17 Fintechs Innovating in Modern Banking Infrastructure, Payments, and Operations

There may be no clearer use case for AI than leveraging the technology to transform manual processes and boost operational efficiency. From cross-border payments to document management to fraud investigation to underwriting, fintech innovators have embraced AI to empower banks, credit unions, lenders, and other financial institutions to become more efficient, analyze data better, cut costs, meet compliance obligations, and provide more personalized service to their customers and members.

Beyond simply deploying AI, these fintechs in many cases represent an emerging generation of infrastructure providers that facilitate bank and credit union modernization without requiring them to "rip and replace" their existing core systems. By helping banks and credit unions meet emerging regulatory mandates, boost efficiency, and compete with rivals within and outside of financial services while keeping the cost of modernization low, these innovators are key partners for financial services firms that are eager to deploy new technologies but are…

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9 Fintechs Personalizing Customer Engagement and Financial Wellness

For years, financial institutions have talked about delivering more personalized experiences. But personalization is evolving beyond simply putting a customer’s name in a message or recommending a product based on broad demographic segments. In the last few years, banks and fintechs have been using behavioral and transactional data, AI, incentives, and contextual insights to understand what customers need and deliver relevant experiences at the moments when they are most likely to act.

At FinovateFall 2026, taking place September 9 through 11 in New York, a diverse group of companies will demonstrate new approaches to customer engagement and financial wellness. Their technologies range from hyper-personalized digital banking and transaction intelligence to financial education, community commerce, loan repayment incentives, and investing tools for the next generation. Below, we've highlighted nine companies that will take the stage at FinovateFall to illustrate how financial institutions can turn customer data and everyday financial interactions…

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Conversational AI Platform for Financial Services OmniAI Rebrands as Monumint

OmniAI, an agentic AI firm that made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2025 last year in New York, has rebranded as Monumint.

"This is more than a new name. It's the next chapter of our company," the firm began its LinkedIn post discussing the rebranding. "As financial services enters the era of AI, every customer should still receive a personal, high-touch experience," the post continued. "We believe conversational AI is the foundation that makes that possible. That's why we're becoming Monumint." The new name of the firm was inspired by the strength and endurance of monuments, "structures that have been built to last ... just like the relationships financial institutions build with their customers."

Monumint offers a conversational AI platform for financial institutions. The company's technology leverages agentic AI to manage the entire borrower lifecycle across email, SMS, and voice. Monumint's AI agents support account opening, loan origination, servicing,…

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APL FCU Teams Up with Spiral for Personalized Savings and Charitable Giving

APL Federal Credit Union has teamed up with digital banking engagement firm Spiral to give its members new, seamless ways to save and donate to their favorite charitable causes.

The credit union, which uses the Alkami Digital Banking Platform, will embed Spiral's Roundup Center and Giving Center, innovations demoed last year at FinovateFall 2025 in New York.

Spiral's partnership with APL FCU comes just a few weeks after the fintech announced a similar partnership with California-based Foothill Credit Union.

APL Federal Credit Union, a Maryland-based credit union, has partnered with Spiral to give its members new ways to save for their financial goals through everyday purchases while seamlessly supporting local and national charities.

"Credit unions have a unique opportunity to drive deposits and primary relationships by helping people make financial progress every day," Spiral Founder and CEO Shawn Melamed said. "APL FCU is showing how digital banking can help members…

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Oxford Bank Partners with Swaystack to Drive Customer Engagement

Onboarding and engagement specialist Swaystack has partnered with Oxford Bank of Michigan and Cascade Federal Credit Union of Washington State.

Oxford Bank and Cascade FCU will both use Swaystack's gamified onboarding and engagement solution to enhance and streamline onboarding, account funding, direct deposit switching, and more.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Swaystack made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2026.

Customer onboarding and engagement specialist Swaystack has teamed up with Oxford Bank, the oldest commercial bank in Oakland County, Michigan. Swaystack will bring its gamified onboarding and engagement solution to the bank's customers within Jack Henry's Banno digital banking platform, helping customers fund accounts, switch direct deposits, and transfer subscriptions from the first login.

"We've always believed that earning a customer's trust means showing up at every step of their financial life," Oxford Bank Chief Operating Officer Nancy Rosentrater said. "With Swaystack, we can now do that digitally—walking customers through funding their…

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What Montana Taught Me About the Future of Community Banking

Growing up in Montana, community banking was the only type of banking I ever knew until I left town for college. My best friend's mom worked at the bank down the street, and all of the tellers recognized my parents when we walked into the branch. My mom started her own business by obtaining a working line of credit after presenting a business plan and a promise.

As a kid, I thought every town worked this way. Now, decades later, looking back on those experiences offers important insights into banking.

Community banking, especially in a small town, has always depended on trust, reputation, personal connections, and long-term relationships. When I switched to a digital-only bank in 2006, that sense of connection largely disappeared. My relationship with the bank felt less personal and more centered on the transactions I was making.

That disconnect may help explain why so many fintechs now…

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Will World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture linked to President Donald Trump, secure a bank charter? Will PayPal sell itself to Stripe? There's a lot to mull over in the fintech headlines as the week begins. Be sure to check back here at Finovate's Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest in news and announcements.

Digital banking

Regional financial institution Flagstar Bank ($87.7 billion in assets) partners with Fiserv to support its core modernization strategy.

Oman-based BankDhofar introduces youth accounts to promote financial literacy among the country's young adults.

Agentic AI

Alipay unveils China's first full-stack agentic commerce platform.

Payments

Payment acceptance solutions company Ingenico raises €150 million from a group of investors led by PIMCO.

TransFi launches JARVIS, a proprietary AI-powered compliance intelligence platform for cross-border payments.

Payfuture and Payouts.com team up to launch local payment rails for India payouts.

Wealth management

Retirement and savings…

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Airwallex Taps Affirm for BNPL

Airwallex has partnered with Affirm to enable merchants in 35 countries to offer BNPL options to eligible US customers at checkout.

Airwallex merchants can add Affirm without an additional integration, giving shoppers access to interest-free and longer-term installment payment options.

The partnership expands Affirm’s distribution while helping Airwallex merchants offer more competitive checkout experiences and potentially boost conversion and transaction sizes.

Global payments platform Airwallex has teamed up with flexible payments company Affirm to allow merchants in 35 countries to provide flexible payment options at checkout to their eligible US customers.

Without additional integration, merchants can bring Affirm's buy now, pay later (BNPL) capabilities, allowing shoppers to choose a payment schedule that works best for their cashflow at the point of sale. Among Affirm's flexible financing options are four interest-free installments or monthly installments of up to 24 months. Affirm will not charge late fees and shows shoppers what they…

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FinovateFall 2026 Beyond the Demos: Check Out the Industry Stage Highlights

FinovateFall is just three weeks away! This year's event features three industry stages: AI and Innovation, The Future of Money, and Customer Experience and Trust. Each stage is designed to offer banking and fintech leaders insight into what’s working in practice, what’s breaking under the pressure of new technology and regulations, and what institutions need to rethink about their current operations.

AI and Innovation

Artificial intelligence has moved beyond experimentation. The conversations at FinovateFall will focus on what comes next, such as transitioning from AI copilots to semi-autonomous agents, measuring the ROI of AI projects, and examining where investments are still falling short. Sessions will explore enterprise-scale AI development, practical approaches to modernizing legacy technology, the rise of agentic commerce, and the front-office opportunities that promise the greatest competitive advantage. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of where AI is creating real business value today and where the next…

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10 Fintechs Innovating in Fraud, Risk, Compliance, and Trust Infrastructure

Most folks in banking and financial services do not enjoy talking about fraud and financial crime. This is not surprising. When it comes to fraud, there is rarely "good news." Instead, it's usually a matter of "no news" vs "bad news," In this world, many can't help but feel as if the "good news" is that the "bad news" hasn't happened—yet.

While keynotes and industry stages dedicated to fraud and financial crime will be limited at FinovateFall 2026 next month, the world looks quite different from the demo stage, where a dozen companies will be showcasing their latest innovations to help banks, credit unions, and other organizations monitor their processes in real time, detect fraud before it causes emotional or financial damage, and provide procedures and strategies to help avoid similar attacks in the future. In other words, just because we don't always hear C-suite executives from banks and financial…

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Zeplyn Launches Agentic Account-Opening Workflow in Partnership with Schwab

AI-powered operating system for wealth management Zeplyn announced a new integration with Schwab Advisor Center to automate account opening and meeting preparation workflows.

The integration follows the company's launch of a new platform capability, Advisor Coaching, that gives wealth management advisors actionable feedback on their client interactions.

Headquartered in New York and founded in 2023, Zeplyn made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2025.

Zeplyn, an AI operating system for wealth management, announced a new integration with Schwab Advisor Center that expands the reach of Zeplyn Agent Nexus into two key workflows for wealth managers: account opening and meeting preparation. The integration enables advisors to open Schwab Advisor Services accounts in seconds, leveraging AI agents to automatically complete Schwab's digital account-opening workflows while incorporating live Schwab holdings and transactions into Zeplyn's AI-powered client briefs.

"Schwab Advisor Center is one of the most important platforms in wealth management, and we're excited…

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AltaOne FCU Launches Veep Software’s AnyTimePay Solution

Earned wage access platform provider Veep Software announced that AltaOne Federal Credit Union has launched its AnyTimePay offering. AnyTimePay provides employees with access to earned wages before their scheduled payday.

The product launch comes at the same time that AltaOne Federal Credit Union announced a strategic investment in the Florida-based fintech.

Veep Software was founded in 2019. The company made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2025 in New York.

Veep Software announced that AltaOne Federal Credit Union has gone live with Veep's AnyTimePay offering, an earned wage access solution that gives members access to their earned wages before their scheduled payday. AltaOne FCU's launch of AnyTimePay comes at the same time that the California-based financial institution announced a strategic investment in Veep. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

Veep's AnyTimePay platform is the company's composable infrastructure layer for AI-driven, risk-aligned pay access. Built to support institutional deployment, governance,…

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