Navigating the Shift: Four Key Financial Policy Changes Under the New Administration

Navigating the Shift: Four Key Financial Policy Changes Under the New Administration
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: List series, Thought Leadership

Is anyone else having difficulty keeping up with all of the changes that have taken place since the new administration took office last month? Over the course of the last 18 days, sweeping shifts have reshaped regulations, agency leadership, and key financial policies— creating both uncertainty and opportunity for businesses navigating this evolving landscape.

While many of these changes will have broad implications for U.S. citizens and organizations operating in the country, I’ve distilled the most significant updates on the White House’s website impacting financial services. Below, I break down the four most critical developments that banks, fintechs, and other financial institutions need to watch closely.

Imposing a regulatory freeze

On January 20, President Trump signed an executive order to halt new rulemaking and review pending regulations across federal agencies. It also calls for the withdrawal of any rules that have been sent to the Office of the Federal Register but not published yet. The administration plans to use the pause to reassess both existing and proposed regulations so that they align with its policy objectives.

For banks and fintechs, this makes it challenging to prepare for future regulatory requirements. It may impact firms’ compliance timelines and will likely confuse financial services companies’ strategic planning efforts.

Strengthening hold on digital assets

On January 23, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.” The order prohibits the establishment of US central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). It also establishes a working group to propose a regulatory framework for digital assets within 180 days and allows individuals and entities to access and use open public blockchain networks.

This may present opportunities for banks and fintechs to engage in the stablecoin economy, especially when it comes to cross-border transactions and digital payments. Additionally, governmental protection of an open blockchain may spark the creation of new blockchain-based products and services.

Removing barriers to AI

Also on January 23, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence that aims to enhance the US’s position in AI. The order removes existing AI policies and directives that are considered barriers to innovation. Within 180 days, officials are tasked with creating a plan to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance.

This emphasis on reducing regulatory barriers may lead to both banks and third party fintechs adopting AI technologies at a faster rate. However, as AI is a double-edged sword, the relaxed regulatory environment may create uncertainty as organizations wait for new guidelines to develop.

Implementing the DOGE workforce optimization initiative

On February 11, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled Implementing The President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative, which intends to streamline the federal workforce and enhance operational efficiency. Controversially, the order gives Elon Musk and his team direct access to data held at the US Treasury Department. As a result, a coalition of more than a dozen US states is planning to file a lawsuit to block access in order to protect the personal data of US citizens.

By reducing staffing at federal agencies that oversee financial institutions, the order may impact the efficiency and thoroughness of regulatory examinations and compliance enforcement. The instability could also cause uncertainty for banks, disrupting strategic planning and compliance efforts.

Other actions

There are two other actions not yet listed on the White House’s official news release page, but each is significant.

Earlier this week, the Associated Press unveiled that the Trump administration ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to suspend all of its activities. Finovate Analyst David Penn reported on the details of the situation, including what the CFPB can still do and who may take over the agency if it continues to exist.

Today, the Wall Street Journal exclusively reported that the Trump administration is also considering folding the FDIC into the Treasury Department. Experts cited that this is unlikely to transpire, however, as Congress is unlikely to pass such a measure. “This idea would pose an enormous risk of terrifying Americans about the safety of their deposits and triggering bank runs,” Former Federal Regulator Patricia McCoy told CNN.

Photo by René DeAnda on Unsplash

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Fenergo Partners with PwC to Bring AI-Powered CLM and KYC to More Financial Institutions

Fenergo Partners with PwC to Bring AI-Powered CLM and KYC to More Financial Institutions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Fenergo, PwC
  • Financial compliance software company Fenergo has teamed up with PwC.
  • The partnership is designed to bring AI-powered CLM and KYC solutions to more financial institutions around the world.
  • Fenergo made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2012. PwC won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2021.

Fenergo and PwC have announced a new partnership that will help put Fenergo’s AI-powered Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) and Know Your Customer (KYC) solutions in the hands of more financial institutions. The combination of PwC’s financial crime expertise with Fenergo’s AI-powered CLM technology into a single offering will make it easier for financial institutions to digitally transform their financial crime operations.

Fenergo’s Global VP for Partnerships and Alliances Matt Edwards said that the collaboration between the two firms will “deliver an optimum target operating model for CLM.” Edwards added that the solution “empowers financial institutions to efficiently mitigate financial crime risk while driving growth and efficiency gains.”

Fenergo’s CLM helps ensure that financial services firms realize tangible benefits and return on investment from the digital transformation of their client management and compliance processes. The platform provides faster client onboarding, including streamlined onboarding for low-to-medium risk clients; improved operational efficiencies with fewer touchpoints; policy-driven accurate risk assessments aligned with regulatory requirements; and a reduced total cost of ownership thanks to advanced API integrations.

Complementing Fenergo’s CLM technology are PwC’s Target Operating Model design, end-to-end customer experience journey mapping, operational readiness, data migration, systems integration, and business change management.

PwC Partner Mark Hunter highlighted Fenergo’s technology as “uniquely positioned to serve mid-market to large multinational organizations.” Hunter praised the company’s platform for its “scale, flexibility, and advanced capabilities” that help institutions better manage complex regulatory environments and large volumes of transactions.

A UK-based multinational assurance, advisory, and tax services provider, PwC counts more than 85% of the Global Fortune 500 companies as its clients. PwC maintains offices in 152 countries and reported gross revenues of more than $55 billion for the year ending 30 June 2024. The company participated in Finovate’s developer conference, FinDEVr SiliconValley 2016, and won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2021 for a demonstration of Customer Link, its customer data platform that helps institutions build better, more personalized experiences.

Dublin, Ireland-based Fenergo made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2012. The company offers simplified client and product onboarding, automated AML and KYC due diligence, and a centralized CLM platform that helps financial institutions, asset management, and fintechs manage customers throughout the entire client lifecycle.

Fenergo’s partnership news with PwC comes a few days after the company announced the launch of its all-in-one KYC, onboarding, and trade request management platform for businesses in the energy and commodities sector. The new Trader Request Portal combines KYC, onboarding, and trade request management capabilities.

Photo by Mark Dalton

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Trump Demands Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Stop Financially Protecting Consumers

Trump Demands Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Stop Financially Protecting Consumers
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to suspend nearly all activities.
  • The demand came in the form of an email from newly appointed Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought.
  • The CFPB was launched in 2011 as part of a sweeping set of reforms enacted in the wake of the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008.

The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to immediately suspend nearly all activities, according to a report from the Associated Press. The demand comes one week after President Trump removed the director of the CFPB, Rohit Chopra. The bureau, founded in the summer of 2011 via Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act, has been a target of conservatives for years. Even Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, has weighed in on the CFPB, claiming that the goal of the administration is to fully “delete” the bureau.

This is not the first time the CFPB has been told to stand down since President Trump was inaugurated. Within days of being named acting director of the bureau, Scott Bessent ordered employees to stop all bureau activities, settlement enforcement actions, and involvement in legal cases.

The latest directive to the CFPB came from newly appointed director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought late last week. The order demands that the CFPB cease work on proposed regulations and suspend the effective dates of rules that have been finalized but are not yet fully in force. Vought also ordered the bureau to stop any investigative activity — including new probes — and to end its supervision and examination efforts. The new director has even pursued the bureau’s funding, stating that the CFPB cannot withdraw its next round of funding from the Federal Reserve, which Vought referred to as “excessive.”

Further, the CFPB’s headquarters in Washington will be closed from February 10 through February 14, with workers and contractors expected to “work remotely unless instructed otherwise,” Vought indicated in an email to employees over the weekend.

So, what can the CFPB do, if anything? At this point, the bureau can still hear consumer complaints, even if it is no longer empowered to examine issues or launch investigations. Additionally, Vought’s order has been interpreted as forbidding the CFPB from engaging with companies it regulates, as well as with consumer advocates and similar outside organizations.

The CFPB has sued Capital One as recently as last month, claiming that the company had misled customers about its high-interest savings accounts, resulting in more than $2 billion in lost interest payments. Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren — who first conceived of the idea of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — decried the decision to suspend the CFPB’s activities, saying that Vought was “giving big banks and giant corporations the green light to scam families.” Of late Warren has suggested that there might be common ground between the CFPB’s mission and the concern that many conservatives and Republicans have about the phenomenon of “de-banking” — even if they disagree on which entities are being unfairly “de-banked.”

If Vought’s name sounds familiar, then it may have to do with his connection to Project 2025, a policy blueprint that was touted by many conservatives and Trump supporters during the presidential election in 2024, but was never fully embraced by Trump as part of the campaign. Many observers see the current moves in Washington to reduce headcount, control spending, and realign various agencies as part of the mission of Project 2025.

Interestingly, there remains some uncertainty about who will take over the CFPB on a permanent basis if the bureau does survive — as most observers view likely. At least two senior CFPB officials have announced their resignations in the wake of Vought’s email: Lorelai Salas, supervision director, and Eric Halperin, enforcement director. The Dodd-Frank Update reported that there are indications that the Trump administration has struggled to find someone interested in the job. In the first Trump administration, the CFPB was run by Mick Mulvaney, who served as acting director from November 2017 to December 2018, and Kathleen Kraninger, who took over from Mulvaney and served until Joe Biden assumed the Presidency in January 2021.

For more thoughts on how the Trump administration is likely to deal with the financial services sector, check out our January column, Will 2025 Be the Year of the Regulator or “Liberation Day” for Financial Services in the US?

Photo by Mathias Reding

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FIS Taps Affirm to Give Bank Clients BNPL Tools for Debit Cardholders

FIS Taps Affirm to Give Bank Clients BNPL Tools for Debit Cardholders
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, FIS
  • FIS is partnering with Affirm to enable banks using its debit processing services to integrate Affirm’s BNPL payment options.
  • FIS clients can now offer consumers pay-over-time solutions including both biweekly interest-free installments and longer-term financing plans.
  • Offering BNPL tools can help smaller financial institutions stay competitive, improve their digital offerings, and meet evolving consumer demands.

Payment, banking, and investment systems provider FIS and buy now, pay later (BNPL) player Affirm have teamed up this week. The partnership will allow FIS to enable its debit processing bank clients to integrate Affirm’s BNPL solution into their existing debit card program.

Affirm offers two different payment products, Pay in 4 and Monthly Installments. With Pay in 4, shoppers can split up purchases ranging from $50 to $1,000+ into four interest-free installments paid every two weeks. The Monthly Installments tool is a more traditional borrowing product that allows consumers to finance purchases ranging from $50 to $5,000+ over the course of three to 60 months with a rate of 0% to 36% APR.

FIS anticipates that integrating Affirm’s tools into banking products will help its clients meet evolving consumer demands, ultimately fostering customer loyalty and boosting growth. The company’s debit processing clients can offer their eligible customers biweekly and monthly payment plans via the bank’s existing debit card programs. Banks can also leverage Affirm’s traditional financing offers, funded by Affirm’s 335,000+ merchant partners.

“Customer conversion and retention have become major priorities for card-issuing banks in our increasingly digitized economy, where consumers have endless options,” said FIS Co-president of Banking Solutions Jim Johnson. “Consumers today are looking for innovative and user-friendly experiences that give them flexibility and control over their money and optimize how their money is put to work. That’s why so many of them choose to pay with Affirm. This new program will deliver Affirm’s leading-edge technology, flexible and transparent payment options, and extensive merchant network to our banking clients, enabling them to continue meeting these needs and offer more competitive, differentiated services through their own banking channels.”

This move is particularly significant for FIS’ smaller financial institution clients, such as credit unions and community banks, as it provides a straightforward way to offer BNPL tools to their customers. By integrating these options, institutions can enhance the customer experience with greater payment flexibility while positioning themselves as more tech-savvy and innovative. This distinction can be crucial in attracting and retaining customers in a competitive landscape.

“Millions of consumers prefer using a debit card from their trusted financial institution, and we believe they should have easy access to exceptional credit options through their preferred payment method. That’s why, for the first time, we’re bringing Affirm’s proprietary underwriting technology and full suite of pay-over-time solutions to third party issuers in partnership with FIS,” said Affirm Chief Revenue Officer Wayne Pommen. “This new program will expand access to Affirm’s wide range of payment options, giving more consumers a responsible way to pay over time. It will also connect them directly to Affirm’s vast and growing merchant network – delivering an even more valuable and differentiated experience.”

Established in 1968 and based in Florida, FIS serves 15,000 clients across the globe. The company’s product suite includes payment solutions, risk management services, and customer communication tools. Its technology supports the processing of $50 trillion in transactions annually and oversees assets totaling $16 trillion.

Photo By: Kaboompics.com

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Zeta Secures $50 Million Strategic Investment

Zeta Secures $50 Million Strategic Investment
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Funding, Zeta

Banking technology provider Zeta has raised $50 million in new funding. The investment — from an unnamed strategic investor — boosts the company’s valuation to $2 billion, a significant increase from the firm’s most recent pre-money valuation of $1.45 billion. That valuation followed a capital infusion of $250 million from Softbank Vision Fund 2 and other investors in 2021.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Zeta enables financial institutions and fintechs to launch a wide variety of financial products via its modern, microservices-based, API-first, cloud-native, and Headless (MACH) platform. These products include credit cards, checking accounts, savings accounts, unsecured loans, and more. Zeta’s SaaS suite provides solutions for the entire lifecycle of a banking product: core banking and issuer payments; merchant acquiring and payment services; digital banking and AI applications; issuer operations and servicing; customer engagement and rewards; as well as commercial cards and benefits.

“We are incredibly excited at the pace at which clients are embracing our modern stack,” Zeta Global CEO and Co-Founder Bhavin Turakhia said. “Over the past few years, we have supported over 25 million accounts on our cloud-native processing platform Tachyon and are on track to add 25 million more with contracts already in flight. Our clients are breaking away from decades of legacy systems to deliver amazing digital experiences, thereby increasing their customer satisfaction and accelerating new user acquisition.”

Founded in 2015, Zeta won Best of Show in its debut at our all-digital Finovate conference in 2020. The company returned to the Finovate stage the following year for FinovateFall 2021 in New York. More recently, Zeta has collaborated with fellow Finovate alum Mastercard as part of a five-year partnership and teamed up with Featurespace to combine credit card processing and fraud detection. Last August, Zeta announced that India’s HDFC Bank was leveraging its technology to power its new Credit Line on UPI (CLOU) solutions.

“Zeta’s mission to be a trusted partner to financial institutions is possible through the patient efforts of the best team ever assembled in banking technology,” Zeta Co-Founder Ramki Gaddipati said. “While the past few years have been challenging for the banking-tech industry, our organization has delivered multiple winning programs for our clients in record time.”

To date, Zeta customers around the world have issued more than 25 million cards on Zeta’s platform. The firm’s card processing capabilities were recognized by Celent in its 2023 Next-Gen Card Issuer Processors in the US report, which noted that, in the words of Celent Head of Retail Banking and Payments Research Zil Bareisis, “Zeta is among the likeliest partners for banks considering a shift to next-gen processing.”

Photo by Zyanya BMO on Unsplash

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FinovateEurope 2025 Sneak Peek Series: Part 5

By Madeline Clines Posted on
Categories: Byne, EKAI, FinovateEurope 2025, FinovateEurope 2025 Sneak Peek, PromoComply, RE-ViVE, Torus

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on February 25. Register today using this link and save 20%.

Byne

Byne is a secure, on-premise platform that lets teams build AI agents to automate document-heavy workflows while keeping sensitive data protected within company walls.

Features

  • Build AI agents without code for document workflows
  • Deploy anywhere – on-premise or cloud
  • Deliver enterprise-grade security with sensitive data protection

Who’s it for?

Regulated enterprises.

EKAI

EKAI’s AI Compliance Co-Pilot applies automation, speed, and a unified customer view to regulation workflows.

Features

  • Provides scenario testing for operational resilience compliance
  • Offers a unified customer view
  • Delivers modularized compliance program management

Who’s it for?

Banks, insurers, fintechs (including payments), investment managers, private markets, and the health, energy, and logistics industries.

PromoComply

PromoComply is the fastest and most comprehensive platform for ensuring compliance of financial promotions, throughout the entire promotion lifecycle.

Features

  • Ensures financial promotions comply with all regulations
  • Streamlines collaboration between all stakeholders, partners, and regulators
  • Saves time and money – shortens process from weeks to minutes

Who’s it for?

All businesses promoting financial products in the U.K. market.

RE-ViVE

RE-ViVE is a process intelligence platform revolutionizing how businesses optimize, monitor, and transform their workflows, with a particular focus on the BFSI and fintech sectors.

Features

  • Map and analyze hundreds of workflows from raw data within minutes
  • Offer agentic AI functionality
  • Deliver actionable insights across diverse systems and workflows

Who’s it for?

Banks, credit unions, community banks, payment providers, insurance companies, BFSI system integrators, fintech companies (partnership), and any SMB with complex processes.

Torus

Torus is an award-winning SaaS intelligence platform for banks and fintechs that aims to enhance profits on card transactions by up to 50%.

Features

  • Understands transaction-level costs and revenues daily allocation with 98% accuracy
  • Provides profit-based pricing for fintech partners
  • Offers agentic AI support

Who’s it for?

Banks, BaaS providers, credit unions, card issuers, merchant acquirers, and payment providers.

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India’s Perfios to Acquire Clari5 (CustomerXPs)

India’s Perfios to Acquire Clari5 (CustomerXPs)
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, CustomerXPs, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Financial data company Perfios has acquired Clari5 to enhance its fraud prevention and risk management capabilities using Clari5’s real-time financial crime management platform.
  • Clari5 offers AI-driven fraud detection tools, including customer-looped alerts, identity resolution, trade-based AML, and real-time transaction monitoring across multiple channels.
  • Perfios anticipates that the acquisition will strengthen its presence in India, the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Financial data analysis company Perfios has agreed to acquire Clari5 (also known as CustomerXPs). India-based Perfios will use Clari5 to strengthen its own fraud and risk management capabilities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Clari5 was founded in 2006 to help protect banks against fraud and money laundering. Among the company’s tools for fighting fraud are a customer-looped alert management service, payments fraud reporting, identity resolution, trade-based anti-money laundering, an inbound scam detection solution, and more. Additionally, Clari5 uses AI-driven analytics and machine learning to improve the detection of fraud patterns. The company monitors transactions in real-time across multiple channels to ensure that financial services organizations can quickly detect and prevent fraud.

“Joining forces with Perfios marks a new chapter of growth and innovation for Clari5,” said Clari5 CEO Rivi Varghese. “With Perfios’ deep expertise in the financial technology ecosystem and our advanced real-time financial crime management platform, we are creating a powerful synergy to redefine fraud prevention, risk intelligence, and AML compliance at scale. This partnership enables us to expand our reach, accelerate product innovation, and strengthen our ability to help financial institutions combat evolving financial crime with unmatched speed and precision. Perfios’ scale, global presence, and stability position us to serve the largest banks worldwide, enabling us to deliver impactful solutions to financial institutions of all sizes and complexities.”

Founded in 2008, Perfios builds customized solutions for financial services firms to make data-based, real-time decisions in lending, wealth management, embedded finance, insurance, and KYC. The company serves over 1,000 lenders in India, including each of the top 10 banks.

Perfios anticipates that adding Clari5 will help it build its leadership in the financial sector in India. The company also plans to use the move to strengthen its presence across its key geographies, including the Middle East, North Africa (MENA), and Southeast Asia (SEA).

“The acquisition of Clari5, a leader in EFRM and AML, marks a significant milestone in our journey to build the most comprehensive fraud and risk management ecosystem,” said Perfios CEO Sabyasachi Goswami. “Clari5’s real-time financial crime management platform, trusted by marquee financial institutions worldwide, perfectly complements Perfios’ mission to deliver secure, scalable, and tech-first solutions. Together, we are set to redefine fraud prevention, risk intelligence, and AML compliance, empowering financial institutions to stay ahead of evolving threats while powering financial security to billions across the globe.”

Photo by Christina Morillo

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Key Regulatory Changes in Europe for 2025: What You Need to Know

Key Regulatory Changes in Europe for 2025: What You Need to Know
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2025, Julie's Column

When regulatory changes are a moving target, it can be difficult for financial services companies to keep up. In 2025, several key regulatory updates across Europe will demand attention, from changes to MiFID II and PSD3 to new directives on anti-money laundering (AML) and artificial intelligence (AI). These shifts vary in scope by country, but all require companies to adapt to ensure compliance.

While many of these updates are an inconvenience and require organizations to implement new processes and workflows, they will ultimately improve transparency, security, innovation, and enhance the end user experience. Financial services companies that stay ahead of the curve will be better positioned to meet these challenges.

For deeper insights, FinovateEurope, which is taking place in London on February 25 and 26 (register today and save!), will host a diverse group of experts who will explore the region’s regulatory shifts in detail, offering valuable guidance on how firms can best prepare for 2025. Below, we’ve highlighted some of the most important changes that are likely to impact financial services organizations this year.

ESG compliance

The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which was introduced in 2021, required firms to complete more detailed and standardized reporting on sustainability practices. As a result, many needed to invest in systems to track and report ESG metrics more accurately and transparently. In 2025, the European Commission and European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) is expected to update the legislation to improve definitions, simplify disclosures, add more mandatory disclosures, and more.

Additionally, in 2025, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is expected to see a significant expansion to its scope. More companies will be required to report under the CSRD, firms will be required to disclose detailed information about their sustainability impacts, the reporting measure will need to be fully integrated into a company’s business strategy and decision-making processes, and more.

While these shifts may be challenging, many organizations will likely benefit from improving their ESG transparency because it will help attract investors who prioritize sustainability and may improve their firm’s reputation.

Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA)

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) went into effect in January of 2023 and began to require compliance last month. DORA aims to enhance the IT security of financial services companies including banks, insurance companies, and investment firms. The regulation requires firms to regularly test their systems, create contingency plans, and ensure that their third-party providers are also in compliance with security standards. The three European Supervisory Authorities– the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)– anticipate that DORA will reduce the risk of systemic disruptions and improve financial stability.

EU AI Act

Established in 2024, the European AI Office is implementing the EU AI Act to create regulatory framework for artificial intelligence in Europe. Ultimately, the regulation seeks to ensure that AI applications are transparent, accountable, and ethical. The first requirements under the EU AI Act went into effect earlier this month to ban the use of AI systems that involve prohibited AI practices. There are eight categories of prohibited practices, as law firm DLA Piper details in the graphic below.

European Data Governance Act (DGA)

The European Data Governance Act is designed to enhance consumer trust in voluntary data sharing to help businesses innovate and grow. The act establishes a framework for data sharing and sets standards for data altruism and data intermediaries.

In 2025, the primary update to the EU DGA is the upcoming enforcement of the Data Act, which will impact how businesses manage and share data and their personal information, by specifying data access and usage. The new legislation will take effect in September of 2025.

AML compliance

Anti-money laundering (AML) regulations are set to become even stricter with the introduction of new directives in 2025. Specifically, the EU AML Package, which is launching this year, establishes a new supervisory authority called the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). Based in Frankfurt, the AMLA will implement stricter compliance measures for financial institutions, especially high-risk firms, to help combat money laundering and terrorist financing across the EU. 

While complying with the AML regulations will require firms to rework their existing strategy and perhaps create new systems, it will help reduce financial crimes, protect firms from reputational damage, and reduce regulatory penalties.

Payment Services Directive 3

Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) is the third iteration of the EU’s Payment Services Directive. Changes to the directive coming in 2025 are expected to further enhance open banking capabilities and offer third-party providers greater access to consumer financial data while improving security and user consent mechanisms. The new iteration will also further protect consumers by providing clearer guidelines on payment methods, transaction rules, and dispute resolution processes. The updated standards are expected to increase the speed, transparency, and security of payments, while providing customers with a more seamless and trustworthy payment experience.

Crypto regulation and the MiCA framework

2025 will bring the full implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which will introduce regulation for cryptocurrencies and digital assets across the European Union. Financial services companies that engage with crypto will need to comply with new licensing and operational requirements.

Originally drafted and proposed by the European Commission in September 2020, MiCA aims to provide clarity for businesses and investors by establishing clear rules around the trading, issuing, and holding of crypto assets. This transparency is expected to provide stability and foster trust in the crypto market.

Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD III)

The Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD III), which aims to reduce tax avoidance by implementing stricter rules to combat aggressive tax planning and ensure that companies pay taxes, is slated to go into effect in 2025. The new directive requires financial services companies to adjust to their tax structures and increase their scrutiny of cross-border transactions. Ultimately, ATAD III should help promote fairness in the EU’s tax system by addressing loopholes used for tax avoidance.

Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva

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Backbase and Feedzai Integrate Financial Crime Prevention with Engagement Banking

Backbase and Feedzai Integrate Financial Crime Prevention with Engagement Banking
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Backbase, Feedzai
  • Engagement Banking company Backbase has announced a strategic partnership with financial intelligence solutions provider Feedzai.
  • The partnership will integrated Feedzai’s Digital Trust solutions with Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform.
  • Backbase most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2021. Feedzai made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2014 in London.

A newly announced strategic partnership between Backbase and Feedzai aims to bring advanced financial crime prevention technology to engagement banking. The integration of Feedzai’s Digital Trust solutions with Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform will empower financial institutions to fight fraud more effectively while preserving the customer experience.

Feedzai’s Digital Trust platform analyzes user behavior, device health, and potential threats in real-time. The cloud-based solution operates in the background, enabling financial institutions, financial services organizations, and fintechs to detect and counter online identity impersonation and manipulation attacks, while allowing legitimate users to conduct their activities unimpeded. Feedzai’s Digital Trust is effective against account takeover (ATO) attacks as well as new account fraud attempts during onboarding. It combines behavioral biometrics, behavioral analytics, advanced malware detection, and network and device assessment to provide active and preemptive defense against threats. The integration with Backbase’s engagement banking platform will provide banks with real-time, AI-powered, proactive fraud prevention, plus lower operational costs thanks to AI-powered risk assessment that minimizes false positives.

“By combining Backbase’s engagement banking expertise with Feedzai’s advanced security capabilities, we’re giving financial institutions the complete package — superior customer experience and intelligent fraud prevention in one integrated platform,” Backbase CEO and Founder Jouk Pleiter said. “Together, we’re setting a new standard for how banks can build trusted digital relationships with their customers.”

Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Feedzai offers technology that leverages AI to help businesses fight fraud and financial crime. The company’s RiskOps platform uses machine learning and Big Data to detect and defend the world’s largest banks, payment providers, and merchants from malicious online actors. Founded in 2011 and now reaching 900 million people in 190 countries with its technology, Feedzai began 2025 by announcing a partnership with Credibanco to help the Colombian payment processing company strengthen its defenses against fraud.

“As the financial services industry evolves, security can no longer be an afterthought — it must be woven into the very fabric of the customer journey,” Feedzai CEO and Co-Founder Nuno Sebastiao said. “By partnering with Backbase, we’re empowering financial institutions to deliver a unified, seamless journey that not only protects customers from fraud but also ensures they feel valued, understood, and safe.”

Backbase has been a Finovate alum since 2009. The company has won Finovate’s Best of Show award four times, including back-to-back wins at FinovateEurope in 2017 and 2018. Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform is a composable solution that empowers banks to accelerate their digital transformations by progressively modernizing each step of the customer journey, including onboarding, servicing, lending, and investing.

Backbase’s partnership news comes a few weeks after it announced it was teaming up with Alliant Credit Union, a digital-only financial institution with $20 billion in assets and more than 900,000 members. The company also recently partnered with Nordic digital transformation consultancy Knowit. Founded in 2003, Backbase is headquartered in Amsterdam.

Photo by Liene Ratniece

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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: Apiture, Backbase, Bluefin, Feedzai, Fintech Rundown, FIS, Mitek, Q2, Ripple, Trustly

The week begins with news of investment in insurtech, financial wellness, and risk management. We are also seeing a number of new partnerships in payments and fraud prevention. Check back here all week long at Finovate’s Fintech Rundown for updates on the latest fintech headlines.

Payments

FIS forges strategic partnership with payment network and Buy Now, pay later company Affirm.

Bluefin announces partnership with advanced payment terminal provider Datecs to enhance payment security.

Kivra and Trustly introduce a new generation of Autogiro to make automatic payments easier and more secure.

Trust Bank and TerraPay team up to launch payment solution for Bangladeshi students studying abroad.

StoneX and Fiserv partner to enhance cross-border payment capabilities for financial institutions.

Allied Payment Network signs 84 new financial institutions in 2024, representing an increase of 20% over 2023. 

Digital banking

Wells Fargo partners with Q2 to boost collaboration across commercial banking teams.

Alliant Credit Union turns to Backbase to enhance the digital experience for members.

Digital banking solutions provider Apiture and digital solutions company Omnicommander team up to help banks and credit unions better communicate with their customers and members.

Gold Coast Federal Credit Union enlists Tyfone to accelerate digital transformation.

Crypto / Defi

Ripple partners with currency exchange provider Unicâmbio to bring crypto-enabled cross-border payments to Portugal.

Insurtech

Australian digital-first insurance broking firm UpCover secures $19 million in Series A funding.

Via its brand Polly, European digital insurance broker CLARK launches its first fully digital underwriting solution in the UK.

Financial wellness

Malaysia-based Earned Wage Access (EWA) solutions provider Payd raises $400,000 in seed extension funding.

Mortgage and savings software provider finova launches its mobile-first onboarding app.

Risk management

Financial risk management software provider Validus Risk Management locks in $45 million in growth equity funding.

Risk intelligence platform SRA Watchtower acquires Lumio Insight.

Fraud prevention

Financial software and technology company CSI partners with Mitek Systems to launch its proprietary check fraud detection solution for NuPoint customers.

Backbase and Feedzai team up to integrate advanced security capabilities into Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform.

Regtech and compliance

Sardine AI raises $70 million to make fraud and compliance teams more productive.

Investing / wealth management

Halal investment research platform Musaffa launches new equity crowdfunding round.

Brightwave integrates Quartr’s global database of first-party information from public companies with its document analysis capabilities.

Datalign secures $9 million Seed funding to accelerate AI-powered financial advisory solutions.

Lending and credit

Finastra launches Assist.AI, an AI-powered assistant to enhance the trade finance operations within its Trade Innovation solution.

Eltropy partners with MeridianLink to help advance digital lending for credit unions and community banks.

Mortgagetech and real estate

Agora launches major expansion in Australia.

Photo by Scott Duygun

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Spreedly Partners with Trustly to Give Clients Pay-by-Bank Capabilities

Spreedly Partners with Trustly to Give Clients Pay-by-Bank Capabilities
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Spreedly, Trustly
  • Spreedly and Trustly have partnered to offer Spreedly’s merchant clients pay-by-bank capabilities through its Open Payments platform.
  • Adding the new payment option will help merchants enhance payment flexibility, conversion rates, and consumer insights.
  • Pay-by-bank adoption is growing in 2025 due to lower fees and faster settlement times for merchants. To encourage its use, some merchants offer monetary incentives at checkout.

Open payments platform Spreedly has teamed up with pay-by-bank expert Trustly this week. The two are collaborating to offer Spreedly’s merchant clients access to Trustly’s pay-by-bank capabilities.

Under the partnership, Trustly will take charge of the pay-by-bank tools in Spreedly’s Open Payments platform. Spreedly anticipates that merchants who use the new pay-by-bank tools will see improved conversion rates without having to overhaul their existing payments infrastructure. The company also envisions that the new capabilities will empower merchants with more payment flexibility and further insight into consumer habits. 

“Our collaboration with Spreedly represents a significant step towards a unified payments experience becoming the industry standard,” said Trustly VP of Enterprise Growth Ross McFerrin. “By integrating Trustly’s pay-by-bank offerings with Spreedly’s orchestration platform, we’re providing merchants an all-in-one solution that allows them to choose the best payment methods to offer their customers while simplifying the complexity of payment integrations.”

Sweden-based Trustly’s pay-by-bank network currently processes over $42 billion in transaction volume each year. The company offers Trustly Pay for open banking payments and Trustly Payouts for payouts. It also provides open data tools like Trustly Connect for data retrieval, Trustly ID for identity verification, and Trustly Insights for real-time underwriting decisions. In 2018, Nordic Capital bought Trustly for an undisclosed amount, and since then, Trustly has acquired three companies of its own, including SlimPay, Ecospend, and PayWithMyBank. The company anticipates that partnering with North Carolina-based Spreedly will increase its market reach in the U.S.

Spreedly was founded in 2007 to help merchants build their payments stack on a single platform. The company’s payment orchestration stack offers merchants more than 140 gateway connections of more than 40 payment methods. Spreedly also offers fraud prevention, payment optimization tools, and more.

“Spreedly has long demonstrated its ability to securely vault and orchestrate payments across card networks, and by partnering with Trustly, we are excited to extend these benefits by embedding pay-by-bank flows directly into our Open Payments platform,” said Spreedly VP of Global Partnerships and Business Development Rose Francois. “Together, we’ll enhance payment flexibility and security, empowering merchants to meet the growing demand for efficient, data-driven payment solutions, while driving stronger outcomes for the broader payments ecosystem.”

Pay-by-bank has been cited by analysts as one of the top trends to watch in 2025 as consumer and merchant adoption continues to grow. Merchants often favor pay-by-bank because of the lower fees and faster settlement times. And while consumers may be hesitant to ditch their credit cards in favor of pay-by-bank, some merchants offer a monetary incentive at the point of purchase to promote using pay-by-bank.

Photo by terence b

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Finovate Global Australia: Opportunities in Private Equity Investing, Regtech Raises Capital, and More

Finovate Global Australia: Opportunities in Private Equity Investing, Regtech Raises Capital, and More
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, Fiserv, Sumsub, TransUnion

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech news and headlines from Australia.

Digital private equity manager Moonfare goes live in Australia

Eligible investors in Australia stand to benefit from the arrival of digital private equity investing platform Moonfare. The Berlin-based company announced that it is bringing its wealth management technology to what is now its 23rd country. Moonfare Asia Pacific head Adam Banks, who joined Moonfare in October, noted that the firm’s APAC investor relations team is already “in active discussions with potential clients” in Australia.

Founded in 2016, Moonfare enables eligible investors to access a selection of curated funds from managers such as KKR, EQT, and the Carlyle Group. The company’s proprietary portfolio investments provide diversification and low minimums across a range of strategies, including buyout, growth equity, venture, and infrastructure. Investors on the platform can also participate in secondaries, private credit, and co-investments.

“There is clearly a growing appetite for private equity investing in Australia,” Moonfare Founder and Co-CEO Steffen Pauls said. “But so far access has been limited, especially for people wanting exposure to non-domestic managers and strategies. Moonfare’s digital private equity platform plans to fill that gap by providing seamless access to globally leading top-quartile managers.”

Moonfare boasts more than €3.3 billion ($3.4 billion) in assets under management and access to more than 110 funds. The company began the year with the appointment of Heike Hövekamp as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer. Hövekamp joins Moonfare from Société Générale, where she was Head of Compliance.

Australian regtech Nuj raises $4 million in seed funding

Is there any debate that 2025 is shaping up to be the year of regtech? The fact that regtech increasingly seems to provide fertile ground for new fintech startups may be yet another indication of the growing importance of this subsector.

Australia’s Nuj is another fintech startup that is taking advantage of interest in regtech. The company announced that it has raised $4 million in equity and debt financing to develop its superannuation data platform. A superannuation is Australia’s pension program, created to benefit of employees. They are similar in many respects to an individual retirement account (IRA) or a 401(k) in the US.

Mimecast Co-Founder Peter Bauer led a $2 million seed round as part of an overall $4 million equity and debt package. He praised Nuj’s “powerful data platform that addresses an expensive challenge across the super industry — one of staying ahead in compliance with regulations.” Founded in 2020 by Matthew McKenzie, Nuj is a data platform and insights engine that sits between superannuation funds and the regulator. The technology provides real-time insights to superannuation trustees and executives, enabling them to better manage their risk programs. The company’s platform is used by institutions such as MUFG, AMP, and Equity Trustees.

The investment in Nuj comes as regulatory reporting requirements and calls for increased transparency for superannuation funds are growing. McKenzie noted that funding will help “fuel (the platform’s) capabilities for faster data processing and sharper insights, empowering funds to make informed decisions, and driving better financial outcomes.”

Headquartered in Sydney, Nuj was founded in 2020.

Ozone API and ProductCloud team up to help Australian firms meet open banking regulations

A new partnership between Ozone API and ProductCloud will help companies in Australia comply with Open Banking API regulations, specifically Consumer Data Right legislation. The partnership will provide Australian companies with a technology platform that enables them to quickly and securely deliver open APIs aligned to the most recent version of the Australian Consumer Data Standard.

“Our platform is already helping banks and financial institutions around the world to deliver standards compliant with open banking APIs, including in line with the CDR standard,” Ozone API Co-founder and CEO Huw Davies said. “We’re really excited to combine our global expertise in open finance with ProductCloud’s innovative product management platform. Together, our solutions remove the complexity of achieving and maintaining CDR compliance, allowing organizations to focus on their core business.”

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, Ozone API is a leading standards-based platform designed to take the complexity out of open banking and help companies meet regulatory and commercial requirements for open APIs. In addition to its partnership with ProductCloud, Ozone API also recently announced its collaboration with FinovateEurope 2024 alum ShareID to, in the words of ShareID CEO and Co-founder Sara Sebti, “enhance the Open Banking ecosystem” and, as Ozone API GM for Europe James Bushby put it, “strengthen trust in open finance.”

Melbourne-based ProductCloud offers a cloud-based, SaaS solution that streamlines product information management for financial institutions. Serving banks, neobanks, mutuals, and non-bank lenders, ProductCloud provides a single tool for both Open Banking Product Reference Data and Design and Distribution Obligation compliance. The company was founded in 2020.

“Since launching ProductCloud back when CDR kicked off, we had our sights on being the go-to Product Information Management and CDR Compliance platform for financial institution product managers,” ProductCloud Co-founder and CEO Mark Evans said. “Partnering with Ozone API is an exciting development because they have also been a pioneer in Open Finance. Collaborating with our respective SaaS platforms and out-of-the-box APIs will provide a unique offering for rapid and cost-effective open banking compliance.”

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Romanian crowdfunding service provider, Venevo, partnered with regtech solutions hub iDenfy.
  • Lithuanian fintech ArcaPay agreed to be acquired by UK-based financial services provider Ebury.
  • Russia’s Sberbank announced plans to team up with Chinese researchers on joint AI projects.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • In partnership with the AfricaNenda Foundation, the Bank of South Sudan launched its National Instant Payment System (NIPS).
  • Egyptian fintech Khazna secured $16 million in pre-Series B funding as it applies for a digital banking license in the country.
  • International money movement firm TerraPay partnered with airport retailer Dubai Duty Free.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India-based payments and API banking firm, Cashfree Payments, raised $53 million in funding at a valuation of $700 million.
  • Egyptian fintech Halan Microfinance Bank expanded into Pakistan with a pledge to invest $10 million in 2025.
  • Indian fintech Cred became the first fintech platform to provide access to India’s central bank digital currency project.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Payment orchestration provider Yuno to launch Mastercard Payment Passkey Service across Latin America.
  • Kuady teamed up with BridgerPay to enhance payment solutions throughout Latin America.
  • Latin American ecommerce company MercadoLibre now offers transactions using its payment processors in Argentina via Brazil’s instant payment system, Pix.

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Access Bank Nigeria integrated with currency technology provider Integral to enhance its FX pricing and distribution abilities.
  • Africa-based bank, FirstRand Group, chose Fiserv to facilitate its digital transformation.
  • B2B cross-border trade payment platform Xtransfer teamed up with pan African bank Ecobank.

Photo by Kellie Jane

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