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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Google launched Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an interoperability layer that lets AI agents discover products, authenticate users, and complete transactions.
Unlike AP2, which governs how agents move money, UCP orchestrates the entire commerce flow.
UCP will require banks to create new approaches to authentication, consent, liability, and trust as AI agents become active participants in commerce.
Google unveiled its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) today, which essentially serves as the plumbing for how AI agents buy things on consumers’ behalf. But what does it really do and how is it different from Google’s AP2 launched last fall? Here’s a simple breakdown of the newly launched protocol.
What does UCP do?
Co-developed with major retailers and ecommerce players, including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol is essentially a standardized way for AI agents to discover products, request prices, authenticate users, and complete transactions. You can think of it like HTTPS, which is a set of rules that serves as a standardized protocol that governs and encrypts how browsers request and servers send web content over the internet.
Similarly, UCP is an interoperability layer that allows many systems to talk to each other and enables AI agents to make purchases and decisions on a consumer’s behalf, instead of just making product recommendations. UCP is more than a marketplace or a wallet. The new protocol coordinates the various aspects of how agents, merchants, identity systems, and payment rails interact during a transaction.
Google plans to use UCP to power a new checkout feature on select Google product listings that will allow shoppers to check out using Google Pay and PayPal from eligible retailers in AI Mode within Search and in the Gemini app.
From an end users’ perspective, this may seem similar to OpenAI’s partnerships with retailers like Walmart that allow shoppers to make purchases within ChatGPT. Google’s move, however, is markedly different. That’s because Google owns the payment rails. While the retailer remains the seller of record, Google controls the checkout experience as well as the protocol, which standardizes identity, payment credentials, shipping information, and consent.
How does UCP differ from AP2?
The final quarter of 2025 brought a deluge of new agentic commerce protocols to the market, creating confusion about the roles of protocols and the players involved. Among the protocols launched last year was Google’s AP2, its Agent Payments Protocol. AP2 is much narrower in scope than UCP, however, because while AP2 governs how an AI agent is allowed to move money, UCP orchestrates the entire commerce flow.
UCP handles product and service discovery, pricing and availability queries, merchant interaction, user intent and authorization checks, transaction confirmation, and fulfillment. AP2, on the other hand, is entirely payments focused. It handles payment initiation, authorization limits, credential handling, transaction execution, and settlement signaling.
What does all of this mean for banks?
Agentic commerce is moving fast and is set to change how transactions are initiated, authorized, and executed. As AI agents take on a more active role in purchasing, banks will need to rethink their role in the transaction stack and consider how to authenticate AI agents and create policies around who is liable when an agent transacts. Fortunately, protocols like UCP create auditability and can program trust into every transaction.
There is a race to the top in Agentic commerce, and Google is here to make sure its name is front and center. The tech giant launched its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard for agentic commerce, and payments companies like PayPal and Ant International are jumping on board. Read on for more fintech news headlines. We’ll continue to add more announcements as the week progresses.
DeFi
Rainraises $250 million Series C to scale stablecoin-powered payments infrastructure for global enterprises.
BNYextends digital cash capabilities for institutional clients.
Ripplereceives FCA permissions to scale Ripple Payments in the UK.
Emburselaunches Invoice Tax Validation to help global businesses comply with growing wave of e-invoice regulation.
Affirmupdates underwriting with enhanced signals to better reflect consumers’ real-time finances.
AMLYZEpartners with Vinted Pay as it expands payment infrastructure.
Digital banking
The State of Georgia Department of Banking and Finance has officially acceptedCheckout.com‘s application for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter.
Wio Bankunveils first UAE bank account for content creators.
There’s no doubt that 2026 is shaping up to be yet another year in which DeFi—from stablecoins to tokenized assets—commands its share of fintech headlines. But the innovations taking place in insurance and insurtech are also worthy of note.
From embedded insurance solutions to insurance that is bundled with loans, mortgages, or other financial products, technology is having as much impact on the insurance industry as it is in any other field within fintech. Insurtech is leveraging automation, machine learning, AI, and even blockchain technology to help improve efficiency, control costs, better manage and safeguard data, and enhance the insurance process for both retail and enterprise customers. Here’s a look at a handful of recent stories that help show where insurtech is today.
Corgi Investment Fuels AI-Powered Insurance for Startups
Corgi Insurance has secured $108 million in funding, as well as regulatory authority to operate an AI-native, full-stack insurance carrier dedicated to startup companies. Investors included Contrary, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Kindred Ventures, Leblon Capital, Oliver Jung, Seven Stars, and Y Combinator.
Also participating in the funding were Andrej Henkler and Fadwa Ouardani, Alumni Ventures, Fellows Fund, Phosphor Capital, Quadri Ventures, SV Angel, and Vocal Ventures.
Corgi Insurance will use the capital to grow its insurance offering for startups, with a focus on broadening coverage options and widening distribution. The company will also invest in its AI systems that support underwriting, claims processing, and policy administration.
“Founders shouldn’t have to choose between speed, coverage quality, and price,” Corgi Co-Founder and CEO Nico Laqua said. “We built Corgi to deliver all three in one place, so startups can get covered quickly and focus on building. This capital helps us expand coverage and keep improving the product.”
Headquartered in San Francisco, California and founded in 2023, Corgi is a full-stack carrier, overseeing the design and management of its insurance products internally. This makes it easier to adapt policies to fit startup customers as they grow. Additionally, Corgi notes that its technology enables instant quotations, pricing, and coverage that changes as businesses scale. Securing regulatory approval makes Corgi a licensed insurance carrier, providing underwriting, claims handling, and policy management via its AI-enhanced platforms.
Corgi’s insurance products include AI liability, directors and officers liability, errors and omissions liability, commercial general liability, cyber insurance, fiduciary liability, and hired and non-owned auto coverage. The company has reported annual recurring revenue of more than $40 million since securing full regulatory approval in July 2025.
Insurtech Covr Announces New C-Suite Leadership
Digital insurance solutions provider Covr Financial Technologiesshared news of two major C-suite changes last week. The company announced that Sam Barnett would join Covr as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with Bob Klein taking on the role of Chief Distribution Officer (CDO). Barnett and Klein are co-founders of VIBE Insurance Services and, as part of the leadership transition, Covr will “acqui-hire” the VIBE team.
The leadership announcement also follows Covr’s recent merger with Optifino in the fall of 2025. Together, the three entities combine Covr’s operational and compliance infrastructure, Optifino’s AI-powered platform, and VIBE’s independent agency expertise and leadership to offer a comprehensive suite of insurance solutions.
“Following the Optifino-Covr merger last fall, I retained Sam and Bob’s firm, VIBE Consulting Services, to help guide our transition,” current Covr CEO David Kleinhandler explained. “As we worked together, it became clear that the opportunity was larger. Their expertise, vision, and ability to execute made them the natural choice to run the newly merged company, and I approached them about joining full-time to help author our next chapter. I’m truly excited that they accepted, and look forward to our ongoing collaboration.”
Headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and founded in 2016, Covr empowers advisors to identify the right insurance product for their clients at the right time. The firm boasts 20 partnerships with financial institutions and banks, offers 122 insurance products, and serves more than 30,000 financial professionals and 100+ million customers. The company leverages enterprise-grade distribution, best-in-class compliance infrastructure, and advanced AI-driven planning tools to deliver faster case design, smarter product fit, and a seamless end-to-end insurance journey.
“This merger creates powerful synergies,” Covr Chief Innovation Officer Michael Doniger said. “Our institutional distribution and compliance infrastructure perfectly complements Bob and Sam’s independent channel distribution. And when you layer in our strong carrier relationships with the tech firepower of the Covr-Optifino platform, we’re giving advisors and agencies capabilities they’ve simply never had before.”
Cyber and Specialty Insurer Cowbell Launches Growth Initiative
It’s been a busy winter for adaptive cyber and specialty insurance solutions provider Cowbell. In November, the company announced a brand refresh to reflect the firm’s growth into a broader digital protection partner in the field of commercial specialty insurance. In December, Cowbell introduced self-service capabilities for its Cowbell Resiliency Services (CRS). This enabled policyholders to query and activate risk management services directly from their policy dashboard. The new offering also expanded Cowbell’s commitment to making it easier for businesses to manage digital risk.
This month, we learned that Cowbell has announced its next stage of strategic growth, which includes an emphasis on five drivers: international cyber, financial lines, resiliency services, mid-market expansion, and franchise subscriptions. In a statement, company CEO and Founder Jack Kudale said that the new initiative marks the firm’s evolution from an Adaptive Cyber Insurance provider to a digital protection partner spanning cyber, professional, and management liability lines.
“As we enter this new cycle, parlaying our success in new products, new services, and new markets over the past 18 months, we are poised to scale responsibly and profitably,” Kudale said. “Cowbell has built a solid foundation of technology, talent, and trust. Now, we’re focusing on translating that strength into sustained growth, global expansion, and operating profitability while continuing to deliver protection that creates confidence, not complexity.”
The company’s strategic growth announcement comes as Cowbell introduces new Chief Financial Officer John Botros, who brings to the insurtech more than 10 years of financial leadership in technology and cyber risk organizations, most recently as CFO of Resilience.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Pleasanton, California, Cowbell is a commercial insurance company that helps make digital risks manageable. Cowbell offers cyber liability insurance to defend businesses against cyber risks before, during, and after any incident; errors and omissions coverage for technology professionals; and insurance protection for managers and leaders of small to medium-sized organizations. The firm serves approximately 30,000 SMEs around the world, representing a total insured revenue of $610 billion. Cowbell has paid over $275 million in claims since inception.
M3 Insurance Teams Up with SimplePin to Modernize its Operations
US-based insurance brokerage and risk management firm M3 Insurance has partnered with SimplePin to modernize its finance and accounting operations. SimplePin will help M3 Insurance automate its insurance receivables across multiple payment channels, accelerating processing, enhancing data accuracy, and ensuring organization-wide visibility in financial activity and performance.
“SimplePin helps us reduce manual work behind the scenes while improving the payment experience for clients, carriers, and partners,” M3 Insurance Senior Director of Finance Jamin Friedl said. “It’s a meaningful step forward as we modernize operations and keep pace with where the industry is headed.”
The partnership reflects M3 Insurance’s response to higher transaction volumes, growing complexity in payment options, and other operational pressures. Collaborating with SimplePin will enable the insurer to automate the capture, posting, and reconciliation of insurance payments. This will provide real-time visibility into cash flow and enable M3 Insurance to respond to issues and exceptions. The company praised SimplePin’s platform for its ability to reduce the amount of manual effort involved, and noted that the partnership was about more than a single technology implementation.
“We’re not looking for a traditional vendor relationship,” Friedl said. “We value partners we can collaborate with as the industry changes and new needs emerge. SimplePin stood out as a team that understands insurance operations and is aligned with the way we want to evolve.”
Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, and founded in 1968, M3 Insurance is a private and independent insurance broker and risk management firm. The company offers a wide range of services and products including property and casualty coverage, employee benefits programs, retirement and wealth management solutions, HR services, and more.
This week, M3 Insurance announced the promotion of Erik Vandermause to Chief Information Officer (CIO). Part of M3 Insurance since 2023, Vandermause was previously Vice President of Applied Intelligence at the firm. He has served in executive roles at companies including Accenture and CUNA Mutual Group.
Meet Finovate’s Insurtech Alums
Finovate has showcased a number of fintech innovators over the years. Some of these companies provide solutions for insurance companies, while other firms leverage embedded technology to enable companies to offer insurance products to their customers. In fact, this latter group has made up the majority of those insurtechs that have demonstrated their technology live on the Finovate stage. This includes Best of Show winners like Wysh (FinovateFall 2023), startups like Amplify Life Insurance (FinovateFall 2021), and veterans like Insuritas and Gradatim. Mortgage tech Blend launched its own home insurance offering in 2018, the same year Revolut began offering travel insurance.
Also among Finovate’s insurance-related alums are UK-based insurance advisory firm Anorak and Sureify, which specializes in educating insurance consumers. Coverhound, which made its Finovate debut back in 2012, offers a rate-comparison solution to help consumers save money when buying insurance.
Bilt is partnering with Verifone to embed its loyalty and customer experience platform directly into Verifone Victa point-of-sale devices and will allow merchants to recognize and engage members at checkout with personalized experiences.
The integration requires no new hardware and works across multiple payment providers.
For Bilt, the deal creates a scalable distribution channel through Verifone’s point-of-sale devices, significantly expanding its merchant reach.
Loyalty platform Biltannounced it is teaming up with Verifone this week. The partnership will integrate Bilt’s experience and loyalty platform into Verifone’s Victa point-of-sale hardware devices.
The nine Verifone Victa point-of-sale devices range from enterprise-grade registers to small mobile and portable devices. Integrating Bilt’s loyalty tools into these devices will help merchants engage customers at point of sale by embedding personalized experiences and member identity into the payment experience.
The native integration, which won’t require additional hardware investment or changes to existing workflows, is designed to be easy for merchants to adopt. It works across multiple payment providers as an out-of-the-box tool that has already been tested and certified, which lowers implementation risk and shortens the time it takes for businesses to go live with Bilt’s customer experience tools.
“By embedding Bilt’s loyalty technology directly into the Verifone platform, delivered through Victa, we’re enabling merchants to elevate customer engagement without adding hardware or disrupting existing workflows,” said Verifone CEO Himanshu Patel. “Through the Verifone gateway, merchants get a pre-certified, enterprise-grade integration that accelerates time to market and is already proven at scale—while unlocking access to Bilt’s member base.”
Bilt was founded in 2021 to offer a loyalty rewards program and credit card that allows renters to earn points when they pay their rent, building credit with every payment. With no annual fee, the Bilt Mastercard credit card also allows cardholders to earn points on select dining experiences, rideshare purchases, and travel purchases. These points can be redeemed for travel, fitness classes, home decor, and even a down payment on a future home.
For Bilt, today’s partnership has the potential to massively increase its merchant footprint by placing its loyalty and customer experience tools directly into widely deployed point-of-sale hardware. By meeting merchants where transactions already occur, Bilt can scale distribution without requiring merchants to adopt new systems or change how they operate.
This is big news for Bilt. The partnership has the potential to move Bilt from a card-centric loyalty program into embedded commerce infrastructure that meets consumers and merchants directly at the point-of-sale.
“Partnering with Verifone—the gold standard in payment hardware—means our merchant partners get best-in-class customer experience technology that’s already delivering better reviews, faster operations, and happier customers,” said Bilt Founder and CEO Ankur Jain. “This partnership with Verifone brings our proven membership and loyalty tech right to the point-of-sale—dining, fitness, retail, you name it. Together, we’re completely changing how merchants connect with their customers. Now they can automatically recognize and reward people at checkout, which means every transaction becomes a chance to build real relationships and unlock new revenue with personalized offers.”
Bilt will begin rolling out the Verifone integration with select restaurant groups, and will make its tools more available to a broader set of merchants throughout 2026.
This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Egypt.
Valu Launches Platform in Jordan
Egyptian fintech Valu has secured final approval from the Central Bank of Jordan to begin operations in Jordan. Valu was granted a Specialized Finance license that will enable the company to launch financial services in the Kingdom. Valu said it would being offering services in Q1 of 2026, providing consumers with flexible financing solutions across retail, healthcare, electronics, and education. Former Jordanian Minister of Investment and Digital Economy Mothanna Gharaibeh will serve as Chairman of the new entity, with fintech executive Mohammad Al Yousef serving as CEO.
“Securing final approval from the Central Bank of Jordan under a Specialized Finance license is a pivotal moment for Valu and a testament to the strength of our platform, governance model, and long-term vision for the market,” Valu Chief Market Expansion and Strategy Officer Habiba Naguib said. “Jordan is a key pillar in Valu’s regional expansion strategy.”
The decision to launch in Jordan reflects Valu’s determination to further financial inclusion and deepen its presence in the region. Valu secured initial regulatory clearance in 2025, the same year it was listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), and strengthened its partnership with Amazon. Amazon purchased a 3.25% stake in the Egyptian fintech last spring.
“As we prepare to begin operations in the first quarter of the year 2026, our focus remains on driving financial inclusion through innovative, customer-centric products while investing in local talent and contributing meaningfully to the Jordanian financial ecosystem,” Naguib added.
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Sheikh Zayed City, Egypt, Valu is a lifestyle-enabling fintech platform and a pioneer in offering Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions in the MENA region. Valu offers flexible, customizable financing plans across more than 5,000 points of sale and more than 600 websites. The company also offers investment products, savings solutions, HR payroll services for businesses, and Sha2labaz, an instant cash redemption program.
Bank NXT Teams Up with IBM
Egypt-based Bank NXT has selected a trio of solutions from IBM to accelerate its digital banking transformation. In collaboration with Inspire for Solutions Development, the financial institution will implement IBM’s Instana, Turbonomic, and Cloud Pak solutions to enhance real-time observability, automated resource optimization, and advanced integration. The addition of all three technologies reflects Bank NXT’s integrated approach to boosting resilience, minimizing downtime, optimizing IT resources, and delivering better banking experiences for customers.
“This progress strengthens the reliability of the bank’s digital platform and boosts operational efficiency,” Bank NXT Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Tamer Seif said. “It accelerates service delivery and expands the range of digital solutions we offer, ultimately leading to a better customer experience and faster, more responsive service.”
IBM Instana will provide the financial institution with real-time observability across digital banking applications to support proactive monitoring and faster issue resolution. IBM Turbonomic offers automated, intelligent resource optimization across hybrid cloud environments, helping maximize IT utilization while keeping costs low and performance consistent. IBM Cloud Pak—both for Integration and for Business Automation—runs on Red Hat OpenShift to create a unified digital platform that streamlines operations, reduces complexity, and promotes faster development and deployment of new solutions and services.
“Our collaboration with IBM and Inspire for Solutions Development is a crucial part of the bank’s transformation strategy,” Seif said. “By adopting the DevOps model and improving our business automation capabilities, we have enhanced the flexibility of our technology infrastructure. This advance prepares us to integrate with fintech companies through an API-driven ecosystem, fostering a more open and innovative environment.”
Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Cairo, Bank NXT serves both retail and business customers with services ranging from basic bank accounts and loans to wealth management.
AFS Launches SoftPOS
Arab Financial Services (AFS) announced that its subsidiary in Egypt has secured a SoftPOS license from the country’s central bank. The approval makes AFS Egypt one of the first fintechs in Egypt to bring a fully licensed SoftPOS solution to market.
AFS’s SoftPOS solution transforms any NFC-enabled smartphone into a secure and fully functional payment terminal. The solution provides merchants with a fast, low-cost, and highly scalable option for accepting payments. The technology eliminates the need for expensive hardware and supports all types of contactless cards, making digital commerce more accessible for both merchants and their customers.
“Going live with SoftPOS in Egypt is a transformative milestone for AFS and the Egyptian market,” AFS CEO Samer Soliman said. “This fully licensed solution allows us to instantly turn any NFC-enabled Android smartphone into a secure payment terminal, eliminating hardware costs and making digital acceptance accessible to businesses of all sizes. We view this launch as the foundation, and our immediate plan is to continuously expand its feature set and introduce innovative use cases that will further accelerate financial inclusion and power a digitally empowered economy.”
AFS Egypt is a subsidiary of AFS, which was formed in 1984 to provide banks and merchants with payment services, solutions, and expertise. Today, the company is owned by 37 banks and financial institutions, serving more than 60 clients in 20+ countries throughout the MENA region. A leading digital payment solutions provider regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, AFS boasts a portfolio that includes digital mobile wallets, merchant acquiring services, digital payroll solutions, contact centers, and more.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Southern Asia
Pakistan-based digital nano-lending platform Daira announced a strategic partnership with Infinix Pakistan, itel Pakistan, and Tecno Mobile Pakistan to deliver Buy Now, Pay Later services.
Bangladesh’s largest private commercial bank Pubali Bank PLC and payments solution provider BPC teamed up to modernize the bank’s card management infrastructure.
Forbes profiled recent fintech developments in countries in “South Asia beyond India” including Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
In our latest interview from FinovateFall 2025, Beyond the Arc CEO Steven Ramirez talks with Shruti Patel, EVP and Business CPO at US Bank, about the institution’s approach to supporting small- and mid-market businesses. The two discuss the emergence of new digital capabilities, embedded payroll and account payable solutions, as well as the role of customer experience in shaping product design.
“We are super focused on our small businesses. They are looking for very simple banking products: an easy-to-use, best-in-class operating, savings, or money market account. They’re looking for a great rewards card. And then, last but not least, small dollar loans. We excel in our small business access loans. We are number four nationally and very close in California, as well. When it comes to their lending needs, when it comes to their banking needs, we’re very much focused on how can we make the life of a small business really, really easy.”
Joining US Bank in 2023, Patel has brought leadership experience from across fintech, banking, and payments. Previously head of global partnerships and monetization at Shopify—and before that head of embedded payments and partnerships at JPMorgan Chase—Patel today oversees services for US Bank’s small business and mid-market customers across money movement and credit card solutions, as well as the bank’s full suite of digital capabilities.
With nearly 1.4 million business customers representing up to $25 million in revenue, US Bank serves its clients at every business life stage—from starting a business to managing a growing company to selling a successful venture. US Bank provides a comprehensive and integrated suite of banking and payments solutions delivered both digitally and via its trusted banking partners.
Clover is partnering with Wink to embed biometric identity directly into the payment flow across Clover’s point-of-sale ecosystem.
The integration enables identity-based payments using facial, palm, and voice recognition and will support transactions, loyalty enrollment, and age verification without passwords, physical cards, or additional hardware.
The partnership treats identity as a core layer of the transaction and aims to deliver faster checkout, reduced fraud, and simpler operations for merchants.
Fiserv-owned Clover, a company that provides Android-powered point-of-sale tools, announced it is partnering with biometric identity and payments platform Wink to offer a new way to pay.
Clover will integrate Wink’s biometric identity technology into its existing platform, enabling identity-based payments designed to improve security and streamline checkout for both merchants and customers.
Texas-based Wink, a FinovateSpring 2023 Best of Show winner, provides a multi-factor biometric platform that combines facial, palm, voice, and device recognition to authenticate customer identities across in-store, mobile, and online transactions—without relying on passwords, physical cards, or additional hardware.
The integration brings together Clover’s payment and loyalty tools with Wink’s biometric authentication capabilities, allowing consumers to complete transactions, enroll in loyalty programs, and verify age-restricted purchases using biometric authentication. All transactions are processed through Wink’s PCI Level 1 and SOC 2–compliant payment gateway.
“The future of commerce is the unification of payment and identity,” said Fiserv SVP and Global Chief Product Officer of Merchant Solutions Sanjay Saraf. “By embedding Wink’s leading biometric security and intelligence directly into the Clover platform, we’re making cutting-edge technology simple, secure, and accessible for Main Street SMB businesses, helping them to deliver exceptional experiences and unlock new opportunities for growth.”
While contactless payments tools became less exciting after COVID, the heart of this collaboration is around a more central aspect of payments: identity. By integrating Wink’s tools, Clover is bringing identity into the core layer of the transaction, rather than a separate step handled through passwords, cards, or manual checks. For merchants, this could mean faster throughput, lower fraud, and fewer operational touchpoints.
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.
“Wink’s strategic integration with Clover will bring unparalleled security, speed, and intelligence to every transaction across a large ecosystem of merchants, app developers, and partners,” said Deepak Jain, Founder and CEO of Wink. “We are excited to work closely with Fiserv to bring to market many advanced use cases of identity-driven payments that will define the future of connected commerce at scale across retail, hospitality, venues, and stadiums.”
Clover will make the biometric capabilities available across all of its point-of-sale devices, including Station Duo, Mini, Flex, and Clover Kiosk, and will not require additional hardware changes. The new biometric technology will be available to QSRs, sports venues, and retailers, in a continuous rollout throughout 2026.
UK-based paytech Modulr has entered the US as part of a strategic partnership with global fintech FIS.
The partnership will enable FIS to leverage Modulr’s technology for its cloud-native orchestration platform Money Movement Hub.
Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS has been a Finovate alum since 2010.
UK-based payment technology provider Modulr has gone live in the United States, bringing its real-time, API-first payment capability to one of the largest payment markets in the world. Modulr has forged a strategic partnership with global fintech FIS and will provide critical technology for the company’s Money Movement Hub, a cloud-native orchestration platform that harmonizes the payments ecosystem by integrating major global networks via a single API.
“Expanding into the US is a natural step for Modulr as we respond to growing global demand for real-time, reliable payments infrastructure,” Modulr Founder and CEO Myles Stephenson said. “Our partnership with FIS is a collaborative launchpad, combining our proven expertise with FIS’s deep market presence to help US financial institutions modernize, innovate, and unlock the full potential of instant payments.”
FIS Money Movement Hub offers a unified point of access to real-time, batch, and cross-border payment rails, enabling financial institutions to provide their customers with faster, more flexible services. For its part, Modulr brings extensive experience in accessing payment schemes across the UK and Europe, including the company’s direct participation in the UK’s main payment schemes, Faster Payments and Bacs, as well as SEPA and SWIFT access.
“Modulr’s expertise in payments and scalable solutions perfectly complements FIS’s expansive reach,” FIS Co-President, Banking Solutions, Jim Johnson said, “creating a powerhouse for innovation, efficiency, and expansion across the money lifecycle.”
Processing more than 300 million transactions a year, with a total payment volume of more than £150 billion, Modulr’s API-first platform enables companies to embed payments into core solutions and services. With deployments across a network of more than 15 ERP, accounting, payroll, and travel booking integrations—including Sage, BrightPay, Xero, and Juniper—Modulr’s payments hub provides customers with greater efficiency, control, and security. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, Modulr is a regulated Authorized Electronic Money Institution (AEMI) in the UK under the Financial Conduct Authority and is regulated in the Netherlands by De Nederlandsche Bank.
A Finovate alum since 2010, FIS most recently demoed on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2016. The company provides comprehensive financial services including payment processing, banking technology, and financial software, working with banks, merchants, and capital markets firms to improve efficiency, scalability, and security. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and founded in 1968, FIS works with 95% of the world’s leading banks and has more than 14,000 clients across 150 countries. FIS counts 90% of private equity firms, 70% of the top 100 insurance firms, and more than 4,900 financial services companies and credit unions among its customers and partners.
FIS ended 2025 being recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for retail core banking systems in North America. Stephanie Ferris is the company’s CEO and President.
As we enter the next era of digitization 2.0, identity verification and fraud prevention have moved from supporting roles to critical infrastructure. At the same time, advances in AI are making it easier for bad actors to circumvent legacy controls, increasing both the complexity and the stakes of managing digital risk.
From onboarding new customers to authenticating transactions and preventing losses in real time, banks and fintechs are under pressure to strike the right balance between security and user experience. Fortunately, fintechs are tackling this challenge head-on, building identity and fraud controls that reduce friction, strengthen trust, and make digital finance scalable. The four companies below are building some of the most cutting-edge tools in this segment and will showcase their solutions on the demo stage at FinovateEurope, which takes place February 10 and 11 in London.
Candour Identity aims to improve digital onboarding by combining identity verification, biometrics, and fraud prevention into a single workflow. The platform is designed to help financial institutions increase conversion rates while maintaining regulatory compliance, enabling ongoing biometric authentication beyond initial onboarding. By supporting daily identity checks for login and payment use cases, Candour reduces fraud losses without introducing additional friction for legitimate users.
Darwinium helps organizations detect and prevent fraud while minimizing friction for trusted customers. Its platform distinguishes between high-risk and low-risk users in real time, allowing banks and fintechs to provide a “VIP” experience to good customers while applying stronger controls where needed. The approach is designed to reduce fraud losses without sacrificing the overall customer experience.
Elephant targets false declines and chargebacks, two persistent challenges in digital payments. By improving transaction decisioning, the company helps businesses approve more legitimate transactions while reducing downstream fraud and disputes. The result is higher authorization rates, fewer customer complaints, and lower operational costs tied to chargeback management.
With Keyless, users are the key. The company’s technology replaces traditional multi-factor authentication methods, such as one-time passwords, with biometric authentication. Keyless’s technology enables passwordless and tokenless login experiences while maintaining strong security controls. By removing reliance on call centers and manual recovery flows, Keyless aims to improve user experience and significantly reduce authentication-related costs for banks. Keyless was acquired by Ping Identity in November 2025.
Why banks should care
Digital channels are increasingly becoming the primary point of interaction with customers, shifting the importance of verification technologies. The companies highlighted above show how banks, payments firms, and marketplaces can reduce fraud and operational costs while improving customer experience by applying smarter, more adaptive controls. Rather than relying on rigid rules or legacy authentication methods that can easily be spoofed using AI, modern identity and fraud platforms allow banks to approve more good customers, intervene only when risk is real, and scale digital growth without sacrificing trust.
To watch these companies demo their newest tools in person, register for FinovateEurope, see what’s new, and shake hands with the innovators.
Czech Republic-based digital banking company Finshape introduced new CEO Neil Budd. Budd replaces current CEO Petr Koutný, who will take on a new position as Chairman of the Board.
Budd comes to Finshape after serving in executive roles for companies including Finastra and Accenture.
Forged in a 2021 merger between W.UP and BSC, Finshape won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022.
Digital banking company Finshape, which won Best of Show in its debut at FinovateEurope 2022, has appointed a new CEO. The Prague, Czech Republic-based fintech introduced Neil Budd—a veteran financial services executive with more than 25 years of experience in banking, technology, and consulting—as its new Chief Executive Officer.
“Banks are looking for technology partners they can trust for the long term,” Budd said in a statement. “Finshape has a strong, relevant product portfolio, experienced teams, and stable, trusted relationships with banks. With our Agentic Digital Bank Operating System and new capabilities in loyalty and personalization, I am confident we will continue to help banks deliver tangible value to their customers and accelerate our growth journey to new markets.”
New markets, indeed. CEO Budd will be tasked with driving the company’s continued growth internationally, and expanding operations across Western Europe, the Middle East, and the APAC region. Finshape’s current CEO Petr Koutný will transition into the role of Chairman of the Board.
“Clients value not only our products and expertise, but above all the practical impact that digital transformation delivers as part of their strategic programs,” Budd said. “Our goal is to continue developing technologies and services that perform in the demanding banking environment. At the same time, we are open to working with partners who share the same values—a strong focus on quality and customer orientation.”
Budd’s experience includes more than three years at Finastra, where he served as Vice President & Global Head of Strategic Partnerships, Ecosystems and Alliances—as well as Global Head of Managed Services. Before that, he was Managing Director responsible for financial services at Accenture. Immediately preceding his appointment with Finshape, Budd was Senior Partner and Chief Revenue Officer at Phi Partners, a capital markets consulting firm that specializes in quantitative and technology services.
Founded in 2021 via a merger between W.UP and BSC (Banking Software Company), Finshape won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022 and returned the following year for FinovateEurope 2023. In its most recent appearance, the fintech demonstrated its offering, called SME Stories, which helps banks boost digital engagement, loyalty, and sales among their micro- and small business customers via automated, easy-to-digest swipeable stories filled with actionable insights.
Finshape’s C-suite announcement coincides with the company reporting 55 million Euros in revenue in 2025, with 30% year-on-year growth. Finshape also noted its August acquisition of loyalty platform Realtime XLS from Collinson Group, which Koutný called at the time a “strategic milestone,” adding that the platform would “form an integral part of our growing, customer-centric digital banking portfolio.” In October, the company announced a partnership with Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the world’s first Islamic bank and the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates.
Barclays has made its first investment in digital currency infrastructure by backing Ubyx.
Ubyx aims to simplify the redemption and acceptance of stablecoins and tokenized deposits through a many-to-many clearing system designed to unify today’s fragmented digital money landscape.
The move shows that Barclays is focused on regulated interoperability rather than issuing its own stablecoin.
UK-based banking giant Barclays is making its first investment in the digital currency infrastructure space this week. The bank made a strategic investment in Ubyx, a US-based clearing system for digital money.
Ubyx was founded in 2025 to create stablecoin ubiquity. In other words, the company focuses on facilitating live transactions through a many-to-many clearing system to make redeeming stablecoins and tokenized deposits as simple as depositing a check. Ubyx uses a collaborative network model to transform the current, fragmented stablecoin landscape into a unified, ubiquitous payment system.
“Our mission is to build a common globalized acceptance network for regulated digital money including tokenized deposits and regulated stablecoins,” said Ubyx CEO Tony McLaughlin.
Barclays’ strategic involvement is especially important in Ubyx’s model, as the traditional bank adds a regulated element to the payments model. “Bank participation is vital to provide par value redemption through regulated channels. We are entering a world in which every regulated firm offers digital wallets in addition to traditional bank accounts.”
While it serves as one of the top banks in the UK, Barclays has previously not been among those launching stablecoin programs. Today’s investment is Barclays’ first major move in the stablecoin space since October of 2025, when the bank joined a group of ten major financial institutions to explore a jointly issued stablecoin pegged to G7 currencies.
“Interoperability is essential to unlock the full potential of digital assets,” said Barclays Head of Digital Assets and Strategic Investments Ryan Hayward. “As the landscape of tokens, blockchains, and wallets evolves, specialist technology will play a pivotal role in delivering connectivity and infrastructure to enable regulated financial institutions to interact seamlessly. We are pleased to be joining Ubyx on their journey as we drive forward our shared ambition to accelerate and shape innovation across our industry.”
What’s interesting in this move is that Barclays isn’t taking a step toward issuing its own stablecoin or tokenized deposits. Instead, the bank is focused on interoperability, redemption, and acceptance at par.
While clearing and settlement have long been dominated by bank-led networks, they are currently a bottleneck in digital money adoption. Ubyx’s many-to-many clearing model aims to solve that bottleneck, and Barclays’ participation adds regulatory credibility at a moment when banks are looking for ways to engage with digital assets without fragmenting liquidity or bypassing existing safeguards.
Two UAE-based companies—digital bank Zand and business banking platform Yuze—have teamed up to help small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs secure digital business accounts.
The strategic alliance between the two firms is designed to make financial services available to eligible, underserved companies via fast onboarding, an IBAN account, digital banking solutions, and advanced business tools.
Both companies are headquartered in Dubai. Zand was founded in 2018. Yuze launched in 2022.
Blockchain-powered digital bank Zand and digital business banking platform Yuze have teamed up to help small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs secure digital business accounts. The strategic alliance will enable eligible, underserved businesses in the UAE to access financial services via Yuze’s platform.
“The SME sector is a key growth engine driving the UAE economy,” Zand CEO Michael Chan said. “We are excited to partner with Yuze to support the business banking needs of SMEs and startups across the UAE, with our innovative and client-centric digital banking solutions.”
The strategic alliance will provide companies with access to IBAN accounts, digital banking solutions, and advanced business tools to support their operational and financial management, as well as their future growth. The partnership will also streamline the onboarding process for business customers, allowing them to establish banking relationships more quickly.
“At Yuze we believe that when banking becomes intelligent, businesses become limitless,” Yuze CEO Rabih Sfeir added. “Together with Zand, we are committed to providing customer-centric and next-generation banking services to businesses in the UAE.”
Headquartered in Dubai, Yuze offers modern business banking solutions including digital onboarding, business banking accounts, payment cards, and expense management tools. Founded in 2022, Yuze recently announced the launch of its Yuze Freelancer App in India. Designed to empower the next generation of freelancers, the solution enables users to open a digital wallet in minutes, send and receive payments, and track income and expenses—all within a single, intuitive app. “We’re not just giving financial access,” Sfeir said when the offering was announced. “We’re giving a partner that listens, understands, and grows with people.”
Founded in 2018 and based in Dubai, Zand is a digital bank that serves both retail and enterprise banking customers. A self-described “blockchain-powered bank,” Zand specializes in using AI and blockchain technology to bridge the gap between traditional and decentralized finance. The institution is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, the first all-digital bank in the UAE to earn this accreditation. Zand is also the first bank in the region to secure ISO certifications for information security management systems and for privacy information management systems covering Web3 services.
