Blog - Page 21 of 1289

ACI Worldwide Integrates Wero, a New Payment Option for Merchants in Europe

By David Penn Posted on June 16, 2026
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Alumni News

ACI Worldwide has joined the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and will integrate EPI's Wero wallet into its Payments Orchestration Platform.

The integration will enable merchants and financial intermediaries across Europe to offer Wero as a payment option at a time when instant payments are growing in popularity.

Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Nebraska, ACI Worldwide has been a Finovate alum since 2011. Thomas Warsop is CEO.

International paytech ACI Worldwide has joined the European Payments Initiative (EPI) as a technical service provider. As part of the strategic collaboration, ACI Worldwide will integrate EPI's Wero wallet solution into its Payments Orchestration Platform, enabling merchants and financial intermediaries throughout Europe to offer Wero as a payment option.

"We are excited to announce our strategic partnership with EPI to make Wero a success across Europe," ACI Worldwide Head of Europe Nick Craig said. "This collaboration leverages ACI's advanced instant payment processing…

SumUp Launches in Canada, its 38th Market

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on June 16, 2026
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, SumUp

SumUp has expanded into Canada, its 38th market, bringing its payment acceptance tools to a country where small businesses account for 98% of all businesses.

Canadian merchants will gain access to the SumUp Go card reader for in-person payments and Payment Links for accepting online payments without specialized hardware.

The launch reflects SumUp's broader strategy of evolving from a card reader provider into a full commerce platform as competition for small business merchants increasingly centers on ecosystem breadth rather than payment acceptance alone.

Payment acceptance company SumUp has officially launched in Canada, marking the UK-based company's 38th market.

The expansion into Canada comes 11 years after SumUp launched in the US and will help further the company's mission to "make commerce simpler and more accessible for all businesses worldwide."

Adding Canada to SumUp's global footprint offers the company access to Canada's 1.1 million businesses, 98% of which are small businesses.…

Rain Launches Rewards Loyalty Capability

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on June 15, 2026
Categories: Daily news

Rain has launched Rewards, a program that allows stablecoin card issuers to offer branded loyalty programs with points, travel rewards, and statement credits directly within their own apps.

The offering builds on Rain's 2025 acquisition of rewards platform Uptop and is another example of fintech infrastructure providers expanding beyond payments into adjacent services like loyalty, identity, fraud prevention, and treasury management.

As stablecoin card programs mature, providers are increasingly competing on customer engagement and retention, making rewards and other value-added services essential rather than optional features.

Stablecoin infrastructure platform Rain launched Rewards this week, a new loyalty capability for its card issuing stack. With Rewards, partners running Rain's card programs can offer rewards for their cardholders in a fully branded experience.

Rain was founded in 2021 and has since launched more than 100 programs on its stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure platform. The company allows partners to move, store, and use stablecoins…

MassPay and Coinbase Ink Strategic Stablecoin Partnership

By David Penn Posted on June 15, 2026
Categories: Alumni News, Coinbase

Global payout orchestration platform MassPay has announced a strategic partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

The partnership will combine MassPay's global payout network with Coinbase's infrastructure and institutional-grade security of digital assets.

Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong. The company made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2014.

International payout orchestration platform MassPay and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase have teamed up to give businesses around the world stablecoin-powered cross-border payout capabilities.

"Stablecoin rails are becoming the standard for how global businesses move money, and our partnership with MassPay is a great example of that shift in action," Coinbase Head of Infrastructure Products Alec Lovett said. "MassPay's enterprise clients can now fund in USD, settle in USDC, and pay recipients globally—all within the infrastructure they already use. Coinbase handles the custody, compliance, and onchain infrastructure in the background, so MassPay can stay focused on delivering high-quality service to their clients."

The partnership…

Oh KOHO! Canadian Fintech Reaches Unicorn Status Ahead of Bid for Banking License

By David Penn Posted on June 15, 2026
Categories: David's column

Canadian fintech KOHO has raised C$130 million in new funding, boosting the company's valuation to C$1.33 billion and earning the firm unicorn status. The Series E investment provides KOHO with the initial capital base it requires to secure a federal banking license, and boosts KOHO's total capital raised to $507 million.

The round featured participation from both new and existing investors. Among the former were Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, and Savano Capital, an investment firm based in Baltimore, Maryland. Also contributing to the round were new investors Tobi Lütke, founder and CEO of Shopify, and Michael Linford, COO of Affirm. Existing investors involved in the funding were Portage Ventures, Drive Capital, BDC Capital, HOOPP, and Eldridge.

"We've spent years earning the trust of Canadians who deserve better from their financial institutions, and this investor group reflects a shared belief that we're just getting started," KOHO CEO Daniel…

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on June 15, 2026
Categories: Coinbase, Daily news, Fintech Rundown, Jack Henry, Payoneer

After rumors swirled last week about Nuvei's plans to acquire Payoneer, the deal has been made official this week. Nuvei has agreed to acquire the global payments solutions company for $2.75 billion to bolster its payments infrastructure. There's plenty of other fintech news to catch up on this week, so we’ll continue to add more announcements as the week progresses.

Digital banking

CorTrust Bank selects Jack Henry to provide for local communities with competitive, flexible offerings.

Glia launches AI outreach as a growth engine for banks and credit unions.

Fiserv appoints Takis Georgakopoulos CEO.

First American Bank and Trust taps Jack Henry Technology to power next phase of growth.

Payments and commerce

Nuvei to acquire Payoneer for $2.75 billion.

Coinbase’s new tool can help agents trade and pay for premium research.

PayNearMe announces launch of Cash App Pay for real-money gaming.

CheckAlt joins U.S. Bank Connected Partnership Network to expand…

Finovate Global Egypt: Investing in Unicorns and Point of Sale Financing Startups

By David Penn Posted on June 12, 2026
Categories: Finovate Global

This week's edition of Finovate Global features recent fintech developments from Egypt.

MNT-Halan Achieves $1.4 Billion Valuation with Latest Investment

An investment from Al Ahly Capital, the investment arm of the National Bank of Egypt, has boosted the valuation of Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan to $1.4 billion. The investment represents the first closing of a new round for the firm; a second closing is expected as part of the ongoing funding. Reports indicate that the company has received an initial infusion of $30 million out of what will be a $70 million-plus funding round. In any event, MNT-Halan noted that the capital will help the company expand its operations in Egypt, as well as support growth in the region.

Currently operating in Egypt, Turkey, and the UAE, as well as in Pakistan, where it owns a bank that serves micro and small businesses, MNT-Halan offers a range of digital financial…

Veritus CEO Joshua March on Deploying Compliant AI Voice Agents in Financial Services

By David Penn Posted on June 11, 2026
Categories: FinovateSpring 2026, Speaker series

More and more banks and financial services companies are leveraging AI-powered communications to enhance the customer experience with faster response times and reduce operational costs. However, there is a wealth of key issues that institutions need to address in order to deploy technologies like AI voice agents safely and effectively while remaining compliant with an ever-shifting range of regulations.

In this interview, recorded at FinovateSpring 2026 in San Diego, California, earlier this year, William Mills, CEO of William Mills Agency, talks with Joshua March, Founder and CEO of Veritus, about how these challenges and how AI voice and text agents are transforming banking and financial services.

"The operational benefits from AI are so immense that no financial institution can really make the decision to be left behind. Everyone has to make this leap. So the question is not 'are we going to do it?' It's 'just how do we do…

Feedzai Unveils Fraud Intelligence Network, Feedzai IQ Score

By David Penn Posted on June 11, 2026
Categories: Alumni News, Feedzai

Fincrime prevention company Feedzai has launched its Feedzai IQ Score, an AI-native, network-derived fraud risk solution for banks of all sizes.

The new offering provides banks and other financial institutions with real-time access to anonymized, aggregated insights from the company's global transaction network.

A Finovate alum since 2014, Feedzai's fraud prevention technology processes 120 billion events annually and secures $9 trillion in payments every year.

Financial crime prevention specialist Feedzai announced the availability of Feedzai IQ Score. The new offering is an AI-native network-derived fraud risk scoring solution for banks large and small. Delivered via a single API and available on the AWS Marketplace, Feedzai IQ Score provides banks with real-time access to anonymized, aggregated insights from the company's $9 trillion global transaction network.

"Fraud has outpaced what any single institution can stop alone," Feedzai Chief Product Officer Pedro Barata said. "Feedzai IQ Score puts an end to isolated…

Klarna Unveils High Yield Savings Account

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on June 10, 2026
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Klarna

Klarna launched a high-yield savings account paying up to 3.38% APY, adding deposits and savings tools to its growing portfolio of consumer financial products.

The move builds on Klarna's existing banking ambitions. The company already holds $12.3 billion in deposits globally and has offered interest-bearing accounts in Europe since 2021.

As Klarna expands from BNPL into savings, payments, P2P transfers, and stablecoins, it is increasingly positioning itself as a full-service digital bank rather than a standalone payments provider.

Digital payments app Klarna is starting to look more like a bank ecosystem. The Sweden-based company has launched a high-yield savings account, adding to its existing suite of banking tools.

The fintech's new savings account, which currently pays 3.38% APY or higher, does not require a minimum deposit, charge monthly fees, or require a direct deposit. It also offers built-in tools like round-ups, scheduled transfers, and savings goals. While Klarna is partnering…

Members First Credit Union Partners with Mahalo Banking

By David Penn Posted on June 10, 2026
Categories: Alumni News, Mahalo Banking

Digital banking solutions provider Mahalo Banking has partnered with Members First Credit Union of Utah.

Members First CU will deploy Mahalo's Thoughtful Banking platform as part of an overall modernization initiative that will also involve a transition to the Corelation Keystone core platform.

Mahalo Banking, based in Troy, Michigan, won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023 in New York. Jim Stickley is CEO.

Utah-based Members First Credit Union has teamed up with Mahalo Banking as part of a technology modernization drive that will involve the financial institution deploying Mahalo's Thoughtful Banking platform as well as transitioning to the Corelation Keystone core platform.

Members First CU CEO Darryn Hodgson indicated that selecting a digital banking provider that could evolve with the institution was key. Hodgson also praised Mahalo's culture, level of commitment, and collaboration, noting that it reflected "the same member-first philosophy that drives our credit union."…