Exclusive: Plaid CTO Talks AI Strategy, New Foundational Model to Power Next Phase of ‘Intelligent Finance’
Plaid announced a new transactional foundational AI model, built in‑house from its de‑identified financial data, to power what it calls “intelligent finance.” CTO Will Robinson said the model moves Plaid beyond open‑finance connectivity toward smarter, personalized transaction insights and tighter fraud detection. The system is designed for financial‑specific tasks and will interoperate with major AI providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Mistral. Early production tests show improved fraud‑risk scoring and more accurate transaction categorization, with a staged rollout already underway.
Okay, So You've Got a Stablecoin…
In a recent episode of This Week in Fintech, Paxos Labs CEO Bhau Kotecha outlined the firm’s vision for stablecoins and tokenized finance. He noted that enterprises typically enter crypto by integrating stablecoins for payments or enabling crypto trading, then...
🎙️ Ep 19: Why Building a Global Venmo with Stablecoins Is Still Hard W/ Mike Hudack (Sling)
The Money Code episode with Sling’s Mike Hudack explains why building a global Venmo‑style app with stablecoins remains challenging. While stablecoins provide a unified ledger that eases cross‑border transfers, the real work lies in local on‑ramps, identity verification, fraud prevention,...
LayerZero Launches “Zero” L1 (MC 2/12)
LayerZero Labs unveiled "Zero," a new Layer‑1 blockchain designed as a multi‑core world computer for institutional on‑chain markets. The network decouples execution from verification via zero‑knowledge proofs and the Jolt framework, promising up to 2 million transactions per second per zone...
🎙️ Ep 18: Can Stablecoins Keep Deposits in Banks? W/ Cooper Thompson (Fiserv)
The Money Code episode explores how stablecoins reshape the placement of bank reserves, turning them into a funding mechanism rather than just a payment rail. Cooper Thompson argues that without a new fiat‑layer design, community banks risk being bypassed as...
Y Combinator Says That Startups Will Now Be Able to Receive Their Funding in Stablecoins
Y Combinator announced that, beginning with its Spring 2026 batch, startups can elect to receive the standard $500,000 investment in USDC stablecoins instead of cash. The option, driven by founder demand and the accelerator’s view of evolving financial infrastructure, aims...
Slice Raises $25M Series A Led By Insight Partners For AI-Powered Global Equity Compliance
Slice Global Equity announced a $25 million Series A round led by Insight Partners, bringing its total capital to $32 million since its December 2022 launch. The New‑York‑based SaaS platform uses proprietary AI agents to embed multi‑jurisdiction tax and legal rules into equity grant,...
Brazilian Startup Revena Raises $8M Seed to Automate Medical Billing in Hospitals
São Paulo‑based startup Revena announced an $8 million seed round, led by Canary with participation from Flourish Ventures and Caravela Capital. The company’s AI agents transform clinical records into accurate medical bills, shrinking processing time from 18 hours to about 20 minutes. Deployed...
🎙️ Ep 16: Stablecoins Make Global Expansion a Single Integration W/ João Del Valle (EBANX)
The Money Code episode with João Del Valle of EBANX frames stablecoins as an “always‑on” interoperability layer that lets payment service providers (PSPs) add global coverage with a single integration. By routing around fragmented domestic rails, stablecoins can reduce prefunding and settlement...
The Architects: Regulation as a Competitive Advantage in Fintech
Fintech innovators are learning that proactive regulatory engagement can be a competitive edge, as discussed in a This Week in Fintech podcast with former NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris and AIR CEO Jo Ann Barefoot. Harris outlines a two‑track modernization that...
Exclusive: Gusto Launching Payroll Inside ChatGPT
Gusto announced that its payroll platform is now available as an app inside ChatGPT, letting eligible small‑business customers run payroll through natural‑language conversations. The integration uses OAuth so passwords never touch OpenAI, and only payroll admins can authorize actions. Initially...
Consumer Credit Cards in 2026: Opportunities and Threats in a Complex Landscape
The U.S. consumer credit‑card market remains robust, with purchase volume reaching $6.136 trillion in 2024, a 5.3% year‑over‑year rise, and outstanding receivables climbing to $1.346 trillion, up 7.9%. Federal Reserve data shows balances at $1.23 trillion in Q3 2025, surpassing pre‑pandemic levels as households...
Is the Sword of Damocles About to Drop Again? (TWIF - China 1/15)
Chinese regulators have launched an antitrust investigation into Trip.com ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush, warning of fines ranging from 1% to 10% of last year’s revenue. The move underscores Beijing’s continued scrutiny of domestic big‑tech firms despite...
🎙️ Ep 14: Stablecoins Are Cheaper, Merchants Don’t Care
The Money Code episode with José Fernández Da Ponte explains that stablecoins are cheaper for moving money, but merchants care more about incremental revenue than processing cost. Adoption is thriving in corporate treasury, B2B, and capital‑market use cases where 24/7 settlement...
Startup Investment Bounced Back (TWIF - Africa 01/12)
African fintech activity rebounded this week as Morocco‑based Woliz closed a $2.2 million round to digitise neighbourhood retail, while continent‑wide venture capital reached a new $3.2 billion milestone for 2025. Kenyan MPs launched an inquiry into Safaricom’s $1 billion Mpesa stake sale to...
