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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
FinovateFall 2026 is in the books! A huge thanks to all who attended our annual autumn conference. If you missed it, check out the companies that won Best of Show, and stay tuned for our wrap-ups and top takeaways in the weeks to come.
For now, we’re catching up on the latest in fintech news and announcements, including a major fundraising in the Buy Now, Pay Later space and continued innovation in agentic commerce. Be sure to check back with the Fintech Rundown all week long for updates!
Payments
Bluefinannounces expanded Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) support across its payment security infrastructure.
Payments and banking hub xpatelaunches new API-based capability xpate Pro to enhance money management for digital businesses.
Finastrateams up with digital trade finance platform provider Komgo.
Fraud prevention
Klarnaannounces that its in-app Call Status Detection capability is now live for customers in the Nordics.
Agentic AI
Worldlineenables agentic commerce payments via the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).
Global financial platform Sokinlaunches its Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector to enable finance teams to run operations on their accounts through AI tools.
Lending
Saudi Arabian Buy Now, Pay Later fintech Tabbyraises $233 million in a round led by Blue Pool Capital.
Digital banking
Stripe and Bank of Ireland ink digital transformation partnership.
DeFi and stablecoins
Coinbase and Moovteam up to enhance stablecoin capabilities for community banks.
Digital payments and data security company Bluefinannounced it has partnered with Visa on a new card-present acceptance tool. The new offering combines Bluefin’s PCI-validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE) solution with Visa Acceptance Solutions to bring increased security to in-person payment acceptance.
The in-store payment acceptance tool offers merchants, software providers, and enterprises a unified approach to accepting payments by combining payment acceptance, PCI-validated security, tokenization, device lifecycle management, and enterprise payment infrastructure into a single solution. Bluefin will power the P2PE piece, while Visa’s Visa Acceptance Solutions is taking on the payment processing, tokenization, and global payment services elements.
“Enterprise organizations are no longer looking for individual payment technologies—they’re looking for infrastructure that enables secure commerce across every channel,” said Bluefin Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Ruston Miles. “Our collaboration with Visa Acceptance Solutions reflects a shared vision that secure payment acceptance should be delivered as an integrated platform rather than a collection of independent components.”
Bluefin was founded in 2007 to bring security to payments by developing technology to devalue sensitive data at the point of entry. Since then, the company has expanded to focus on broader data security infrastructure that protects sensitive data in motion across systems, platforms, and environments. Combining P2PE, vaultless tokenization, and orchestration powers Bluefin’s new model for securing transactions.
The new tool will bring Bluefin clients simplified deployment, centralized device management, developer APIs and SDKs, and reduced PCI compliance scope. While Bluefin is launching the payment acceptance tool with select Ingenico Lane series devices, the tool is capable of expanding to additional ecosystems.
“By combining Visa Acceptance Solutions with Bluefin’s card-present security infrastructure, we’re helping organizations simplify deployment, reduce complexity, and build a stronger foundation for the future of enterprise commerce,” added Miles.
Teaming up with Visa helps Bluefin consolidate traditional, fragmented technology stacks. Rather than separately integrating payment acceptance, processing, encryption, tokenization, and device management, it offers merchants the option to access those capabilities through a unified platform. This raises the bar from offering an individual piece of the payments stack to helping businesses abstract the complexity of managing payments across channels.
Bluefin works with more than 300 partners and 40,000 businesses and protects more than $350 billion in transactions annually. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company showcased its payment technology at FinDEVr 2014 under the name Bluefin Payment Systems.
Payment and data security infrastructure company Bluefin and tokenization and vaulting platform Basis Theory have announced a strategic partnership.
The partnership will enable businesses to implement a unified token strategy to help them manage payment fragmentation between cloud-native tokenized platforms and in-person environments.
Bluefin made its Finovate debut at our developers conference FinDEVr SiliconValley. Basis Theory debuted at FinovateSpring 2022.
A strategic partnership between Bluefin and Basis Theory will enable businesses to deploy a unified token strategy across environments. Spanning in-store, call center, online, and backend systems, the partnership aligns Bluefin’s PointConex platform with Basis Theory’s tokenization capabilities to securely and consistently capture, tokenize, and use sensitive payment data across channels. This will enable firms with hybrid and omnichannel payment methods to manage payment fragmentation between cloud-native tokenized platforms and in-person payment environments more effectively. Enterprises can implement the strategy without expanding PCI scope or introducing additional integration-related complexity.
“As organizations expand into hybrid payment experiences, PointConex provides a standardized way to secure in-person payment rails without adding new compliance or integration complexity,” Bluefin Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Ruston Miles said. “By aligning with modern, independent tokenization platforms like Basis Theory, we enable a consistent approach to protecting payment data across all channels while preserving flexibility and data ownership.”
Bluefin’s PointConex platform provides processor-agnostic, card-present orchestration with PCI-validated P2PE. The platform is designed as a no-code proxy instead of a gateway or API-based integration, and supports more than 125 certified devices across leading manufacturers. PointConex enables service providers to access certified in-person payment rails without interrupting existing workflows or increasing compliance burdens. Basis Theory’s platform securely captures and vaults sensitive payment data via modern APIs for enterprise companies and SaaS platforms. Through the strategic partnership, customers will be able to expand their digital token strategies into in-person payment environments, enabling them to participate in a future-ready payments architecture while maintaining control over their data.
“Our partnership helps merchants connect customer spending data across in-store and online channels,” Basis Theory CEO and Co-founder Colin Luce said. “Merchants gain a more consistent checkout experience, wherever customers choose to pay, while maintaining strong security and flexibility across their payment environments.”
Making its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022, Basis Theory demonstrated how its technology helps developers securely work with sensitive data. The company showed how its solution gives developers a secure and compliant environment to interact with their most sensitive data to conduct KYC, initiate bank transfers, or query the data without decrypting it.
Basis Theory’s partnership with Bluefin comes on the heels of the firm’s announcement that it has teamed up with Checkout.com in an alliance that will help merchants securely capture, store, use, and update payment data without adding additional compliance burdens with a broader PCI scope. Last fall, Basis Theory secured $33 million in funding in a round led by Costanoa Ventures, Stage 2 Capital, and Moneta VC.
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Bluefin introduced itself to Finovate audiences at our developers conference, FinDEVr SiliconValley 2014. In the more than a decade since then, the company has grown into an end-to-end payment infrastructure company with 35,000 clients across 60 countries and more than 300 integration partners.
Payment and data security company Bluefin has teamed up with Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen, ICIT, and Worldline to enhance payment and data security to All-in-One (AIO) payment devices.
The partnership will focus initially on serving businesses in Italy’s prosperous South Tyrol region.
Bluefin demonstrated its technology at Finovate’s developer’s conference, FinDEVR, in 2014.
Payment and data security innovator Bluefinannounced a strategic partnership with Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen, ICIT, and Worldline. The partnership is designed to deliver enhanced payment and data security to All-In-One (AIO) payment devices throughout Italy’s South Tyrol region.
“At Bluefin, we are excited to collaborate with leading players and ISVs to deliver validated P2PE solutions across Europe and all global regions,” Bluefin SVP for Europe, Cheng Chieh Chen said. “Together with Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen, ICIT, and Worldline, we are committed to transforming the payment landscape in South Tyrol by delivering payment innovation, security, and enhanced customer experiences to this vibrant market.”
South Tyrol is Italy’s northernmost province—with Austria to the north and Switzerland to the west. With an official title of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano—South Tyrol, the province has a significant degree of self-governance and is among the wealthiest provinces in the EU, to say nothing of being the wealthiest province in Italy. Located in the Italian Alps mountain range, South Tyrol is a major regional tourist destination, and its growing hospitality and retail sectors make it an increasingly compelling environment for innovative payment solutions.
“As the main provider of banking services for Raiffeisen Banks in South Tyrol and as corporate banking experts, we are constantly trying to find new products and solutions to better meet the needs and requirements of our corporate clients and to optimize their work processes,” Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen General Director Simon Ladurner said. “Thanks to our partnership with Bluefin, ICIT, and Worldline we provide innovative and state-of-the-art payment systems to gastronomic businesses in South Tyrol. Thus, we contribute to the economic development of our province.”
Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen (officially known as Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen dell’Alto Adige) is headquartered in South Tyrol’s capital, Bolzano. The organization is the central banking institute for the 39 independent cooperative banks in the South Tyrolean Raiffeisen Group. The partnership, which also includes Independent Software Vendor (ISV) ICIT and payment services giant Worldline, will not only facilitate the rollout of AIO devices, but will also support future innovation in the unattended and e-commerce payment solutions space.
“This ISV partnership, in which Worldline is providing secure and robust payment processing services, will enhance the delivery of an expanded, competitive, and innovative payment offering tailored to the Italian market,” Worldline Head of SMB Central Sales Management Julia Rachor said. “Thanks to the partner’s combined international experience and local Italian expertise, merchants are ensured to receive payment solutions that effectively meet their needs.”
Founded in 2007, Bluefin introduced itself to Finovate audiences as part of our developers conference, FinDEVr in 2014. Today, the company has a network of more than 300 partners and secures more than 2.5 billion records a year. Bluefin serves 35,000 clients in 60 countries, protecting cardholder data, personally-identifiable information, and more. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. John Perry is CEO.
The news that both eToro and Klarna have put a temporary hold on their separate IPO plans tells you all you need to know about the level of concern over the new Trump Administration trade and tariff policy. Regardless of the next twists and turns in the stock market, Finovate’s Fintech Rundown will be here all week with the latest in fintech news and updates.
Payments
Bluefinboosts security, flexibility with addition of network tokenization to its ShieldConex Tokenization-as-a-Service and Orchestration platforms.
Indian payment orchestration platform Juspayraises $60 million in Series D funding.
Airwallexenables business to receive and hold funds in Israeli Shekels (ILS) via its Global Accounts and multi-currency wallet.
The first full week of spring is bringing news of partnerships in fraud prevention, lending, and insurtech as well as new product launches in regtech and payments. Be sure to check Finovate’s Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest in updates and announcements in fintech.
Fraud prevention and identity verification
Wisconsin-based community bank IncredibleBank partners with Alloy to enhance its account opening process.
Income and employment verification technology company Trueworkannounces enhancements to its Truework Intelligence platform.
Regtech
Financial services compliance company Thistle Initiativeslaunches its integrated Risk Management as a Service (RMaaS) solution.
Vanquis Banking Group choosesFinScan to help optimize AML processes and strengthen financial crime risk management.
Encryption and tokenization technology payments company Bluefinteams up with Printec Group to bring its PCI-validated, point-to-point encryption solution to retailers in Europe.
Somalia launches its first national instant payment system powered by BPC.
Blackhawk Network and Exchange Solutions partner to offer robust data-driven consumer loyalty program capabilities.
AstroPayexpands access to multicurrency wallet across Latin America.
Splititunveils first fully embedded white-label installment solution for Shopify merchants.
Grazzy teams up with U.S. Bank’s debit card program simplifies the way tipped employees earn and receive digital tips.
Digital banking
Canada’s largest federal credit union, Coast Capital, launches its new digital commercial banking platform courtesy of its partnership with ebankIT.
Credit Union 1 selectsnCinoto power omnichannel experiences for members.
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.
Digital banking solutions provider Apiture and digital solutions company Omnicommanderteam up to help banks and credit unions better communicate with their customers and members.
Gold Coast Federal Credit Union enlistsTyfone to accelerate digital transformation.
Crypto / Defi
Ripplepartners with currency exchange provider Unicâmbio to bring crypto-enabled cross-border payments to Portugal.
Insurtech
Australian digital-first insurance broking firm UpCoversecures $19 million in Series A funding.
Via its brand Polly, European digital insurance broker CLARKlaunches its first fully digital underwriting solution in the UK.
Financial software and technology company CSI partners with Mitek Systems to launch its proprietary check fraud detection solution for NuPoint customers.
Backbase and Feedzaiteam up to integrate advanced security capabilities into Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform.
Regtech and compliance
Sardine AIraises $70 million to make fraud and compliance teams more productive.
Investing / wealth management
Halal investment research platform Musaffalaunches new equity crowdfunding round.
BrightwaveintegratesQuartr’s global database of first-party information from public companies with its document analysis capabilities.
Datalignsecures $9 million Seed funding to accelerate AI-powered financial advisory solutions.
Lending and credit
FinastralaunchesAssist.AI, an AI-powered assistant to enhance the trade finance operations within its Trade Innovation solution.
Halloween is right around the corner. But have no fear of being out of the loop when it comes to the latest in fintech news — Finovate’s Fintech Rundown has you covered!
Deposit and loan origination software solutions provider Amountintroduces its AI Policy Optimizer to enhance credit, pricing, and fraud policy management.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstampsecures a MiFID Multilateral Trading Facility (MFF) license.
Digital banking
U.K.-based banking group Lloydsunveils new Link pay capability in its mobile banking app.
We’re starting off the week with a major acquisition in the U.K. lending space, as well as fintech funding news in payments, wealth management, and financial education.
Digital banking
Missouri-based Central Bank leveragesPersonetics’ AI-driven engagement platform to enhance financial wellness.
SaaS core modernization and transformation solution provider for banks Zafinunveils new tools – Dynamic Cohorts and Signals – to enhance customer personalization and engagement.
Digital banking experience platform Plumeryannounces availability on Google Cloud Marketplace.
Emporia State Federal Credit Union launches new app courtesy of a partnership with digital banking solution provider Bankjoy.
Bank integration provider AccessPaysecures $24 million in equity and debt financing.
Integrated payments company Bluefinadds 23 new devices, 6 new applications, and three new key injection facilities (KIFs) to its Encryption Management Services P2PE Component listing.
Germany payment management platform NX Technologiesraises $23.8 million (EUR 22 million) in Series B funding.
Stripeteams up with Amazon to power payments for Just Walk Out technology in Australia and Canada.
Desjardins partners with cloud banking firm nCino to leverage its Automated Spreading Solution to enhance lending.
Open banking
Dwollaexpands its partnership with MX to power account aggregation and verification.
Open banking platform Link Moneyforges partnership with Silicon Valley Bank to enhance ACH processing and money movement for merchants.
Wealth management
Online trading and investing platform Robinhoodlaunches rewards credit card for its Robinhood Gold subscribers.
Wealth-building platform Belongsecures $3.7 million (£2.95 million) in pre-seed funding.
Multi-asset class investment accounting platform FundGuardraises $100 million in Series C funding.
Financial education
Wealth building and financial education platform Goalsetterclosed a $9.6 million Series A extension round.
Cash management
Cash-flow management platform SettlelaunchesAutomatic 3-Way Matching for Purchase Orders.
Fraud prevention
Plaidforges partnerships with Sandbox Banking and RealPage to help fight fraud in the customer experience.
AI-powered fraud and risk platform DataVisorlaunches its end-to-end anti-money laundering (AML) solution.
Financial crime compliance company Napier AI reports that its customer Banco do Brasil has won the Celent Model Risk Manager 2024 Award for combatting financial crime.
Visaadds three new AI-powered risk and fraud prevention solutions.
Cryptocurrencies / Blockchain
Revolut and Layer 1 blockchain Sui team up to boost blockchain education and adoption.
Trading and investing platform eToroadds 12 new altcoins to its cryptocurrency offerings.
Identity management / verification
ID verification company AU10TIXunveils expanded Digital ID solution.
Insurtech
Rewards credit card company Yonder to offer its members a new travel insurance experience courtesy of a partnership with embedded insurance orchestration firm Qover.
New Jersey’s largest credit union, Affinity Federal Credit Union, partners with Insuritas to launch Affinity Insurance Agency.
PayPal Ventures and MassMutual Ventures lead $47 million Series C funding round for Indonesian insurtech Qoala.
Mortgagetech
Equifax UKteams up with Homely to help first-time homebuyers become “mortgage-ready.”
Once the deal is finalized, Bluefin and TECS will serve a combined 34,000 merchants and close to 300 global partners in 55 countries. And for both Atlanta, Georgia-based Bluefin and Austria-based TECS, the acquisition will expand their geographical footprint.
“We are delighted to welcome TECS’ employees, customers and partners to Bluefin,” said Bluefin CEO John M. Perry. “This combination brings together two companies that focus relentlessly on meeting merchant needs for next-generation payment processing and management as well as the secure exchange of PHI and PII data with PCI-validated encryption and tokenization.”
Bluefin will leverage the purchase to offer its customers omnichannel payments and smartPOS capabilities, which will be integrated into the company’s existing payments and data security suite. TECS clients will benefit from added data security solutions, as well as additional resources for its TECS product and solution suite.
Founded in 2007, Bluefin offers encrypted and tokenized payments for point-of-sale transactions. Additionally, the company’s data security platform, ShieldConex, tokenizes payments, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), and Protected Health Information (PHI) entered online. Last month, the company appointed a new CRO to fuel its growth. And, earlier this fall, Bluefin partnered with commercial hardware manufacturer Sunmi.
In a round led by Macquarie Capital Principal Finance, payment and data security technology company Bluefin has raised $25 million in new financing. With total capital now standing at more than $30 million, the company said the funding would “fuel” its product line, help drive growth internationally as well as within the U.S., and support “opportunistic acquisitions.”
In its statement, Bluefin put this week’s investment, and the growth opportunities for the company, in the context of changes taking place as a result of the global health crisis. Noting that the pandemic has increased reliance on mobile point of sale devices, Bluefin warns that this means the number of potential attack entry points for hackers and cybercriminals has also increased. With an estimated 27.7 million mobile POS devices in use by 2021, Bluefin argues that additional security to defend private data will be required for all businesses, regardless of their sales hardware preference.
“Bluefin is dedicated to remaining at the forefront of technology and solution development in the fight against breaches and cyberattacks,” Bluefin CEO John M. Perry said. “Our partnership with Macquarie will enable Bluefin to not only introduce more solutions to protect e-commerce, online and point-of-sale transactions, but also to make these solutions available globally through our extensive partner network and Bluefin’s products. We look forward to leveraging Macquarie’s deep financial and global expertise in this next phase of company growth.”
A specialist in securing Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), as well as financial card data, Bluefin leverages PCI-validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and tokenization to safeguard information upon entry, in transit, and in storage. Bluefin’s technology enables secure payment acceptance for card present, e-commerce, and mobile transactions, and is available via its network of 130+ integrated partners or directly through the company.
“Bluefin has developed industry-leading data and payment protection technologies, which are crucial in the global climate of rising data breaches and cyberattacks against organizations of all sizes,” Macquarie Capital Principal Finance Managing Director Anand Subramanian said. “We are very pleased to partner with this innovative company to expand their cybersecurity product suite and fuel continued growth in the U.S. and internationally.”
An alum of our developers conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley, Bluefin announced a partnership with CPA Site Solutions in September, enabling the accounting website provider to offer enhanced online billpay. In August, the company teamed up with electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) solutions provider Invoice Cloud.
Payment security solutions company Bluefin is expanding its expertise this week with the launch of ShieldConex, a tool to help secure personal data for firms in retail, hospitality, healthcare, and high education verticals.
With ShieldConex, firms can enter sensitive consumer data– including personally identifiable information and card data– into forms embedded on their website. Once sensitive data is entered into an online form, Bluefin’s technology immediately tokenizes it, replacing it with a Format Preserving Token (FPT) or Format Preserving Encryption (FPE) that can be used in the same way as the original data. With the encryption in place, even if an organization is hacked, the fraudster only sees tokenized data, which is useless to them.
The new tools allows merchants to remain compliant in encrypting their data while maintaining control over the embedded, client-facing form.
According to Bluefin Chief Strategy Officer Ruston Miles, the company is currently “in testing” to help a major airline tokenize user information entered online. “What makes this system unique is the fact that we will collect the information on behalf of the client first, and then perform FPT or FPE. Thus, the client never touches the sensitive data on their web property and the partner gets back a vaultless token for storage – it’s the best of both worlds,” added Miles.
Originally focused exclusively on securing the payment experience, Bluefin offers token-based payment processing, payment tokenization, point-to-point encryption, EMV authentication, and Payment iFrame, a tool that allows merchants to embed an iFrame in their checkout page to encrypt user-entered payment data.
Miles gave a presentation at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2014 about how Bluefin’s point-to-point encryption can help with PCI compliance. Recently, the Georgia-based company partnered with NCR and Powertranz to help secure NCR’s Aloha POS solution.
Bluefin has raised $6 million and was founded in 2007. John Perry is CEO.
