Finovate Global Libya: Chatbots, Payments, and Expanding E-Wallet Access

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global

This week's edition of Finovate Global features recent fintech news from the north African nation of Libya.

Tadhamun Bank Libya partners with JMR Infotech for AI Chatbot and Voicebot

Tadhamun Bank Libya has turned to JMR Infotech, a digital transformation and banking technology solutions provider, to assist in the implementation of its AI-powered Smart Social Banking Chatbot and Voicebot. The announcement expands the relationship between the two entities; JMR Infotech has been a strategic technology partner to Tadhamun Bank since providing the financial institution with transformation programs such as Oracle FLEXCUBE, Oracle Banking Digital Experience (OBDX), and Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications (OFSAA), as well as ongoing managed services support.

The new Chatbot and Voicebot will automate customer onboarding and enable instant interactions, boosting customer engagement while simultaneously reducing reliance on traditional support channels. The technology will be deployed across the web, WhatsApp, and Messenger channels, enabling…

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Adyen to Acquire Loyalty Platform Talon.One

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions

Adyen is acquiring Talon.One for $879 million to add enterprise loyalty, promotions, and incentive infrastructure used by 300+ brands.

Adding Talon.One's loyalty infrastructure moves Adyen beyond payments into real-time decisioning to enable merchants to connect identity, pricing, and promotions and act during the transaction.

The new infrastructure can dynamically deliver offers during AI-driven shopping experiences to help shape purchases.

Payments platform Adyen is acquiring loyalty solutions company Talon.One in a deal valued at $879 million (€750 million). The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

Germany-based Talon.One serves as the loyalty infrastructure for 300 enterprises, including large brands such as Nordstrom and H&M. Founded in 2015, the company offers tools for enterprise loyalty management, personalized promotions, and incentive optimization. Earlier this year, Talon.One released Unified Incentives Protocol (UIP), a new set of standards that shows available promotions and loyalty incentive offers within AI agent-based shopping experiences.

…

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Moomoo Launches Agentic Investing in the Form of API Skills

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news

Moomoo launches API Skills to connect personal AI agents to trading and allow investors to use natural language to build and execute strategies without coding.

The new tools include strategy validation, intent-to-execution translation, and 24/7 market monitoring inside a pro trading environment.

Moomoo enables external AI agents via APIs, giving users control, flexibility, and local data security.

Online investment and trading platform Moomoo is launching agentic investing tools this week. The California-based company has launched API Skills to allow retail investors to connect their personal AI agents directly to Moomoo’s infrastructure.

With API Skills, investors can use natural language commands to create structured, executable investment strategies without coding. The tool integrates with multiple AI agent frameworks, enabling always-on agents that act as 24/7 trading assistants that continuously interpret market data, monitor conditions, and prepare trades based on a user’s goals within a professional-grade trading environment.

"With Moomoo API Skills, we…

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Pioneering Online Lender LendingClub to Rebrand as Happen Bank

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Lending Club

LendingClub, a pioneer in online lending, is rebranding to Happen Bank.

Expected to launch in the summer of 2026, Happen Bank combines LendingClub's track record as a personal lender with an embrace of digital banking supported by LendingClub's acquisition of Radius Bank, completed in 2021.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, LendingClub made its Finovate debut in 2007. The company was founded by Renaud Laplanche.

A Finovate alum since 2007, LendingClub is becoming a bank.

Pioneering online lender LendingClub announced this week that it is rebranding to Happen Bank. The rebrand signals the company's evolution beyond personal loans and into the world of full-service digital banking, leveraging LendingClub's acquisition of Radius Bank.

"The LendingClub name no longer fits with everything we offer today," CEO Scott Sanborn said. "The Happen Bank brand reflects both our expanded banking capabilities and our core mission: to clear the way for people going places. Our…

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Five Fintechs Reinventing Wealth, Asset Management, and Digital Finance

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2026 Demo Companies

Empowering banks and credit unions with customer-centric solutions that enhance efficiency for both institutions and individuals is a key role of fintech innovation. Whether the goal is increased security, faster transactions, or personalized financial guidance, solutions that tackle these challenges not only make financial life easier and safer for customers and members, but also help banks and credit unions streamline operations, grow their user bases, and compete more effectively in the marketplace for financial services.

This year, FinovateSpring 2026 will showcase five companies that are streamlining the account onboarding (and offboarding) process, helping banks and credit unions offer new services like earned wage access and protected transactions, and reducing compliance risk for financial institutions of all sizes.

Eisen

Eisen automates escheatment for abandoned accounts, dormant balances, forced closures, and stale checks, reducing back-office work by 90%. Financial institutions use Eisen's escheatment, disbursement, and outreach tools to streamline account offboarding while…

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How to Use AI as a Cognitive Prosthetic to Enhance Human Creativity

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2026, Speaker series

How can we recognize AI as a tool for expanding human abilities and enhancing creativity rather than merely a way for corporations to eliminate jobs? What does it mean when some AI experts suggest that AI, instead of replacing human activity, will enable us to use our unique skills as human beings in different, more sophisticated ways?

Finovate Senior Research Analyst Julie Muhn interviewed Georgia Lewis Anderson, Co-founder and AI consultant with Lantyn, and a leading expert on artificial intelligence, to discuss these and other questions about the state of AI in 2026. Following her keynote address at FinovateEurope earlier this year, Anderson discussed the rapid evolution of AI, the idea of AI as a "cognitive prosthetic," and how this concept can be used to enhance rather than replace human ability and creativity.

"If air travel had evolved at the same rate as large language models, then we would be…

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Counting on Community: FinovateSpring Showcases Community Banks

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2026

For years, Finovate has championed credit unions and the fintechs that serve them through our Credit Union Spotlight. This year at FinovateSpring 2026, Finovate is bringing that same level of attention and insight to the world of community banking with our FinovateSpring Community Bank Spotlight. Taking place on Wednesday morning, May 6, our Community Bank Spotlight is a new and unique opportunity for community bank leaders and employees to network with each other, share best practices, and meet with fintech innovators that have developed solutions specifically for community banks and their customers.

Consumer interest in community banks is strong and community banking leaders are expressing optimism about their near-term outlook. A survey conducted by the American Bankers Association (ABA) in 2026 indicated that more than half (58%) of community banks expected significant growth in their geographic footprint this year. This included more than 20% of respondents noting…

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Alkami Unveils GenAI Capabilities with Alkami Code Studio

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology, Alumni profile

Alkami Technology, a digital sales and service platform provider for financial institutions, has unveiled its Alkami Code Studio. The new offering is an AI-powered development capability—currently in beta—that will empower banks and credit unions to deliver more personalized and scalable digital experiences.

"Financial institutions are looking for partners who are not only talking about AI, but actively embedding it into their platforms in meaningful ways," Alkami Chief Technology Officer Deep Varma said. "Alkami Code Studio reflects our commitment to investing in innovation that is both forward-looking and grounded in the needs of our customers—helping them move faster while maintaining the governance, security, and control they require."

Alkami Code Studio is an AI-powered assistant that supports the creation, validation, and deployment of SDK components on the Alkami platform. Designed for developers, Alkami Code Studio provides standards-aligned, design-compliant components within a secure, governed environment. The solution is powered by closed-loop…

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Finastra Brings Payments Innovation to Japan’s MUFG

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Finastra

Financial services software provider Finastra has announced an extension of its long-term partnership with Japan's MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group).

MUFG will deploy Finastra's GlobalPayplus payments hub to support ACH services in the US.

Finastra was formed via a merger between Finovate alum Misys and D+H in 2017. The company is headquartered in the UK.

Financial services software provider Finastra just inked a big deal with Japan's biggest bank.

MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group), the largest bank in Japan, has selected Finastra's Global PAYplus to support ACH services in the United States. The announcement marks an expansion in a partnership between MUFG and Finastra that dates back more than five years when MUFG first initiated its ISO 20022 migration.

The current agreement will extend Finastra's modern, unified payments architecture across three major regions, representing MUFG's successful payment architecture transformation in both Japan and Europe. Adopting a modern, standardized platform will…

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Meet the Judges: Finovate Awards Introduce 2026 Selection Committee

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Awards

The 2026 Finovate Awards are here! Celebrating the best and brightest in fintech and financial services, this year's awards will crown more than 30 winners in fields such as payments, lending, alternative investing, financial inclusion, and more! Nominations are now open, so check out this year's Finovate Awards categories and submit your nomination. Submit before April 24 and save $100 on the nomination fee.

This year's competition will be judged by a team of experts from the banking, fintech, and financial services industries. "An award is only worth something if the people giving it know their stuff, and our amazing lineup of judges this year should be exciting for everyone involved," Finovate VP of Strategy Greg Palmer said, "It's great to see so much talent on the roster!"

Take a look for yourself at this year's selection committee. Also joining this year's judging team will be Finovate VPs Greg…

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alloy, Bluefin Payment Systems, Fintech Rundown, NYMBUS, PayNearMe, Plaid, SuperMoney

FinovateSpring is right around the corner (May 5-7). So while we're busily compiling and sharing the top fintech headlines and announcements of the day, please forgive us for occasionally sharing our excitement at what we believe is an incredible line-up at this year's conference.

From the more than 40 companies that will be making their Finovate debuts to an all-star roster of insightful banking and fintech keynote speakers and panelists, FinovateSpring 2026 in sunny San Diego is an event you won't want to miss!

Until then, we'll keep you posted on the fintech news you need to know here at the Fintech Rundown!

Wealth management

AI-native registered investment advisor Savvy Wealth unveils its agentic AI solution for advisors, Savvy Intelligence.

Mackenzie Investments teams up OneVest to power a full digital transformation, including the launch of modern advisor and investor portals, a new mobile app, and more.

GCC-based wealth…

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Finovate Global Central America and the Caribbean: Credit, Stablecoins, and Wallets

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: eToro, Finastra, Finovate Global, Nubank

This week's edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Aruba.

Credit Assessment Platform CreditYa Launched in Guatemala

Colombia-based financial services company YUMIVI S.A.S has brought its AI-powered credit assessment platform, CreditYa, to Guatemala. CreditYa is a digital microcredit platform designed to provide small, fast, accessible, and reliable financing to individuals and small business owners. Founded by Wingston Oswaldo González Reyes, CreditYa's entry into the Guatemalan market is the company's first expansion beyond its native Colombia. The company's Regional Operations Lead María Gabriela noted in a statement that the launch was "the first step in (the company's) long-term commitment" toward making financial services more accessible to "every hard-working Guatemalan with a digital footprint."

Gabriela added: "In Guatemala, business opportunities are often fleeting. Whether it is purchasing materials in advance to meet a sudden surge in orders or repairing store equipment that fails unexpectedly,…

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