Partnership with FIS Brings UK Paytech Modulr to the US

Partnership with FIS Brings UK Paytech Modulr to the US
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, FIS
  • 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.

Photo by Vlado Paunovic on Unsplash

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Four Identity and Fraud Startups Laying the Foundation for Digital Finance

Four Identity and Fraud Startups Laying the Foundation for Digital Finance
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2026, List series

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

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

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

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.

Keyless

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.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

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FinovateEurope Best of Show Winner Finshape Introduces New CEO Neil Budd

FinovateEurope Best of Show Winner Finshape Introduces New CEO Neil Budd
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Finshape
  • 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.

Photo by Tobias Reich on Unsplash

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Barclays Invests in Crypto Connectivity Startup Ubyx

Barclays Invests in Crypto Connectivity Startup Ubyx
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Barclays, Daily news
  • 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.

Photo by Jose Marroquin on Unsplash

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Digital Bank Zand and Business Banking Platform Yuze Announce Strategic Alliance

Digital Bank Zand and Business Banking Platform Yuze Announce Strategic Alliance
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • 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.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

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Citi Taps CredAble for Trade Finance Controls

Citi Taps CredAble for Trade Finance Controls
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Citi, Daily news
  • Citi has selected CredAble as a fintech partner to modernize trade finance controls by adding invoice and shipping data verification to its digital trade loan tools.
  • By integrating CredAble’s white-labelled technology, Citi aims to reduce fraud, manual reconciliation, and post-disbursement risk while improving transparency and speed for corporate clients and their suppliers.
  • The partnership reflects a broader trend of banks embedding fintech infrastructure into core trade finance workflows, as institutions look to add automation, intelligence, and trust to increasingly complex global supply chains.

Citi has selected India-based CredAble, a company that provides working capital infrastructure for banks and other businesses, to modernize trade finance controls and better verify invoices after payments are made across global markets. 

Through its network of more than 20 ecosystem partners, CredAble provides liquidity programs for enterprise ecosystems, offers API-based working capital solutions and embedded credit solutions for banks, and provides an all-in-one credit, trade, and cash management platform for small businesses. Since it was founded in 2017, the company has served more than 175 corporations and 350,000 small businesses.

“This partnership goes beyond product innovation. It reflects our joint vision of making trade finance smarter, more secure, and aligned with the digital expectations of global businesses,” said CredAble Co-founder and MD Ram Kewalramani. “We are proud to be Citi’s fintech partner and elevate the standard for invoice verification and supplier financing.”

Citi will use a white-labelled solution from CredAble to add a verification layer to its digital trade loan tool. Integrating CredAble’s technology will allow Citi to help its corporate clients and their suppliers validate invoices by detecting inconsistencies and verifying shipping data with a user experience that offers better transparency and speed.

Overall, Citi’s tool will reduce manual follow-ups and enhance the accuracy of invoices without disrupting existing business workflows.

“As supply chains become more global and complex, digitization is essential to deliver control and confidence at scale,” said Citi Head of Asia South and Indian subcontinent, Trade and Working Capital Solutions, Mayank Gupta. “Our collaboration with CredAble supports our vision of modernizing trade with technology that is secure, user-centric, and built for widespread adoption.”

In an increasingly digital era, traditional banks are turning to fintechs to modernize trade finance infrastructure. Embedding invoice verification and shipping data validation into digital trade loan tools will help banks address fraud, manual reconciliation, and post-disbursement risk. As international trade continues to rise, fintechs like CredAble and its competitors like Persona will increase in popularity as they help banks add intelligence, automation, and trust to trade finance processes.

Photo by Tiger Lily

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Cobalt Credit Union Teams Up with Eltropy to Deploy AI Voice

Cobalt Credit Union Teams Up with Eltropy to Deploy AI Voice
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni profile, Eltropy

Eltropy, an AI-powered conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs), announced this week that Nebraska-based Cobalt Credit Union has deployed its Eltropy AI Voice solution. This has enabled the credit union to secure an 83% session containment rate while maintaining high member satisfaction.

Session containment rates refer to the percentage of customer interactions that are successfully resolved by the AI without the participation of a human agent. Typically, these rates range between 60% and 80%, and are lower than those for text-based systems due to the greater complexity of voice-based AI systems and the nuances of natural language processing (NLP) in spoken conversations. For Cobalt to achieve session containment rates exceeding 80% with its voice-based system is a significant achievement.

“From day one, our AI-powered contact center assistant, Coby, has delivered measurable results and positive feedback from both members and staff,” Cobalt Credit Union VP of Digital Banking Chasmine McIntosh said. “What Coby does is handle routine inquiries 24/7, which frees up our team to focus on the complex situations where members really need that human touch. We consider him a vital member of our contact center team, handling high volume with empathy and accuracy.”

Formerly SAC Federal Credit Union, Cobalt CU is no stranger to AI-enabled technology. The institution implemented its first AI agent in August 2024: an intent-based system that ran alongside the credit union’s new digital banking platform. Before the end of the year, Cobalt CU had added generative AI capabilities to enable its contact center assistant, Coby, to respond to an even broader range of queries. The implementation of AI Voice represents the completion of Cobalt CU’s multi-channel AI strategy, enabling members to engage with the institution via the channel of their choice.

“The key to effective AI Voice is that it goes beyond just understanding member requests—it takes action,” Eltropy VP of Product, AI, Saahil Kamath said. “Members calling to check balances or transfer funds don’t want to work through phone menus and hold times. Our AI handles authentication conversationally, processes transactions in real-time, and provides confirmation—maintaining a natural, human-like interaction throughout. Cobalt members are experiencing this firsthand.”

Founded in 1946 as SAC Federal Credit Union, the institution rebranded as Cobalt Credit Union in 2018. Cobalt CU is headquartered in Papillion, Nebraska—part of the Omaha metropolitan area—and has more than 20 branches serving approximately 120,000 members throughout Nebraska and Iowa. The credit union has $1.3 billion in assets under management. Robin Larsen is President and CEO.

A Finovate alum since 2017, Eltropy most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Eltropy offers a unified conversations platform that enables more than 700 credit unions and community banks to transform the member and customer experience. With more than 40 use cases ranging from straightforward 1:1 texting and video banking to appointment and lobby management, Eltropy integrates AI at every step to automate processes and streamline complexity. Financial institutions using Eltropy’s technology have seen reductions in delinquency and fraud rates, as well as up to a 20% acceleration in lending processes.

Photo by John Matychuk on Unsplash

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Welcome to 2026! First Look at Europe Demos

Welcome to 2026! First Look at Europe Demos
By Heather Stowell Posted on
Categories: Finovate Marketing, FinovateEurope 2026

FinovateEurope 2026 takes place in London on February 10 and 11. Register to attend and save up to £400.

FinovateEurope is returning to London in February, spotlighting the latest in fintech innovation.

The exceptional lineup of 30+ cutting-edge demos and 1,000+ senior-level attendees—including an impressive 600+ from banks and other financial institutions—makes FinovateEurope a must-attend event.

This year’s demo lineup showcases the key trends driving change across the financial services sector and the innovative technologies bringing them to life. Here’s an early look at the first wave of companies taking the stage:

Stay tuned for more announcements as we reveal the next wave of innovators in the coming weeks!

Interested in demoing? Applications are still open!

FinovateEurope is the perfect platform for organizations driving innovation in financial services—whether you’re a startup, bank, public entity, or established leader. Demoing offers unparalleled exposure, including:

  • 7-minute demo slot on the main stage
  • A plug-and-play exhibit hall stand
  • Speaker passes and lead generation reports
  • Coaching calls with Finovate’s host and resident expert
  • Marketing and media coverage

Don’t miss the chance to kick off 2026 with a strong pipeline of leads and high ROI. Apply now to secure your spot.

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Cross-Border Payments Fintech Flutterwave Acquires Open Banking Firm Mono

Cross-Border Payments Fintech Flutterwave Acquires Open Banking Firm Mono
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Flutterwave has agreed to acquire Mono, bringing open banking capabilities fully in-house as it pushes toward a more interoperable financial infrastructure across Africa.
  • The deal allows Flutterwave to natively integrate financial data access, identity verification, and account-to-account payments.
  • Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Cross-border payments company Flutterwave revealed it has agreed to acquire Mono, a fellow Africa-based fintech focused on providing open banking tools. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

For Flutterwave, investing in open banking technologies shows that it is committed to building an interoperable financial system for Africa. While Flutterwave originally partnered with Mono in 2022, the acquisition will allow the company to fully integrate Mono’s API-driven open banking elements. The native integration will offer users secure access to financial data, identity verification, and account-to-account payments. It will also create a clear path for expanding into richer alternative payment methods, authenticated payment flows, and open banking-enabled stablecoin use cases.

“This acquisition reflects how we think about the future of financial infrastructure in Africa,” said Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola. “Payments, data, and trust cannot exist in silos. Open banking provides the connective tissue, and Mono has built critical infrastructure in this space. This acquisition allows us to expand what’s possible for businesses operating across African markets, while staying grounded in security, compliance, and local relevance.”

Mono was founded in 2020 to provide financial data, identity verification, and direct bank payments for businesses. With five million linked accounts across more than 500 banks and fintechs, the Lagos-based fintech covers three different countries.

“Mono’s capabilities across financial data access, direct bank payments, and identity verification, combined with Flutterwave’s unmatched scale and global reach, create something more defensible and comprehensive,” said Mono Founder and CEO Abdulhamid Hassan. “This acquisition allows us to build the infrastructure layer that powers the next generation of African fintech at the speed and scale the continent deserves.”

Once the acquisition is finalized, Mono will continue to operate independently with its leadership structure intact. Mono will also retain operational control, which will allow it to maintain its pace of innovation.

Flutterwave accepts payments in more than 30 currencies, processing an average of 500,000 payments each day. In addition to its payments technology, Flutterwave also offers invoicing technology, business loans, and analytics tools. Since it was founded in 2016, Flutterwave has raised more than $470 million and has processed over one billion transactions in excess of $40 billion.

The move positions Flutterwave toward full-stack financial infrastructure. It also reflects a broader industry shift toward open banking–enabled payment flows, where verified data and authenticated transfers reduce fraud, improve conversion, and unlock new use cases. For Africa’s fragmented financial ecosystem, tighter integration between payments and data infrastructure has the potential to boost interoperability while giving cross-border payment players like Flutterwave greater control over compliance, reliability, and product velocity.

Photo by Muhammad-Taha Ibrahim

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Returning to the Office? Here’s the Top Fintech News You Missed

Returning to the Office? Here’s the Top Fintech News You Missed
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Julie's Column

If you stepped away from your desk over the holidays, you are probably realizing that fintech didn’t slow down while you were gone. Even if your email inbox is finally back to zero at this point, we’re here to help you filter out the noise and catch up on the important fintech news you missed. Below, we’ve rounded up the most important fintech developments that broke during the holiday lull.

December 19

Mercury applies for OCC national bank charter to become the bank for builders.

Business banking fintech Mercury submitted an application to the OCC for a national bank charter and applied for federal deposit insurance with the FDIC. Receiving approval from these agencies would allow Mercury to operate as an FDIC-insured national bank. The move would grant Mercury independence from its partner banks, Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., giving the fintech full control of its customers.

European Central Bank (ECB) completes its technical and preparatory work on the digital euro.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said during a press conference that the bank has completed technical and preparatory work on the digital euro. In the statement, Lagarde mentioned that the digital euro is a priority for Europe’s financial future. The announcement proves that central bank digital currencies are still on the table for 2026, even as stablecoins and tokenized deposits take precedence in the headlines.

December 30

Retail investment platform PrimaryBid lays off about 40% of its workforce.

The UK-based company’s newest registry filings indicate that PrimaryBid’s average employee headcount fell to 91, which is down from 152 during the same period last year. PrimaryBid has a long-term agreement with the London Stock Exchange to allow everyday retail investors to transact at the same time and price as institutional investors.

December 22

Digital bank Erebor closed $350 million in funding at a $4.35 billion valuation.

Erebor is a new digital bank that was founded by Palmer Luckey, billionaire and founder of Oculus VR and Anduril Industries. The new digital bank seeks to bridge traditional finance with the digital asset economy and has already obtained FDIC approval and conditional approval from US banking regulators. The bank is expected to launch this year.

Fiserv and Mastercard partner to advance agentic commerce.

Fiserv announced it is deepening its partnership with Mastercard, leveraging Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework to offer interoperable agentic commerce and empower merchants to embrace AI-driven payments.

December 23

JPMorgan considers allowing crypto trading for institutional clients.

With Jamie Dimon’s negative comments about crypto far in the past, JPMorgan announced plans to allow institutional clients to trade crypto. The announcement comes weeks after the bank’s asset management arm launched its first tokenized money fund.

Photo by Ono Kosuki

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Experian Integrates Corporate Commercial Data to its Ascend Platform

Experian Integrates Corporate Commercial Data to its Ascend Platform
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Experian
  • Global data, technology, and analytics company Experian announced that its commercial data is now available on its Ascend platform.
  • The news means that companies using Ascend will be able to access and analyze Experian’s full commercial data suite within a single platform.
  • Founded in 2006, Experian has been a Finovate alum since 2011. The company’s corporate headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland.

Data, technology, and analytics company Experian reported today that its commercial data is now available on its Ascend platform. The company’s cloud-based analytics and decisioning solution, Ascend, combines Experian’s data assets and advanced analytics tools. The newly announced integration will enable companies to access and analyze Experian’s full commercial data suite within a single platform. This alleviates the need for separate integrations as well as manual data pulls.

Experian UK&I Chief Product Officer, Business Information, David Gallihawk said that the enhanced offering will help customers using the Ascend platform keep pace with the “ever-growing number (of) lenders and new products entering the market.” Gallihawk added, “Experian Ascend helps lenders retain customers, identify new opportunities, launch new products, and leverage data to automate processes. Clients can have an even better view of their customers and businesses so they can make smarter, faster decisions—all within one integrated platform.”

The need for access to commercial data is clear; Experian data supported at least two-thirds of SME borrowing in the UK in 2024. Commercial data provides in-depth, granular information on the borrowing and repayment history of more than eight million businesses in the UK. Access to this data will give lenders, businesses, and other organizations a more holistic view of company performance, enabling them to make better, faster, and more accurate lending decisions. The integration will provide quick and easy access to more than six years of full-file commercial credit data, including Commercial CAIS, Risk Scores, and CATO—along with their own internal datasets. Users can access the data via the Experian Analytical Sandbox on the Ascend platform.

Founded in 1996 and established as a standalone public company in 2006, Experian has been a Finovate alum since 2011. Today, the company is a FTSE 100 firm that helps institutions improve lending and fight fraud with a unique combination of data, analytics, and software that enables them to secure deeper insights into their customers. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and boasting 25,000+ employees in 32 countries, Experian has more than 208 million customers on its free platforms alone. Along with fellow Finovate alums TransUnion and Equifax, Experian is one of the Big Three credit reporting agencies in the US. Of the three, it has the most extensive operations in the UK and Europe.

Photo by Scott Webb

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Experian, Fintech Rundown, Fiserv, MasterCard

2026 begins in earnest today as the first full working week of the year gets underway. Be sure to check in with Finovate’s Fintech Rundown over the next few days to get you up and running with the latest in fintech news and announcements!

Open banking

Flutterwave acquires African open banking infrastructure company Mono.

Credit and analytics

Experian announces availability of its commercial data via its Ascend platform.

Investing and wealth management

Universal Exchange (UEX) Bitget opens its TradFi trading suite to all users.

TradeStation unveils the upcoming launch of TITAN X, its next generation of its flagship trading platform designed for active traders.

Crypto and DeFi

Telcoin, a digital asset bank that just won final charter approval from the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance, launches its eUSD stablecoin.

Kast, a financial platform built on stablecoin rails, expands global payouts to 11 new local currencies including GBP, EUR, and CAD, as well as a multiple currencies in the Asia Pacific region.

Insurtech

Zurich North America partners with modularized AI underwriting, data, and intelligent document automation workbench company Convr.

Insurance broker and risk management firm M3 Insurance turns to SimplePin to modernize its finance and accounting operations.

Commerce

Fiserv and Mastercard extend their partnership to advance agentic commerce for merchants, leveraging Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework at scale.

Swap secures $100 million in Series C funding to develop commerce solutions platform.

Lending

India-based digital lender Knight Fintech raises $23.6 million in Series A funding.

BMG Money unveils tightened controls and institutional capital-markets program to support the next phase of scalable growth.

Pluto Financial Technologies launches AI-powered lending platform purpose built for private markets.

Digital banking

Egypt’s Bank NXT partners with IBM and inspire for Solutions Development.

Sanibel Captiva Community Bank selects Jack Henry to modernize its technology and streamline operations.

Payments

Solutions by Text acquires Triple Play Pay to accelerate payments innovation and expand FinText payment capabilities.

Gr4vy selects Affirm to bring flexible and transparent payment options to merchants.

Paychex and PayPal team up to bring direct deposit alternatives into Paychex Flex perks.

Worldline launches One Commerce in the UK.

Chase to become new issuer of Apple Card.

DailyPay announces new $195 million senior secured revolving credit facility.

Blink Payment launches Card Present API to connect in-person payments.

Compliance

Ripple’s GTreasury acquires no-code financial automation, data management, and analytics solutions company Solvexia.

European Merchant Bank selects AMLYZE to strengthen compliance framework.

Onboarding

SMBC Americas selects Fenergo to transform client onboarding.

Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

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