Payments Fintech Sokin Raises $50 Million to Build Out Global Infrastructure

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
Sokin raised $50 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raised to $96 million and boosting its valuation to $300 million following 100% year-over-year revenue growth. The fintech offers global payments, multi-currency accounts, and treasury tools across 170+ countries, positioning itself as a fast-scaling competitor in the $56 trillion cross-border payments market. Investors see Sokin as part of a new wave of infrastructure-focused payments challengers aiming to solve cross-border complexity at a global scale. Global payments fintech Sokin raised $50 million in Series B funding this week. The round boosts the UK-based company's total raised to $96 million since it was founded in 2019. Today's investment was led by Prysm Capital with additional contributions from Watershed Ventures and existing investors including investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, Aurum Partners, Gary Marino, former Chief Commercial Officer at PayPal, and Mark Britto, former Chief Product Officer at PayPal.  With the…

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: DataVisor, Entersekt, Fintech Rundown, FIS, Interface.ai
The final month of the year is upon us. And with some of the season's biggest holidays only weeks away, expect a crush of news from banks, fintechs, and other financial service providers over the next several days. We'll keep you in the know—right here on Finovate's Fintech Rundown! Digital Banking Southland Credit Union chooses Eltropy's unified conversations platform via its partnership with digital sales and service platform provider Alkami Technology. Digital bank Grasshopper and digital banking platform provider Narmi announced new enhancements to their Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, including expanded functionality to support ChatGPT and OAuth 2.0-based data access authorization. interface.ai introduces agentic AI BankGPT platform purpose-built for credit unions and community banks. Lending Nova Credit unveils its Eligibility Compass to modernize eligibility verification for affordable and public housing. FIS expands its asset finance platform to include US consumer auto finance capabilities. Insurtech Insurance payments company SnapRefund launches…

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Kraken Debuts Debit Card with 1% Cash Back

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
Kraken is launching the Krak Card, a crypto-to-fiat debit card offering 1% cash back and multi-asset spending across 400+ crypto and fiat currencies, with initial rollout in the UK and EU. The card supports direct deposit, no foreign exchange or monthly fees, and flexible funding rules that let users choose which assets cover each purchase. With the Krak Card, Kraken is positioning itself closer to a full-service financial platform, further blurring the lines between TradFi and DeFi and enabling everyday spending of digital assets. Cryptocurrency exchange platform Kraken revealed plans to launch a crypto-to-fiat debit card that pays 1% cash back rewards on all purchases. The Krak Card will first be available to users in the UK and EU, and will be offered to customers in additional markets in the coming weeks.  In addition to paying rewards, the Krak Card also allows direct deposit for salaries and offers expanded wealth-building opportunities.…

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Klarna Debuts KlarnaUSD Stablecoin

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Klarna
Klarna revealed plans to launch KlarnaUSD, a new stablecoin built on Stripe and Paradigm’s Tempo blockchain. Set to debut on the Tempo mainnet in 2026, KlarnaUSD will leverage early access to Tempo for testing and integration. The move positions Klarna to capture value in the $120 billion cross-border payments market, using stablecoins to cut costs for both consumers and merchants as stablecoin usage surpasses $27 trillion annually. Two months after reaching one million card sign-ups in the US, BNPL leader Klarna has revealed plans to launch its own stablecoin, KlarnaUSD. Klarna is launching its new stablecoin on the Tempo blockchain. Launched in September 2025, Tempo is an independent, layer-1 blockchain created by Stripe and Paradigm that’s built for payments. KlarnaUSD is built on Open Issuance by stablecoin infrastructure platform Bridge. "With 114 million customers and $118 billion in annual GMV, Klarna has the scale to change payments globally: with Klarna’s scale and…

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FinovateEurope 2026: AI, Embedded Finance, and Women in Fintech

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2026
The agenda for FinovateEurope 2026 (February 10—11) in London is still taking shape. We've already shared a preview of some of the top themes that the conference will address. Today we're looking at a trio of Executive Briefings that will offer attendees concentrated deep dives on a few key issues and trends in fintech and financial services. This year, women in fintech, integrating AI into financial services, and the embedded finance revolution are the three areas of focus for our FinovateEurope Executive Briefings. Stay tuned for more on our moderators and speakers. For now, check out this advance look at how we're tackling these top issues for 2026. Women in Fintech: How Can We All Make Sure We Are Moving The Needle? Ladies first! Tuesday morning will feature the first of three Executive Briefings at FinovateEurope: our Women in Fintech Briefing. This session, open to all attendees, will examine and…

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AMLYZE, FICO, Fintech Rundown, Intuit, Revolut, WorldPay
From AI-enabled commerce to AI-powered voice agents in insurance, companies across the fintech spectrum are busily integrating AI into their operations to boost efficiency, cut costs, and enhance the customer experience. It is a holiday-shortened week, so be sure to check in to Finovate's Fintech Rundown to keep you informed on the latest fintech headlines. Insurtech Eleos Life unveils AI voice agent to provide 24/7 customer support. HawkSoft partners with AI automation company Liberate to leverage the company's Voice AI to enhance sales and service operations. Payments European payment provider Mollie announces payment integration with ChatGPT. Worldpay unveils its Worldpay MCP (Model Context Protocol). Revolut reaches a valuation of $75 billion following a share sale and investment from NVIDIA's venture capital arm, NVentures. TerraPay introduces payments interoperability network, Xend. Australian payments and rewards platform pay.com.au raises $53 million to fuel US expansion. Payments platform Paysafe partners with independent cloud gaming…

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Finovate Global South Africa: Acquisitions and Licensing Innovation in Banking

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: MasterCard, Napier, PayQuicker, Revolut
This week's edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from South Africa. Lesaka Technologies to Acquire Bank Zero Lesaka Technologies, a fintech that provides low-cost financial services to underbanked South Africans, has secured approval from the Competition Commission to acquire Bank Zero. An app-only bank co-founded by Michael Jordaan in 2018 and publicly launched three years later, Bank Zero today has more than 40,000 funded accounts and deposits of more than $22 million. The financial institution offers personal and business banking solutions to both underbanked and tech-first customers. Initially announced in July, the acquisition is valued at $60 million. The transaction consists of a combination of newly issued shares in Lesaka and up to $5 million in cash. Post-transaction, Jordaan will remain as Bank Zero's chairman, and co-founder Yatin Narsai will continue to serve as CEO. Bank Zero's entire management team will also remain in place. Lesaka anticipates…

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Modernizing Financial Systems with Casey Ferguson of Zoot Enterprises

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Speaker series, Streamly
How can financial institutions determine the correct digital modernization strategy that will help them achieve their goals while respecting the role of legacy technologies? Can organizations effectively modernize their operations, leveraging enabling technologies like AI, without risking the potential disruptions that change—even positive change—can bring? This year at FinovateFall 2025, I caught up with Casey Ferguson, VP of Marketing at Zoot Enterprises to discuss the company's phased approach to modernizing financial systems and integrating legacy technologies. Ferguson explains how effective transformations should embrace incremental progress, cross-functional collaboration, and layered fraud defenses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RoWonBM9_w&list=PLdscmqhRMVY1_jBkf_ILNDfSmPK37Sb55&index=11 At Zoot we look at modernization this way: it's not about tearing everything down. When you look at this kind of 'rip and replace' mentality, you have to remember it can be pretty risky. It can be very expensive and it can be slow, as well. When you think about the pace of change, architecting the perfect environment,…

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Superannuation Fund Brighter Super Selects Napier AI to Upgrade Compliance Infrastructure

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Napier
Superannuation fund Brighter Super is upgrading its compliance infrastructure courtesy of a partnership with Napier AI. Migrating to Napier AI's Continuum platform enables Brighter Super to benefit from Kubernetes-based scalability and intuitive rule-testing capabilities, helping compliance teams adapt to changing regulations. Headquartered in London, Napier AI made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018. One of the largest superannuation funds in Queensland, Australia, Brighter Super, has partnered with financial crime prevention platform Napier AI. The fund will leverage Napier AI's Continuum solution to improve scalability, increase regulatory preparedness, and boost operational efficiency. "Brighter Super is an excellent example of how a forward-looking institution can use technology to drive compliance transformation," Napier AI CEO Greg Watson said. "By adopting Napier AI Continuum, Brighter Super has built a scalable, future-ready compliance operation that not only meets today's regulatory expectations, but also positions them for continued growth." Based in Queensland, Australia, Brighter Super migrated…

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From Process Automation to Industry Reimagination

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Sponsored
This is a sponsored blog post from Capgemini, a financial services consulting and technology firm. Unlock large-scale growth with cloud-powered AI agents Cloud and AI agents boost efficiency and personalization, but adoption remains nascent. Cloud-powered AI agents unlock value by automating tasks and enabling real-time, personalized CX. To maximize impact, financial institutions must redesign processes and align cloud-AI strategies with compliance. AI is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of almost every industry. Today, it’s everywhere – discussed, adopted, and integrated across sectors. Now, we’re entering the era of agentic AI. Here’s what it means for financial services.  According to Capgemini’s latest World Cloud Report – Financial Services 2026, 87% of financial institutions have implemented some form of AI, but only 10% are using AI agents at scale. This gap represents a major opportunity for banks, insurers, and market operators to move beyond basic automation and embrace the AI-driven revolution.  Meanwhile, cloud platforms have evolved from simple infrastructure providers into powerful innovation engines. Today, they enable AI-driven transformation across the…

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ebankIT and Alogent Forge Digital Banking and Payments Partnership

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, ebankIT
Digital banking solutions provider ebankIT has forged a strategic partnership with banking and financial services software company Alogent. The partnership integrates ebanktIT's omnichannel digital banking platform with Alogent's advanced remote deposit capture (RDC) and item processing technologies. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Porto, Portugal, ebankIT won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2015. Digital banking solutions provider for community financial institutions (CFIs), ebankIT, has announced a strategic partnership with banking and financial services software firm Alogent. The partnership integrates ebankIT's omnichannel digital banking platform with Alogent's advanced remote deposit capture (RDC) and item processing technologies. This will create a unified experience that enables financial institutions to accelerate digital transformations, boost security, and enhance customer journeys. "Our partnership with ebankIT delivers secure, seamless experiences that build trust and keep users engaged across every channel, helping financial institutions modernize faster and smarter," Alogent VP of Business Development Chris…

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Union Coop Chooses MoEngage as Customer Data and Engagement Partner

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni profile, MoEngage
Insights-led customer engagement platform MoEngage helps marketers and product owners leverage AI-powered automation and optimization to enable hyper-personalization at scale. Effective across multiple channels including mobile and web push, email, SMS, on-site and in-app messaging, cards, and more, MoEngage empowers brands to analyze customer behavior and engage consumers through highly personalized communication. This is what UAE-based Union Coop sought when it selected the San Francisco, California-based company as its customer data and engagement partner this week. "Union Coop's success is rooted in how we cater to our loyal member base," Union Coop Chief Marketing Officer Sanjay Patney said. "To deliver on this promise and as we enhance our app-based Tamayaz loyalty program, we needed to move to a complete, all-in-one solution. We chose MoEngage for its powerful ability to unify our members' data and orchestrate the beautifully designed, highly personalized campaigns our members deserve. This partnership is a key step…

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