Taurus Secures MiFID II License to Provide Regulated Tokenization Infrastructure for 40+ Global Banks
Digital‑asset infrastructure firm Taurus SA announced that its Cyprus subsidiary, Taurus (Europe) Ltd, has been granted a MiFID II investment‑firm license by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. The approval makes Taurus the first pure institutional token‑infrastructure provider to secure EU‑wide MiFID status, allowing it to offer regulated services for tokenized bonds, equities and other securities across all 27 member states. The timing is strategic, as the MiCA transitional period ends in July 2026, and the license positions Taurus to support banks’ shift from pilot projects to production‑grade tokenisation. The move also aligns with Europe’s push for digital‑sovereign payment solutions, complementing Taurus’s existing Swiss FINMA licence.
Vault Expands Wealth-Tech Platform to Saudi Arabia, Targeting $1M-$10M “Underserved” Wealth Band
Vault, the ADGM‑based digital wealth platform, secured a Capital Market Authority advisory license and launched operations in Saudi Arabia. The firm appointed Abdulrahman AlSudairy to head the Saudi unit and will focus on investors with $1 million to $10 million in assets,...
PayJoy Crosses 20 Million Customer Milestone with $3.5billion in Financed Loans
PayJoy, a San‑Francisco‑based public‑benefit corporation, announced it has reached 20 million customers worldwide, spanning Latin America, Africa and Asia. Since its 2015 launch, the firm has financed more than $3.5 billion in loans by using smartphones as collateral. The model lowers credit...
AFC Urges Regulatory Clarity and Tailored Oversight in OCC Stablecoin Rulemaking
The American Fintech Council (AFC) submitted a comment letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on the proposed GENIUS Act rulemaking for U.S. stablecoins. The AFC urges a risk‑based federal framework that tailors requirements to the...
A-Cube Raises €4million to Accelerate European Digital Tax Compliance
A-Cube, a regtech startup focused on automated digital tax compliance, raised $4.4 million in a Series A round led by Italy’s P101 SGR, with participation from Sella Direct Ventures. The capital will fund expansion of its API‑first platform, integration of new AI...
Why Banks Are Moving From ‘Should We Modernise?’ To ‘How?’: Temenos’ Sai Rangachari
At the 2026 Temenos Community Forum in Copenhagen, chief product officer Sai Rangachari emphasized a shift from abstract modernization talk to concrete product demonstrations. Temenos showcased composable core‑banking modules, AI‑enhanced tools, and a governance framework designed to help banks upgrade...
Malaysia and Its Fintech Environment and Developments in 2026
Malaysia’s fintech ecosystem has entered a scale‑up phase, with more than 500 firms—about 400 actively operating—across payments, e‑wallets, lending and digital wealth. The central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, has launched five fully licensed digital banks and introduced the RENTAS+ 24/7...
Zoth and Bakkt Forge Strategic Partnership to Scale Compliant Stablecoin Payments Across Emerging Markets
Zoth, a privacy‑first stablecoin neobank, and Bakkt, a regulated digital‑asset infrastructure firm, have signed an MOU to create a compliant stablecoin payment pipeline for enterprise money‑transfer operators. The deal makes Zoth an Authorized Agent under Bakkt’s U.S. licensing stack, giving...
Reem Finance Transforms Into Reem Bank Following Landmark Community Banking Licence Approval
Reem Finance has been re‑licensed as Reem Bank, becoming the United Arab Emirates’ first institution to receive a community banking licence from the Central Bank of the UAE. The new bank operates under Judan Financial Holding, the financial arm of...
The Rise of Agentic Finance
The fintech landscape in the United States is moving toward an agentic economy where AI agents not only assist but actually execute financial transactions. At Stripe Sessions 2026 the company announced over 280 AI‑native product launches, including agent wallets and...
Fintech Landscape in the Caribbean: Dominica in 2026
Dominica’s fintech ecosystem remains modest, with fewer than a dozen active firms focused on bank‑led digital banking, credit‑union upgrades and niche payment solutions. The island relies on the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s regional infrastructure, including the DCash central‑bank digital currency...
Albania’s Fintech and Wider Digital Landscape in 2026
Albania is transitioning from basic digitisation to a fintech architecture that includes open banking, SEPA membership, and an instant‑payment system. The Bank of Albania granted its first open‑banking licence in November 2024 and saw the first PIS transactions in early 2025,...
Fuutura Responds to IMF Stablecoin Concerns with Compliance-First Infrastructure for Emerging Markets
The IMF’s April 2026 Global Financial Stability Report warned that cross‑border stablecoin flows to emerging economies surged from roughly $12 billion in early 2020 to $316 billion by early 2025, outpacing Bitcoin and Ethereum. It cautioned that unchecked growth could spur currency...
CFI Advances Latin America Expansion with New Brazil Central Bank License
CFI Financial Group has secured regulatory authorization from Brazil’s central bank, allowing it to operate as a fully licensed securities brokerage (Corretora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários). The new license gives Brazilian investors direct access to equities and fixed‑income securities...
Lebanon and Its Fintech Ecosystem Developments in 2026
In 2026 Lebanon’s fintech sector remains small but increasingly active, pivoting around digital wallets, payment processors and merchant‑enablement platforms. The central bank’s January 2026 Basic Circular formalised licensing for electronic payment service providers, giving the market a regulatory backbone. Players...
OwlTing Launches Self-Custody Wallet to Bring Regulated Stablecoin Payments to AI Agents
OwlTing Group has launched the OwlPay Agent Wallet, a self‑custody digital wallet that lets AI assistants send, receive and manage stablecoins on behalf of users. The wallet operates on Ethereum, Stellar and Solana and stores private keys locally on the...
Slightly Emerging Yet Stagnant: The Fintech Ecosystem of Cuba
Cuba’s fintech ecosystem remains tiny and state‑driven, with fewer than ten identifiable initiatives, most of which are extensions of government banking or payment platforms. Digital wallets such as Transfermóvil and EnZona have modestly expanded, driven by cash shortages, inflation and...
Sharjah Media City Taps Fintech Ziina to Accelerate Digital Payments for SMEs
Sharjah Media City (Shams) has signed a partnership with UAE fintech Ziina to provide digital payment tools for small‑and‑medium enterprises operating in the free‑zone. The collaboration gives Shams businesses access to a mobile‑first platform that lets them send, receive and...
GITEX AI Kazakhstan Opens Doors to Global Tech Leaders in Almaty
The inaugural GITEX AI Kazakhstan wrapped up its first day in Almaty, billed as the region’s largest AI‑first technology, startup and digital investment event. Hosted by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development with Astana Hub and the Akimat...
Zest ADGM Appoints Zeid Barghouti as Senior Executive Officer to Scale Private Market Infrastructure
Zest Equity has promoted Zeid Barghouti to Senior Executive Officer of its FSRA‑regulated arm, Zest ADGM, while he continues to lead business development and partnerships. The Abu Dhabi Global Market‑based entity now holds FSRA authorization to deliver Zest Arrange and...
Finance Magnates Prepares for Inaugural Singapore Summit
Finance Magnates is expanding its global event platform to APAC with the inaugural FM Singapore Summit, scheduled for May 12‑14, 2026 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. The three‑day gathering will host retail and prime brokers, banks, hedge funds,...
Ctrl Alt Launches First Tokenized Structured Product on Solana, Placing Over $400m On-Chain
Ctrl Alt, a tokenisation infrastructure provider, has launched its first tokenised structured product on the Solana blockchain, placing over $400 million in on‑chain assets. The product is backed by yield‑bearing assets sourced from a regulated UK financial services firm and was...
The Fintech Landscape of Central America: Costa Rica in 2026
By 2026 Costa Rica has cemented its position as the most mature fintech market in Central America, with an economy of roughly $90 billion and a per‑capita GDP of $17,000. The sector comprises about 120 fintech firms spanning payments, lending, wealthtech...
XBTO Launches Digital Asset Allocator to Help Institutions Model Multi-Asset Portfolios
XBTO, a global digital‑asset investment firm, has released the XBTO Digital Asset Allocator, an institutional‑grade tool that lets investors model multi‑asset portfolios containing equities, fixed income, direct Bitcoin exposure and actively managed crypto strategies. The platform draws on historical data...
BridgeWise Taps X’s ‘Everything App’ Data to Deliver Institutional-Grade Social Sentiment
BridgeWise, a leader in AI‑driven wealth analytics, has struck a strategic partnership with X to feed the platform’s real‑time social data into its proprietary SentimentWise engine. The integration ingests roughly 1.75 million finance‑focused X posts each day, applying BridgeWise’s S‑Factor framework...
Temenos Widens Cloud Banking Offering with AWS Expansion and FAB Saudi Arabia Project
Temenos announced an expanded SaaS suite on Amazon Web Services that now includes digital banking and payments alongside its core banking platform. The new model lets banks adopt individual components or a full‑stack solution, offering flexibility for varied modernization strategies....
The Fintech Ecosystem of Mauritania in 2026
Mauritania’s fintech sector remains modest but is gaining momentum as of 2026, with roughly 20 active players concentrated on mobile‑money, payments and remittances. The nation’s $12 billion economy, driven by iron ore, fisheries and emerging offshore gas, is seeing the central...
Mortgage Brain Launches AI Charter to Combat Hidden Data Risks in Broker Tech
Mortgage Brain has unveiled its first AI Charter, establishing formal standards for building, governing, and deploying artificial intelligence within the heavily regulated mortgage sector. The charter targets hidden data risks by ensuring client information stays within Mortgage Brain’s own infrastructure...
MoneyGram and Stellar Mark Five-Year Partnership with Stablecoin Expansion Across LATAM
MoneyGram and Stellar have marked the fifth anniversary of their partnership by expanding stablecoin‑backed remittance services across additional Latin American markets, including El Salvador. The new features let recipients hold, spend, or cash out stablecoins directly through MoneyGram’s extensive retail...
Bahrain’s ARP Digital Yes Dubai Expansion with VARA Broker-Dealer Approval
Bahrain‑based ARP Digital secured in‑principle approval from the UAE’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to operate as a broker‑dealer in Dubai. The move comes as Dubai’s virtual‑asset market surged to roughly AED 2.5 trillion (about $680 billion) in 2025. ARP, founded by Kanoo...
Finova Creates 50 New Roles with Launch of Manchester Hub as AI Adoption Fuels Growth
Finova has opened a new office in Manchester, creating 50 new roles with half already filled, as part of a strategic expansion driven by its AI‑enabled platform. The hub will house developers, engineers and apprenticeships to advance its lending, broker...
Monument Technology Lands Castle Trust Bank in Major Platform Deal
Monument Technology announced a partnership with UK‑regulated Castle Trust Bank to migrate the bank’s entire savings business onto its cloud‑native Banking Platform as a Service (BPaaS). The migration, which includes core banking, payments and customer channels, is already underway and...
KnowBe4 Taps Flywire to Transform Global Invoice-to-Cash Operations
KnowBe4 has signed a three‑year agreement with Flywire to serve as its preferred partner for global accounts receivable and cross‑border payments. The integration will automate the entire invoice‑to‑cash cycle, handling over 140 currencies in more than 240 markets and processing...
IFAST Global Bank Pioneers Open Banking v4.0 Transition with Ozone API
iFAST Global Bank completed a full migration to the UK Open Banking Standard version 4.0 in January 2026, leveraging a strategic partnership with Ozone API. The upgrade aligns the bank with ISO 20022 messaging, the FAPI 1.0 Advanced security profile, and new transparency...
Ecommpay Report Reveals Three ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ About E-Commerce Fraud
Global payments platform Ecommpay released the first part of its report “Beyond the Black Box: Why human‑centric fraud demands ecosystem‑wide transformation.” The study, based on interviews with fraud, compliance and regulatory experts, identifies three uncomfortable truths: current fraud prevention creates...
Fintech Landscape in the Caribbean: Barbados in 2026
Barbados is repositioning its modest $7 billion economy around a regulated, innovation‑driven fintech ecosystem. With internet penetration above 90% and a population under 300,000, the government and Central Bank of Barbados are rolling out digital infrastructure, including the BiMPay instant payment...
Cardiff Proptech Openmoove Secures £700k to Streamline UK Property Transactions
Cardiff‑based proptech startup openmoove has closed a £700,000 (~$870,000) equity round led by the Development Bank of Wales and venture firm HAATCH. The capital will be used to scale its B2B platform that links estate agents, conveyancers and mortgage brokers...
Tamara Taps Lean Technologies’ Open Banking to Boost Credit Approvals by 32%
Tamara, Saudi Arabia's leading buy‑now‑pay‑later platform, has teamed up with Lean Technologies to tap the firm’s Open Banking data. The integration gives Tamara real‑time insight into borrowers' income and cash flow, enabling more accurate risk assessment. As a result, overall...
Zeller Enters UK Market to Challenge Legacy SME Payments and Save Merchants £5.2bn
Australian fintech Zeller has entered the UK market, offering an integrated payments and financial services platform to the country’s 5.7 million SMEs. The launch follows a study indicating £22.7 billion (≈$28 billion) of payments are at risk due to legacy checkout friction, and...
Wirex Shatters Records as Fastest-Growing Stablecoin Payments Infrastructure
Wirex’s Banking‑as‑a‑Service platform hit $1 billion annualised on‑chain stablecoin volume in just 131 days, shattering the previous record of 276 days set by RedotPay. The platform processed $105 million in on‑chain card volume in March, a 34% month‑over‑month increase, and has logged...
The Fintech Landscape of the Middle East: Kuwait in 2026
By 2026 Kuwait is leveraging its oil wealth to accelerate a digital financial transformation under Vision 2035. The Central Bank of Kuwait has rolled out a regulatory sandbox, open‑banking standards and is studying a CBDC, while national payment network KNET fuels...
Accelerate AI Transformation: Huawei Unveils 4-Win Model to Empower Financial Institutions
During its Global Financial EcoWeek in Dongguan, Huawei introduced a 4‑Win collaboration model and an upgraded RONGHAI program to help banks move AI from pilot projects to core operations. The model orchestrates Huawei’s ICT backbone, independent software vendors’ vertical AI...
In Profile: John O’Connor CEO, RealFi
RealFi, led by CEO John O’Connor, is building USDr, a yield‑bearing stablecoin that derives returns from real‑world credit and fixed‑income assets rather than volatile crypto markets. The firm has spent the past year forging credit‑origination partnerships, refining a diversified risk...
Stancer Kicks Off European Expansion with Strategic Launch in Italy
Stancer, a French‑origin digital payments fintech, announced its entry into Italy, appointing Alberto Rescigno as general manager to lead market launch and team building. The move taps a cashless market that has processed over $545 bn since 2015 and generated $19.3 bn...
Off-Channel, Out of Control: Why WhatsApp Is a Compliance Blind Spot for Financial Services
WhatsApp is now a primary channel for financial‑services communication, but regulators’ record‑keeping rules were never built for consumer messaging apps. In the United States, more than 60 firms have been hit with over $3 billion in fines for failing to capture...
When A Supplier Becomes a Hidden Cost Centre
A company lost roughly 3% of its turnover after a supplier fraud scheme exploited a manual IBAN change during an ERP migration. An insider tipped off a hacker, who impersonated a legitimate vendor and redirected payments to fraudulent accounts. The...
The Fintech Landscape of Kazakhstan in 2026
Kazakhstan’s 2026 fintech landscape marks a decisive shift from a resource‑driven economy to a digital‑first financial hub. The Digital Kazakhstan strategy has pushed internet penetration above 90%, while the Astana International Financial Centre offers an English‑common‑law regulatory framework that attracts...
Accounting Moves to the Age of the Agent with Xero & Anthropic Partnership.
Xero and Anthropic have signed a multi‑year deal to embed the Claude large‑language model into Xero’s global small‑business platform. The integration introduces the JAX superagent, letting users complete payroll, payments and tax tasks through natural‑language chat. By leveraging Claude’s reasoning,...
You Say You Want a (Payments) Revolution
The article argues that the next payments revolution is being driven by AI, not just hype around stablecoins or agentic payments. While stablecoins are gaining interest for faster, cheaper cross‑border transfers, adoption stalls without trusted, institutional infrastructure and clear regulation....
Taranis Capital and Emaar Executive Company Partner to Build Next-Gen Data Centres in Saudi Arabia
Taranis Capital Limited, a DFSA‑regulated investment firm based in the DIFC, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Emaar Executive Company (EEC) to develop, build and operate a portfolio of carrier‑neutral data‑centre campuses across Saudi Arabia. The facilities are planned...