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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
High-growth companies like those involved in cutting-edge technologies face a wide range of challenges. Effective cash management is one of them. From the appearance of cash flow gaps between cash collection and realizing revenues to the necessity of making significant initial capital outlays for operations, infrastructure, and talent before revenues catch up, high-growth companies often have banking needs that many financial institutions struggle to respond to.
This week, our Streamly Series interview features Christopher Hollins, Global Head of Product Sales and Design at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank. Hollins outlines some of the tactics high-growth companies can rely on in order to better manage cash and make the most of technologies like automation. Hollins also explains how solutions like SVB Go offer these businesses essential insights and streamline cash forecasting and management.
“The challenge is that innovators, entrepreneurs want to do what makes them passionate. And for most people, just like in high school and college, accounting, cash management, managing finances … not exactly the oversubscribed classes. In all seriousness, what companies need to do as they are growing very fast, they’re very focused on revenue-generation, satisfying clients, etc. But in doing that, two other things are happening: cash is moving in and out, and some of that cash could be better used in a number of different circumstances, maybe it could be invested in a different way. There is a lot of ‘lack of discipline,’ but I wouldn’t say that’s because people are purposely trying to do that. They are focused on running their businesses.”
Silicon Valley Bank brings more than 40 years of experience as a financial partner for the innovation economy. The company serves innovation economy companies and investors with business banking, liquidity management, global business solutions, and fund banking. With deep sector expertise in enterprise software, frontier tech, cleantech and sustainability, as well as fintech, SVB counts 60% of all fintechs on the 2025 Forbes fintech list and 40% of the Forbes 2025 AI list among its clients.
Head of Global Product Sales and Delivery at Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, Christopher Hollins has played a key role in transforming the platform’s solution delivery model to ensure that SVB’s Commercial Bank Innovation economy clients have access to the best partners and solutions to solve business challenges and have optimal banking relationships along their journey. Hollins has been a part of SVB since 2021.
Financial wellness firm Addition Wealth has launched its B2B financial wellness platform for enterprises.
Available as either a white-label or co-branded solution, the new offering combines expert human guidance, AI-powered personalization, and intelligent financial tools to enable businesses to provide financial wellness experiences to their employees.
Addition Wealth made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall 2024 in New York.
Available as a white-label or co-branded solution, Addition Wealth’s platform helps financial services companies such as insurance providers, asset managers, retirement companies, private equity firms and others provide financial wellness experiences that are based on their specific business objectives.
“One of my core beliefs is that everyone should have access to the tools and support they need to feel confident about their finances,” Addition Wealth Founder and CEO Ana Mahony wrote on her LinkedIn page. “That’s why I’m incredibly excited to share something we’ve quietly been building for the last few years: Addition Wealth’s B2B financial wellness platform. While it’s not a brand-new product, this is the first time we’re publicly announcing it, and we couldn’t be more proud of what it’s become.”
Already live with financial institutions in the Fortune 500, Addition Wealth’s platform combines expert human guidance, AI-powered personalization, and intelligent financial tools. The platform enables businesses to support their employees through a number of financial decision-points from budgeting and paying down debt to retirement planning, buying a home and more. Addition Wealth leverages AI to help employees explore financial topics, learn more about managing their money, and get real-time, actionable insights to improve their financial wellbeing.
The technology supports the integration of financial solutions including student loan assistance, emergency savings, and tax filing services. Enterprise users of the platform can deploy their own financial wellness products, content, and advisors, or rely on those from Addition Wealth.
“By partnering with organizations with significant distribution, we’re able to reach, impact, and improve the lives of millions of individuals,” Mahony said in a statement. “Our AI-powered platform is flexible and configured to each business and user, delivering dynamic, tailored financial guidance, matching each person’s unique situation and goals with the tools and insights they need, whether planning for retirement, having a baby, or paying off student debt.”
Headquartered in New York and founded in 2021, Addition Wealth made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. At the conference, Addition Wealth’s Mahony and VP of Marketing Hally Peck showed how the company’s Financial Wellness Platform helps employees make smarter decisions about their money. The platform leverages a hybrid strategy toward financial wellness, deploying both human experts as well as digital tools, resources, and content that provides a stronger foundation than either an all-human or all-digital approaches alone.
Fraud and dispute process management innovator Quavo Fraud & Disputes has raised $300 million in funding from Spectrum Equity.
Quavo said it will use the capital to support further investment in the company, drive innovation, and create value for its customers.
Quavo Fraud & Disputes most recently demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2025 in San Diego.
Quavo Fraud & Disputes has announced a $300 million investment from growth equity investment firm Spectrum Equity. Quavo, which provides cloud-based solutions to enable financial institutions to automate and manage fraud and dispute processes, will use the capital to accelerate investments throughout the business, drive innovation, and create even greater value for customers.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Spectrum Equity on the next chapter of growth at Quavo,” company Co-Founder and CEO Joseph McLean said. “With this new investment, we intend to accelerate our AI-led product development initiatives and expand our go-to-market and client success teams to meet growing market demand and drive exceptional client outcomes. Our vision to restore financial trust and simplify fraud and disputes is unwavering, and this partnership allows us to achieve these goals faster and at even greater scale.”
Quavo’s technology empowers financial institutions—from large banks to credit unions—to better manage the consumer transaction dispute process. The company’s flagship offering, QFD, automates intake, investigation, chargeback, recovery, and client communications workflows across all payment and dispute types. Financial institutions using Quavo’s technology have been able to automate as much as 80% of the tasks involved in resolving typical consumer disputes, and recapture 85% of potentially lost funds. The average Quavo customer has experienced a reduction of 37% in write-offs and was able to reduce the time it took to issue consumer credit from 11 days to one day.
“Fraud and dispute management is a massive business-as-usual problem for financial institutions and fintechs alike, and we believe that Quavo is uniquely positioned to drive automation benefits and better outcomes in this space,” Spectrum Equity Managing Director Adam Margolin said. “Quavo’s highly configurable platform, scaled transaction data powering its decisioning engine, and mission-driven approach to solving costly and time-consuming problems for its clients set the company apart.”
As part of the transaction, existing investor FINTOP Capital will sell its ownership stake in the company. Quavo’s co-founder and strategic investor and technology partner Pegasystems will continue as significant shareholders.
Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, Quavo has recovered more than $1.4 billion for 10.8+ million victims. The company has grown revenues 60% annually since 2022 and today automates more than 12.5 million consumers disputes a year. Quavo serves a broad range of financial institutions, from global issuers and fintechs to regional banks and credit unions. Founded in 2016, Quavo Fraud & Disputes made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024 in New York and returned to the Finovate stage the following year for FinovateSpring in San Diego.
Earlier this year, Quavo published a report showing the impact of fraud resolution on customer loyalty. Quavo’s Q4 2024 Consumer Survey analyzed feedback from 1,000 recent victims of credit card fraud to learn about their experiences and how their experiences may have impacted their sense of trust and brand loyalty. The survey revealed that the quality of the fraud resolution process had a greater impact on trust than the actual fraud itself, and that the fraud resolution experience has a ripple effect on customer trust in other banking services.
“Trust is a bank’s most valuable asset, and fraud resolution is a defining moment in the customer relationship,” McLean said. “Our research proves that a seamless, transparent, and timely fraud resolution process isn’t just about compliance; it’s about building trust that strengthens long-term customer relationships.”
PNC Bank has partnered with Coinbase to offer crypto services to its banking clients, institutional investors, and corporate treasurers, using Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform.
The collaboration enables PNC clients to securely buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies while Coinbase gains access to PNC’s banking services.
The partnership follows the passage of the GENIUS Act, which brings regulatory clarity to stablecoins and is prompting traditional banks like PNC and JPMorgan to explore crypto-powered financial products.
PNC Bank announced it has teamed up with crypto exchange platform and wallet Coinbase to expand access to digital asset solutions for its banking clients, institutional investors, and corporate treasurers exploring onchain settlement.
Under the agreement, PNC will also provide banking services to Coinbase. The $557 billion bank will leverage Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform to offer secure, scalable crypto access for its clients. With CaaS, Coinbase provides the underlying crypto infrastructure while allowing PNC to maintain full control over the client experience, brand, and compliance framework. At launch, PNC’s new crypto offering will allow clients to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies.
“PNC is a market leader in delivering best-in-class products for their clients,” said Head of Coinbase Institutional Brett Tejpaul. “We’re thrilled to support their entry into the digital asset market with our leading Crypto-as-a-Service platform, which provides PNC with a powerful set of tools to develop a scalable, high-growth business, built on a foundation of uncompromising security.”
Coinbase was founded in 2012 and has proved resilient in offering crypto capabilities that make it easy for people to engage with crypto assets by trading, staking, safekeeping, spending, and making global transfers. The company provides infrastructure for onchain activity and seeks to support builders who want to build onchain.
“Partnering with Coinbase accelerates our ability to bring innovative, crypto financial solutions to our clients,” said PNC Chairman and CEO William S. Demchak. “We will also provide PNC’s best-in-class banking services to Coinbase. This collaboration enables us to meet growing demand for secure and streamlined access to digital assets on PNC’s trusted platform.”
Until recently, Coinbase was under fire from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for allegedly operating as an unregistered securities exchange. The company fired back, engaging in a legal battle by suing the SEC and FDIC over the need for more regulatory transparency in crypto. In February, Coinbase and the SEC jointly filed to dismiss the enforcement action and end the lawsuit. The lawsuit with the FDIC, however, is still ongoing, as the FDIC is still refusing to fully comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests concerning “pause letters” sent to banks.
Despite historical and present legal battles, Coinbase’s tenacity may soon pay off. The company will likely see a boost from the recently passed GENIUS Act as it creates regulatory clarity and certainty around stablecoins. The Act will even go as far as allowing Coinbase to apply for a banking license, which would enable Coinbase to obtain Fed master accounts and connect directly to Fedwire.
Notably, PNC isn’t the first traditional bank to make moves in the crypto segment after the passage of the GENIUS Act last week. The Financial Times reported this morning that JPMorgan is considering offering loans backed by clients’ Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings. If JPMorgan follows through, its clients could leverage their crypto holdings as collateral for cash loans, which would offer them liquidity without requiring them to sell their digital assets. The GENIUS Act’s clear federal framework for stablecoins may be giving traditional banks like PNC and JPMorgan new confidence to enter the crypto arena with clarity on compliance and risk boundaries.
Regtech Blee has teamed up with New York-based multi-asset investing platform Public.
Public will embed Blee’s AI-powered review engine directly into its marketing workflows to ensure that all customer-facing messaging and communication meets regulatory compliance standards.
Founded in 2022, Blee made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2024. Guy Shahar is Founder and CEO.
New York-based regtech Blee has announced a partnership with multi-asset investing platform Public. The company will leverage Blee’s AI-powered compliance platform to enhance and streamline its marketing review process as it scales its offering.
“Public is a platform for long term investors looking to build a diversified portfolio. We’re focused on creating a multi-asset platform that’s transparent and built to support informed decision-making,” Public Chief Compliance Officer Emily Verlinde said. “As we scale how we connect with current and prospective members, partnering with Blee helps us move quickly while ensuring everything we share meets the highest regulatory standards.”
Public enables investors to create portfolios using stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), cryptocurrencies, options, and bonds, as well as contribute to retirement accounts. In teaming up with Blee, Public will embed the company’s AI-powered review engine directly into its marketing workflows. This will enable real-time risk detection for content across all asset classes and establish approval flows for different products. The technology also provides a complete audit trail for every review to help ensure compliance.
“This customer announcement is very special to me,” Blee Founder and CEO Guy Shahar wrote on the company’s LinkedIn page. “I’ve been a huge fan of Public’s mission. They’re not just building a product; they’re changing the culture of investing.”
Shahar noted that companies like Public face significant challenges when it comes to offering such a wide range of investment products. Chief among them is a need to communicate clearly and fairly to customers about the products they offer—including the risks involved—and to ensure that those communications meet regulatory standards.
“We’re proud to be the compliance infrastructure that will help the Public team continue to meet this challenge head-on,” Shahar added. “Our platform will provide the guardrails that enable them to educate their members and grow their offerings with confidence and speed.”
New York-based Public offers a multi-asset investment platform for investors in stocks, options, bonds, digital assets, and more. In addition to its investment tools, Public also offers a proprietary AI layer, Alpha, that gives investors fundamental data and custom analysis to guide their investment decisions. Founded in 2019, the company has raised more than $300 million from investors including Accel, Tiger Global, and Will Smith’s Dreamers VC.
Founded in 2022, Blee made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2024. At the conference, Shahar showed how Blee’s AI-powered marketing compliance review technology automatically identifies and flags potential compliance issues and risks before they reach customers.
Blee’s partnership with Public comes a month after the regtech announced that it was working with fellow Finovate alum, Marqeta. Marqeta will integrate Blee’s real-time risk detection, configurable approval flows, and monitoring capabilities into its internal go-to-market process. The company will also use the risk detection technology to support third parties and partners in its ecosystem.
“Our customers are building what’s next in financial services, and trust is at the core of that work,” Marqeta Marketing Compliance Officer Annia Prado said. “With Blee as our compliance partner for marketing reviews, we’re able to share new programs fast—and stay true to the standards that matter.”
Fiserv-owned point-of-sale (PoS) system CloverunveiledClover PracticePay today. The new solution is an all-in-one payments platform to support small and medium-sized healthcare providers.
To optimally tailor the tool to the healthcare field, Clover partnered with healthcare payments solutions company Rectangle Health. The new solution aims to simplify the way healthcare practices manage payments while providing them with digital tools to help enhance their practice efficiencies.
Launching in 2026, PracticePay combines Rectangle Health’s Practice Management Bridge technology with Clover’s PoS hardware and is compliant with HIPAA and PCI requirements. Designed for providers across primary care, dental, behavioral health, and other specialties, the payments solution features financing options, recurring billing, text-to-pay, QR codes, and online payment portals that can be integrated into customers’ existing practice management software.
For Clover, launching PracticePay will help it expand beyond its core verticals, which include restaurant, retail, and personal services. Adding healthcare payments will allow Clover to extend into the high-demand healthcare industry in which providers are seeking to modernize operations to meet expanding patient expectations, increasing administrative complexity, and digitization requirements. PracticePay will help Clover meet these needs while capturing a segment of the $4.5 trillion US healthcare economy.
“As we continue to evolve Clover to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, trusted partners like Rectangle Health play a critical role in delivering specialized solutions for key industries,” said Fiserv SVP, Head of Merchant FI Channels & Small Business Strategy Katie Whalen. “Healthcare is an important vertical for the banking industry, and with this new solution, we are enabling our financial institution partners to better serve a critical customer base within their communities. By uniting Clover’s leading technology with the strength and security of Rectangle Health’s purpose-built software, we are extending our reach into healthcare and enabling providers to operate more efficiently, improve payment flows, and enhance the patient experience.”
A pioneer in the payments space, Rectangle Health was founded in 1992 to create payment solutions for the healthcare industry. The company provides healthcare organizations with a suite of services that streamline payments, enhance patient relationships, and comply with regulatory standards.
“Together with Clover, we are proud to set a new standard for practice management and payment solutions in the healthcare space,” said Rectangle Health CEO Dominick Colabella. “This collaboration will enable providers to enhance their financial systems while remaining focused on what matters most—their patients.”
Clover was originally founded in 2010 to help small businesses accept payments. Today, the company serves as a one-stop shop for multiple payment needs. In addition to offering a range of payment acceptance terminals, Clover also has software to help businesses with online orders, accounting, loyalty programs, staff management, inventory, and more. Clover was acquired in 2012 by First Data, which was acquired by Fiserv in 2019.
Digital banking solutions provider Infinant has partnered with Vantage Bank and announced an extension of its collaboration with Customers Bank.
Vantage Bank leveraged Infinant’s platform to power its embedded banking business, Vantage Collabs. Customers Bank has worked with Infinant to automate balance mirroring with its deposit partners.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and founded in 2020, Infinant made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024.
Six months later, we are picking up the thread with word that the company has recently inked a partnership with Vantage Bank and announced an extension of its collaboration with Customers Bank.
First, Vantage Bank has teamed up with Infinant for its Interlace Platform, which it will use to power its embedded banking business, Vantage Collabs. The bank’s new offering provides embedded banking services to fintech brands, payment infrastructure providers, and other financial institutions.
“We have seen the expansion of banks finding success in the embedded finance space to grow deposits, lending, and fee income while reducing their operating expenses driven by legacy systems,” Infinant CEO Riaz Syed said. “We are motivated about the partnership we have with Vantage Bank and our aligned strategies to advance the banking market in a responsible and sustainable manner.”
Infinant provides financial institutions with technology that enables them to launch and scale their own digital channels, embedded banking programs, and embedded payments. Infinant’s platform gives banks operational and regulatory control over their programs, enabling institutions to keep control of the ledger, operations, and compliance. The company’s APIs will facilitate fast integrations between Vantage and third-party services including Visa DPS for card issuance and processing, Sardine for KYC/KYB and AML, NICE Actimize for fraud management, and Cable for automated control testing.
“Infinant and the Interlace platform is strategic to Vantage Bank,” Vantage Bank CEO Jeff Sinnott said. “Riaz and the team at Infinant have the vision and expertise to enable Vantage to innovate to meet customer expectations.”
With $4.5 billion in assets, Vantage Bank serves businesses, families, and financial institutions in diverse communities throughout Texas. The family-owned bank is headquartered in San Antonio and maintains regional operation centers in Fort Worth and McAllen.
Second, Infinant recently reported that Customers Bank is deepening its partnership in order to automate balance mirroring with deposit partners such as Raisin US. The move will enable full, end-to-end automation, improved partner reporting, and enhanced oversight. The partnership will also help ensure that Customers Bank has technology that is flexible enough to accommodate deposit and fee income growth while also providing the necessary regulatory controls.
Founded in 2009, Pennsylvania-based Customers Bank is a self-described “super-community bank.” The institution provides banking and lending services to professionals, individuals, and families in Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas. Customers Bank has more than $22 billion in assets, making it one of the largest US bank holding companies.
Infinant made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. At the event, the company showed how its Interlace platform and launch-acceleration tools empower banks to distribute financial products via non-financial institution providers as well as products and services from fintechs through their banking channels.
Stripe is acquiring payment orchestration startup Orum to enhance its real-time payments capabilities, including FedNow, RTP, and AI-driven instant payouts.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The move follows Stripe’s earlier acquisitions of stablecoin platform Bridge and user data API company Privvy.
The acquisition reflects Stripe’s broader strategy to lead in modern, fast, and seamless payment infrastructure amid growing global demand for real-time payments.
Payment acceptance and financial services platform Stripe has agreed to acquire payment orchestration startup Orum for an undisclosed amount.
“Today, I’m excited to share the next step in our journey: Orum will be joining Stripe,” said Orum Founder and CEO Stephany Kirkpatrick in a blog post announcement.
Orum was founded in 2019 to serve as a single solution for accessing RTP, FedNow, Same Day ACH, ACH, and wires. The company’s payment API orchestrates instant payouts, using AI to predict the availability of funds within an account and pre-authorize transactions. In addition to its payment orchestration tools, Orum also verifies bank accounts and delivers payments 24/7 with its Direct to Fed solution that’s built on a connection to the US Federal Reserve’s payment rails as a service provider.
Since Orum was founded in 2019, the company has raised $82.2 million from investors including Bain Capital Ventures, Accel, and Canapi Ventures.
“Over the past six years, our incredible team at Orum has built innovative solutions that transform payment technology for businesses—revolutionizing payment speed, certainty, and orchestration,” added Kirkpatrick. “Businesses and consumers should not have to think about how their money moves from point A to point B—they should just know that it will happen with speed and certainty.”
Kirkpatrick said that combining with Stripe offers a “rare” opportunity to help Orum accelerate its mission to power a better financial system where everyone has the opportunity to build their potential.
For Stripe, which processed more than $1.4 trillion in total payment volume in 2024, the Orum purchase is just the latest in a string of acquisitions. The San Francisco-based company has also recently picked up user data API company Privy for an undisclosed amount and stablecoin platform Bridge, which cost $1.1 billion.
Today’s announcement comes at a time when real-time payments are beginning to ramp up across the globe. Conversations have been spurred by the launch of FedNow in the US in 2023, as well as growing interest in stablecoins, which are favored for their real-time settlement. Stripe’s acquisition of Orum is an example of how the company is committed to pursuing modern payment infrastructure and enabling faster, more reliable money movement for its global user base. As the payments landscape continues to evolve, this move positions Stripe as a leader in an ecosystem where speed, certainty, and seamless orchestration are table stakes.
A new partnership between WealthAI and AI-driven investment solutions provider MDOTM will bring new portfolio construction, rebalancing, and automated reporting capabilities to financial advisors and wealth managers.
Courtesy of the partnership, MDOTM’s AI platform Sphere will be offered via the WealthAI Marketplace as a seamless integration into the WealthAI platform. This will enable wealth managers and financial advisors to access Sphere’s advanced AI tools for both portfolio construction and optimization from directly within their current WealthAI workflows.
“This partnership with WealthAI is a natural step in our mission to empower investment professionals with the most advanced technology available,” MDOTM Ltd. Chief Operating Officer Federico Invernizzi said. “By integrating Sphere into the WealthAI ecosystem, we are expanding access to our AI-driven investment platform, enabling a broader range of advisors and wealth managers to benefit from its capabilities. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to helping institutional clients make impactful, data-driven investment decisions at scale.”
Sphere enhances the investment process for wealth managers and financial advisors with three primary solutions. First, the platform delivers unbiased, AI-driven investment insights that transform complex market inputs into actionable ideas for portfolio and risk alignment. Second, Sphere’s Portfolio Studio offers mass customization and scalable portfolio rebalancing. Based on the manager’s or advisor’s strategies and objectives, Portfolio Studio enables users to scale the creation, personalization, and rebalancing of thousands of portfolios with controlled tracking error. Third, the platform’s StoryFolio capability allows managers and advisors to generate automated, portfolio-specific commentaries and reports that leverage Gen AI in order to turn complex information into customized investment narratives.
“We are thrilled to partner with MDOTM Ltd to bring Sphere’s powerful AI capabilities to our clients,” WealthAI Chief Executive Officer Jason Nabi said. “This partnership reinforces our commitment to providing wealth managers with the most advanced AI tools to deliver personalized, compliant, and efficient investment solutions.”
WealthAI offers an AI operating system for wealth managers, family offices, private banks, and asset managers. The company’s WealthAI Assistant is an agentic front-end that works like an intelligent co-pilot, using reasoning skills and the ability to adapt and take initiative to help relationship managers, portfolio managers, operations managers, and compliance officers become more productive and perform better. Founded in 2023, WealthAI is headquartered in London.
Based in London and maintaining offices in both New York and Milan, Italy, MDOTM made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025. At the conference, the company demonstrated how Sphere enables users to access AI-driven insights and build and manage portfolios at scale. Sphere also provides personalized, easy-to-understand portfolio commentaries and reports featuring both macro and market analysis on the current financial environment.
Speaking of reports, this spring MDOTM teamed up with EY to produce a report that examined the impact and value of AI in the wealth and asset management sector. The report Artificial Intelligence: The Value is in Scale, reviews the primary use cases for AI in wealth management and highlights deployment of the technology for document analysis, back-office automation, advanced search, personalized advisory, and market forecasting.
The report notes that wealth managers and financial advisors have been slow to embrace AI. A 2024 survey by EY European Financial Services indicated that more than 40% of investment managers believed they were “lagging behind” when it came to using AI, with only 5% referring to themselves as “at the forefront” in terms of AI use in their daily operations. In response to this, the report encourages firms to move from an “experimental” approach to AI and instead embrace a “continuous learning mindset.”
“Operators must build the infrastructural foundations, AI governance, and recognition of the value generated to base their transformation journey,” EY Wealth & Asset Management Leader, Italy, Giovanni Andrea Incarnato said. “Furthermore, it is of fundamental importance to recognize the value of external partners in creating these foundations in an ecosystem logic in order to accelerate adoption and leverage the economies of scale and experience already gained, proceeding with progressive internalization.”
Interestingly, the report reinforces findings from other European experts in AI implementation in financial services. This includes the “experimentation to execution” transition many see as key to successful and evolving use of AI in wealth management specifically and in financial services in general.
Last week, fintech woke up from its summer slumber with the news that JPMorgan plans to increase the fees it charges aggregators. The news spurred conversations from banks, fintechs, and analysts, and discussions have been heated. What will this week bring? We’ll continue adding news to this post throughout the week, so stay tuned!
Payments
PhotonPaylaunches physical Mastercard commercial credit card to empower global business payments.
Payment processing and orchestration platform Solidgate turns to Finovate Best of Show winner Tuum to power its global money movement solution Solidgate Treasury.
Incent rebrands as Nuuvia, reflecting the company’s expanded mission to provide a full lifecycle engagement platform for community financial institutions.
Paddle raised $25 million in debt financing to support global expansion, product development, and executive growth.
The funds, which come from CIBC Innovation Banking, bring Paddle’s total funding to $318 million.
Along with the investment announcement, Paddle also unveiled new hires and plans to open an office in Austin.
Payments infrastructure company Paddleannounced this week it has raised $25 million in debt financing from CIBC Innovation Banking and others. The investment, which follows a $293 million round in 2022 from FTV Capital, KKR, 83North, and Notion Capital, brings Paddle’s total funding to more than $318 million.
“We are delighted to fund Paddle as it continues on an impressive growth trajectory,” said CIBC Innovation Banking UK & Europe Managing Director Sean Duffy.
Paddle plans to use the funding to support global expansion, accelerate growth, and promote product development.
Paddle was founded in 2012 as a Merchant of Record (MoR) to handle payments, sales tax, refunds, fraud, and compliance for its clients. The UK-based company’s payment infrastructure replaces SaaS companies’ complex payment stacks by managing global payments, currencies, refunds, and sales tax compliance for 6,000 SaaS, AI, and app companies.
Along with today’s funding, Paddle also announced key executive hires. The company is adding to its 300+ employees with the appointments of Rich Mason as CRO International, Stephen Wilcock as CTO, and Ben Aronsten as CMO. Paddle is also opening a new office in Austin, adding to the company’s existing offices in London, Lisbon, Toronto, and New York City.
“In an ever-connected world, it’s important that digital product companies can receive payment from customers in any location without the hassle of navigating multiple payment processes in different geographies. We are excited to support Paddle as it continues expanding its global footprint,” Duffy added.
Paddle has seen rapid growth in 2025, which it attributes to growth in new AI products and Apple opening its app ecosystem to web payments. The company has also recently unveiled new capabilities through a partnership with Vercel and integration with RevenueCat. Previously, the company has experienced 40% year-over-year growth and these factors will build on that.
“We are incredibly excited about the momentum Paddle has experienced so far in 2025,” said Paddle CEO Jimmy Fitzgerald. “We only win when those we serve win, and the growth we’re seeing across the market reflects that shared success. We are seeing a huge increase in the number of consumer app businesses choosing Paddle to manage their web monetization, and will continue to invest in this space with the new financing and strengthened leadership. We look forward to building on these achievements through the rest of the year and beyond as we continue to serve thousands of digital product companies worldwide.”
Paddle’s growth and fresh funding is an indication that SaaS and digital product companies are taking a new approach to global payments. As Gen AI and mobile-first implementation accelerate, companies need flexible infrastructure that handles compliance, tax, and localization without adding complexity. Paddle’s MoR approach is emerging as an alternative to fragmented payment stacks, especially as regulations tighten. Ultimately, today’s funding round and executive expansion show how Paddle is positioning itself not just as a payment provider, but as a strategic player in SaaS payments.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from France.
Spiko secured $22 million in Series A funding
French fintech platform Spiko has raised €18.9 million ($22 million) in Series A funding. The round was led by Index Ventures and featured participation from White Star Capital, Frst, Rerail, Bpifrance, and Blockwall. Spiko will use the funds to power its go-to-market strategy and to make investments in sales, marketing, product development, and new partnerships.
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Paris, Spiko offers a cash management platform designed to democratize access to money market funds and treasury yields. Spiko leverages tokenization technology to enable individuals and businesses to earn interest on their cash by investing in Treasury bills.
“In Europe, there’s a mistaken belief that your money won’t earn interest unless you lock it away or take on risk,” Spiko Co-founder Paul-Adrien Hyppolite said. “But as long as central bank rates are above zero, sitting on idle cash means European businesses are missing out on returns that US competitors routinely receive. With Spiko, we’re changing the game by making it easy for anyone to put their cash to work.”
Spiko’s business is based on what the company says is €21.5 trillion in European bank deposits that are “missing out” on higher yields. These funds also lack essential capital protection and contribute to capital inefficiency. This is unlike in the US where systems for managing liquidity are more sophisticated, enabling both small companies and large enterprises to earn interest on their cash holdings without fear of losing liquidity. Meanwhile in Europe, more and more companies have been seeking better cash optimization strategies, as well as ways to diversify their cash deposits. As a former economist at the French Treasury, Hyppolite—and his co-founder Antoine Michon, who was a technology advisor to France’s Minister of Public Sector Transformation—have had a front-row seat to this challenge.
After a year in operation, Spiko has more than €344 million ($401 million) in AUM and has processed more than €775 million ($902 million) in working capital from 1,000+ businesses. Spiko anticipates achieving €862 million ($1 billion) in AUM by the end of the year.
Paris-based Qonto seeks banking license
Financial management solution provider Qonto is looking to grow its lending, savings, and investment capabilities and has applied for a banking license from France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) in an effort to make it happen. The company, which is headquartered in Paris, currently holds a payment institution license. But securing full bank authorization would enable the firm to expand its offerings to its customers across Europe.
“SMEs need comprehensive financing solutions, and while we already serve many customers through partnerships and our Pay Later service, a banking license will enable us to expand these capabilities with complete independence,” Qonto CEO and Co-Founder Alexandre Prot said. “This application builds on our proven financial performance, having achieved profitability ahead of schedule in 2023, and supports our mission to create financial freedom for two million SMEs and freelancers across Europe by 2030.”
Qonto offers a B2B account for finance management that provides businesses with automated tools to help them manage their finances, adhere to regulations, and make better financial decisions. Businesses can use Qonto to make and receive payments, send invoices, manage expenses, seek financing, and monitor cash flow. Currently operating in eight European markets including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, Qonto could also be positioning itself before new payment regulations in the EU—specifically Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and Payment Services Regulation (PSR)—become fully implemented.
Founded in 2017 by Prot and Steve Anavi, Qonto has raised more than €600 million in funding.
Skarlett raises €8 million to bring financial services to seniors
In a funding round led by 115K, the venture capital arm of La Banque Postale, French fintech Skarletthas raised €8 million ($9.3 million) in seed funding. The Parisian-based company offers a financial services platform designed for adults over the age of 60. Nearly a third of the French population meets this qualification, yet Skarlett founders Townley Le Guénédal, Benjamin Gaignault, and Aurélien Gouttefarde have wagered that these seniors are being underserved by conventional financial institutions.
“We want to bring simplicity, transparency, and negotiation power back into the hands of this generation,” CEO Le Guénédal said. “Retirement doesn’t make you invisible. People want to live fully, invest, and protect their loved ones. Skarlett is here to help them do that.”
To this end, Skarlett offers a number of products—such as personalized health insurance, mortgage, and credit options—that are designed for the unique circumstances of older borrowers and savers. The company also offers senior-focused life insurance through a partnership with Generali.
The round also featured participation from Raise Seed for Good and Alven, which led Skarlett’s pre-seed funding round in 2023, the year the company was founded. Skarlett will leverage the proceeds of its latest capital infusion to launch its own tailor-made financial solutions for adults over the age of 60 and to invest in AI to enhance the customer experience with more personalized recommendations.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Asia-Pacific
Singaporean fintech Chocolate Finance integrated transaction enrichment technology from Snowdrop Solutions into its mobile app.
Mobile payments platform QwikPay launched in Australia.
Philippine National Bank (PNB) partnered with Japan’s Digital Wallet Corporation to enhance its money transfer services.
Sub-Saharan Africa
MoneyBadger, a bitcoin payments startup based in South Africa, raised $400,000 in pre-seed funding.
South African fintech Stitch has acquired digital payments company Efficacy Payments.
Network International teamed up with Ghanian fintech and mobile money aggregator Blu Penguin.
Central and Eastern Europe
Lithuanian Electronic Money Institution Genome teamed up with Huch for real-time payment alerts.
French fintech Silvr announced plans to enter the German market.
Walletto, a payments platform based in Lithuania, announced a partnership with financial consultancy Fintech Poland.
Paytech Global Payments renewed its partnership with Banamex to enhance payment solutions for the Mexican acquiring and banking services market.
The Trump Administration has called for an investigation into Brazil’s digital trade practices, including its instant payment system Pix, over alleged unfair treatment to US companies.
