Tokenized Deposits vs. Stablecoins: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

Tokenized Deposits vs. Stablecoins: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: List series, Thought Leadership

At this point, if you’ve been working in the financial services industry since January, you’ve likely heard of stablecoins, and you may have heard of tokenized deposits. What may still be unclear, however, are the differences and similarities between the two.

Blockchain-powered financial infrastructure is on the rise, and it’s important for banks, fintechs, and regulators to understand new developments in the space, what’s possible, and what’s next. Here’s a brief overview of where stablecoins and tokenized deposits intersect, where they are different, and where they may be most useful.

Stablecoins

Stablecoins are digital assets that are issued by private companies or protocols and pegged to fiat currency. Some of you may be familiar with are Circle’s USDC, Tether’s USDT, and PayPal’s PYUSD. It is important to note that stablecoins are backed one-to-one by off-balance-sheet returns, such as fiat cash or Treasuries. Unlike fiat held at a traditional financial institution, however, they are not FDIC-insured.

Tokenized deposits

In contrast, tokenized deposits are bank-issued digital representations of fiat deposits, recorded on a blockchain. The deposits sit on the bank’s balance sheet, are fully integrated into the bank’s infrastructure, and are minted and backed by regulated banks.

Differences

There are key differences between stablecoins and tokenized deposits. First, let’s look at the issuer. While not always the case, most stablecoins are issued by private, non-bank companies. Even though some banks have issued “coins,” as in the case of JPMorgan’s JPM Coin, they are considered tokenized deposits and are usually used internally for payment settlement, not open to the public, and are not tradable on public blockchains.

The backing structure of stablecoins and tokenized deposits is also different. For example, stablecoins are not held on the bank’s balance sheet and represent a one-to-one reserve of fiat currency. In contrast, tokenized deposits are held on a bank’s balance sheet. This is useful when a firm wants to maintain liquidity to support lending and credit creation, and ensure that customer funds are protected in a regulated financial institution.

Speaking of regulation, FDIC insurance is a key differentiator between stablecoins and tokenized deposits. Stablecoins currently operate in a developing regulatory environment and, importantly, they do not offer deposit insurance such as FDIC. Tokenized deposits, on the other hand, are both insured by the FDIC and regulated.

Another key differentiating factor between the two blockchain-based payment tools is that they have opposite effects on liquidity. Stablecoins remove liquidity. That’s because when consumers exchange their fiat currency in exchange for stablecoins, their fiat currency leaves their wallet and sits in reserves, generally in the form of safe, passive assets like US Treasuries or custodial accounts. This reduces the money multiplier effect and may even weaken bank balance sheets over time. In contrast, tokenized deposits stay on the bank’s balance sheet, making the funds usable for lending, investing, and general liquidity management.

Use cases also differ between stablecoins and tokenized deposits. While stablecoins are best known for their use in cross-border payments, programmable payments, and in DeFi. Tokenized deposits are useful for domestic real-time payments, B2B payments, and treasury automation.

Similarities

But though they differ in all of these aspects, there are also a handful of similarities between stablecoins and tokenized deposits. First, both are programmable, blockchain-based representations of fiat currency. However, it is important to distinguish that, while stablecoins are backed by dollars (fiat currency), tokenized deposits are actual, digital representations of dollars.

Next, both can be used to enable payments and reduce settlement times. Because they take place on the blockchain, transactions in both stablecoins and tokenized deposits can take place in near-real-time. This eliminates the delays associated with traditional clearing and settlement systems, which can take up to three business days. Whether it’s a purchase, B2B payment, or interbank transfer, blockchain-based transactions allow for faster value exchange.

Additionally, both can be used in smart contracts, programmable payments, and embedded finance applications. And while tokenized deposits aren’t commonly used in the DeFi economy at the moment, that may change once regulated or institutional DeFi networks become more common.

Finally, stablecoins and tokenized deposits alike are useful for modernizing payment rails. Already in their infancy, both are acting as gateways to more advanced financial infrastructure. By enabling real-time, programmable payments on blockchain networks, they help move the financial system away from slow, batch-based legacy systems like ACH or SWIFT.

The future of both

Looking ahead, it is possible that stablecoins and tokenized deposits will coexist, as they both serve different niches. No matter which structure reigns supreme, however, we will certainly see traditional financial institutions and private DeFi companies increase their focus on interoperability and shared infrastructure. As regulatory clarity is enhanced on both sides and new pitfalls are discovered, the industry will likely converge on a hybrid model that blends the safety of traditional finance with the speed, transparency, and programmability of decentralized infrastructure.

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DASH Merges with S4i, Combining Accounts Payable and Compliance

DASH Merges with S4i, Combining Accounts Payable and Compliance
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • DASH and S4i Systems have merged to form SMRTR, a new company focused on delivering automation and compliance solutions to the manufacturing and food and beverage industries.
  • SMRTR offers a cloud-based platform that streamlines accounts payable, document automation, supplier onboarding, and regulatory compliance.
  • The new organization bridges the gap between finance and supply chain operations.

Accounts payable automation specialist DASH announced this week that it is joining forces with compliance and content management solutions provider S4i Systems. The new entity is called SMRTR, and will offer automation and compliance solutions to manufacturing and food and beverage companies.

SMRTR’s cloud-based solutions will help customers improve operational efficiency with its tools that include AP processing, document automation, supplier onboarding and compliance, and electronic proof of delivery. By combining DASH’s financial process automation with S4i’s supplier compliance tools, SMRTR is uniquely positioned to streamline both front-and back-office operations, ultimately bridging finance and supply chain documentation in a unique way.

SMRTR CEO Susanne Moore highlighted how industries facing labor shortages and increased regulation are undergoing a shift toward platform consolidation. “Our customers have consistently told us they want fewer vendors and more comprehensive solutions,” said Moore. “This merger allows us to deliver exactly that—a complete automation platform that addresses both operational efficiency and regulatory compliance from a single source. We’re bringing together decades of industry experience to solve problems that matter to our customers’ bottom line.”

DASH was founded in 1998 to help its customers automate accounts payable processes and manage their documents. The company supports its clients by offering ERP tools that provide regulatory compliance and audit preparation by reducing manual processes and improving accuracy in financial operations.

S4i Systems launched in 2002, offering automation solutions for companies working in the food & beverage industry. The company’s supplier management platform helps clients meet industry-specific regulatory requirements by offering documentation management and supply chain traceability.

Logistically, SMRTR will bring on employees from existing locations. The company will support product portfolios of both DASH and S4i Systems, maintaining each company’s existing customer relationships.

This merger reflects a growing trend among mid-market automation and compliance vendors to consolidate services into end-to-end platforms. As regulatory demands and supply chain complexities increase in the food and beverage industry, companies are looking for partners that can handle both compliance and operational efficiency.

Photo By: Kaboompics.com

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Tink and Chip Forge Open Banking Partnership

Tink and Chip Forge Open Banking Partnership
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Tink
  • Payment services and data enrichment platform Tink announced an open banking partnership with wealth app Chip.
  • Chip will leverage Tink’s Pay by Bank solution to enable its users to securely and seamlessly top up their saving and investing accounts.
  • Tink won Best of Show in its first two Finovate appearances in 2014 and 2017. The Stockholm, Sweden-based company most recently demoed at FinovateEurope 2019.

A new partnership between open banking pioneer Tink and Chip will bring open banking capabilities to the Chip app. Tink’s Pay by Bank solution will help Chip provide open-banking powered money transfers for its users when they seek to top up their savings and investment accounts on the company’s app. Pay by Bank reduces friction and costs, while enhancing the user experience with secure, seamless connectivity. Additionally, the partnership with Tink will give Chip users access to account insights in real-time, bringing greater visibility to the savings and investment process.

“It’s brilliant to partner with Tink, whose open banking solutions provide a fast and secure option for our users adding money to their savings on the Chip app,” Chip Co-Founder Alex Latham said. “We’re looking forward to working with the Tink team to promote these payment options, with a few more exciting updates coming soon.”

Tink’s Pay by Bank enables Chip customers to launch payments directly from their accounts on their banking apps. This reduces the amount of cumbersome and potentially error-prone manual entry and avoids the inconvenience of waiting for funds to clear when transferring money. The seamlessness of the process helps ensure that users complete their transactions before dropping off in frustration, and empowers Chip to offer its customers a variety of ways to fund their accounts.

“Chip has been on a tremendous growth journey in recent years, and we’re delighted to become a part of their success story by bringing more payment options to their user base,” Tink Head of Payments Ian Morrin said. “The Tink Chip partnership highlights how open banking APIs are powering smarter saving tools and reshaping the personal finance ecosystem.”

Chip offers an automatic savings and investing “wealth app” that enables users to build, manage, and grow their long-term wealth. The company’s Chip Cash ISA allows users to earn tax-free interest on their savings, with new customers earning 4.33% AER (annual equivalent rate) for the first 12 months. For investing, Chip customers can choose between a free plan that allows users to begin buying and selling funds, stocks, and shares with a platform fee of 0.25%, and the company’s ChipX account that offers a full curated range of funds with 0% platform fees. Founded in 2016, London-based Chip announced its first profitable quarter in Q4 2024, assets under administration of £5.2 billion, and 327,000 customers.

Tink won Best of Show in its first two appearances on the Finovate stage in 2014 and 2017. The company most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2019. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Tink makes its open banking solutions available in 20 markets around the world and boasts 13,000 connections to financial institutions. The company was acquired by Visa in 2021.

Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash

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Zafin Unveils Transaction Enrichment to Transform Data into Actionable Insights

Zafin Unveils Transaction Enrichment to Transform Data into Actionable Insights
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Zafin

Enterprise banking software company Zafin has launched Transaction Enrichment. The new capability transforms raw transaction data into rich, contextual insights that will enable banks and other financial institutions to deliver more personalized experiences to their customers.

“Transaction Enrichment is foundational to delivering true personalization in banking and is an integral part of a long-term strategy to improve customer relationships and personalized service,” Zafin CEO Charbel Safadi said. “Our approach is more than just data enrichment. It enables banks to move beyond generic offers and engage and reward customers in ways that reflect their daily behaviors, financial goals, and full relationship with the bank.”

Transaction Enrichment is a key component in Zafin’s effort to provide financial institutions with the tools they need to boost customer loyalty and build a foundation for relationship banking. The capability transforms raw transaction records into contextualized information using 70 expense and income categories, merchant logos, clean merchant names, merchant website links, and more. The technology includes an adaptive accuracy engine that helps build confidence via machine learning models that adapt continuously to new inputs and patterns, as well as feedback loops that leverage human insight to ensure accuracy.

Zafin’s technology is currently deployed with UAE-based Commercial Bank International (CBI). The financial institution has used Transaction Enrichment as part of its strategy to provide a more intuitive and personalized digital banking experience for its customers. Transaction Enrichment facilitates online transaction categorization and provides spending insights to help the institution’s customers gain a more comprehensive understanding of their spending and greater control over their financial lives.

“Enhancing our transaction data has helped us deliver a clearer, more intuitive digital experience for our customers,” CBI Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer and Head of Ventures Giovanni Gavino Everduin said. “It goes beyond transparency—it’s about laying the foundation for deeper personalization and fostering a new kind of loyalty built on everyday behavior.”

Zafin made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2017 in New York. In the years since then, the Vancouver, Canada-based fintech has partnered with many of the world’s top banks including ING, CIBC, HSBC, Wells Fargo, PNC, and ANZ. Zafin also works with regional and mid-market banks to help them increase speed to market, reduce operational complexities, become and remain compliant with relevant regulations, and strengthen customer engagement.

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

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InComm Partners with NCR Atleos on Cardless Cash ATMs

InComm Partners with NCR Atleos on Cardless Cash ATMs
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, InComm, NCR Corporation
  • InComm Payments and NCR Atleos (dba Atleos) have forged a new partnership that will enable cardless cash pickup at more than 23,000 ATMs around the US.
  • The partnership will help InComm cover the “digital-to-physical” gap when it comes to self-service cash payments.
  • Founded in 1992, InComm made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2011. NCR Atleos was formed when NCR Corporation split into two entities (the other being NCR Voyix).

Want cash but don’t have your card? A new partnership between InComm Payments and NCR Atleos might have you covered.

InComm Payments has adopted Atleos’ ReadyCode API which will enable InComm Payments’ fintech and banking partners to offer cardless cash pickup at more than 23,000 ATMs around the country. The partnership offers a scaled ATM network and API solution in ReadyCode that will help InComm Payments bridge the “digital-to-physical” cash payments gap and allow consumers to make cardless cash withdrawals via a simple and secure code delivered through their preferred application. ReadyCode is currently enabled in ATMs in retail locations in more than 40 states in the US.

“Atleos’ ReadyCode API offering provides an additional modality and channel for our money movement partners and their consumers to access cash in a self-service manner at ATMs located at some of the nation’s most convenient retailers,” InComm Payments VP of Product John Houseal said. “This service expands our cash-out network in a new way, connecting our partners with differentiated access to serve their customers beyond the counter.”

Atlanta, Georgia-based InComm Payments made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2011. The company also participated in our developers conference, FinDEVr SiliconValley 2014 (in partnership with Cashtie). Founded in 1992, InComm today delivers end-to-end payment platforms that enable omnichannel connections and alternative payment options for companies in industries ranging from financial services and gifting to healthcare and human resources. Operating in more than 40 countries around the world, InComm has more than 525,000 points of retail distribution, processes more than $65 billion in annual transaction volume, and manages more than one billion cards a year.

“Enabling InComm Payments’ broad and deep program relationships with access to the ReadyCode solution will provide more flexibility for consumers to transact where and how they want, without the need for a card,” Atleos SVP, Global Network Solutions, Ben Bregman said. “This relationship will also provide additional use cases to drive utilization of the ATM for increasingly digital-first providers beyond traditional financial institutions, and continue to fulfill on our promise to our retail partners to drive incremental foot traffic to their stores.”

Formed in 2023 when NCR Corporation split into two entities (the other being NCR Voyix), NCR Atleos offers self-service financial access through one of the largest independently-owned ATM networks in the US. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the company helps boost operational efficiency for financial institutions, increase footfall for retailers, and provide consumers with the kind of digital-first, self-service financial experiences that are secure and convenient. Atleos is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker NATL, and has a market capitalization of $2 billion. Tim Oliver is President and Chief Executive Officer.

Photo by Stephen Cook on Unsplash

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Yonder Introduces Premium Debit Card

Yonder Introduces Premium Debit Card
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • Yonder is launching a premium debit card that offers travel rewards, zero FX fees, and lifestyle perks.
  • There are two tiers available for debit cardholders, Free Debit (£0/month) and Full Debit (£15/month), with the latter earning 4 points per $1.40 (£1) and including travel insurance.
  • With today’s launch, Yonder is targeting debt-averse, experience-driven users that value financial wellness without credit card debt.

When you think “premium” you may not think “debit card,” but travel and dining card provider Yonder is hoping to flip that thought pattern with its latest offering. The UK-based company is launching a Mastercard-branded debit card to sit alongside its credit card.

Yonder is marketing the new payment tool with debit “memberships” that will still help users earn rewards, but without having to borrow funds via a credit card. The debit card will carry the same rewards and travel perks as Yonder’s credit cards, and boast zero fees on foreign exchange (FX). To open a Yonder debit account, users must pass a soft credit check and meet minimum income criteria. While not a common requirement for obtaining a debit card, requiring a minimum income reinforces the brand’s premium positioning, even for debit users.

Yonder’s new debit card comes in two tiers: Free Debit and Full Debit. Free Debit is, as the name suggests, £0 per month. The card also offers zero FX fees during travel and access to national rewards and experiences in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bath, and Bristol. The Full Debit card costs $20.50 (£15) per month or $220 (£160) per year and allows users to earn four points per $1.40 (£1) they spend. The elevated tier also gives users travel insurance, as well as full access to Yonder Experiences—which range from preselected travel and dining perks to shows and entertainment.

“Credit cards can be great—but they’re not for everyone,” said Yonder CEO and Founder Tim Chong. “We kept hearing from people who loved Yonder’s vibe but wanted the same experience on debit. So we built it. Now, anyone can enjoy market-leading rewards, epic travel perks, and totally fee-free foreign spending, without the need for credit.”

Yonder was founded in 2020, at the height of the digital banking hype. The company offers two tiers of credit cards, a free card that offers 1 point for every $1.40 (£1), and a $20.50 (£15) per month card that offers five points for every $1.40 (£1).

The move hinges on the fact that younger, travel-savvy consumers are averse to debt and credit cards, but still value (and sometimes even expect) premium experiences. By offering rewards and perks without requiring users to borrow, Yonder is serving this demographic by tapping into their mindset around financial wellness and lifestyle spending.

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Bud Financial Inks Partnership with Fruition

Bud Financial Inks Partnership with Fruition
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Bud
  • Financial empowerment platform Fruition announced a partnership with transaction enrichment and insights and analytics company Bud Financial.
  • The collaboration will enable Fruition to provide its members with enriched transaction data to help them budget better and make more insightful financial decisions.
  • Bud Financial made its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. The company is headquartered in London.

Financial empowerment platform Fruition has teamed up with transaction enrichment and insights and analytics company Bud Financial to bring enhanced, personalized financial experiences to customers.

“This collaboration brings Fruition’s members control over their financial futures by leveraging AI-driven insights, relevant education and expert guidance, all underpinned by Bud’s market-leading financial models,” Bud CEO and Co-Founder Edward Maslaveckas said. “Fruition’s commitment to providing smarter financial guidance makes them the perfect first client of our exciting Intelligent Search capability. We can’t wait to see how Intelligent Search helps Fruition’s members to take control of their financial data and smash their financial goals.”

Fruition will leverage a pair of Bud Financial solutions—Enrich and Engage—to provide its members with enriched transaction data and intelligent, personalized financial insights to support more informed financial decision-making. Enrich is Bud’s transaction enrichment platform that enables companies to convert difficult-to-understand customer transactional data into easier-to-recognize transactions with accurate categorization and identifiable merchant names.

Engage offers “next generation” personal financial management that puts transaction data to work in personalizing the digital banking experience. The solution features an AI-powered transaction search feature—Intelligent Search—that enables customers to interact with their bank using natural language. The feature is built on AI-powered transaction intelligence and helps reduce contact center queries about unclear or disputed transactions.

Fruition’s Folio offering will use enriched transaction data from Bud to help members secure a comprehensive overview of their finances in a single interface—making budgeting easier. The integration will also enable Folio to deliver customized, targeted notifications to members based on their transaction data. Fruition members will be able to share their data in mentoring sessions which will enable mentors to personalize financial education and ensure that the guidance is both actionable and appropriate for the member’s financial circumstances.

“On average, we’re seeing that 42.6% of all transactions are being enriched more accurately with Bud than with our previous enrichment provider,” Fruition VP of Engineering Elliott Beaty said. “Our partnership with Bud helps us deliver on our promise of financial understanding and actionable insights. Better data for our members means more accurate understanding of their financial situation.”

A personal finance management platform that uses financial data to provide actionable insights, educational resources, and mentorships for consumers and employees, Fruition rebranded from Mentoro in October 2024. Last month, the company launched its Debt Paydown tool, which lies within Folio. The solution allows members to include all of their debts in a personalized debt repayment plan, visualize future repayment strategies, and quantify the interest potentially saved via the paydown plan.

Headquartered in London and founded in 2015, Bud Financial made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023 and returned to the Finovate stage again last fall. At the conference, the company demoed its Drive solution which democratizes access to enriched data and actionable insights via AI-powered analysis and a Gen AI-based interface.

Photo by Chris Hardy on Unsplash

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Top Fintech Headlines from Q2 2025

Top Fintech Headlines from Q2 2025
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Julie's Column

As fintech spring continues to evolve and the sector matures to adapt to shifting dynamics, last quarter–the second quarter of 2025–delivered. Starting in April, we saw a wave of notable developments, including IPO filings, funding rounds, and bold product expansions.

Here are the most popular headlines, based on pageviews, that shaped the last quarter:

Klarna doubles down on digital banking ahead of U.S. IPO

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) player Klarna unveiled plans this quarter to operate more like a full-service digital bank. The Swedish fintech not only launched a Visa-backed debit card, but also announced a $40-per-month mobile plan in the US that leverages AT&T’s mobile network. These moves are widely viewed as Klarna’s effort to strengthen its appearance before its IPO–its second attempt at going public–which is expected to happen later this year.

Circle officially launches its IPO

Stablecoin issuer and infrastructure company Circle announced the launch of its IPO in May. The announcement comes four years after initially trying to go public via a $9 billion special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021 with Concord Acquisition Corp. That agreement was terminated in 2022 due to regulatory hurdles and shifting market conditions.

Proceeds from Circle’s IPO could fuel its international expansion, strengthen compliance efforts, and support the development of new tokenized financial products. These investments will be essential as Circle competes with traditional payment networks, other stablecoin issuers such as Tether, and new stablecoins that come online.

Plaid partners with Experian; launches fraud prevention solution Plaid Protect

In June, financial data network Plaid not only made headlines for its new partnership with data and technology company Experian, but also for the launch of its Plaid Protect fraud prevention solution.

Plaid Protect’s Trust Index leverages network intelligence, bank account risk, consortium feedback, and advanced identity intelligence. Days earlier, the California-based company entered a strategic collaboration with Experian to help businesses access cashflow solutions and expand financial inclusion.

Rocket Companies acquires Mr. Cooper for $9.4 billion

In April, Rocket Companies announced it is buying Mr. Cooper, one of the largest non-bank mortgage servicers and mortgage lenders in the US. The deal is expected to close in an all-stock transaction of $9.4 billion in equity value, based on an 11.0x exchange ratio.

Once finalized, Rocket Companies and Mr. Cooper will serve a combined 10 million clients with a servicing book of $2.1 trillion, which represents one in six mortgages in America. Rocket will leverage the acquisition to bring its mortgage recapture capabilities to this new, enlarged client base. This will help produce higher loan volume, drive long-term client relationships, and provide greater recurring revenue while lowering client acquisition costs.

Feedzai acquires Demyst to enhance data orchestration

Risk management provider Feedzai announced in April that it is acquiring data-as-a-service (DaaS) platform Demyst. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Feedzai will use Demyst to unify its risk management solutions with external data orchestration to offer faster, smarter fraud detection.

Feedzai will leverage Demyst’s Zonic data workflow orchestration platform, intellectual property, and sophisticated data-integration capabilities to unify data orchestration and risk management into a single platform. Together, the two companies will deliver a data orchestration platform with fraud prevention measures, enhanced account opening capabilities, contextual intelligence for fraud prediction and prevention, better customer experiences, improved risk insights, and operational efficiency.

Looking ahead

As we prepare to enter into the third quarter of this year, there are a few key trends worth keeping an eye on:

  • IPO market recovery: With Circle and Chime going public, plus other players signaling intent to do so, public listings may regain momentum.
  • New developments in stablecoins and tokenized deposits: Stablecoin adoption is moving fast, and with positive regulatory changes taking place, many firms will likely try to jump into the trend of facilitating stablecoin payments and tokenized deposits, even if the future of both is unclear.
  • Investor confidence: We saw a handful of strong funding rounds this quarter, many of which point to renewed faith in fintech.
  • Consolidation as a strategy: Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity this quarter suggests that growth may increasingly come through acquisition rather than scaling in-house.

Photo by Madison Inouye

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Payments Startup tapi Acquires Cash-Handling Operations of Mastercard’s Arcus

Payments Startup tapi Acquires Cash-Handling Operations of Mastercard’s Arcus
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, MasterCard, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • tapi is acquiring Arcus’ cash payments operations, including bill pay, top-ups, gift cards, and cash-in/out.
  • tapi will leverage the buy to expand its footprint in Mexico and strengthen its role as a regional payments leader.
  • Backed by Kaszek and Andreessen Horowitz, tapi expects to process over $2B in 2025—5x more than in 2024.

In a move to expand its regional footprint, Argentina-based tapi unveiled it will acquire the cash payments operations of Mastercard-owned Arcus.

Specifically, tapi will acquire Arcus’ service payment operations, mobile top-ups, gift cards, and cash-in/out services. tapi is making the move to expand its presence in Mexico and boost its reputation as a payments partner for banks, fintechs, retailers, and service companies across the region. The acquisition will enable tapi to offer a more seamless payment experience while promoting financial inclusion across Latin America. The company remains focused on expanding its Cash In/Out network to offer direct access to retailers in Mexico through strategic partnerships with OXXO, Chedraui, Finabien, 7-Eleven, SYStienda, and others.

“Integrating Arcus’ service and cash payment capabilities into tapi’s ecosystem marks a turning point in our journey as a company,” said tapi CEO and co-founder Tomás Mindlin. “This integration broadens our reach in Mexico, serving the country’s leading fintechs and banks and significantly expanding our physical footprint with thousands of Cash In/Out points, along with connections to the market’s most relevant service providers. To the cutting-edge technology and customer experience that have fueled our exponential growth in recent years, we now add reliable infrastructure and well-established relationships within the local financial ecosystem. We’re thrilled to become the strategic partner for the financial industry in Mexico and the region.”

For tapi users and clients, the acquisition will offer greater scalability and nationwide physical transaction coverage, access to a broad range of payment services through a single platform, and fast and reliable processing for daily financial needs.

“By integrating this technology with our API-first approach, we’re making it even easier for our partners to launch embedded financial experiences,” said tapi CTO and co-founder Nicolás Andriano.

tapi was founded in 2022 and two years later closed a $22 million Series A funding round led by Kaszek, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz. This brought the company’s total funding to $31 million. tapi expects to surpass $2 billion in annual volume in 2025, which is five times more than in 2024.

Arcus’ ArcusFI platform offers firms access to Mexico’s real-time payment system, allowing them to generate interbank CLABEs to send and receive payments to and from any participating firm in Banxico’s Interbank Electronic Payment System (SPEI). One of the key features of Arcus is Dimo, an electronic transfer service facilitated by Banxico that allows the beneficiary to link their cell phone number to their account through SPEI. Customers can use Dimo to transfer funds from the Arcus platform with just the recipient’s phone number.

With this payment method, you can make electronic money transfers from the Arcus platform using only the beneficiary’s cell phone number.

Logistically, Mastercard will retain the Arcus brand, as well as its capabilities in payment processing, settlement, and reconciliation through Mexico’s real-time payment system (SPEI).

Photo By: Kaboompics.com

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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: Bud, Experian, Fintech Rundown, InComm, NCR Corporation, Tuum

A holiday-shortened week begins with Independence Day in the US celebrated on Friday. Be sure to check with Finovate’s Fintech Rundown for the latest fintech news as the second half of 2025 gets underway in earnest!

Digital banking

Greece-based core banking vendor Natech raises $33 million in Series B funding.

Core banking platform Tuum forges strategic partnership with Romanian bank maib. Tuum won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2024.

Qonto files for banking license as it reaches 600,000 customers.

Fraud prevention

Trade surveillance and financial risk solutions company Eventus partners with trading platform Blue Ocean Technologies.

Credit and analytics

SaaS commercial credit bureau CreditProtect goes live with support from Experian.

Financial empowerment platform partners with transaction enrichment and insights and analytics specialist Bud Financial.

Crypto and DeFi

Identity and payments platform Bolt unveils Bolt Connect to streamline the onboarding process for merchants and integrate stablecoin payments.

Wirex announces that its Wirex Pay Chain is now supported on digital asset and payments infrastructure platform Fireblocks.

Cryptocurrency trading platform Kraken secures a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license in Ireland.

Small business solutions

Spend management platform Spendbase introduces new digital banking and virtual cards.

Payments

InComm and NCR Atleos team up to launch a suite of new self-service ATM solutions across the US.

Papaya Global works with Citi to enhance global payments ecosystem.

Yaspa receives $12 million investment for its instant payment and identity services.

Photo by Chris Hardy on Unsplash

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Finovate Global Africa: Investments, Acquisitions, and Partnerships

Finovate Global Africa: Investments, Acquisitions, and Partnerships
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Revolut, ThetaRay, TransUnion, Xero

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Nigeria and South Africa.

BAS Group acquired a majority stake in Nigeria’s Zuvy

Nigeria-based diversified financial services group BAS Group announced this week that it has acquired a minority stake in Zuvy, a local fintech that specializes in invoice financing. The move gives BAS Group more than 50% of the company, a stake that analysts estimate could be valued between $1.5 million and $3 million. The transaction will also place BAS Group Chief Operating Officer, Adnan Kayode, at the helm of Zuvy—although the firm will continue to operate independently.

“This acquisition of Zuvy goes beyond simply expanding our investment portfolio—it represents a strategic alignment with our core mission of developing a comprehensive, technology-enabled financial ecosystem for Africa,” BAS Group Founder and CEO Abdulateef Hussein said.

Co-founded in 2023 by Angel Onuoha and Ahmed Shehu, Zuvy provides invoice financing to businesses in the FMCG (“fast-moving consumer goods”) and healthcare sectors, as well as to companies in supply chain industries. Zuvy reports financing invoices worth more than ₦1 billion ($650,000) for 1,500 small businesses over the past two years. As part of the deal, Onuoha and Shehu will retain minority stakes in the company, but will no longer have operational roles. The two founders have moved on to focus on their new healthcare venture, Avelis Health.

“We take great pride in Zuvy’s accomplishments and the positive impact we’ve created for thousands of Nigerian enterprises,” Onuoha said. “BAS Group represents the perfect partner to advance Zuvy’s growth trajectory while we focus our efforts on addressing critical healthcare challenges in the American market.”

BAS Group’s deal for Zuvy comes after the firm launched a lending business that provides collateralized loans to small and medium-sized businesses. The majority stake in Zuvy will enable BAS Group to add uncollateralized lending to its offering.

South African fintech Lesaka acquired Bank Zero

Lesaka Technologies reported that its subsidiary, Lesaka Technologies Proprietary Ltd, has agreed to acquire Bank Zero Mutual Bank (Bank Zero). Subject to customary closing conditions, the acquisition will be settled via a combination of new share issuance and up to ZAR 91 million ($5.1 million) in cash. The total value of the transaction is estimated to be $61 million.

“The acquisition of Bank Zero is a transformative event in Lesaka’s journey, enabling us to better serve our consumers, merchants, and enterprise clients by embedding a trusted, well-engineered neobank capability into our fintech platform,” Lesaka Chairman Ali Mazanderani said. “I am delighted to welcome the Bank Zero team to Lesaka as partners.”

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, Bank Zero is a modern “app-only” bank for both individuals and businesses. As of April 2025, the institution had a deposit base of more than ZAR 400 million ($22.4 million), and more than 40,000 funded accounts across South Africa. Co-launched by Michael Jordaan (Chairman) and Yatin Narsai (CEO), Bank Zero boasts 45% black- and 20% female-ownership. Post-acquisition, Jordaan will join the Lesaka Board of Directors while Narsai continues to serve as CEO.

“Bank Zero was built from the ground up to deliver a secure, digital-first banking experience that puts control back in the hands of customers,” Narsai said. “Our focus has always been on using technology to remove friction, lower costs, and challenge legacy banking norms. Joining forces with Lesaka allows us to accelerate that mission at scale—reaching more customers, faster—while staying true to the principles that define who we are.”

TransUnion invests, partners with Omnisient

Speaking of minority investments, TransUnion announced that it has secured a minority investment in—and a strategic partnership with—South Africa-based fintech Omnisient. Omnisient offers a data collaboration and advanced analytics platform that enables companies to securely access high-value consumer data ecosystems and integrate alternative data sets to support smart decision-making.

The strategic partnership will enhance TransUnion’s ability to bring more of the estimated 500 million un- and underbanked Africans into the formal financial system. By leveraging alternative data at scale, TransUnion’s partnership with Omnisient will enable more new-to-credit and credit-underserved consumers to begin building a credit profile and start the journey toward greater, long-term financial empowerment and opportunity.

“Traditional data models often fail to reflect the lived realities of African consumers, leaving millions without access to credit and the opportunities it enables,” TransUnion Africa Regional President/CEO Lee Naik said. “Financial inclusion is central to unlocking economic growth across the continent. That’s why we’re committed to leading with bold, Africa-born solutions designed to see the unseen and serve the credit-invisible by integrating alternative datasets alongside traditional credit data in ways that reflect uniquely African contexts and realities.”

Along with the investment (amount undisclosed) and strategic partnership, a member of TransUnion will join Omnisient’s board of directors.

TransUnion’s investment and strategic partnership comes at a time when demand is rising worldwide for access to alternative data and solutions that leverage this data while ensuring privacy, enhancing trust, and creating value for financial institutions. Omnisient’s technology uses tokenized keys to represent personal information in the data set, avoiding the transfer of raw data and providing privacy throughout the entire process. The company’s many-to-many data connectivity between banks and other financial services providers and third-parties helps promote innovation in the field of data collaboration.

“Our privacy-preserving data collaboration platform brings financial services and consumer brands together, allowing them to discover, validate, and commercialize new alternative sources of consumer behavioral and transactional data without having to exchange sensitive personal information,” Omnisient Co-Founder and Group CEO Jon Jacobson said.

Founded in 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa, Omnisient is currently headquartered in the UK. TransUnion most recently demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2024, showing how its Enhanced BreachIQ solution provides modern, gamified consumer identity protection.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian paytech Pine Labs announced plans for an IPO and a goal of a $6 billion valuation.
  • UnaFinancial and JSCB Microcreditbank partnered to launch a digital credit service in Uzbekistan.
  • SEBI-registered Online Bond Platform Provider (OBPP) IndiaBonds.com raised $3.77 million in funding.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Open payments platform Belvo and digital bank Ualá teamed up to launch new digital credit-scoring model leveraging a large-scale integration of employment data.
  • Paytech EBANX forged a partnership with Mexican BNPL fintech APLAZO.
  • Revolut announced plans to acquire Argentina-based lender Banco Cetelem from BNP Paribas.

Asia-Pacific

  • South Korean banks formed a consortium to issue a Won-backed stablecoin.
  • New Zealand-based accounting platform Xero agreed to acquire SMB bill pay platform Melio.
  • Australian open banking platform provider Frollo introduced its Frollo for Brokers online portal for mortgage brokers.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • TransUnion announced a minority investment in and strategic partner with South African fintech Omnisient.
  • Financial crime compliance company ThetaRay partnered with Africa-based financial services firm I&M Group.
  • Kenya-based PesaLink inked a Memorandun of Understanding with Fintech Alliance to advance inclusive payment solutions.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Germany-based insurer Munich Re teamed up with Instnt to enhance its ID fraud loss insurance coverage.
  • NaroIQ, a German digital platform that helps firms launch and manage ETFs and mutual funds, raised $6.5 million in seed funding.
  • Deutsche Bank turned to Silverflow for the launch of its European cloud-native payments platform.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Israeli-based fintech Tipalti acquired AI-powered cash flow management specialist Statement.
  • Egyptian payments platform Octane secured $5.2 million in new funding.
  • Libya’s Central Bank launched the country’s first electronic payment forum in a bid to spur fintech modernization.

Photo by onaopemipo Rufus

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Streamly Snapshot: Navigating Embedded Banking—Challenges and Breakthroughs

Streamly Snapshot: Navigating Embedded Banking—Challenges and Breakthroughs
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BankShift, Speaker series, Streamly

This week’s Streamly Snapshot features an interview with Rob Thacher, Founder and CEO of BankShift, on the way embedded banking helps community banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions offer more services to their customers and initiate new revenue streams.

In this interview, recorded at FinovateSpring 2025 in San Diego, Thacher talks about the latest trends in the embedded banking space, current challenges and barriers faced by community banks and credit unions, and how technologies are emerging to help these institutions better serve their customers and members while competing effectively against their larger rivals.

The new demographic, we call them the Gen Zers, 28 years old and below, they are in a different space from where financial institutions are. Traditionally, with financial institution apps, you have to go there and do everything. But unfortunately, these large financial institutions and these neobanks are really impeding those Gen Zers from wanting to participate with the financial institution any more. Why? Because they don’t have a seamless interface; it’s not embedded where they are already at … They are not in the financial institutions that are $5 billion and below; they’re not looking for those apps.

The metrics show that you lose those folks when they come along with their family member to become a part of a credit union or community bank. And that’s how you (get) these users. And so, what’s happening? They’re losing them and they’re not coming back.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, BankShift offers an embedded banking loyalty platform that helps financial institutions partner with trusted brands in order to unlock new sources of revenue and enhance engagement with customers. BankShift provides banking and loyalty services via both direct embeds into brand-owned apps, portals, and digital ecosystems, as well as by a standalone option hosted by the financial institution and co-branded with the partner. BankShift made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024 in New York and returned to the Finovate stage the following year for FinovateSpring 2025 in San Diego.

Rob Thacher is Founder and CEO of BankShift. He is a veteran technology executive with 25 years of experience, including co-developing CreditWise and leading innovative fintech initiatives. Thacher thrives on building large-scale products and platforms that solve real consumer challenges through cutting-edge technology.

Photo by Tabitha Mort

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