Aazzur Closes £2 Million Funding Round
Aazzur Ltd. closed an oversubscribed £2 million funding round in October 2025, led by Haatch Ventures and joined by several institutional investors. The capital will be used to broaden the company’s orchestration platform across banking, cards, lending and wealth services. Aazzur aims to accelerate go‑to‑market activities, scaling customer acquisition and solidifying its position as a one‑stop fintech integration solution. The company reports strong year‑on‑year revenue growth, positioning the round as a catalyst for rapid expansion.
KYB Plaform Sinpex Secures €10 Million Series A
Sinpex, an AI-driven platform that streamlines KYB and KYC lifecycle management, announced a €10 million Series A financing round. The round was led by prominent European fintech investors, with participation from existing backers. The capital will be used to enhance AI capabilities,...
Bet365 Goes Live with TrueLayer's Pay by Bank
Bet365 has integrated TrueLayer’s Pay by Bank technology across its UK and German platforms, making it the recommended checkout option for players. The open‑banking solution enables instant deposits and withdrawals directly from bank accounts, leveraging biometric authentication for added security....
Jet Bank and Backbase Partner to Launch Albania’s First Digital-Only Bank
Jet Bank, in partnership with Backbase, is launching Albania's first fully digital‑only bank. Backbase supplies its AI‑powered Banking Platform as a unified engagement layer, integrating core banking, card processing and third‑party services. The collaboration accelerated the project from initial setup...
Worldline and YouLend Launch Cash Advance for European SMBs
Worldline and YouLend have introduced Cash Advance, an embedded financing solution that gives European small‑and‑medium‑sized businesses access to up to €250,000 within 48 hours. The product leverages Worldline’s payments infrastructure and YouLend’s data‑driven underwriting to deliver personalised offers linked to...
LiveMore Mortgage Matcher to Be Integrated Into MAB Adviser System
LiveMore and the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) have integrated the LiveMore Mortgage Matcher into MAB’s adviser system, targeting the later‑life lending segment. The tool instantly analyses a client’s income, expenses and ancillary streams to calculate maximum borrowing power. It provides...
Monzo Launches Free Tax Tool Ahead of New Rules
Monzo has introduced a free, HMRC‑recognised tax filing tool for sole traders and landlords, launching ahead of the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax deadline on April 6. The service, built on Sage’s embedded technology, lets users submit quarterly income...
Adempi Hires Lorraine Mouat to Lead Payments Practice
Adempi, a specialist FCA compliance consultancy, has hired Lorraine Mouat as a Partner to lead its payment services and e‑money practice. Mouat brings deep experience guiding payment service providers and electronic money institutions through FCA authorisations, safeguarding, and data‑protection challenges. The...
PhotonPay Partners ClearBank to Expand Access to UK Payment Rails
ClearBank has teamed up with AI‑driven fintech PhotonPay to provide the latter’s business clients indirect access to the UK’s core payment rails. Leveraging ClearBank’s API‑based infrastructure, PhotonPay will issue virtual accounts and connect to Faster Payments, BACS and CHAPS in...
TBC Uzbekistan Launches TBC Plus Subscription Service
TBC Uzbekistan, the leading digital banking platform in Central Asia and a subsidiary of the London‑listed TBC Bank Group, has introduced TBC Plus, a new subscription‑based service. The offering expands the bank’s portfolio beyond core banking to include premium financial...
HSBC Joins Funding Round for Pan-Asia Fintech WeLab
HSBC has joined a $220 million debt‑equity round for WeLab, the Hong Kong‑based fintech that runs two digital banks and serves more than 70 million customers across Hong Kong, Mainland China and Indonesia. The financing, also backed by Prudential, Fubon Bank, HKIC, TOM Group...
KYC Regulatory Trends to Watch in 2026
In 2026 regulators worldwide are tightening KYC oversight, shifting focus from documented policies to demonstrable effectiveness. The FATF’s latest recommendations, the FCA’s data‑driven supervision, and the EU’s AMLA rollout all demand continuous, risk‑based customer due diligence, robust beneficial‑ownership verification, and...
Former Adyen Exec Edgar Verschuur Joins Gigs
Gigs, a leader in embedded connectivity, has appointed former Adyen Global Head of Payments Edgar Verschuur as Head of Connectivity. Verschuur will spearhead Gigs' strategic push into local consumer plans, global roaming solutions, and enterprise connectivity offerings. The hire signals...
Lingfeng Capital Preps Digital Venture Fund
Lingfeng Capital announced the upcoming launch of its Digital Venture Fund (DVF), a regulated, tokenised venture vehicle. The fund will operate across multiple blockchain networks, giving investors exposure to early‑stage fintech and digital infrastructure projects. By tokenising equity stakes, DVF...
Standard Chartered Completes First ICC-Swift API Standards Digital Bank Guarantee Transaction
Standard Chartered has completed the first digital bank guarantee transaction using the newly released ICC‑Swift API standards, partnering with Komgo’s Konsole platform. The API‑based workflow automates instruction receipt and guarantee issuance, delivering faster, more transparent service for a global energy...
Fintech IPO Wave: What 2026's Public Listings Mean for Investors and Innovation
2026 is set to become a watershed year for fintech as a wave of high‑profile IPOs—led by Stripe, Revolut, Plaid and other AI‑enabled firms—hits public markets. The surge is driven by regulatory reforms that streamline licensing in the UK and...
TNS Connects to Japan Alternative Market
Transaction Network Services (TNS) has added a direct connection to the Japan Alternative Market (JAX), extending its market‑data infrastructure across the Asia‑Pacific region. The new link delivers JAX’s data feeds through TNS’s managed global network, offering clients low‑latency, reliable access....
Banking Circle Opens Branch in the Czech Republic,
Banking Circle announced the launch of a new Czech Republic branch, adding direct Czech koruna (CZK) payment capabilities for global clients. The office will serve small‑to‑medium banks, payment service providers and fintechs, offering local accounts and virtual IBANs. This follows...
Capital.com Granted CMA Licence in Kenya
Capital.com has secured licence number 244 from Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority, authorising it to operate as a Dealing Online Foreign Exchange Broker. The approval enables the firm to offer regulated online forex and trading services to Kenyan clients, with full onboarding,...
Wealthtech NAO Partners ARK Invest Europe
Berlin‑based wealth‑tech platform NAO has teamed with ARK Invest Europe to launch the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, a regulated Irish ELTIF 2.0 fund that gives retail investors exposure to mid‑to‑late‑stage private tech companies from a €1 minimum. The fund allocates roughly...
Fasset Names Rafiza Ghazali MD, Consumer Banking
Fasset, the global banking and investment platform, has appointed veteran banker Rafiza Ghazali as Managing Director of Consumer Banking, effective 1 February 2026. The hire comes as Fasset moves to launch the world’s first stablecoin‑based Islamic digital bank after receiving provisional approval...
LHV Bank Tops £1bn in Deposits
LHV Bank announced it has surpassed £1 billion in customer deposits less than a year after launching its retail operations in the UK. The surge stems from a transparent product lineup that includes a current account paying 3.75% AER and an...
Worldline Empowers Agentic Commerce with New AI Capabilities
Worldline announced two new capabilities—Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and the ConnectAI developer hub—to make its Global Collect payment platform agent‑ready. The MCP acts as a secure bridge that lets large language models initiate payments, refunds, and status checks via...
LSEG Launches Blockchain-Based Digital Settlement Network
LSEG has launched the Digital Settlement House (DiSH), a blockchain‑compatible platform that enables instant, 24/7 settlement of commercial‑bank money for digital‑asset transactions. DiSH Cash tokenises deposits held at participating banks, supporting multiple currencies and both PVP and DVP settlement models....
ClearScore Embeds Automated Debt Repayment Technology Directly Into Lender Applications
ClearScore has launched its automated debt‑repayment engine, Clearer, directly into lender credit‑application flows. The tool automatically channels consolidation‑loan proceeds to pay off existing debts, eliminating fund‑diversion risk and allowing lenders to price loans more accurately. Early partners such as Oakbrook...
Swift to Build Shared Ledger for Tokenised Asset Transactions
Swift will integrate a blockchain‑based shared ledger into its global messaging network after successful interoperability trials with BNP Paribas Securities Services, Intesa Sanpaolo and Societe Generale‑Forge. The ledger aims to enable real‑time settlement of tokenised assets across borders, improving speed and transparency. Trials...
What Happens to Card Economics when Stablecoins Stroll up to the Till in SA?
South African retailers are piloting stablecoin‑based settlement at the point of sale, allowing token transfers to clear in seconds and dramatically compressing the traditional card economics stack. Pick n Pay’s rollout showed that merchants can add a crypto tender without...
Cosegic Boosts Financial Crime Expertise Through Fintrail Acquisition
London‑based compliance specialist Cosegic announced the acquisition of financial‑crime consultancy Fintrail, though the purchase price was not disclosed. The deal adds Fintrail’s niche expertise in anti‑money‑laundering (AML) investigations and fraud detection to Cosegic’s existing portfolio of regulatory technology solutions. By...
Exchange Association Says Regulators Should Prioritize Gen AI Threats over Quantum Computing
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) warned regulators that they are over‑emphasizing quantum‑computing risks at the expense of more immediate generative AI threats. WFE estimates a 5‑10+ year horizon before cryptographically relevant quantum computers appear, recommending proportionate resource allocation. The...
Keye Launches AI Co-Pilot for Private Equity Due Diligence
Keye has unveiled Odin, an AI‑driven co‑pilot designed to streamline private‑equity due diligence for investment teams. The tool leverages large‑language models and proprietary NLP pipelines to extract financial metrics, covenant clauses, and risk factors from data‑room documents. Early pilots claim...
Keye Launces AI Co-Pilot for Private Equity Due Diligence
Keye has introduced Odin, an AI‑powered co‑pilot designed to streamline private‑equity due‑diligence. The tool lets deal teams pose plain‑English questions and receive deterministic, audit‑ready analysis instantly. Powered by Keye’s proprietary Deterministic Creativity, Odin combines natural‑language understanding with code‑based execution, eliminating...
Quavo Names David Oldershaw COO; Tony DiGiorgio CTO
Quavo announced the appointment of David Oldershaw as chief operating officer and Tony DiGiorgio as chief technology officer. Both executives bring deep experience in fintech operations and AI development. The hires are intended to accelerate Quavo’s product roadmap and expand...
AI Helped Drive Increase in Crypto Scam Losses to $17bn in 2025
Chainalysis estimates crypto‑related scam losses could top $17 billion in 2025, up from $12 billion in 2024. The average fraudulent payment jumped from $782 to $2,764, while impersonation scams exploded 1,400% year‑over‑year. AI‑enabled operations proved 4.5 times more profitable, generating $3.2 million per...
Exegy Acquires NovaSparks
Exegy, a leading provider of high‑performance market data and trading technology, announced the acquisition of NovaSparks Inc., a specialist in FPGA‑enabled real‑time market data normalization and distribution. The deal integrates NovaSparks’ low‑latency data processing platform into Exegy’s existing feed handling...
Esma Unfolds Data and Digital Strategy Roadmap
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a new Digital Strategy for 2026‑2028 and refreshed its Data Strategy covering 2023‑2028. Both roadmaps focus on smarter regulatory reporting, reduced complexity, and stronger digital capabilities across the European System of...
ACI Worldwide Appoints JP Krishnamoorthy as Chief Innovation and Technology Officer
ACI Worldwide announced the appointment of JP Krishnamoorthy as Chief Innovation & Technology Officer, leading its Global Technology & Innovation organization. Krishnamoorthy, who joined in December 2025, previously headed engineering, AI, cloud operations, and cybersecurity at Coupa Software, and has extensive...
DTCC Comments on UK MiFID ARM Registration
The UK Financial Conduct Authority has formally registered DTCC’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive/Regulation (MiFID/R) ARM licence, clearing the way for a new reporting service. Scheduled for launch in the second quarter of 2026, the platform will let market participants...
Gresham Completes Acquisition of S&P Global’s Enterprise Data Management (EDM) Business
Gresham announced the completion of its acquisition of S&P Global’s Enterprise Data Management (EDM) business, a platform trusted by 30 of the top 60 global asset managers and supporting more than $12 trillion in assets under management. Backed by private‑equity firm...
Lunar Gives Customers Visual View of Yearly Spending Habits
Lunar has introduced “Wallet story,” a visual annual summary that turns users’ transaction data into a narrative of their spending across categories like housing, travel and everyday purchases. The feature eschews traditional charts, scores or financial advice, offering a purely...
Capi Money Get UK EMI Licence
Capi Money Group announced that its UK subsidiary has received Electronic Money Institution authorisation from the FCA. The licence allows Capi UK to issue e‑money and provide regulated payment services, targeting the £80 billion annual UK‑Africa capital flow. With eight African...
UK and EU Regulators Sign MoU to Strengthen Oversight of Critical Third Parties
The Financial Conduct Authority, Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Supervisory Authorities. The MoU formalises cooperation on supervising critical third parties that operate under the UK’s CTP regime. It establishes...
ClearBid Global Markets Selects Archax as Digital Asset Partner for UK and EU Expansion
ClearBid Global Markets announced a partnership with Archax, the FCA‑regulated digital asset exchange, to extend its cross‑border digital bond trading and data platform into the United Kingdom and European Union. The collaboration gives CBGM access to Archax’s compliant custody, settlement...
PayPal and Deutsche Bank Strike Global Payments Deal
PayPal and Deutsche Bank announced an expansion of their long‑standing partnership to deliver enhanced payment solutions across the United States, Europe, and Asia‑Pacific. The deal integrates PayPal’s digital wallet and merchant services with Deutsche Bank’s banking infrastructure, enabling faster cross‑border...
How Neglectful People Processes Could Create the Next Financial Crisis
During FinextraTV’s Predict 2026, Harrington Star co‑founder Nadia Edwards‑Dashti and financial‑services executive Samantha Emery warned that the industry’s retreat from robust diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives could sow the seeds of a new financial crisis. They argued that labeling...
ExtractAlpha Release Analyst Model Global
ExtractAlpha unveiled its Analyst Model Global, extending the firm’s AI‑driven stock‑selection engine to cover the United States, EMEA, APAC and the broader Americas. The new offering promises a single, consistent signal that can be applied across all major equity markets....
Conferma Names Mark Ledsham as CEO
Conferma, a global corporate travel payments leader, announced Mark Ledsham as its new chief executive officer. Ledsham brings a track record of scaling fintech and financial services businesses, having held senior roles at Currencycloud, XE.com, Euronet Worldwide, OFX, Macquarie Group...
Built for Mars: Monzo Savings Challenge Highlights Persistent Retention Gap
Monzo’s 1p Savings Challenge, a gamified deposit product, quickly attracted users, demonstrating the bank’s capacity to mobilise a large audience at launch. Built for Mars’ analysis shows the challenge’s strongest performance occurs in the first few days, with engagement plummeting...
Abound Enters Mortgage Market Through Acquisition of Ahauz
Abound, a credit‑tech firm, is entering the mortgage market by acquiring Ahauz, a specialist shared‑equity lender. The deal lets Ahauz keep its focus while gaining Abound’s AI‑driven affordability engine and capital. Abound’s first product is a Help‑to‑Buy‑style equity loan offering...
Plumery Unveils AI Fabric
Plumery announced AI Fabric, an event‑driven data‑mesh platform that creates an AI‑ready foundation for digital banking. The solution replaces fragile point‑to‑point integrations with a standardized, API‑first architecture, allowing banks to connect generative AI models directly to core data streams. By...
Lendscape Appoints Brett Promisel as CEO
Lendscape announced Brett Promisel as its new Chief Executive Officer after an extensive global search. Promisel brings more than three decades of leadership experience at technology and financial‑services firms such as RELX, FIS Global and UBS, most recently heading Investor Services at...