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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
SoFi is entering commercial banking with a 24/7 model that combines fiat accounts, crypto rails, and its own tokenized deposit, SoFiUSD, to enable real-time money movement.
The company is taking a “stablecoin sandwich” approach, converting fiat to SoFiUSD and back again to enable instant settlement while keeping deposits on its balance sheet.
SoFi is positioning itself between banks and fintechs, aiming to deliver the speed of crypto-native players and the trust of a regulated bank in a single platform.
Lending and wealth management fintech SoFi is joining the commercial banking world with the launch of SoFi Big Business Banking, its new set of enterprise banking tools. The new offering comes with both fiat and crypto-native infrastructure that allows for 24/7 money movement.
The launch comes as part of SoFi’s new focus on integrating into the blockchain. Most recently, the company launched its own tokenized deposit, SoFiUSD, to settle its crypto trading business, offer faster settlement around the clock, power international remittances, and more.
“To be competitive businesses today must operate in a global, always-on environment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while legacy banks typically still operate 9 to 5, Monday to Friday,” said SoFi CEO Anthony Noto. “SoFi Big Business Banking is changing that by combining the strength and regulatory foundation of a nationally chartered bank with the speed, scale, and flexibility companies need to move and manage money or digital assets in real time.”
SoFi’s new business offering will help companies make payments, access funds, and operate in real time with a fully chartered bank. At launch, SoFi’s Big Business Banking comes with deposit accounts, fiat, crypto, and SoFiUSD payments. By leveraging digital currencies, SoFi is enabling businesses to transact outside of traditional banking hours. The company is taking the “stablecoin sandwich” approach, allowing businesses to convert from fiat to SoFiUSD, then back to fiat, enabling real-time settlement without relying on external rails, while ensuring deposits remain on SoFi’s balance sheet.
By combining fiat accounts, payments, and digital asset infrastructure into a single regulated platform, SoFi is positioning itself as the bank for a world where money moves 24/7 and across formats. While fintechs like Ramp are building the operating systems for how companies spend money, SoFi is making a play to own where that money lives—and increasingly, how it moves between traditional and on-chain systems.
SoFi’s Big Business Banking is already live. Initial clients include Cumberland, Bullish, BitGo, B2C2, Fireblocks, Wintermute, Galaxy, Jupiter, Mesh Payments, and Mastercard.
Competition in the business banking space has been steadily rising for the past six years, and the use of blockchain rails is intensifying the pressure. Banks are piloting tokenized deposits and blockchain-based settlement, while payments firms like Stripe and Checkout.com are adding stablecoin capabilities to support faster global commerce. Crypto-native players, such as Circle and Coinbase, continue to offer 24/7 settlement outside the banking system entirely. SoFi is attempting to bring these models into a single offering that delivers the speed of stablecoins with the trust of a regulated bank. And because it has its own stablecoin, it doesn’t rely on external infrastructure.
As the push into AI continues, many banks are still struggling to modernize their digital foundations without simply recreating their existing platforms. For institutions operating across multiple markets, that challenge becomes even more complex, as firms need to balance local autonomy with the need for standardization, speed, and scalability.
In a recent conversation with Vanja Tokic of Raiffeisen Bank International, Tokic explained that the real work of transformation is happening in how banks rethink processes, align teams, and prepare their data and systems for what comes next. He also talked about what it takes to actually get started.
“There is still a lot of overhype on the GenAI topic. Banks and people in general are underestimating what it takes to put those things into real processes, into real production… It looks really simple when you start prompting, but when you actually have to do it in a regulated environment, then it’s really difficult to get it done.”
Tokic serves as Head of Digital Channels and Conversational AI and previously led retail digital transformation strategy at Raiffeisen Bank International. With more than two decades of experience in digital banking, he focuses on translating high-level strategy into execution by aligning teams across markets, driving adoption of reusable platforms, and building what he describes as a “digital bank with a human touch.”
Raiffeisen Bank International is an Austria-based banking group that operates across Central and Eastern Europe, serving millions of customers through a network of subsidiary banks. The organization functions as both a central institution for the Raiffeisen Banking Group and a holding company for its international operations, offering retail and corporate banking services across the region.
For financial institutions, growth involves deepening relationships with existing customers. At a time when switching financial institutions comes at a low cost and fintechs offer many of the same benefits as traditional banks, customer engagement and financial wellness have become strategic priorities.
For traditional financial institutions whose offerings can seem static, providing personalized experiences that help customers save smarter, build better financial habits, and feel more in control of their financial lives can help retain and win over clients. The banks that succeed will be those that can embed themselves into customers’ day-to-day financial decisions.
At FinovateSpring 2026, five companies are focused on helping banks do exactly that. From savings and financial wellness tools to engagement platforms and next-generation consumer experiences, these solutions are designed to drive loyalty, increase product adoption, and deliver measurable value to both customers and institutions.
Business HYS by Plinqit helps banks compete for deposits while giving small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) more effective ways to manage their cash. The platform is designed to drive deposit growth by offering high-yield savings experiences tailored to business customers, an area where many traditional banks have struggled to differentiate.
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan and founded in 2015, Plinqit enables financial institutions to attract and retain SMB deposits without overhauling their existing infrastructure which ultimately helps level the playing field to compete against larger competitors and digital-first challengers.
Goodfin is expanding access to alternative investments by opening institutional-grade opportunities to a broader range of investors. Its platform is designed to help financial institutions and fintechs offer differentiated wealth-building tools such as private equity, venture capital, and pre-IPO deals that go beyond traditional stocks and bonds.
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in San Francisco, Goodfin enables banks to meet growing customer demand for access to alternative assets, while positioning themselves as gateways to more sophisticated investment opportunities.
Level helps auto lenders reduce losses by identifying and recovering missed value in total loss insurance claims. Its AI-powered claims management platform centralizes workflows into a single portal, enabling lenders to detect undervalued claims and dispute them at scale.
Backed by licensed claims experts, Level combines automation with human oversight to increase recoveries, reduce deficiency balances, and accelerate time to payment. Headquartered in New York and founded in 2023, the company offers banks, credit unions, and lenders a way to improve operational efficiency while directly impacting the bottom line.
BankUniverse delivers a privacy-first intent engine that helps financial institutions identify and convert high-value prospects without relying on sensitive personal data. By analyzing user intent signals rather than personal identifiers, the platform enables banks to drive digital sales while maintaining strong data privacy standards.
Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Greece, BankUniverse helps institutions increase conversion rates while navigating growing regulatory and consumer expectations around data protection.
Bluum Finance provides a unified platform for embedded investing, combining brokerage, custody, and reporting into a single API. Its infrastructure allows financial institutions and fintechs to launch fully compliant investment offerings quickly, without the complexity and cost typically associated with building these capabilities in-house.
Founded in 2025 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Bluum enhances its offering with AI-powered advisory tools that deliver personalized investment experiences. The platform is built for a wide range of providers looking to bring investing into their existing customer journeys.
Why banks should care
Financial wellness and engagement are quickly becoming primary drivers of growth instead of nice-to-have features. Banks are under pressure to increase deposits, deepen relationships, and create new revenue streams while competing with fintechs that are often more agile and user-focused. Platforms that help customers save more effectively, access new investment opportunities, or receive more personalized financial guidance can translate directly into higher balances, stronger loyalty, and increased product usage.
At the same time, these tools enable banks to expand their role in customers’ financial lives without significantly increasing operational complexity. Whether it’s embedding investing capabilities, improving digital acquisition, or unlocking overlooked sources of value in existing portfolios, financial wellness platforms offer a practical way for institutions to drive both customer outcomes and business performance.
Qover, a Belgian fintech that specializes in “Insurance-as-a-Service,” has raised $12 million in a capital extension from CIBC Innovation Banking. The company, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018, reported that its total funding now tops $100 million.
The investment comes as the embedded insurance orchestration firm marks its 10th anniversary of serving customers throughout Europe. At a time when the international embedded insurance market is expected to grow from $176 billion in 2026 to more than $1.46 trillion by 2034, Qover currently protects 15 million customers via its insurtech platform and expects to reach 55 million users by the end of this year.
“We started with a simple conviction: insurance could be simpler and truly accessible across borders,” Qover CEO and Co-Founder Quentin Colmant said. “Ten years and 15 million users later, that conviction has become a platform, and with AI now accelerating what’s possible, we are more ambitious than ever. Our goal is to protect 100 million people by 2030, building the infrastructure that makes a global safety net real.”
Qover said that the funding from CIBC will support the company’s continued investment in its orchestration platform, AI capabilities, and operational infrastructure.
Qover’s API-first platform orchestrates embedded insurance for businesses and insurers across Europe. Adaptable to any product, partner, country, or risk carrier, Qover’s platform gives institutions greater control with less complexity, covering the full insurance lifecycle, from design to claims. Organizations using the platform benefit from a configurable setup that enables them to tailor the solution to their needs, as well as a modular approach that allows users to select from different platform modules and how they are implemented.
“The next decade of insurance will be defined by the companies that can operate at scale without sacrificing precision,” Qover General Counsel Caroline Hanotiau said. “AI gives us the opportunity to make compliance by design the standard, not the exception, allowing us to expand into more products and more regions with the confidence that we are always operating at the highest level. That’s how Qover will grow responsibly and at the scale our vision demands.”
Founded in 2016, Qover made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018. Today, the company protects 15 million people in more than 32 countries and boasts revenue growth of 3x and more than $173 million in gross written premiums over the past four years. Qover has orchestrated embedded insurance programs for a number of major international brands including fellow Finovate alums Revolut and Mastercard; as well as Monzo, bunq, and BMW.
Qover’s fundraising news comes just a few days after the company announced that it had forged a strategic partnership with Willis, a WTW business. Together, the two companies will offer a product-agnostic solution that helps companies launch tailored insurance programs quickly and at scale.
What do banking consumers need most from their banks in 2026? How do these and other financial institutions translate major trends into actionable initiatives that solve problems for individuals, families, businesses, and communities? What role do partnerships between banks and fintech companies play in helping bring cutting-edge financial products and services to market?
We caught up with Meghan Kober, Senior Vice President and Head of Fintech Partnerships & Strategic Investments at U.S. Bank, to answer these and other questions confronting banks and their customers today. In her role at U.S. Bank, Kober leads a cross-functional team that scales innovation portfolios and drives enterprise value through strategic partnerships. Her expertise is in translating emerging drivers and market signals into applied strategies.
This interview is part of Finovate’s annual Women’s History Month commemoration. Previous installments include our salute to the women of FinovateEurope 2026 and our preview of the female founders and leaders who will represent their companies at FinovateSpring 2026, May 5-7.
U.S. Bank has long been active in innovation, but your role sits at a unique intersection. How does the Fintech Acceleration team build on that legacy today?
Meghan Kober: There’s a moment I often come back to early in my career, sitting inside a broker-dealer, trying to connect systems that were never designed to speak to each other. That experience shaped how I think about innovation today.
We’ve entered the Great Convergence. Innovation is no longer built inside a single institution. It is shaped across startups, venture firms, accelerators, and universities.
The challenge is not access to innovation. It is translation and direction. Signals are abundant, but without structure, they don’t convert into outcomes.
That is the role of the Fintech Acceleration team. Since 2020, we have built on U.S. Bank’s innovation foundation to act as a system layer across the enterprise. We translate external signals into enterprise execution across product, risk, and partnerships.
My broader thesis is that we are moving from an innovation economy to a participation economy. The institutions that win will not be the ones that invent the most, but the ones that enable the most people, businesses, and partners to participate in the system. Our role is to help design for those outcomes.
That idea of translation and direction is powerful. How do you take something as abstract as future trends and turn them into clear action inside a large, regulated organization?
Kober: We are operating in a period of convergence. AI, digital assets, and embedded finance are not evolving independently. They are compounding. That creates multiple futures unfolding at once.
The risk for large organizations is reacting too late or moving without alignment. In financial services, you cannot separate innovation from risk, legal, and compliance. Execution requires coordination from the start.
This is where applied foresight comes in. For us, it is not about predicting the future. It is about choosing which future to build toward.
We integrate signals from across venture, academia, and global markets. Through my work nationally in regions such as Utah and Minnesota, as well as globally with the University of St. Thomas and studying ecosystems in places like Tokyo and Seoul, we are looking at how infrastructure, capital, and policy shape participation at a systems level.
We then anchor those insights to a business problem and align with business line leaders.
Leadership, in this context, is about creating clarity. It is about giving teams direction so they can build with confidence. Foresight without execution is noise. Applied foresight is what turns signal into strategy.
When that clarity is in place, where do you see it driving the most meaningful outcomes today?
Kober: If you look at the U.S. economy, small businesses represent approximately 43.5 percent of GDP and nearly half of employment. They are one of the most important economic engines we have.
At the same time, many small businesses are still operating across fragmented systems, spending time managing tools instead of growing their business.
If we are serious about economic resilience, we have to reduce that friction.
In partnership with Shruti Patel, Chief Product Officer for Business Banking, and Business Banking leaders, we focused on how to embed financial services directly into small business workflows. That led to solutions like Business Essentials, partnerships with fintechs like Gusto, and capabilities like U.S. Bank Bill Pay for Business.
What is important here is not just the product. It is the system design. We are moving from standalone banking products to integrated operating systems for businesses.
The outcome is simple but powerful. Business owners get time back. They have better visibility. They can make better decisions. At scale, that drives job creation, stronger local economies, and a more resilient financial system.
That is what participation looks like in practice.
That kind of impact clearly depends on strong partnerships. What differentiates the way you approach fintech partnerships today?
Kober: The market has matured. We are no longer in a phase where experimentation alone is enough. Partnerships need to deliver outcomes and scale.
What differentiates successful partnerships is alignment and readiness. We start with a clearly defined business problem and align on shared outcomes from the beginning.
We typically partner with founders who have achieved product market fit, understand regulated environments, and are often backed by venture capital firms.
But what is often overlooked is that partnerships are not just about capability. They are about system effects.
When we partner with a startup, we accelerate our speed to market. We solve real problems for our clients. At the same time, we support that company’s growth, which drives job creation, attracts capital, and strengthens the ecosystem.
It creates a flywheel.
My role is not just to participate in that ecosystem, but to help shape how it connects. Where capital flows, where partnerships form, and where innovation translates into real economic outcomes.
You’ve mentioned participation a few times now. I’d love to connect that back to your own journey. How has your path shaped this perspective?
Kober: My path into fintech was not traditional, but in many ways that is what gave me this perspective.
I started by trying to understand systems: connecting data, teaching myself to code, and building dashboards to make better decisions. That curiosity led me into Minnesota’s innovation ecosystem, where I was inspired by leaders like Susan Langer, CEO of Spave, at Twin Cities Startup Week and became involved with the Minnesota Fintech Collective.
I had the opportunity to join and help build the Fintech Acceleration team alongside some great leaders, and over time, help scale that into a broader platform across the enterprise.
What I learned through that experience is that innovation is not a technology problem. It is a participation problem.
Who has access to networks. Who gets exposure to opportunities. Who is able to build, invest, and contribute.
Leadership is about expanding those surfaces. Creating more entry points into the system so more people can participate and shape it.
Looking ahead, how are technologies like AI and digital assets influencing how you think about the future of financial systems?
Kober: We are at an inflection point where financial infrastructure itself is being redefined.
AI is changing how decisions are made. Digital assets are changing how value moves. Together, they are enabling more programmable, intelligent systems.
But the real question is not what the technology can do. It is how we design systems around it.
At U.S. Bank, we are applying AI across operations and exploring digital asset capabilities, including stablecoin infrastructure on networks like Stellar. These efforts are grounded in real use cases and informed by collaboration across fintech partners, venture ecosystems, and global research.
The opportunity is significant, but so is the responsibility. These systems must be built with trust, resilience, and inclusion at their core.
If we get that right, we are not just improving financial services. We are redesigning how participation in the economy works.
Finally, during Women’s History Month, how do you define leadership in this moment, especially within fintech and financial services?
Kober: The strength of our financial system is directly tied to how many people can participate in it.
Throughout my career, I am grateful to have benefited from mentors, founders, investors, and institutions that created opportunities for me to step in, learn, and build. These ecosystems matter, spanning from accelerators and venture capital to universities and corporate leadership.
Leadership, to me, is about doing that intentionally and at scale.
It is about bringing applied foresight and direction to teams so they can build systems that drive resiliency and prosperity. It is about expanding who gets to participate in shaping the future.
Because ultimately, the next era of financial services will not be defined by who innovates the fastest.
It will be defined by who builds systems that work for the most people.
Once again, Finovate celebrates fintech’s best and brightest with the 2026 Finovate Awards!
Every year, the Finovate Awards showcase the banks, credit unions, financial service providers, and fintechs that are driving innovation in our industry. With award categories recognizing achievement in consumer lending, digital banking, fintech partnerships, and more, the 2026 Finovate Awards will crown winners in more than 30 different categories!
Now in its eighth year, the Finovate Awards recognize both individuals and organizations who are creating meaningful advances in financial technology. From making payments faster, safer, and easier, to helping small businesses secure the financing they need to grow, to promoting greater financial inclusion and wellness, Finovate Award winners are leaders in their respective fields, setting the pace for innovation in financial services today.
Why apply?
Showcase your innovation! Highlight your innovations to the broader banking and fintech community.
Gain recognition from industry experts! Boost confidence with customers, partners, and investors as an acknowledged industry leader.
Position yourself as a pioneer! Establish your firm as a key driver of innovation in financial services.
Submit your nomination today! Entry criteria and instructions are available at our Finovate Awards hub. Winners will be announced during FinovateFall 2026 in September.
Don’t delay! The Finovate Awards nomination window will run through May 22. Submit your nomination before April 24 and save $100.
FinovateSpring 2026 comes to sunny San Diego, California, from May 5 to 7. Tickets are on sale and going fast. Save your spot, book your room, and get ready for a full-court press on many of the biggest issues in fintech today: from AI and embedded finance to stablecoins and hyperpersonalization in the customer experience.
Today we highlight eight top fintech trends that will dominate the conversation at FinovateSpring this year—from main stage plenary keynotes to executive briefings and special spotlight sessions. We’re also showcasing where on the agenda you can find presentations and panel discussions on each theme.
It’s All About Agentic AI
AI is undeniably the most compelling and in-demand technology in banking and financial services today—and the innovation in AI that is attracting the most attention is agentic AI. Agentic AI systems are designed with a degree of autonomy and decision-making ability that allows them to complete an expanding range of tasks independently without requiring human intervention. In a relatively short time, this technology has evolved from pilot projects to powering e-commerce, fraud prevention, automated investment, credit risk assessment, and more.
Getting Serious about Stablecoins in Financial Services
With growing use cases in financial services and increasing regulatory clarity, stablecoins have become the most constructive innovation to emerge from the DeFi movement. From cross-border payments and remittances to serving as a stable medium of exchange, store of value, and hedge against volatility for cryptocurrency users, stablecoins enable banks and other financial institutions to leverage blockchain innovation while benefitting from price stability.
While much of the conversation about embedded finance focuses on how it empowers non-financial entities to offer financial services, it is also true that embedded finance offers banks and other financial services providers a way to scale and diversify their offerings while reaching new markets, customers, and members.
A Heat Check on the Open Banking Opportunity in the US
Open banking and finance are thriving in many places around the world, and while there have been gains in the US, it still lags behind peers in Europe and Australia. The absence of a regulatory mandate makes open banking in the US largely a market-driven phenomenon, but the continued debate over Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act (which ensures consumers can access their financial data upon request) creates uncertainties and challenges for banks and fintechs regarding data sharing and the extent of customer control over their data.
Fighting Financial Crime: New Challenges, New Solutions
Using AI to stay ahead of AI-wielding fraudsters and financial criminals has been a key strategy for fintechs and financial institutions aiming to protect themselves and their customers. At the same time, a growing number of companies are recognizing that, beyond technological solutions, collaborating to fight common fraud threats offers significant benefits compared to firms relying solely on their own resources.
Financial crime and cybersecurity sessions at FinovateSpring
Leveraging Data, Analytics, and AI to Enhance the Customer Experience
With more data than ever before at their disposal and powerful new analytical capabilities—including AI—at hand, financial institutions are looking at ways to better serve their customers and members with increasingly personalized products and services. In many ways, the ability to meet customers where they are—at home, on the go, or in the middle of a transaction—is increasingly seen as an opportunity for financial institutions to differentiate their offerings, as well as learn from and compete more effectively against non-financial rivals.
Third-Party Risk and Building Better Partnerships in the Post-SVB Era
How are banks and fintechs addressing partnership and third-party risk in the post-SVB era? As regulators sharpen their focus on the risks in bank-fintech partnerships—and a growing number of fintechs decide to “cut out the middleman” and become banks themselves—it remains critical that banks and fintechs understand what it takes to build constructive alliances and collaborations that benefit all stakeholders—including regulatory bodies.
Third-party risk/Bank-fintech partnership sessions at FinovateSpring
Customers Still Count on Credit Unions and Community Banks
Large national banks may have the lion’s share of customer money, but with 73% of Americans having favorable views of credit unions compared to 56% of Americans having favorable views of national banks, it is hard not to see an opportunity for smaller financial institutions to leverage that trust into bigger customer bases, memberships, and deposits. Credit unions and community banks that embrace modernization and fintech innovation will be best positioned to offer the kind of services and products that often attract customers to national brands.
Community banks and credit union sessions at FinovateSpring
The first quarter of 2026 comes to a close tomorrow. And amid the rush of end-of-month, end-of-quarter news, don’t forget that April Fool’s Day, April 1st, is right in the middle of the week.
Every year there are a handful of fintechs that like to take advantage of the occasion by having a little fun with the press, so it’s always a good idea of have a bit of extra skepticism if you come across a headline that seems a little sensational over the next few days. Here on the Fintech Rundown, we promise to do our level best to keep you fool-free!
Digital banking
Metro Credit Union to deployTyfone’snFinia Digital Banking Platform.
Corgi Insuranceacquires Corgi.com domain en route to building its fully-integrated, AI-powered insurance carrier.
Digital communications
AI-powered digital communications governance and archiving technology partner Shieldunveils new enhancements to its Shield Archive solution.
Lending
Worth, a fintech platform that helps financial institutions onboard and undewrite small and medium-sized businesses, raises $30 million in Series A funding.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech headlines from Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa.
Circle and Sasai Fintech team up to boost adoption of USDC
Digital asset platform Circle announced a new partnership between one of its affiliates and Sasai Fintech, a business of Cassava Technologies. The partnership is designed to boost adoption of Circle’s USDC stablecoin and expand internet-native financial infrastructure across Africa.
“Africa’s digital economy is entering a new era, propelled by entrepreneurship, a mobile-first generation, and the acceleration of intra-regional trade,” Cassava Technologies Founder and Executive Chairman Strive Masiyiwa said. “By integrating with the trusted and widely adopted USDC network, we can drive financial inclusion and open transformative opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.”
Stablecoin adoption in Africa is accelerating due to increases in the number of mobile-first consumers, the growth of cross-border commerce, and the overall expansion of the digital economy. USDC is a fully-reserved, transparent payment stablecoin redeemable 1:1 for US dollars. The stablecoin has been used to power programmable payments and financial applications around the world. This week’s partnership announcement between Circle and Sasai Fintech calls for further exploration into practical applications for USDC. The two companies will also investigate ways that Circle’s full stack platform can lower costs, friction, and settlement time for Sasai’s enterprise and retail customers.
“Emerging markets are at the forefront of stablecoin adoption, and Africa represents a significant opportunity for internet-native innovation,” Circle Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said. “Working with Cassava, we can extend the benefits of USDC and on-chain infrastructure into high-growth payment corridors to deliver always-on global connectivity.”
Sasai Fintech is a pan-African digital payment solutions provider. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, and founded in 2021, Sasai Fintech has enabled more than 250 million wallets and more than 85,000 POS terminals. A division of Cassava Technologies, Sasai Fintech has 20+ enterprise partners and is active in 30+ cross-border markets.
IFC Partners with Cashi to expand digital payments infrastructure
International Finance Corporation (IFC) has teamed up with digital payment infrastructure company Cashi. The fintech offers a digital payment platform that allows users to send and receive money via mobile phones, point-of-sale devices, and SMS-based tools. Cashi’s platform links users with banks, telecoms, and other financial institutions in a single interoperable ecosystem that makes everyday transactions easier in an economy that still relies heavily on cash and faces significant obstacles to accessing comprehensive banking services.
“IFC’s upstream support allows us to adapt our proven, crisis-tested platform to the realities of central Africa,” Cashi CEO Tarneem Saeed said. “This partnership enables us to work closely with regulators and ecosystem partners, build trust with local merchants, and deliver practical financial tools that people can use in their daily lives, even in low-connectivity environments.”
Cashi’s platform helps address and alleviate digital infrastructure bottlenecks in economies that are cash-dependent and underbanked. The company offers a range of financial products and services that enable businesses and individuals to send, receive, and spend money. Cashi offers instant settlement, reliable uptime, and dedicated support for both merchants and users. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Khartoum, Sudan, Cashi operates as part of Alsoug.com, the country’s largest digital classifieds and marketplace.
Financial infrastructure startup Littlefish raises $9.4 million
A South African fintech infrastructure startup, littlefish, has scored $9.4 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Partech, and featured participation from TLcom Capital, Flourish Ventures, and Proparco. The investment is the latest fundraising for the company since its 2021 seed round, and the firm expects to use the new capital to grow its team, advance product development, and enter new markets such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
“This raise is a validation of our belief that the best way to serve Africa’s small businesses is to work with the institutions they already trust, not around them,” Brandon Roberts, Co-Founder and CEO of littlefish, said. “We’ve proven the model in South Africa, and this capital gives us the runway to deepen those relationships and bring what we’ve built to millions more merchants across the continent. The little guys deserve world-class financial infrastructure, too, and we’re building it.”
Littlefish offers a merchant operating system that empowers banks to deliver fintech products and services to small businesses by integrating payments, POS software, CRMs, APIs, and more into a unified layer. This enables banks and other financial institutions to offer modern, digital services to merchants without disrupting their existing relationships with customers. Littlefish helps banks deliver more services to their business customers more efficiently, and gives small businesses the opportunity to gradually modernize and digitize their operations.
Littlefish counts institutions such as Standard Bank, First National Bank, and Absa among its clients. The company was co-founded in 2021 by Roberts and Miod Davith Kahwa.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Mexico-based digital commerce platform, Clip, introducedTap to Pay functionality on the iPhone.
Mastercardexecuted a series of live, end-to-end agentic payment transactions across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Cross-border payments technology company Reap obtained a Money Transmitter Registry in Mexico.
Asia-Pacific
Singapore-based fintech Fingular unveiled Shariah-first digital financing brand in Malaysia, Tazee.
Enterprise on-chain settlement infrastructure company Capital Layer forged a distribution partnership with Taiwan-based domestic system integrator Stark Technology Inc.
Vienamese police dismantle fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that cost investors billions of dollars.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Operating system for African banks and merchants, Littlefish, raised $9.5 million in Series A funding.
Western Union partnered with Sasai Fintech to bring digital remittance access to South African consumers.
One of the great promises of fintech innovation is the idea of democratizing finance. This includes everything from helping more deserving borrowers secure access to credit to helping a new generation of savers and investors learn good habits that will ensure financial wellness from young adulthood through retirement. As much of the fintech world becomes increasingly—and understandably—obsessed with the latest developments in AI and decentralized finance, a sizable contingent of innovators continues to solve practical problems for students, young savers, and credit-starved small businesses.
This year at FinovateSpring 2026 in San Diego, May 5 to May 7, we will introduce five fintechs that will show how their latest innovations use advanced technologies to simplify international payments for students, boost financial literacy for teens and their families, and enhance small business lending with AI-powered underwriting and alternative data.
Crebit Pay is a stablecoin-powered FX platform enabling low-cost, near-instant global payments for students, while helping credit unions onboard and serve international members.
Crebit Pay’s platform provides near-instant settlement and is 4-10% cheaper than traditional FX. It serves underserved corridors ignored by major providers, offering a stablecoin infrastructure that is fully invisible to users, fiat in and fiat out.
Founded in 2025, Crebit Pay is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
GenAspire offers real-world banking for the next generation. The company’s values-driven teen banking app and financial literacy program is trusted by more than 2,200 schools, designed for families, and built for community financial institutions. Designed for credit unions and community banks, GenAspire’s technology gamifies teen banking and incentives financial literacy.
Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida, GenAspire was founded in 2025.
Nextvestment enables safe self-service exploration while guiding advisors to intervene at the right moments, improving client engagement and advisor productivity without changing advisory models. The company’s generative AI platform, designed for financial institutions, family offices, and individual advisors, delivers real-time insights, proactive compliance, and personalized client experiences.
Founded in 2024, Nextvestment is headquartered in Singapore.
PROVIDR approves more qualified SME loans faster and cheaper but without additional risk through AI-driven, alternative-data underwriting, while reducing costs, improving accuracy, and growing market share. The company’s agentic credit platform gives loan officers the resources they need to make faster lending decisions, with more accuracy and full control.
Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PROVIDR was founded in 2025.
Vine Financial enables lenders to scale commercial portfolios without adding staff, accelerate deal approvals, and adopt responsibly—turning underwriting from a manual bottleneck into a strategic advantage. The company’s platform lets financiers and borrowers collaborate more effectively, orchestrating the process to ensure that deals flow smoothly.
Founded in 2019, Vine Financial is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
Why banks should care
Expanding access to underserved markets, enhancing financial literacy, and improving operational efficiency and productivity are three areas where fintechs like these can help banks reach more customers, boost engagement, and generate better margins. At a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult for financial institutions to differentiate themselves from the crowd, strategies that can help them attract new customers and empower current customers to become better stewards of their own financial lives are critical.
All of these goals also represent practical opportunities to use technologies such as AI and decentralized finance. AI is making it easier for lenders to analyze both traditional and alternative data to uncover qualified borrowers that traditional underwriting strategies have tended to overlook. Decentralized finance is poised to revolutionize payments, making low-cost, near-instant payment options more broadly available, helping financial institutions better serve international customers while creating new potential revenue streams. Lastly, the ability of AI and DeFi to help eliminate inefficiencies and reduce costs is another main reason why banks and other financial institutions should look closely at the real-world applications of these still-evolving technologies.
If you are enjoying our preview of the companies demoing at FinovateSpring this year, then join us in San Diego on May 5 through May 7. Tickets are on sale now. Save your spot. Book your room. And bring your sunscreen!
Italian fintech Opentech will power a new peer-to-peer money transfer solution under development by Viseca Payment Services and Cornèr Bank.
Viseca and Cornèr Bank will leverage Opentech’s OpenPay Send technology, an all-in-one platform that orchestrates card-based transfers across multiple schemes and endpoints.
Opentech most recently demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2026 in London. Stefano Andreani is Founder and CEO.
Viseca Payment Services and Cornèr Bank have teamed up to develop a new open industry solution for international peer-to-peer money transfers leveraging Mastercard and Visa payment cards. The new offering, PayInit AG, will streamline direct, cross-border transfers between individuals, enabling them to send money from their payment cards to other cards, digital wallets, and bank accounts.
The two companies will also create a recipient directory (alias directory) to allow end customers of participating card issuers and mobile payment solution providers to send money directly to each other using phone numbers or email addresses from the directory.
“With PayInit, we are creating the foundation for worldwide P2P money transfers based on Swiss payment cards,” Viseca CFO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of PayInit AG, Michael Walther, said. “This closes an important gap in the Swiss payment card market and opens up new opportunities for the entire industry.”
To this end, the two firms have selected Opentech as their technology partner for the project. Opentech, which most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2026 in London, is a specialist in providing digital services for banks and other financial services providers, and will bring its OpenPay Send technology to Viseca and Cornèr Bank’s new initiative. OpenPay Send is an all-in-one money transfer solution that combines money movement and alias directory services from leading payment networks to deliver a modern P2P and cross-border payment experience for customers. OpenPay Send enables fast and secure money transfers to billions of endpoints around the world, including bank accounts, cards, wallets, and cash-out locations.
“The mission of PayInit AG aligns perfectly with the core values of Opentech: making payments more accessible, interoperable, and simpler,” Opentech Chief Executive Officer and Founder Stefano Andreani said. “As a technological innovation driver through the OpenPay Send platform, Opentech supports another initiative that once again demonstrates the Swiss financial sector’s role as a global pioneer while creating genuine value for all stakeholders.”
The commercial launch of the PayInit AG solution is slated for the end of 2026. The collaboration comes months after Viseca and Opentech announced a strategic partnership designed to deliver new cross-border, peer-to-peer money transfer options for the Swiss market.
A Finovate alum since 2013, Opentech supports digital transformation for banks and card issuers with secure, compliant, and scalable payment solutions. Most recently, at FinovateEurope 2026, the company demonstrated how its OpenPay for Merchants (O4M) solution embeds Buy Now, Pay Later functionality directly into the merchant digital channels, across merchant apps and checkout journeys. O4M boosts conversion and engagement for merchants, and provides banks with a distribution channel to deliver consumer financing options to pre-engaged customers at the moment of purchase. Founded in 2003, Opentech is headquartered in Rome, Italy.
Viseca is a product and service provider in the cashless payments field, issuing both payment cards via Viseca Card Services and providing services to support the card business for issuers via Viseca Payment Services. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Viseca is owned by major Swiss and cantonal and retail banks, including all cantonal banks, the Raiffeisen Group, Entris Banking, Migros Bank, Bank Cler, regional banks, and private/commercial banks.
Founded in 1952, the Cornèr Group is a private and independent Swiss banking group that offers the services of a universal bank. These services include private banking, credit financing, credit and prepaid cards (Visa, Mastercard, and Diners Club under the Cornèrcard brand), and online trading (Cornèrtrader). The group consists of parent company Cornèr Bank AG in Lugano, Switzerland, as well as its subsidiaries Cornèr Bank (Overseas) Limited, Cornèr Europe AG, Finpromotion SA, and Allegra Vermögensverwaltungs AG.
Financial crime and fraud prevention specialist Feedzai unveiled its RiskFM (Risk Foundational Model) solution this week.
RiskFM covers a broad range of financial data to provide risk decisioning across fraud detection, anti-money laundering, and other financial crime.
Headquartered in New York and founded in 2008, Feedzai made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2014 in London.
Financial crime prevention innovator Feedzaiintroduced its RiskFM (Risk Foundational Model) solution this week. The new offering leverages a Tabular Foundation Model that is purpose-built for financial data and risk decisioning, changing the way that financial crime is detected and prevented.
Spanning across fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), and other financial crime-related risk decisions, RiskFM is trained on a broad, deep, global dataset covering onboarding, digital activity, payments, fund transfers, and AML workflows to enable institutions to identify, prevent, and adapt to financial crime quickly and accurately.
The solution is designed to handle some of the special challenges of dealing with transactional data. In their statement announcing the new offering, Feedzai compared this challenge with large language models (LLMs) and their ability to deal with domains such as language, audio, and video. These domains, the company noted, all have finite grammar and a certain linear causality. By contrast, financial transactions are far less predictive, in large part because the consumer behavior behind these transactions, from payment types to fraud modalities, can and does change—frequently.
“Next transactions are far less predictable than the next word in a sentence,” Feedzai Chief Science Officer Pedro Bizarro said. “Consumer spending habits, payment types, and fraud modes change continuously. More importantly, financial risk is an adversarial domain; fraudsters actively adapt to evade detection in real time.”
The ability to operate across multiple institutions and geographies at the same time is one key feature of RiskFM, and when used to power a customized model for a single customer, RiskFM matches the performance of high-tuned, supervised models while avoiding time-consuming, manual feature engineering. RiskFM outperformed traditional models based on Gradient Boosting and Deep Learning strategies, and is built for the full range of financial crime prevention, from mule account detection to anti-money laundering. The company refers to the technology as the “foundational AI layer for financial risk,” ensuring institutions have an intelligent, scalable solution that grows as they do.
“RiskFM proves our multi-year investment in foundation models is paying off,” Feedzai Chief Product Officer Pedro Barata said. “We’re not just part of the conversation; we’re defining how it applies to the complexities of global financial crime prevention.”
Feedzai made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2014. Headquartered in New York and founded in 2008, Feedzai today offers an AI-native financial crime prevention platform that helps banks, payment networks, acquirers, and other financial services providers detect and prevent financial crime, fraud, and money laundering in real time. The company’s platform serves more than one billion consumers, processes 90 billion events, and secures $9 trillion in payment volume annually.
In the wake of its RiskFM announcement, the company since reported that it has been named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies 2026 roster. “We at Feedzai are honored by this prestigious recognition of our innovation and research in trusted AI to build a world of safer money,” Feedzai Co-Founder and CEO Nuno Sebastiao said.
