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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Eko, an investing solution for FIs, powers digital investing directly inside online banking, enabling banks and credit unions to offer modern investment tools to all clients—starting from $10.
Who’s it for?
Banks and credit unions.
Gentreo
Gentreo offers businesses an award-winning life and estate planning solution, empowering customers with tools for life’s inflection points through secure, affordable, and easy-to-use digital services.
Features
Life Pathways: Delivers personalized guidance through key milestones
Smart Vault: Offers secure storage, plus connections to trusted providers
Action-Oriented: Empowers users to plan, act, and stay protected
Who’s it for?
Credit unions, banks, employers, and financial institutions.
Spiral
Spiral helps financial institutions grow deposits and retention with award-winning digital experiences, making them the primary choice for savings, loans, cards, giving, and more.
Features
Increases deposits and retention through personalized savings tools
Expands wallet share and card transactions
Boosts accounts and loans while deepening relationships
Who’s it for?
Banks and credit unions.
Swaystack
Swaystack helps banks and credit unions drive early engagement with gamified experiences that activate primacy, reduce dormancy, and turn new accounts into lasting relationships.
Features
Gamifies onboarding that drives funding and early account usage
Delivers omnichannel engagement across email, SMS, widgets, and ads
Automates segmentation for smarter targeting and retargeting
Who’s it for?
Banks and credit unions.
Vesuvio Pay
Vesuvio Pay is a patented payment and marketing SaaS platform for text-based commerce. Buy via text.
Features
Provides text message payments across platforms
Sends convertible carts with every text message marketing campaign
Provides RCS, mobile wallet, and merge cart features
Who’s it for?
Small, medium, and large e-commerce businesses and individuals.
Winnow
Winnow is an award-winning regulatory change management platform that allows customers to build customized state and federal compliance surveys.
Embedded software platform company Array has acquired data aggregation specialist MoneyKit. Terms were not disclosed.
The partnership will enable Array’s customers to benefit from deeper connectivity that will facilitate more dynamic customer experiences including personalized credit insights and intelligent subscription management.
Array won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2021 and again at FinovateSpring 2022. MoneyKit made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024.
Embedded software platform Array, which has twice won Finovate’s Best of Show award, announced its acquisition of data aggregation solutions company (and fellow Finovate alum) MoneyKit. Terms of the transaction were not immediately available.
“MoneyKit has built a trusted and secure foundation for financial connectivity in just a few years,” Array Founder and CEO Martin Toha said. “Combining their capabilities with Array’s embeddable financial security components unlocks a new era of intelligent, personalized, and privacy-first experiences for millions of consumers.”
Array offers an embeddable platform that provides fintechs, financial institutions, and digital brands with a variety of private-label fintech solutions. MoneyKit is a specialist in data aggregation and trusted financial connectivity infrastructure. Together, the two firms seek to deliver a range of secure, consumer-first financial experiences—from embedded credit monitoring to streamlined access to financial data—to help consumers improve and better manage their finances. Post-acquisition, Array customers will benefit from deeper connectivity courtesy of MoneyKit’s technology, enabling them to access more dynamic experiences including personalized credit insights, intelligent subscription management, and more.
“Joining Array allows us to scale our mission and bring powerful new capabilities to the ecosystem,” MoneyKit CTO Michael Del Monte said. “We’re excited to be a part of the next wave of tools that help consumers feel more secure, informed, and in control.”
Headquartered in New York, MoneyKit made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024. At the conference, the company demonstrated its MoneyKit Connect solution that leverages intelligent routing to enhance bank data aggregation. The technology makes real-time routing decisions based on its unique insights into the specific institution, time of day, and data products requested to ensure that the connection goes to the best possible underlying aggregator. MoneyKit was launched in 2021 by the serial founders who started both Cash App and Quovo.
Winning Best of Show in its appearances at FinovateFall 2021 and FinovateSpring 2022, Array most recently demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2023. The company’s platform helps financial institutions and financial service providers boost engagement and revenues by providing them with tools like anti-identity theft solution HelloPrivacy and an intelligent Subscription Manager that can be embedded in a matter of weeks.
There’s strength in numbers; at least that’s our theory when it comes to engaging with some of fintech’s thorniest challenges—from harnessing enabling technologies like AI to winning the battle for deposits at a time of economic and interest rate uncertainty.
As such, we’ve enlisted a cadre of fintech and financial services veterans who will team up to tackle these and other critical topics in our industry. FinovateFall’s Power Panels provide not only deep insights into the trends driving fintech today, but also offer a diverse range of experiences to help us understand how those same trends impact real businesses, real communities, and real people.
Here’s a sneak peek at what our FinovateFall Power Panels have in store next month.
Getting beyond the hype—how can financial services providers harness AI, GenAI, and Agentic AI to make money or save money?
Moderated by Jason Henrichs, CEO of Alloy Labs, this Power Panel will explore the true use cases for AI in financial services and investigate where the biggest opportunities are for banks, credit unions, and other financial services providers to leverage this technology to enhance personalization, make processes more efficient, and more.
Featuring Sam Kilmer, Managing Director, Cornerstone Advisors; Fred Campbell, General Partner, TRAC.vc; Sathish Muthukrishnan, Chief Information, Data, and Digital Officer, Ally Financial; Inwha Huh, Head of Innovation, Corporate & Investment Bank, Wells Fargo; and Assaf Baciu, President & Co-Founder, Persado.
Monday, September 8 at 4:35pm
As fraud threats continue to evolve & become a number one issue for the financial services industry, how can all the players collaborate to safeguard their customers’ assets & their company’s reputation? What role can RegTech, GenAI & digital identity play?
Moderated by Robin Weiss, Senior Technology Advisor, RLW Advisory LLC, this Power Panel will look at the ways that technology has empowered fraudsters and will discuss what new tools and technologies are available to help financial institutions protect themselves and their customers and members from financial crime. The panel will also consider the role of digital identity technology and innovations in biometric authentication in the fight against fraud.
Featuring Myrto Koimtzoglou, Chief Operations Officer, Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union; Sadeque Ahmed, Executive Director, Product Management, JP Morgan; and Jas Randhawa, CEO & Managing Partner, StrategyBRIX.
Tuesday, September 9 at 4:40pm – General Session
As embedded finance expands beyond banking, making financial services available everywhere, how can financial institutions capture the opportunity which could generate over $100 billion in revenue?
Moderated by Phil Goldfeder, CEO, American Fintech Council (AFC), this Power Panel will discuss the booming embedded finance market and explore how it is expanding financial services beyond traditional banks. The panelists will talk about the challenge this represents for financial institutions and how they can leverage embedded finance themselves to better compete with rivals in and outside of the traditional financial services industry.
Featuring Rodrigo Suarez, Chief Banking Officer, Piermont Bank; Norah Coelho, Managing Director, Embedded Finance, JP Morgan; and Lauren McCollom, SVP, Head of Embedded Finance, Grasshopper Bank.
Wednesday, September 10 at 9:20am – General Session
The customer experience revolution—how can financial services providers compete in a hyper personalized world & meet customers at their point of need? What are the key lessons to learn from other industry verticals & from big tech companies about building customer trust?
Moderated by Rutger Van Faassen, CEO, Informationbanker, our customer experience Power Panel will examine what the contemporary banking customer wants out of their financial service experience and how AI is providing institutions with tools to bolster engagement, deepen personalization, and build loyalty and trust with their customers and members.
Featuring Shruti Patel, Chief Product Officer, Business Banking, US Bank; Sherry Graziano, Head of Digital and Care Center Banking, Truist Financial Corporation; and Terry O’Neil, Head of Connected Commerce, Retail Services, Citi.
Wednesday, September 10 at 10:15am – General Session
Balancing the balance sheet—with clients keeping their money in various pots, falling interest rates & a booming stock market, how can banks & credit unions win the battle for deposits especially as challenger banks now have deposits firmly in their sights?
Moderated by Penny Crosman, Executive Editor, Technology, American Banker, this panel gets down to the brass tacks of the banking and credit union business with a discussion on the importance of deposits. This conversation will feature insights on how banks and credit unions can do more to attract deposits, and how partnering with fintechs can be part of an effective strategy to grow deposits in the current environment.
Featuring Patricia Montesi, Founder & CEO, Qolo; Josh Williams, CBO & Head of Partnerships, Seattle Bank; Christopher Hollins, Head of Treasury Management, Sales, & Delivery, SVB, a Division of First Citizens Bank; and Mary Miklethum, Senior Vice President, US Bank.
Wednesday, September 10 at 2:00pm – General Session
From competition to collaboration—why now more than ever banks need to build strategic partnerships. How can banks measure the ROI & what do they need to know about the lifecycle of partnerships? What new partnership plays tell us about the unbundling & reassembling of financial services?
Moderated by Jason Mikula, Publisher, Fintech Business Weekly, our Power Panel on partnerships offers a new twist on the competition vs collaboration debate in fintech and financial services. The panelists will talk about the build, buy, or partner conundrum; the inherent risks in partnering; and their thoughts on what makes a partnership successful for both the fintech and the financial institution involved.
Featuring Ami Iceman, Chief Research and Digital Experience Officer, MSU Federal Credit Union; and Zakie Twainy, Digital Partnerships & Enterprise Innovation, BNY Mellon.
Wednesday, September 10 at 2:45pm – General Session
Coming to New York for FinovateFall next month, but haven’t decided where to stay? Have we got a deal for you!
Book your room at the New York Marriott Marquis today and take advantage of exclusive rates and rooms available only to FinovateFall attendees. Want an epic Times Square view? How about a corner room with king-sized accommodations? Maybe just a nice standard guest room to retreat to at the end of a long conference day? Rooms are going fast, so visit our FinovateFall hub and guarantee your stay now!
Wix launched two new embedded financial tools, Wix Checking and Wix Capital, to help small businesses streamline their finances and access their capital directly from the Wix platform.
Wix Checking integrates with Wix Payments to offer a free business checking account with a debit card and real-time financial insights.
Wix Capital provides merchant cash advances as an alternative financing option.
Small business owners often have to toggle among multiple platforms to manage their finances, from payment processors to bank accounts to loan providers. Website building platform Wix is seeking to simplify this. The Israel-based company unveiled a new financial services suite this week, launching two new solutions, Wix Checking and Wix Capital.
The two new tools help eligible businesses manage cash flow and fund growth, streamline their finances, and access capital in order to help them focus on their business.
Wix tapped embedded finance company Unit to power Wix Checking to offer a fully integrated business checking account directly within the Wix platform. The free checking account offers a real-time view of the business’ cash flow and performance, allowing them to access their funds, track revenue, and view outgoing expenses in a single place in order to make more informed business decisions.
The new checking account syncs with Wix Payments, the company’s payment acceptance tool. This integration eliminates the need for businesses to conduct manual reconciliations or use third-party tools. Merchants can access their funds with the Wix business debit card and they also have the option to transfer funds into an external bank account.
Wix has partnered with Lincoln Savings Bank, which will be providing banking products and services, including issuing the Visa debit card.
The other new tool launched, Wix Capital, is a Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) service embedded into the Wix platform that offers a faster, more accessible alternative financing tool for organizations that have had difficulty securing financing from traditional banks. To access working capital, a business can request a cash advance for a fixed fee plus a percentage of future sales.
“With Wix Checking and Wix Capital, we’re giving users a complete financial solution built into the platform they already use,” said Wix Payments Co-Heads Amit Sagiv and Volodymyr Tsukur. “It’s fast, simple, and designed to help small businesses access their money and fuel growth—all in one place. This is part of our broader commitment to supporting the full journey of business ownership, from managing day-to-day operations to making smarter financial decisions.”
Wix’s move further underscores how companies outside of the fintech sector have the opportunity to offer financial services thanks to the power of embedded finance. In Wix’s case, integrating financial tools directly into its platform will allow its business clients to manage their operations and finances from a single interface.
The move also helps Wix compete with Square, which offers a similar suite of integrated financial services including Square Banking and Square Capital. As more platforms embed financial tools directly into their ecosystems, the lines between fintechs and SaaS companies will blur as they help small businesses to offer faster, simpler access to money management tools.
August has arrived, which means we have just five months left to complete our 2025 goals. Given some of the recent regulatory shakeups, perhaps it’s time to adjust your goals to fit new objectives, as well. Will this month bring any more changes? Here’s a look at the latest fintech news this week. We’ll continue adding news to this post throughout the week, so stay tuned!
Fold has partnered with Blackhawk Network (BHN) to distribute its Bitcoin Gift Card, expanding consumer access to bitcoin through BHN’s large retail gift card network.
The Fold Bitcoin Gift Card allows users to gift bitcoin without technical knowledge.
The Bitcoin Gift Cards are currently available at select online retailers and will soon be available both online and in physical retail stores.
Bitcoin personal finance app Fold announced that it is tying up with gift card and incentives platform Blackhawk Network (BHN) this week. Under the agreement, BHN will distribute the Fold Bitcoin Gift Card.
The distribution agreement is expected to increase mainstream consumers’ access to bitcoin by bringing the cryptocurrency into everyday commerce. Leveraging BHN’s retail distribution network will give Fold the opportunity to increase user and transaction growth.
“At BHN, we understand that consumers today expect more flexibility in how they give and store value, and cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are becoming part of that equation,” said BHN GVP of Global Commerce Jennifer Philo. “Fold exemplifies the kind of forward-looking partner BHN is proud to support—they are creating products that bring bitcoin into the center of how consumers engage with money and build long-term value. By bringing the Fold Bitcoin Gift Card into our expansive retail ecosystem, we’re delivering yet another practical, accessible way for shoppers nationwide to embrace cryptocurrency by helping them earn, save, and spend smarter.”
Fold opted to use BHN, a branded payments provider that was founded in 2001 and now has a global footprint of more than 400,000 consumer touchpoints, including top retailers, e-commerce platforms, loyalty programs and enterprise rewards. Fold’s launch of its Bitcoin Gift Card within this network will make it one of the most broadly distributed bitcoin gift products in the US market.
The card is already available on select online platforms, and Fold plans to add more online retailers in the coming weeks. The two are planning to make the cards available in brick-and-mortar retailer stores later this year.
Fold launched its Bitcoin Gift Card in May of 2025. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company allows consumers to gift bitcoin via gift cards, without requiring technical knowledge or a crypto wallet. Gift card recipients can redeem their gift card through the Fold App.
“Until now, bitcoin was difficult for the average person to access, let alone share,” said Fold Chairman and CEO Will Reeves. “By making bitcoin available as a gift card, we’re opening access to the millions of consumers who already buy, send, and use gift cards. This isn’t about novelty. It’s about meeting people where they are and integrating bitcoin into the financial tools and channels they already understand. We’re building infrastructure for everyday adoption. BHN gives us that path into mainstream retail, opening access to bitcoin across the $300 billion US gift card market, something the ecosystem has struggled with for over a decade.”
This week’s edition of Finovate Globalreviews the latest fintech news from Hong Kong.
RD Technologies raises $40 million in advance of stablecoin licensing
Hong Kong-based stablecoin infrastructure firm RD Technologies has secured $40 million in Series A2 funding. The round was jointly led by a consortium of both new and existing investors. Participating in the investment were ZA Global, China Harbour, Bright Venture, and Hivemind Capital. HSG, Eternal Digital, CMSC Partners, and Guotai Junan International Private Equity Fund were also involved in the funding. RD Technologies raised $40 million in a Series A1 round in September 2024.
The funding comes as Hong Kong’s stablecoin licensing regime takes effect. This regime provides a framework for stablecoin issuers, including the necessary licensing requirements as mandated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) for companies seeking to issue fiat-backed stablecoins. The new Stablecoins Ordinance also requires these firms to maintain proper reserve asset management, robust stabilization mechanisms, and the capacity to process redemption requests at par value under ordinary conditions. Companies also must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations as well as maintain obligatory risk management, disclosure, and auditing standards.
Founded in 2020, RD Technologies provides technology to help bridge the Web2 and Web3 worlds. An early advocate of stablecoins, RD Technologies drives responsible and sustainable innovation in digital finance via open networks, real-world use cases, and industry-wide collaborations. The company participated in the stablecoin sandbox launched by the HKMA earlier this year, and is developing HKDR, a stablecoin backed 1:1 by the Hong Kong Dollar, via its subsidiary RD InnoTech.
“We are thrilled with the passage of the Stablecoins Ordinance, which sets a clear and robust framework for the sustainable growth of Hong Kong’s virtual asset ecosystem as a global financial hub,” RD Technologies Rita Liu said earlier this year when the stablecoin legislation was passed. “As pioneers in the stablecoin space, with RD InnoTech Limited’s participation in the HKMA’s sandbox, we are dedicated to building trust by aligning with these regulations to deliver secure and innovative solutions for virtual asset trading, cross-border payments, and tokenization of real world assets.”
As part of the investment, RD Technologies and Hong Kong-based virtual bank ZA Bank inked a new partnership through which the two companies will investigate regulated stablecoin use cases in financial services.
Airwallex Launches Yield in Hong Kong
International payments and business financial platform Airwallex has introduced its Airwallex Yield solution in Hong Kong. Airwallex Yield is designed to enhance treasury management by enabling businesses to earn returns on their suplus funds held in multi-currency accounts. There are no lock-up periods with Airwallex Yield, which provides access to highly rated money market funds such as those managed by firms like Fullerton Fund Management and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
The launch of the new solution, which also went live in Singapore recently, makes Airwallex the first global payments institution to secure a Securities and Future Commission (SFC) license for asset management services in Hong Kong. Yield currently enables companies to generate returns of up to 3.97% on multi-currency balances via discretionary portfolio management services. Airwallex also has partnered with JP Morgan Asset Management to leverage short-duration money market funds in order to provide liquid returns without minimum lock-up periods. Launched in Australia in the fall of 2023, Yield reached more than $67.3 million in funds under management.
“We’re excited to announce the full launch of Airwallex Yield to businesses in Hong Kong,” Airwallex Asia-Pacific General Manager Arnold Chan said. “We’ve seen growing demand from businesses looking for more effective ways to maximize the value of their capital. In today’s dynamic market environment, businesses are actively seeking ways to make their capital work harder. Airwallex Yield gives them a seamless and flexible way to earn returns on their balances, all from within the Airwallex platform. We’re not just looking to help businesses make the most of their surplus balances—we also want to encourage them to bring new funds to Airwallex because of the value Yield provides.”
Chocolate Finance, WeBank, Syfe Announce Hong Kong Entry and Expansion
A number of fintechs have announced plans to enter or expand their presence in Hong Kong of late.
First, Singapore-based Chocolate Finance has secured regulatory approval to being operations in Hong Kong. The news comes as the savings app announced that it has added $19.4 million in Series A+ funding to its coffers courtesy of a round led by Nikko Asset Management. The round also featured participation from existing investors Peak XV, Prosus, and Saison Capital, along with company founder Walter de Oude. Along with the funding news, Chocolate Finance announced a limited time Double Referral Program from July 22 to August 31, offering additional rewards and limited-edition merchandise.
Founded in 2022, Chocolate Finance delivers returns of up to 3% on savers’ first ($15,500) SGD 20k, 2.7% on the next ($23,250) SGD 30k, and 2.7% on any additional amount.
Next up, Chinese digital bank WeBank has won approval to set up its Hong Kong subsidiary, which will manage the institution’s overseas operations there and offer services to businesses covered by the Belt and Road Initiative.
WeBank was launched in 2014 by Tencent in partnership with a handful of other Chinese companies. The financial institution is the largest online-only lender in China, and is one of the world’s largest unicorns with a valuation of $32.4 billion (235 billion yuan).
WeBank’s Hong Kong subsidiary is expected to investigate potential opportunities in fintech such as real-world asset tokenization. The firm will also be a part of Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s “architecture community” for Project Ensemble, the HKMA’s wholesale central bank digital currency initiative.
Lastly, Chocolate Finance isn’t the only Asian company leveraging the occasion of a recent funding to announce increased engagement with Hong Kong. Singapore-based digital wealth platform Syfe recently announced that its $80 million Series C round in June will help fuel the firm’s regional expansion, including further inroads into Hong Kong.
“This fund raise comes at an exciting time as we grow our presence across the region and expand our offerings,” Syfe Founder and CEO Dhruv Arora said. “In our markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, nearly half of all adults are in the ‘mass affluent’ segment, meaning those who have between a few hundred to a few million dollars in investable assets, and this segment is growing fast. As a platform built in the region, for the region, we have a deep understanding of what these investors need. We’re in a great position to serve them with personalized, accessible, and high-quality wealth management at scale.”
Syfe will use the capital, which includes an all-equity C2 round of $53 million, in part to fuel its expansion in Hong Kong. In a statement, the company noted that its business in Hong Kong has “doubled in size” since the beginning of the year. Syfe currently has more than $10 billion in assets under management as of end-of-year 2024 and has raised a total of $132 million in funding. The company was founded in 2019.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Orange Money and BaaS fintech JUMO have teamed up to offer credit services in Africa.
MoneyBadger and Peach Payments partnered to make it easier for merchants to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Forbes looked at the connection between African mobile money service, M-Pesa, and Western-based services such as Venmo and PayPal.
Central and Eastern Europe
Estonia-based AI-powered investing tools company Lightyear raised $23 million in funding after topping $1 billion in assets.
Independent financial services advisory firm SRM has announced a strategic partnership with the Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA).
The partnership will enable CCUA’s member credit unions to access SRM’s complete portfolio of advisory solutions for sourcing and payments, as well as for corporate and technology strategy.
Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, SRM made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023 in New York.
The Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA) and advisory firm SRMhave forged a strategic partnership that will grant CCUA member credit unions preferred access to SRM’s complete portfolio of advisory solutions.
“Our collaboration with CCUA is rooted in a common goal: driving meaningful results for credit unions through insight-led advisory and technology solutions,” SRM Chief Growth Officer Stephen Johnston said. “SRM’s expertise aims to unlock new opportunities in payments, sourcing, technology, and member experience for the CCUA’s member credit unions.”
SRM’s advisory solutions portfolio includes sourcing advisory, with analysis, benchmarking, vendor selection/RFP management, vendor contract negotiations, and other strategic sourcing plans; payments advisory, covering commercial, consumer, and instant payments, credit/debit card portfolio optimization, fraud prevention, product development, and market expansion; corporate advisory, including strategic planning, digital strategy, mergers & acquisitions, AI enablement, organizational design, compliance and risk, policy development, research, and analytics; and technology advisory, including core processing and digital banking strategy, migration and integration services, project management, and expert staff augmentation.
The company offers SRM Boost Programs that provide a strategic growth platform for onboarding new members, cross-selling and card optimization, and fueling new membership growth. As part of the strategic partnership, SRM will also facilitate seasonal roundtables for CCUA’s member organizations and will be featured at CCUA events to help credit union leaders engage with SRM’s team of experts.
“Ensuring access to SRM’s proven advisory capabilities strengthens CCUA member credit unions’ position in contract negotiations, payments innovation, and technology transformation,” CCUA EVP and Chief Operating Officer Melissa Pomeroy said. “This partnership directly supports credit unions’ commitment to deliver exceptional member service and financial performance.”
The Cooperative Credit Union Association is a leading regional trade organization representing nearly 200 credit unions across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Rhode Island. Combined, the Association’s member credit unions manage more than $75 billion in assets and serve more than five million members. Founded in 2015, the Association is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
An independent advisory company specializing in payments, sourcing, operating strategies, and technology, SRM serves clients ranging in size from credit unions and community banks to international financial services firms. Returning more than $10 billion in value to more than 1,000 clients since inception in 1992, SRM is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The company made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023 in New York.
Cash App launched Pools, a new tool that lets users plan, contribute to, and track group payments for shared expenses.
Participants can contribute via Cash App, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, helping organizers avoid fronting costs and simplifying collection across different payment methods.
Pools is part of Cash App’s broader move toward becoming a full-service, socially driven digital banking platform, especially for younger users.
Block-owned Cash Applaunched a new peer-to-peer (P2P) payment tool called Pools this week. The new group payments feature makes it easy for users to manage payments and track shared goals in a single place.
With Pools, users can make contributions to do things like plan a vacation with friends, chip in on a joint gift, or reimburse friends for a group dinner. The new tool allows group members to plan, collect, and track contributions to a shared expense before the event occurs. Because the expense is shared before the transaction occurs, no single person has to front the entire cost.
The organizer starts a group by creating a name, setting a goal amount, and inviting members to join the pool. Once the group is created, the organizer can track the group’s contributions, which helps remove unnecessary logistics and brings clarity to the amount each person has (or has not) contributed. Once the organizer is ready to close the pool, they can transfer the money into their Cash App balance.
Pools also helps in situations where participants have varying payment preferences. Organizers can not only invite members in-app via their $cashtag, but can also text or share a link to members, who can make a contribution using Apple Pay or Google Pay.
“Cash App has always made sending money between friends and family feel effortless, and we know that many of our customers already use the platform as a way to collect payments from groups,” said Cash App Head of Product Design Cameron Worboys. “With Pools, our customers now have a dedicated, easy-to-use solution for group payments: they can start a pool to collect the money in seconds, and then instantly transfer the funds to their Cash App balance when it’s time to pay.”
Cash App was founded by Block (then known as Square) in 2013. At the time, Cash App most directly competed with Braintree’s Venmo. Twelve years on, Cash App still has its roots in peer-to-peer payments, but has since diversified into a more robust digital banking platform that enables users to hold funds, deposit their paychecks, spend their money using a QR code or cash, invest, manage their Bitcoin, and file their taxes. With more than 57 million monthly active users in its network, Cash App plans to introduce more group features and services in the coming months.
“For younger customers in particular, managing money is often an inherently social experience that requires extensive discussion, planning, and collaboration between groups. Combining the scale of Cash App’s network with our robust suite of banking and commerce tools, we’re excited to introduce new solutions tailored to the next generation and their financial lives,” added Worboys.
Pools is currently available to a select group of Cash App customers. The company is planning to make it more broadly available in the coming months with an aim to reach all Cash App customers.
Cash App’s launch of Pools reflects the company’s shift from simple money transfers to a more social, full-stack financial experience. As users increasingly treat money as a shared experience, tools like Pools show how fintech is adapting to a more shared, communal economy.
How can enabling technologies like traditional and generative AI, as well as automation, help solve major pain points in the mortgage industry? Can challenges like high costs and lengthy processing times be alleviated by technological innovation?
Mohammad Rashid is Senior Vice President and Head of Innovation at Tavant. In this week’s Streamly interview, we talk with him about how AI and automation can streamline the mortgage application process by eliminating manual tasks and reducing the overall amount of human involvement. Rashid also discusses some of the challenges that financial institutions encounter when adopting new technologies like AI, and the integrated, unified platforms for lenders that Tavant creates.
“This industry has two of the biggest problems plaguing any industry: armies of people that address rivers of paper. Whenever you have a mortgage application you have hundreds of digital (documents) that (are) flowing through the application process. And you have hundreds of people behind the scenes who are looking at that paper, extracting data from that paper, and trying to decision as fast as possible for that loan. That has a lot of side effects.”
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Tavant provides AI-powered fintech solutions that help businesses become more agile, optimize costs, and benefit from continuous innovation. The company’s AI-powered agents, predictive intelligence, and scalable machine learning models help firms move beyond conventional automation to intelligent, adaptive, and outcome-driven processes. Businesses working with Tavant have reported a 54% increase in speed to market, a 45% reduction in costs, and a 33% improvement in productivity. Tavant’s AI solutions power one in three mortgage loans in the US, with 3.5 million lending applications and 33 million lending transactions enabled.
Rashid has been a part of Tavant for more than two decades. Starting as VP of Lending and Capital Markets in 2003, Rashid was honored with the Housing Wire Vanguard Award in 2017. The Award recognizes leaders in fintech whose work is helping transform the lending business for the better.
Palo Alto Networks is acquiring identity security company CyberArk for $25 billion.
The deal marks Palo Alto Networks’ first major move into the identity space as threats from AI-generated attacks and synthetic identities increase.
The deal will integrate CyberArk’s privileged access management tools into Palo Alto’s AI-driven platforms, expanding protection to human, machine, and AI agent identities under a unified security architecture.
Palo Alto Networksannounced plans to acquire CyberArk this week. The Massachusetts-based identity security company agreed to be acquired for approximately $25 billion.
The deal will bring CyberArk’s privileged access management (PAM) and identity security technology into Palo Alto Networks’ existing AI-powered security platforms, marking the California-based company’s first entry into the identity space. Combining the expertise of the two organizations, Palo Alto Networks will extend identity protection to all identity types, including human, machine, and autonomous AI agents.
For CyberArk, the new backing will help to establish itself as an identity security platform by driving better combined security outcomes.
“Our market entry strategy has always been to enter categories at their inflection point, and we believe that moment for Identity Security is now,” said Palo Alto Networks Chairman and CEO Nikesh Arora. “This strategy has guided our evolution from a next-gen firewall company into a multi-platform cybersecurity leader. Today, the rise of AI and the explosion of machine identities have made it clear that the future of security must be built on the vision that every identity requires the right level of privilege controls, not the ‘IAM fallacy’. CyberArk is the definitive leader in Identity Security with durable, foundational technology that is essential for securing the AI era. Together, we will define the next chapter of cybersecurity.”
The deal comes at a time when identity and security are converging, especially as gathering credentials for both human and machine identities such as AI agents begins to challenge traditional security frameworks. The integration of CyberArk’s Identity Security Platform with Palo Alto Networks will provide a single solution to help eliminate security gaps; extend identity management to ensure the right level of privilege controls is applied to every identity, which includes humans, machines, and even agents; and help enforce just-in-time access and least privilege principles to ensure that AI agents are granted only the permissions they need.
Palo Alto Networks was founded in 2005 and has since provided more than 70,000 organizations across the globe with solutions across network, cloud, and security operations. The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk, and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
This deal marks a notable shift in cybersecurity, as it signals that identity security is no longer an add-on, but it is rather a central piece of the future of threat prevention. As organizations rely more on cloud infrastructure, machine-to-machine communication, and AI-driven operations, identity should be front and center. Palo Alto Networks’ move to integrate CyberArk’s technology doesn’t just add another product line, but instead redefines cybersecurity architecture around identity as the new perimeter.
The move also comes at a time when banks are fighting deepfake identity images at onboarding, struggling to distinguish synthetic identities created by AI from real images, and facing pressure to secure machine-to-machine communications. Each of these elements highlight the growing need for stronger identity verification and privilege management across both human and non-human users.
The future of open banking in the US just hit another curve. Yesterday, July 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a surprise motion to pause the legal battle over its Section 1033 data access rule. The move, which comes the day that final arguments were due in the case, signals that the Bureau plans to rewrite the rule altogether, a dramatic shift that could reshape how financial data flows between banks, aggregators, and fintech apps.
Because this case is a rollercoaster, let’s start from the beginning. In the fall of 2024, the CFPB issued the final rulemaking on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The new rule, issued in the form of a 594-page document, aimed to enhance consumers’ rights, privacy, and security over their own personal financial data. Hours after the CFPB issued the rule, Forcht Bank, the Kentucky Bankers Association (KBA), and the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) filed suit, arguing that the CFPB overstepped its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. They later filed an amended complaint in November, and the CFPB responded in December.
Then, things got even more complicated. After the new administration placed new leadership over the CFPB early this year, both sides agreed to temporarily pause the case and delay the rule’s compliance deadlines. The court granted the pause and extended it again in March. Meanwhile, the Financial Technology Association (FTA), a group that represents fintechs and aggregators, was granted permission to join the case in May. All sides submitted their main arguments to the court at the end of May, and their responses to each other’s arguments were due by July 29, 2025.
The next interesting twist in the story came out yesterday, when the CFPB filed for a motion to “reconsider the rule with the view to substantially revising it and providing a robust justification” because of “recent events.” The recent event the Bureau is referring to is JPMorgan’s announcement to data aggregators that it plans to charge them a fee to access consumer data. This move has sparked multiple heated conversations over who owns consumer data and how many services banks should be expected to provide for free.
Many conversations highlighted the fact that the CFPB’s 1033 ruling stipulated that banks cannot charge third parties for data access. However, now that the CFPB has indicated it plans to revise the rule, some experts are wondering whether the agency is backing away from that stance. Critics fear the Bureau may soften the ban on data access fees in response to pressure from JPMorgan, the biggest bank in the world by market capitalization. Others argue that resetting the rule could allow for broader industry consensus and a more durable framework.
Either way, the move reopens a regulatory debate that many thought was settled. Now that you’re caught up, here are the four highlights of the CFPB’s latest motion:
Plans to rewrite the rule In its motion, the CFPB announced that it intends to throw out its current version of the Section 1033 rule and start fresh. The Bureau says it will kick off a new, “accelerated” rulemaking process with an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) expected within three weeks. The CFPB has decided on a pivot. Rather than defending its original rule in court, the CFPB is acknowledging its change in leadership and “recent events in the marketplace” (which is very likely JPMorgan’s controversial move to charge data aggregators) as the reason it plans to take the rule back to the drawing board. A substantially revised rule could reshape the boundaries around consumer data access and fees.
Requests a pause The CFPB is asking the court to pause the current legal proceedings while it works on rewriting the rule. The Bureau reasons that if it is about to replace the rule that’s being challenged, then it doesn’t make sense for the court to keep spending time on the existing version.
Promises communication To assure the court that the motion isn’t a stall tactic, the CFPB is promising transparency throughout the rulemaking process. If the court grants the pause, the Bureau will submit status reports every 90 days to update the judge on its progress. This is meant to maintain communication with the court and demonstrate that the agency is moving swiftly.
Cites opposition In the motion, the CFPB acknowledges that not all parties are on board. The Financial Technology Association (FTA), which represents data aggregators and fintech firms, does not oppose the pause. But the plaintiffs (Forcht Bank, the KBA, and the BPI), however, do oppose it. They plan to file a formal objection, likely arguing that the pause is a delay tactic and that the rule should be struck down based on the current legal merits.
What happens next will most certainly have ripple effects across the entire financial ecosystem. If the CFPB follows through on its promise to rewrite the rule, we could see a very different version of Section 1033, one potentially shaped by politics, institutional pressure, consumer rights, and innovation. At this point, it is clear that the future of open banking in the US is once again uncertain and very much up for debate.
