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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
It’s the first week of summer, and fintech is heating up. We’ll continue adding news to this post throughout the week, so stay tuned!
Payments
Open payments platform Spreedlyunveils a strategic enhancement to its platform via integration of Just-In-Time Card Updates for Visa Cards powered by Visa Account Updater (VAU).
AI-powered conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs) Eltropylaunches its Collections 2.0 Suite to help CFIs manage rising delinquency rates.
Banking technology company Thought Machinepartners with technology services provider DXC Technology.
SAP Taulia and PayMate partner to enhance payment flexibility for businesses.
Fraud and security
Financial crime compliance company ThetaRayteams up with East African financial services group, I&M Group PLC.
iDenfypartners with MN2S Label Services to enhance the identity verification process.
Wealth management and financial advisory
AI-driven financial planning and advice platform Quinnemerges from stealth with $11 million in seed funding.
Finovate Best of Show winner Trust & WilllaunchesEstateOS, an intelligent platform for modern legacy planning.
Crypto and DeFi
Automated reconciliation and financial control solutions company AutoRekintroduces its data management and reconciliation platform for cryptocurrencies and digital assets, Mion.
NetGuardians and Intix have merged to form Vyntra, a new company focused on unifying transaction observability and financial crime prevention for banks and financial institutions.
Vyntra will deliver real-time transaction intelligence to help over 130 financial institutions across 60+ countries detect fraud, ensure AML compliance, and resolve payment issues before they impact customers.
Vyntra aims to strengthen operational resilience and support instant payments by offering a more transparent, secure, and intelligent financial infrastructure.
Fraud and risk protection company NetGuardians is joining forces with financial messaging platform Intix. The two announced this week that they have merged to form Vyntra, which aims to bring transaction intelligence to financial institutions.
Vyntra combines NetGuardians’ expertise in financial crime prevention with Intix’s transaction observability. Vyntra will help its more than 130 financial institution clients in 60+ countries receive real-time intelligence about their customers based on their transactions.
“Vyntra represents a new chapter—not just for us, but for the financial institutions we serve,” said Vyntra CEO and former Group CEO of both Intix and NetGuardians Joël Winteregg. “Whether it’s monitoring transactions and payment flows, ensuring anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, or detecting fraud as it happens, Vyntra unifies transaction observability and financial crime prevention under one roof. Our mission is simple: to help financial institutions navigate complexity with clarity and protect the integrity of every transaction.”
Vyntra is launching at a time when financial institutions need real-time, full observability of transactions to enhance compliance, reduce risk, and strengthen operational resilience. The company will leverage fraud prevention, AML compliance, and transaction observability to help financial institutions see, secure, and optimize every transaction in real time. The intelligence will also help firms protect instant payment networks and detect and resolve payment issues before they impact customers.
“The merger of NetGuardians and Intix was designed to support a safer and more transparent financial system,” said Gisle Glück Evensen, Partner at Summa Equity. “Now, as Vyntra, this vision becomes a reality. We’re proud to support the team as they lead the way in transaction observability and financial crime prevention.”
Switzerland-based NetGuardians offers tools to help companies reduce payment and internal fraud and monitor transactions to meet AML requirements. The company also provides its own NetGuardians Community Scoring and Intelligence service that generates actionable insights to help firms expand their risk signals.
The GENIUS Act passed in the US Senate yesterday with a 68 to 30 vote. The bill now moves to the House, where it’s up against the STABLE Act. This means that the House will need to choose between passing the GENIUS Act at face value or passing and reconciling the STABLE Act.
For financial services, the GENIUS Act is a big deal. That’s because it is not only the first stablecoin legislation to gain real bipartisan traction, but it will also serve as a foundation for the US to begin a digital asset ecosystem. Overall, there are four major implications the bill has on banks.
Stablecoins gain legitimacy and clarity
As a decentralized finance tool, stablecoins have long been grouped together with their crypto cousin bitcoin. Because of this, many traditional financial institutions in the US have shied away from associating themselves with stablecoins.
The GENIUS Act, however, offers both banks and fintechs a clearer legal framework to issue and use stablecoins since it outlines requirements for licensing, reserves, and oversight. Having regulation on their side reduces regulatory uncertainty and will encourage financial institutions to adopt the new payments tool and leverage stablecoins for new use cases. Reducing ambiguity around compliance and risk will also benefit firms exploring tokenization.
Banks may face new competition from Special Purpose Depository Institutions
The Senate version of the bill includes a controversial provision allowing Special Purpose Depository Institutions (SPDIs), such as Kraken, to operate across US states without the approval of each host state’s banking regulator.
If the bill is successful, it will allow fintechs with SPDI licenses to gain a regulatory shortcut because they do not need to comply with capital and liquidity requirements. This may erode the role of traditional banks in certain payment and custody markets and may not be a positive change.
“That is a pretty significant expansion of special purpose depository institutions,” Klaros Group Partner Michele Alt told American Banker. “I would ask, what else could you create as a special depository institution? How could this be used?”
Notably, however, even though the bill has passed through the Senate, the House’s version of the stablecoin bill doesn’t include a similar provision. This means that if the bill does pass through the House, the House and the Senate will need to convene for a conference to come to an agreement.
Rising expectations for real-time money movement
While consumers already expect many things in real-time, the GENIUS Act adds more pressure for banks and fintechs to deliver faster, more programmable payments. The bill will enable regulated stablecoins and essentially facilitate real-time settlement, 24/7 money movement, and programmable financial interactions.
This method of funds transfer won’t rely on traditional rails like ACH, wires, or even FedNow. If end users and businesses get accustomed to real-time, programmable payments, their expectations may be permanently shifted, requiring banks to keep up.
This adjustment would be tricky for banks, as many would need to invest in infrastructure that supports tokenized payments, smart contracts, and on-chain compliance.
Banks need to stay agile
If the House does not pass the GENIUS Act, it can advance its own bill in the form of the STABLE Act or negotiate a compromise. Either way, regulatory change is clearly in motion. Banks and fintechs should closely monitor the developments and begin scenario planning now. Whether it’s the GENIUS Act, the STABLE Act, or a hybrid outcome, stablecoin regulation is on the horizon. Those who prepare early will be best positioned to compete in a tokenized financial future.
Grifin raised $11 million in Series A funding to grow its investing app that allows users to invest where they shop, bringing its total funding to $20 million.
The app uses Adaptive Investing to automatically invest $1 per purchase into companies users buy from, helping them build daily investing habits.
Grifin targets underserved investors, especially women ages 40 to 60.
Approachable investing app Grifin announced that it raised $11 million this week to help users invest where they shop. The Series A funding round, which brings the company’s total raised to $20 million, was led by Nava Ventures with participation from TTV, Draper Associates, Gaingels, Nevcaut Ventures, and Alloy Labs.
Grifin will use today’s funding to hire employees, partner with HR platforms and consumer brands, build family plans, and build out more tools and experiences to add to the app.
“We are thrilled to partner with Grifin in their mission to make investing fit into the daily lives of people across the country,” said Freddie Martignetti, Partner at Nava Ventures. “With more than 178 million uninvested Americans, Grifin has the potential to make a remarkably positive impact by helping their app users lay the foundation for long-term wealth building.”
Martignetti will join Grifin’s Board of Directors.
Grifin was founded in 2017 to make investing fun by allowing shoppers to invest in a portion of the brands they purchase from. The company removes complexity and fear associated with investing by building an investment portfolio based on the consumer’s purchasing habits. Grifin automatically transfers $1 for every transaction the user makes during the week, then invests the funds into their portfolio that is comprised of companies from which the user purchases. Grifin calls this approach Adaptive Investing.
With Adaptive Investing, Grifin creates a dynamic investment portfolio that is uniquely personalized to the user and their everyday habits. As the user’s shopping habits change, Grifin adapts the portfolio. The company also offers users full control on how much and in which companies they invest, allowing them to block companies and manually adjust their investment amount.
“We have always believed that investing should be positive and fun. Where it doesn’t feel like a second job, it simply feels like second nature,” said Grifin CEO and Cofounder Aaron Froug. “Unlike traditional investing, Grifin instills confidence through action and connection. Our goal with Grifin is to build daily investment habits, different mindsets and change the relationship people have with the brands they love. This new funding enables us the fuel to scale a product that’s already proven its power to increase investing habits in a whole new way.”
Grifin is targeting the 86% of Americans that don’t directly own any stock, and says that its primary investor group is women between the ages of 40 and 60. The company has added 500,000 registered users and has seen more than 100,000 new app installs in the last month alone.
Grifin differs from investing companies like Acorns by focusing on emotional connection and brand loyalty rather than rounding up spare change. While Acorns emphasizes passive micro-investing based on leftover change, Grifin actively builds a portfolio based on where users actually shop, which turns consumer behavior into their personalized investment strategy. This approach not only builds financial habits but also helps users feel more connected to their investments, making the process more engaging and meaningful.
Grammarly is partnering with Gr4vy to streamline its checkout experience using no-code, cloud-based payment infrastructure, giving it access to 400+ payment service providers without requiring custom integrations.
The move reduces development time, lowers transaction costs, and improves approval rates, while also automating recurring billing and maintaining PCI compliance.
This partnership highlights a growing trend of software companies using modular payment orchestration to boost agility, conversion, and retention.
Payments infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) company Gr4vy announced today that AI writing assistance platform Grammarly has selected to use it to enhance its checkout experience. Grammarly will use Gr4vy’s no-code cloud system to create bespoke checkout experiences for its users.
Gr4vy will offer Grammarly access to multiple payment service providers (PSPs) without having to directly integrate them into its checkout. This will not only save Grammarly time in the form of development and maintenance, but it will also allow the company to select from the more than 400 different PSPs in Gr4vy’s network. Eliminating the need for Grammarly to use custom-built PSP connections will lower transaction costs, increase approval rates, and speed up time-to-market.
“Grammarly’s decision to use our platform is a testament to the simplicity and flexibility we offer, as well as our ability to deliver efficient and scalable solutions that will drive customer growth and retention,” said Gr4vy’s Founder and CEO John Lunn. “We are thrilled to empower Grammarly with the flexibility it needs to optimize payment processes while focusing on its core mission of helping people and teams do their best work.”
Gr4vy is cloud-native, PCI Level 1-compliant, and enables merchants to set up dedicated instances in specific regions to improve transaction speed and comply with data localization laws. Founded in 2020, the company provides businesses access to a range of PSPs, offers anti-fraud tools, and helps payment service providers optimize their payment stack without the need for IT expertise. In 2022, the California-based company was awarded Top Emerging Fintech Company at the Finovate Awards. Earlier this year, Gr4vy partnered with bike manufacturer Trek to power an online-to-offline payment experience and offer consumers accurate inventory checks and simplified checkout.
In addition to leveraging Gr4vy’s PSP network, Grammarly will also use the payment fintech’s hosted payment fields to securely collect sensitive card data and ensure PCI compliance. Additionally, Grammarly will use Gr4vy’s Account Updater to handle recurring billing transactions efficiently, automating the management of expired cards and ensuring uninterrupted subscription service.
Today’s payments partnership mirrors a broader trend of software companies embracing modular, cloud-native infrastructure to stay agile. When creating a frictionless user experience is paramount and when recurring revenue models are increasingly common, enabling payments orchestration can directly impact conversion rates and retention. The partnership is a good example of how smart payment orchestration is evolving from an operational function into a strategic advantage.
Stablecoins are blowing up the financial ecosystem. They are quickly evolving from a crypto-native concept into a mainstream financial tool. As proof, we saw news last week that major retailers Walmart and Amazon are exploring leveraging their own stablecoins.
If retailers are jumping onto the stablecoin bandwagon, should your firm or fintech be considering doing so, too? To answer that, let’s take a look at the benefits of leveraging proprietary stablecoins. We’ll consider Amazon’s and Walmart’s possible strategy and discuss pros and cons of doing so.
Walmart
Walmart filed a patent for a USD-backed digital currency in 2019. The retailer would use the stablecoin for internal settlement, supply chain payments, employee payroll, and in-store consumer purchases. As an additional benefit of leveraging stablecoins, Walmart would be able to provide a direct-to-consumer financial product geared toward underbanked customers that would offer a low-fee, efficient alternative to traditional banking.
Amazon
While not officially confirmed, Amazon has also explored blockchain-based payments. The Wall Street Journal revealed (paywall) that Amazon has listed job postings hinting at its crypto ambitions. The retailer could use stablecoins to power consumer incentives such as rewards programs, marketplace settlements, and cross-border payments.
Benefits of stablecoin usage
Both retailers have massive internal ecosystems that stand to benefit by reducing interchange fees by eliminating or reducing third-party payment processing fees from traditional players such as Visa and Mastercard. They would also benefit from the real-time settlement that stablecoins offer, which would save costs on both sides of the transaction. Additionally, stablecoins could foster more loyalty if customers are incentivized by rewards built into stablecoin usage. Control would be another benefit, as stablecoins could offer retailers full control over the payment rail and user data, and they could leverage stablecoins to enhance fraud detection efforts and improve analytics.
It is worth noting that neither retailer has officially announced plans to issue a stablecoin, as that hinges on the passage of the Genius Act, which, if passed, would offer a regulatory framework for stablecoins.
Should you issue your own stablecoin?
These benefits sound appealing, but does all of this mean that your firm should launch its own stablecoin? The answer is likely, “no,” but here are three major things to consider before launching your own.
1) What is your use case?
If your business processes a high volume of payments or regularly encounters steep interchange fees, issuing a stablecoin could help lower transaction costs. For companies that move money across borders or between vendors, stablecoins offer the advantage of near-instant settlement. And for consumer-facing businesses that offer rewards or loyalty programs, stablecoins present an opportunity to merge loyalty and payment into a single, seamless digital currency.
2) What is your level of consumer trust?
If customers already trust you with financial transactions or stored value (such as gift cards or mobile wallet accounts), you may already have the trust foundation needed to support a proprietary token. Additionally, you’ll need some sort of ecosystem that facilitates spending, saving, and earning that customers trust and frequently engage with in order to facilitate stablecoin transactions.
3) Are you prepared for regulatory implications?
Firms with skilled, in-house blockchain capabilities are best poised to succeed when it comes to launching their own stablecoin. Make sure you have resources in place to engage with regulators on stablecoin licensing, AML/KYC, and reserve requirements and that you can support one-to-one asset backing.
Alternatives to issuing
As with many things in financial services, the majority of firms will have more success partnering with an existing stablecoin provider when it comes to leveraging stablecoins. If your firm can’t rationalize issuing your own stablecoin using the framework above, consider working with established issuers like Circle, which issues USDC, or Paxos, which issues PYUSD, or another alternative. This will reduce development cost and time, eliminate legal requirements, and reduce operational costs. It can also facilitate a faster time-to-market without the need to build infrastructure or receive regulatory approvals.
Alternatively, offer multi-stablecoin support by enabling wallet use for USDC, PYUSD, or other popular stablecoins. Leveraging this existing infrastructure can help reduce risk while still reaping the benefits of stablecoin usage.
Autobooks is launching Autobooks Capital, a short-term working capital tool embedded directly into its platform and powered by Fundbox.
The embedded lending experience helps financial institutions retain small business clients by offering fast, flexible funding without requiring third-party apps or extra accounts.
By partnering with Fundbox, Autobooks is enabling over 2,000 financial institutions to deliver capital access seamlessly inside their digital banking platforms.
Small businesses often face a frustrating gap between sending an invoice and getting paid. Payment and accounting platform Autobooks is seeking to change that with the launch of Autobooks Capital, a funding product embedded within the Autobooks platform. The new short-term working capital tool is powered by embedded capital infrastructure provider Fundbox.
With fast underwriting, competitive rates, and flexible repayment options, Autobooks Capital is designed to complement traditional lending programs by helping small businesses access working capital. By embedding Fundbox’s funding tools directly into its platform, Autobooks enables financial institutions to retain customers, compete with alternative lenders, and serve as the primary operating hub for small business clients.
“While Fintech 1.0 tried to sidestep financial institutions, we believe that working with banks where small businesses already manage their finances is critical to addressing the trillion-dollar SMB capital opportunity,” said Fundbox CEO Prashant Fuloria.
Teaming up with Fundbox will allow Autobooks to offer flexible funding directly within its platform without redirecting the borrower or requiring extra accounts. By placing Autobooks Capital within the Autobooks product suite, the company is able to offer small business owners working capital right when and where they need it. Autobooks’ product suite also includes digital invoicing, payment acceptance, automated bookkeeping, and financial reporting.
The embedded aspect of Autobooks Capital is key. Embedding lending tools directly into digital banking platforms helps turn lending products into seamless, context-aware experiences. Instead of sending small businesses to third-party lenders or apps, Autobooks Capital meets business owners where they already manage cash flow tasks such as invoicing, payments, and bookkeeping.
“The launch of Autobooks Capital gives financial institutions a powerful new way to support small business growth with fast, flexible funding, delivered right inside digital banking,” said Autobooks CEO Steve Robert. “By partnering with Fundbox and leveraging our distribution network of over 2,000 financial institutions, we’re embedding capital access directly into the banking experience—in a way that complements and does not compete with financial institutions. It’s seamless, intuitive, and built to help bridge short-term cash flow gaps for small businesses.”
Founded in 2013, Fundbox is a digital-first provider of capital infrastructure for small businesses. Its platform enables customers to seamlessly embed financial tools into their own user experiences. To date, Fundbox has helped over 150,000 small businesses access more than $6 billion in capital.
With more than 2,000 financial institutions in its distribution network, Autobooks is well-positioned to scale this offering rapidly. As embedded finance continues to mature, embedded products like Autobooks Capital will be a successful way for small businesses to access capital from inside their banking app.
Autobooks was founded in 2015 and now serves more than 60,000 small businesses with a range of tools including digital payment acceptance, online invoicing, online enrollment, accounting, bookkeeping, financial reporting, billpay, and now lending. The company white labels its technology to firms including TD Bank, Alkami, Bottomline, CSI, FIS, JackHenry, NCR, and Q2.
Coinbase announced plans to launch Coinbase Business, a crypto operating account designed to help small businesses send, receive, and manage crypto payments with no fees.
The platform offers instant settlements, high-yield USDC savings of up to 4.1% APY, and integrations with QuickBooks and Xero to streamline crypto-powered financial workflows.
With this move, Coinbase enters the commercial crypto space, competing with Circle and Fireblocks.
Crypto exchange platform and wallet Coinbase is expanding its horizons into the business world. The California-based company revealed plans to launchCoinbase Business, a crypto operating account that small businesses can use to manage payments, crypto assets, and automated payouts.
“At Coinbase, we’ve spent over a decade building the trusted foundation for the cryptoeconomy to increase economic freedom around the world,” the company announced on its blog. “Now, we’re bringing that same security, scale, and compliance to everyday businesses with Coinbase Business—a modern financial stack built with the speed and scale of crypto.”
The new, fee-free accounts will allow businesses to benefit from the fast, borderless, and low-cost aspects of transacting in crypto and stablecoins. Coinbase built its Business accounts to streamline financial workflows and create a single place for businesses to send and receive payments, manage crypto assets, and automate payouts.
Coinbase Business is designed for startups managing global contractors, ecommerce companies accepting stablecoin payments, DAOs distributing tokens, or service providers working with clients in emerging markets. With automated USDC payouts and integration with QuickBooks and Xero, Coinbase is allowing businesses to leverage crypto as not just an investment tool, but also use it as a part of their working capital infrastructure.
Among the features of Coinbase Business are: crypto payments with instant settlements, no delays, and no chargebacks; the ability to buy, sell, and exchange crypto directly from the business account; high interest savings of up to 4.1% APY earned on USDC; simplified onboarding; and streamlined accounting with reconciliation into QuickBooks and Xero.
Coinbase’s entrance into the commercial space highlights a growing interest that small businesses have shown in crypto infrastructure. As traditional banking systems remain slow, expensive, and siloed across regions, crypto can serve as an alternative for faster money movement, especially across borders. With Coinbase Business, companies can avoid high foreign exchange fees, streamline vendor payments, and integrate crypto into day-to-day operations without needing specialized knowledge.
The launch places Coinbase in competition with other crypto-native business tools like Circle’s USDC treasury services, Fireblocks, and even legacy fintech platforms that are starting to explore stablecoins. Coinbase, however, can differentiate itself with its built-in user base, regulatory compliance, and direct access to a deep liquidity pool via its exchange.
Klarna and Marqeta are launching a new debit card powered by Visa Flexible Credential (VFC), allowing users to pay now or later with the same card.
The Klarna Card marks a shift from BNPL-only into mainstream payments, which supports consumers’ demand for flexible, app-connected spending tools.
The launch supports Klarna’s pre-IPO growth strategy, which includes partnerships with Clover and Walmart as the company continues to mull its public debut.
BNPL giant Klarna has teamed up with card issuing platform Marqeta to power the Klarna Card: a new debit card powered by Visa Flexible Credential (VFC) that offers flexible payment options.
This development follows Marqeta’s move in July of 2024 to become the first issuer processor in the US certified for VFC. Using VFC, Marqeta will enable Klarna Card users to pay at the time of the transaction, or to pay later using the same card. Klarna is currently trialing the Klarna Card and plans to roll it out to a broader US user base later this year.
This isn’t the first collaboration between Marqeta and Klarna, who first teamed up in 2018 when Marqeta agreed to power Klarna’s virtual cards in the US. Since then, the two companies have expanded and Marqeta now supports Klarna in six countries.
“The future of payments is flexible, and we’re proud to enable this new offering together with Visa,” said Marqeta Chief Product and Engineering Officer Rahul Shah. “Our ongoing partnership with Klarna is a true testament to what’s possible with Marqeta’s platform and how we enable our customers to grow and innovate at global scale.”
Releasing the Klarna Card is a notable evolution for Klarna, shifting its focus from short-term BNPL loans into mainstream spending habits. By enabling “pay now” or “pay later” choices on the same card, Klarna and Marqeta are blurring the lines between credit and debit by offering a single, flexible product that caters to consumers’ expectations for control and choice at checkout.
Klarna isn’t the first BNPL player to expand into card-based products. California-based Affirm launched its own debit+ card in 2021 and just recently surpassed two million debit cards.
Marqeta was founded in 2009 to provide infrastructure and tools to help companies build and manage their own payment programs. The company enables developers to launch and scale new programs with flexibility. Headquartered in California, Marqeta processed almost $300 billion in annual payments volume in 2024.
“Through our continued partnership with Marqeta and Visa, we’re evolving the Klarna Card into a truly dynamic and versatile payment experience,” said Klarna Chief Marketing Officer David Sandström. “We’re excited to continue innovating alongside Marqeta as we scale the Klarna Card to provide smart, seamless payments that empower smarter, more informed shoppers everywhere.”
The news announcement comes as Klarna has been strategically ramping up its public presence in preparation for going public. While the company postponed its IPO plans earlier this year, it has partnered with Clover for in-store BNPL, signed an agreement to serve as Walmart’s BNPL provider, and announced that it reached 100 million active consumers in April 2025.
For decades, the idea of generational wealth transfer has been more of a long-term planning theme than a present-day priority. But that priority is beginning to change. With trillions of dollars moving from Baby Boomers to Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z over the next two decades, banks and fintechs are staring down a pivotal question: how will they capture the attention and loyalty of younger, digitally native inheritors?
In a recent Streamly interview, Tapp Engine CEO Will Dolan spoke about this massive economic shift and the opportunities it presents for financial institutions. He explained that the winners in this space will be those who not only meet younger generations on the digital platforms they use every day, but also those who understand the emotional context of wealth and inheritance in modern families.
“Technology has become such an important parat of everybody’s day-to-day lives… people have a lot more information at their disposal now that they’ve every had…. How do you engage with people out there that you want to draw into the opportunities that your company possesses? If you’re not digital, if you’re not thinking AI, if you’re not thinking mobile, you really need to re-think your strategy because that’s the way that most people are looking to utilize solutions, consume information, and companies really need to respond to that.”
Founded in 2019, Tapp Engine is a digital experience platform that helps financial institutions thrive in the digital age by modernizing customer engagement through embedded tools and adaptive experiences. Instead of offering static interfaces or one-size-fits-all financial products, Tapp Engine enables banks and fintechs to build modular, white-labeled experiences tailored to users’ life stages and financial goals. With features like real-time personalization, guided decision flows, and behavioral insights, Tapp Engine helps turn generic banking apps into trusted, go-to financial companions.
As President of Tapp Engine, Dolan brings a human-centered lens to a category that often defaults to technology-first thinking. His insights reflect years of experience working at the intersection of product design, user experience, and fintech innovation.
OpenTrade has raised $7 million in seed funding, boosting its total raised to $15.7 million.
The company will use the funds to scale its “yield-as-a-service” stablecoin infrastructure platform.
OpenTradehelps fintechs embed real-world asset-backed yields into digital wallets using USDC and EURC.
Stablecoin infrastructure-as-a-service platform OpenTradereceived $7 million in a Seed round this week. The funds boost the UK-based company’s total raised to $15.7 million, $11 million of which has been secured within the past six months alone.
Today’s round was led by Notion Capital and Mercury Fund. Existing investors AlbionVC, a16z crypto, and CMCC Global also participated. In addition to today’s investor lineup, OpenTrade’s other investors include the likes of a16z Crypto and Circle.
“Notion and Mercury are exceptional B2B investors with a strong track record of backing category-defining companies, and we’re thrilled to partner with them,” said OpenTrade CEO Dave Sutter. “Combined with a16z’s leadership, and Albion and CMCC’s deep expertise, we have the network, experience, and momentum to scale globally and help unlock access to dollar-based savings for individuals historically outside the reach of traditional financial systems.”
OpenTrade aims to help businesses offer stable, reliable ways to earn yield using digital dollars (USDC) and euros (EURC). Founded in 2023, OpenTrade connects blockchain-based assets with traditional banking infrastructure to make earning interest on digital currencies simple, safe, and compliant. Its “yield-as-a-service” model that lets fintech clients including Belo, BuenBit, Littio, and Criptan embed yields that are backed by real-world assets into everyday user experiences.
Its easy-to-integrate tools allow fintech apps and digital wallets to offer yield products to their users at the click of a button, all secured by strong legal protections and institutional-grade operations. The company currently manages $47 million for clients and has processed nearly $200 million in transactions over the past year.
OpenTrade will use today’s funds to accelerate its go-to-market strategy by focusing on its product development, boosting its engineering capabilities, and increasing its operational capacity.
“OpenTrade is building core financial infrastructure for the next generation of fintech,” said Mercury Partner Samantha Lewis. “Their rapid growth underscores both the scale of demand and the strength of their model. They are solving a fundamental gap in the market with the potential to revolutionize global access to high-quality, yield-bearing accounts. It’s exactly the kind of high-conviction fintech opportunity we look for at Mercury.”
Stablecoin infrastructure is particularly impactful in geographies with unstable financial infrastructure that offers minimal yield and limited access to foreign currency accounts. In such regions, stablecoins not only provide a practical way to pay across borders, but they can also offer the opportunity for residents to earn a yield on savings. OpenTrade, for example, leverages a partnership with Littio to allow users in Colombia to earn up to 6% on USDC balances, when they have traditionally been limited to earning just 0.4% APR on funds held in traditional bank accounts.
OpenTrade’s latest funding round highlights growing investor confidence in the role stablecoins can play in democratizing access to financial services. As demand rises for yield-bearing products that are both secure and accessible across the globe, OpenTrade is poised to be a leader in the stablecoin infrastructure space.
bolttech raised $147 million in a Series C round, bringing its total funding to over $690 million and boosting its valuation to $2.1 billion.
Sumitomo joined as a strategic investor and partner, forming a joint venture with bolttech to expand embedded insurance across Asia.
bolttech’s platform powers embedded insurance for industries like telecom, e-commerce, and banking, making insurance a seamless part of the digital buying experience.
Singapore-based insurtech company bolttechannounced this week that it has closed its Series C round after raising $147 million.
Closing out today’s round were Sumitomo Corporation and Iberis Capital as strategic investors. The funds bring bolttech’s total funding to somewhere north of $690 million and boost the company’s valuation to $2.1 billion. Previous investors to the Series C round are Dragon Fund, Baillie Gifford, Generali’s Lion River, and others.
For its part, Sumitomo Corporation has not just become a strategic investor, but it has also entered a joint venture with bolttech to deliver embedded insurance programs for its Asia-based partners. This signals not only a financial endorsement but also a strategic distribution partnership in Asia, which is generally a region ripe for fintech growth.
“We are thrilled to join forces with bolttech—both as a strategic investor and through our joint venture,” said Sumitomo Group CEO of Media & Digital Group Shinichi Kato. “We are confident that this partnership will enable us to work closely with the bolttech team to drive growth and innovation across the Asia region.”
Founded in 2020, bolttech operates an embedded insurance platform. The company allows clients in telecom, banking, e-commerce, and retail to embed insurance offerings within their existing customer journeys. For example, a customer purchasing a mobile phone online might be offered device protection at checkout, powered by bolttech’s infrastructure. bolttech supports this with a modular tech stack that includes product recommendation engines, policy administration, claims management, and partner onboarding. The company works with hundreds of insurers and partners across industries, serving millions of customers in 37 markets across four continents.
bolttech anticipates that the Series C round will enable it to enhance the platform’s capabilities and accelerate its global growth strategy, making insurance more personalized, accessible, affordable, and convenient for customers.
“We are delighted to welcome our newest strategic investors Sumitomo Corporation and Iberis Capital as we successfully close our Series C,” said bolttech Group CEO Rob Schimek. “This investment is a strong endorsement of our unique business proposition, reinforcing our commitment to enabling a better insurance experience for customers worldwide. We are excited to continue our journey to build the future of insurance, working towards our vision of connecting people with more ways to protect the things they value.”
The funding shows increased interest in embedded insurance, which is rising to become one of the fastest-growing sectors within insurtech. As embedded finance matures, bolttech’s ability to plug insurance directly into partner platforms helps make insurance an invisible part of the digital customer experience.
