Routing Technology
Transaction Network Services (TNS) introduced TNSPay SmartRoute, a cloud‑based solution that lets merchants, processors and acquirers set real‑time routing rules for each transaction. The platform can route payments by geography, cost efficiency, processor performance or scheduled maintenance, and it automatically...
Earnings Season Made It Clear: Digitize Supply Chains or Fall Behind
Earnings season revealed that digitizing supply chains has shifted from a cost‑saving exercise to a strategic imperative. Executives at FedEx, Caterpillar, Dollar General and others highlighted upstream capex on supplier integration, AI‑enabled orchestration and real‑time visibility as growth enablers. The...
Square’s Quest for More Partners Looks to Add Merchant Appeal
Square, the POS arm of Block Inc., is set to expand its partner ecosystem beyond the roughly 1,000 collaborators it already supports. The move aims to bring more technology add‑ons, discounts and specialized services to merchants, accelerating Square’s merchant acquisition....
Wealthsimple Named CIX Innovator of the Year
Wealthsimple was crowned the 2026 CIX Innovator of the Year by Elevate, with CEO Michael Katchen slated to speak at the CIX Summit in Toronto. The Toronto‑based fintech doubled its assets under administration to $100 billion CAD and its valuation to...
Jordan’s Banking Sector Now Accepts Sanad App as Valid Customer Identification
Jordan’s Central Bank issued a directive on Feb 16, 2026 that the Sanad mobile app’s digital identity credential is now legally equivalent to physical ID documents for banking transactions. The mandate applies to every bank in the kingdom, obligating them to accept...
RWA Issuers Prioritize Capital Formation over Liquidity, According to Brickken Survey
A Brickken Q4 2025 survey shows most real‑world‑asset issuers use tokenization primarily to raise capital rather than to secure secondary‑market liquidity. 53.8% cite capital formation as the main driver, while only 15.4% prioritize liquidity, and 69.2% of respondents are already live...
Worldline Scales One Commerce Across Europe to Support Cross-Border Sales
Worldline is rolling out its One Commerce omnichannel retail platform beyond the United Kingdom, showcasing it at the EuroShop trade fair in Germany from Feb. 22‑26. The solution lets merchants manage in‑store and online payments, integrate new payment methods, and...
Tech News: Xero Announces Online Bill Pay
April announced a suite of fintech collaborations, pairing its free‑tax filing service with Acorns and Robinhood to let users file federal and state returns at no cost and receive refunds faster. Armanino partnered with Accrual to pilot an AI‑native accounting...
Creator Monetization Platform Destream Enters GCC Market
Destream, a creator‑focused monetization platform, has launched services in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), giving regional influencers access to a global payment infrastructure. The rollout includes secure payment links, multi‑currency payouts and a Mastercard‑backed debit card, plus a built‑in eSIM...
Embedded Card Programmes Gain Momentum as European Firms Move Beyond Banks for Issuing
European firms are rapidly adopting embedded card programmes, bypassing traditional banks thanks to API‑driven platforms. Wallester’s recent webinar with Visa and GF Money shows launch times shrinking from a year to as little as 28 days. Regulatory clarity under PSD2 is...
MetaQuotes to Release Build 5640 of MT5 Platform
MetaQuotes will roll out build 5640 of its MetaTrader 5 platform on February 20, 2026. The update refines the dark interface theme, adjusting background, tab and scrollbar colours for a more cohesive visual experience. It adds Markdown support in MetaEditor, allowing developers to document...
FinTech Futures: Top Five News Stories of the Week – 20 February 2026
FinTech Futures highlighted five notable developments this week. Vestwell secured a $385 million Series E round, doubling its valuation to roughly $2 billion and earmarking funds for platform expansion and payroll integrations. The UK regulator fined Bank of Ireland UK £3.78 million for a 14‑month...
Lunar Teams Up with Wolt on Subscription Benefit Expansion
Lunar, the Nordic challenger bank, has signed a strategic partnership with delivery platform Wolt across Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The deal embeds Wolt+ unlimited delivery into Lunar’s top‑tier Unlimited (personal) and Limitless (business) subscription plans, while lower‑tier customers can redeem...
Loan Applications, Drivers Licences, Personal Data of 440k Aussies Exposed After Hacker Hits Sydney Finance Tech Company youX
Australian fintech platform youX confirmed an unauthorized intrusion that exposed personal data of approximately 440,000 Australians. The stolen information includes loan applications, driver’s licence details and other identifying data. The breach was disclosed following the company’s internal investigation and reported...
PayPal Discloses Data Breach that Exposed User Info for 6 Months
PayPal disclosed a data breach affecting its Working Capital loan application, where personal information—including Social Security numbers—was exposed from July 1 to December 13, 2025. The company identified the issue on December 12, 2025, rolled back the faulty code, and halted unauthorized access within a...
Badge Raises $17M to Shape the Future of Digital Wallets
Badge, a digital‑wallet platform founded in 2023, raised $17.1 million in a Series A round—$13.8 million led by TTV Capital and a $3.3 million seed from QED Investors and Infinity Ventures. The company builds interactive elements for Apple Pay and Google Pay, letting brands embed loyalty,...
KYCP Streamlines UK Corporate KYC with Integration
KYCP has launched an embedded integration with Companies House, allowing users to pull official UK corporate data directly within its platform. The Corporate Source Register (CSR) lets compliance teams perform real‑time searches by company name or registration number and import...