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Finovate Global Caribbean: Instant Payments, Digital Banking, and Credit Analytics

Finovate Global Caribbean: Instant Payments, Digital Banking, and Credit Analytics
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Backbase, Finovate Global, PayPal

This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech announcements from the countries of the Caribbean.

Belize Bank Inks Digital Modernization Partnership with Backbase

The biggest bank in Belize is also among the first financial institution in the Caribbean to embrace a full retail and business digital banking stack in addition to AI-powered lending and onboarding. Belize Bank Limited announced this week that it has partnered with Backbase in a major, six-year partnership to implement the company’s AI-native banking OS.

The financial institution, with more than $1 billion in total assets and the nation’s largest branch network, had sought a platform that would scale with its growing operations and provide consistently high-quality digital experiences across its customer base. Deploying Backbase’s AI-native Banking OS for both retail and business banking will enable Belize Bank to replace fragmented workflows with self-service, accelerated digital onboarding, and unified cash-flow visibility for business customers. Importantly, Backbase’s Banking OS sits above Belize Bank’s existing banking core, leveraging Backbase’s Connectivity Layer (Grand Central) to provide seamless integration with the bank’s existing systems.

“Belize Bank is exactly the kind of institution Backbase was built for—a market leader that takes its responsibility to customers seriously and wants technology that matches that ambition,” Backbase CEO Jouk Pleiter said. “Embarking on this comprehensive modernization across retail, SME and digital lending is a true reflection of the strategic discipline of the team at Belize Bank. We are proud to partner with them to architect the financial backbone of Belize’s future economy.”

Belize Bank Limited is both the country’s oldest and largest financial institution. The full-service commercial bank holds approximately 43% of the nation’s total banking assets and serves 100,000 retail and business banking clients. Headquartered in Belize City, Belize Bank was founded in 1987.

“Our strategic partnership with Backbase represents a transformative step toward delivering a new era of banking—one that is seamless, intelligent, personalized, and built around the evolving needs of our customers,” Belize Bank Limited Executive Chairman Filippo Alario said. “By combining Backbase’s innovation with Belize Bank’s commitment to excellence and customer-first vision, we are laying the foundation for a future where digital banking goes beyond transactions—creating more meaningful connections, empowering our customers, and transforming the way Belizeans experience banking.”

Four-time Finovate Best of Show winner Backbase was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Amsterdam. The company’s AI-native Banking OS transforms fragmented banking operations and workflows into a unified frontline in which customers, employees, and AI agents work as one across digital channels, front-office, and operations. More than 120 leading banks around the world use Backbase’s technology solutions across verticals ranging from retail, small business, commercial, and private banking to wealth management.

Creditinfo Group Acquires EveryData Group to Boost Caribbean Presence

UK-based Creditinfo Group has completed its acquisition of EveryData Group, a data, analytics, and software company operating in the Caribbean. The acquisition is the culmination of a long-term partnership between the two firms, and will enable Creditinfo Group to bring advanced technology and new data solutions to financial institutions and consumers throughout the region. The greater technology integration and shared infrastructure across Creditinfo Group’s global network will also benefit customers of both firms.

“This acquisition reinforces our commitment to helping build stronger financial ecosystems around the world,” Satty Saha, Group CEO at Creditinfo Group, said. “EveryData has built an impressive business with a strong reputation across the Caribbean, and together we are well positioned to bring greater innovation and value to customers throughout the region. By combining our global expertise with EveryData’s deep local knowledge, we can accelerate the delivery of new products and technologies that improve access to finance and support economic growth.”

The transaction fortifies Creditinfo Group’s international presence, specifically in the Caribbean, adding primary credit bureau operations across Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) of St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, and Montserrat. The company noted that it will continue investing in technology, talent, and innovation throughout the region, helping leaders and professionals in financial institutions make better decisions while promoting financial inclusion and sustainable economic development.

Barbados Launches Instant Payment System BiMPay

Launched by the Central Bank of Barbados, a new instant payment scheme BiMPay is now available to individuals and businesses in the country. The new system operates 24/7, on weekends and public holidays, enabling users to send and receive money in seconds. BiMPay, according to officials, will help modernize the country’s financial system by making payments faster, more efficient, and more convenient. The first transaction on BiMPay was conducted by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who sent money to a local vendor.

“A modern economy needs a modern payment system,” Central Bank Governor Kevin Greenidge said. “People need to be able to send money quickly. Businesses need to be able to receive funds and have them available to spend. Vendors want to get their funds and access their money immediately. We need a space to innovate, to compete, and to build the fintech industry that needs to be built.”

The launch of BiMPay comes after months of testing with financial institutions and other stakeholders. Currently, six commercial banks and the country’s three largest credit unions are connected to the BiMPay system. Seven institutions are also linked to the BiMPay e-wallet, which enables users to make payments, request funds, and complete transactions using phone numbers, email addresses, or QR codes.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Israel-based payments and loyalty platform Nayax teamed up with mark-to-market credit and structured finance infrastructure company Zaria Systems.
  • One Zero, a digital bank based in Egypt, announced a new initiative to allow customers to use the AI agent of choice to receive financial information.
  • PayPal and stc pay Bahrain launched a cross border transfer service.

Central and Southern Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Creditinfo Group aquired EveryData Group to boost its presence throughout the Caribbean
  • Grupo Cibest acquired 100% of Colombian fintech Avista Colombia.
  • Belize Bank announced a new six-year partnership with Backbase to modernize its digital banking operations.

Asia-Pacific

  • Malaysian fintech and digital bank Boost launched its agentic AI banking platform.
  • South Korean fintech KSNet signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation to jointly build next-generation digital asset payment infrastructure.
  • VNExpress looked at the evolution of Vietnam’s digital asset industry.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Lithuanian regtech solution provider iDenfy has added Czech Bank iD to its verification platform.
  • Wealth management platform FNZ announced plans to sell its German FNZ Bank business to Advent.
  • Cryptocurrency platform Bybit obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in Austria.

Photo by Jamie Tudor on Unsplash

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3 Reasons Why Stripe Will Acquire PayPal (and 3 Why It Won’t)

3 Reasons Why Stripe Will Acquire PayPal (and 3 Why It Won’t)
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: List series, Mergers & Acquisitions, PayPal

Stripe has teamed up with private equity firm Advent International to acquire PayPal. Stripe and Advent are offering $60.50 per share in a deal that would value the payments firm at more than $53 billion. The acquisition would give Stripe and Advent each a 50% stake in the company and the offer, which is currently under consideration by the PayPal board, is supported by $50 billion in committed bank financing.

The acquisition would be a major development in e-commerce and payments, creating an entity with approximately $3.7 trillion in annual processing volume. But the deal isn’t done yet. Here’s a look at three reasons why the Stripe acquisition will (or should) go through, followed by three reasons why it won’t (or shouldn’t).

Deal!

Solid Strategic and Financial Sense

It’s easy to see why Stripe might want to do the deal. The acquisition would provide access to more than 430 million consumer accounts, as well as popular consumer-facing solutions like Venmo and PayPal Wallet. This would represent a major addition to Stripe’s current, merchant-focused business model. For its part, PayPal would gain access to Stripe’s modern technology infrastructure and merchant relationships. Combined, the company would process approximately $3.7 trillion a year.

PayPal’s Poor Position

PayPal is in an interesting position. The company’s stock is far off its pandemic highs, and the business itself faces slowing growth and intensifying competition from both fintech and Big Tech. Additionally, the company just appointed a new CEO in March who will be under pressure to make things happen. While there is some concern that the current offering price is too low (more about that in the “No Deal” section), the offer of $60.50 provides a premium of 28% over the stock’s price, pre-announcement. For some shareholders, this might be attractive enough to want to see the deal go through.

Private Equity Piloting the Mission

One potentially underrated aspect of this proposed acquisition is the participation of private equity firm Advent International. Working with Stripe as a 50/50 partner, Advent will be well-positioned to help navigate regulatory challenges and complex financial transactions—including managing divestitures if required. It also means that, should it be necessary to raise the bid (more on that below), Advent will be there to potentially provide additional capital. It is true that a deal of this size is larger than anything Advent has been involved with in its 42-year history. Nevertheless, the firm’s expertise, experience—and the sizable commitment of billions in equity capital—are meaningful factors in favor of the deal.

No Deal!

Antitrust

The biggest danger to the deal is regulatory. Combined, Stripe and PayPal would be a dominant digital payments player with an estimated $3.7 trillion in annual processing volume. While the Trump administration is likely to be far more permissive with regard to big mergers than the Biden administration was, a move of this size would still draw exceptional amounts of scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, as well as from regulators in the European Union. There’s also the potential that regulators might require conditions on the deal that would make the acquisition less strategically valuable.

Culture Clash

I’m old enough to remember when PayPal was the scrappy, technology-first company that was helping drive the emerging industry of e-commerce. Today, however, PayPal is a huge legacy firm with upwards of 25,000 employees, significant technical debt, complex infrastructure, and a well-established corporate culture. Incorporating PayPal’s legacy systems and operational complexity could prove to be more of a burden than a boon for a company like Stripe that still sees itself largely as an agile, engineering-driven firm.

Valuation

One concern is that the current price on offer of $60.50 per share is too low. Analysts have given PayPal a “sum-of-the-parts” valuation of anywhere from $46 to $80 per share, which suggests that the price on the table is in the lower-to-middle range. Observers such as prominent investor Michael Burry (of The Big Short fame) have said that “the bid will have to rise” (note that Burry is an investor in PayPal). William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey doubted that PayPal’s new CEO would accept “what could be viewed as a low-ball offer.”

Another possibility is that other buyers appear. JPMorgan Chase is one potential acquirer that has been mentioned by some. It is also possible that Stripe determines that it would rather try to purchase specific assets from PayPal (such as Braintree or Venmo) instead of acquiring the entire firm.

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

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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: BlueVine, Fintech Rundown, PayPal, Signicat, SoFi, Thought Machine, VISA

After a thrilling weekend of World Cup matches, fans in the US are readying for this evening’s big contest against Belgium. To help you while away the hours until then, here’s a look at some of the top fintech headlines that are coming across our radar today. Be sure to check back with Finovate’s Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest updates.

Digital banking

Cloud-native core banking and payments platform Thought Machine surpasses $100 million total revenue milestone.

Digital banking platform for small businesses Bluevine expands its services to selected foreign-resident owners of US businesses.

Back office

VyStar Credit Union expands partnership with FMSI to advance branch performance strategy.

Agentic AI

BBVA completes its first AI agent-initiated transaction on behalf of a cardholder.

Caixabank initiates its first agentic shopping transaction.

Stablecoins

Standard Chartered launches new capability enabling institutional clients to access USDC minting and redemption.

Payments

PayPal joins the European Payments Council (EPC).

Tuition.io partners with ACHS.edu to support employee education and career growth.

Nium acquires Cypher, expanding its fiat-to-on-chain money movement infrastructure.

Much Better Adventures selects Gr4vy to orchestrate payments and support global marketplace growth.

Investing, wealth management, and PFM

SoFi acquires AI-based investing startup Composer.

Nigerian-founded financial services fintech LemFi secured regulatory approval to acquire investment platform Wealth8.

Greenlight launches Greenlight Family Hub device, Greenlight Financial CUSO surpasses 100 Credit Union partners.

Identity and authentication

Signicat and TrustTech team up to introduce reusable identity to European digital wallets.

Visa unveils threat intelligence platform to bolster cyber and fraud defense.

Lending and financing

Aria closes €7 million equity round and launches €240 million debt facility to scale invoice financing across Europe.

Photo by Fauzan Saari on Unsplash

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Finovate Global Eastern Europe: Funding Payments, Modernizing Banks, and More!

Finovate Global Eastern Europe: Funding Payments, Modernizing Banks, and More!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Backbase, Finovate Global, MasterCard, PayPal, Ripple

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from the Eastern European nations of Bulgaria, Albania, and Hungary.

Bulgarian Fintech Paypercut Raises €5M

Paypercut, a fintech based in Sofia, Bulgaria, has secured €5 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Concentric, Passion Capital, and Araya Ventures, and featured participation from additional investors including SMOK Ventures, Portfolio Ventures, BrightCap Ventures, BlackWood, SABAH.fund, MFG Invest, Main Set, and Matt Doka, a payment entrepreneur. Paypercut’s total funding now stands at €7 million.

Founded in response to the fragmentation of payments in Central and Eastern Europe, Paypercut has grown from a Buy Now, Pay Later aggregator into a more comprehensive payments platform. The company offers merchants access to card payments, local payment options, Buy Now Pay Later products, payment links, QR code payments, multi-currency settlement, and billing tools via a single integration. Paypercut raised €2 million in pre-seed funding in July 2025 and has onboarded more than 200 merchants in eight CEE markets since that time.

This week’s investment will help fuel Paypercut’s continued expansion across Central and Eastern Europe. The funding will also enable the firm to meet the capital requirements for an EMI license with the Central Bank of Ireland.

“CEE has always been treated as an afterthought by the payments industry, seen as too fragmented, too many local specifics, too complicated,” Paypercut Co-Founder and CEO Stoil Vasilev said. “We built Paypercut to fix that. This round gives us the resources to go further and faster: more markets, more payment options for merchants, and the infrastructure to move money in the way it should have always worked, instantly and at a fraction of the cost.”

In addition to its merchant payments operation, Paypercut is also developing stablecoin-based infrastructure for cross-border transfers in the region. The company will initially target high-volume corridors such as those between the Euro and the Polish Zloty (EUR-to-PLN) and the Euro and the Romanian Leu (EUR-to-RON).

Albania’s Tirana Bank Goes Live with Backbase

Tirana Bank, named “Best Bank in Albania” in 2025 by Euromoney, has gone live with a “complete omnichannel retail banking experience” built on the Backbase AI-native Banking OS. The launch covers accounts, deposits, online loan and credit card applications, internal and outgoing transfers, card management, billpay, and financial insights. Tirana Bank will also enable Digital Assist in the employee app.

“This launch marks a significant step in our digital transformation journey, as we continue to invest in solutions that bring real, everyday value to our customers. TiBank+ is designed to deliver a seamless and intuitive banking experience, combining convenience with the trust and human connection that define our model,” Tirana Bank Chief Retail Business Officer Lila Canaj said. “Through our partnership with Backbase, we have accelerated this transformation, bringing to market a modern and scalable platform built to evolve with our customers’ needs.”

One feature that Tirana Bank anticipates its customers will appreciate is real-time spending insights, courtesy of Backbase’s personal finance management capabilities. Offering customers these insights is not a common occurrence in the region and will help Tirana Bank differentiate itself from its competitors. The institution is also going live with Apple Pay, becoming one of the few Albanian banks to offer the service via a mobile app.

“Albania is on its path to EU membership, its government has made digitalization a national priority,” Backbase Regional Vice President for South East Europe Robert Mihaljek said. “Tirana Bank looked at that moment and decided to lead it. They came to us with a clear ambition. Twelve months later, they are live with not only an MVP but a full retail APP. This is a first for Albania, and a reference for the Balkans.”

A four-time Finovate Best of Show winner, Backbase has been a Finovate alum since 2009. The Amsterdam-based fintech offers an AI-native banking operating system that converts fragmented banking operations into a unified frontline for the benefit of customers and employees alike. Founded in 2003, Backbase counts more than 150 leading banks and financial institutions around the world as users of its solutions for retail, small business, commercial, and private banking, as well as wealth management. Riddhi Dutta is CEO.

Can Crypto Make a Comeback in Hungary?

For many observers, liberal democracy was one of the big winners in the recent Hungarian election that saw the end of the Orbán regime. But could the victory of Péter Magyar and his pro-EU Tisza Party also be a good sign for crypto and digital assets in the country?

In 2025, Hungary announced an amended Crypto Act that criminalized unauthorized exchange services and established a validation regime on all crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto transactions. This incentivized some firms, such as Revolut, to withdraw from the Hungarian market entirely, while others suspended services due to regulatory uncertainty.

This also set off a confrontation with the EU, with the European Commission initiating infringement proceedings against Hungary’s validation regime, saying that it was in conflict with the EU’s MiCA framework. Interestingly, Orbán had previously been relatively pro-crypto, with his regime offering some of the lowest tax rates on crypto in Central Europe. This made Hungary—at least before 2025—an attractive jurisdiction for retail crypto investors in the region.

There are many reasons offered to explain the shift toward a more restrictive attitude in recent years—from the influence of MiCA and its mandates to the regime’s well-known preference for state control and supervision of key financial and industrial activities. But the question now is whether or not new politics will result in new policy? The correct answer, at this point, is that no one knows. What some observers have noted, however, is Magyar’s relatively more pro-EU stance on other issues and his general interest in re-aligning with European institutions more broadly. To this end, even something as straightforward as revising the country’s crypto policy to match MiCA’s mandates—and remove or revise current criminal penalties for policy violations— might be an initial positive sign toward restoring crypto’s status in Hungary.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India travel fintech Scapia, which combines co-branded cards with travel booking, secured $63 million in funding in a round led by General Catalyst.
  • Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Limited (RIDBL) has been granted a Retail Banking License by the State Bank of Pakistan.
  • The Eurasian Development Bank inked a $70 million loan agreement with IT company Uzum to support the fintech industry in Uzbekistan.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Via its Alipay+ gateway, Singapore’s Ant International announced the launch of cross-border mobile payment services in Latin America.
  • ACI Worldwide looked at the impact of real-time payments on growth in Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
  • Tearsheet profiled Brazilian digital financial institution Agibank.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based Crypto payments network Moonpay and controlling shareholder Seoryong Electronics announced a joint investment in Korean fintech Finger.
  • Vietnam Bank OCB selected Backbase AI lead Chris Shayan as its Acting CEO.
  • Visa launched Germin Pay in the Philippines.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • African financial infrastructure company Anchor launched its Anchor MCP Server, becoming the first Nigerian fintech to make. its API documentation natively available to AI systems.
  • The Africa Report reported on the rise of mobile money in Ghana and how it is challenging the country’s incumbent banks.
  • Business Insider Africa looks at the fate of small business banking platform Brass which announced that it will be migrating its customers to Paystack Microfinance Bank.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • PayPal introduced a pair of Buy Now, Pay Later products for its customers in Austria.
  • Ripple launched its RLUSD stablecoin in Turkey courtesy of partnerships with local platforms BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo.
  • Equifax UK forged a partnership with Polish credit bureau BIK to boost access to identity verification and fraud prevention technology.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Saudi Arabia-based fintech Stitch announced a pivot to focus on infrastructure and offering a financial operating system for banks.
  • UAE-based fintech Comfi AI secured pre-Series A funding from Yango Group’s Yango Ventures.
  • Mastercard renews its partnership with CIB, Egypt’s largest private-sector bank.

Photo by Viktor Kiryanov on Unsplash

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2026: The Year Everyone Became a Bank

2026: The Year Everyone Became a Bank
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: David's column, Nubank, PayPal, Revolut, Ripple

So when did everyone want to be a bank?

In 2026, some of the most innovative companies in fintech are expected to obtain banking charters in the US. From bunq to Zerohash, challenger banks and crypto infrastructure companies alike have determined that the next best step for their businesses is a license to offer full banking services to customers in the United States.

What’s interesting about the companies that are seeking US banking charters now is how they tend to fall into two broad camps: the neobank challengers and the crypto-insurgents. How do these two camps see the opportunity in the US and does either camp have an advantage in terms of the likelihood of success?

The challengers: From neobank to “real bank”

Many of the fintechs currently seeking US bank charters are some of the best known names in the industry. These include the UK’s Revolut, the EU’s bunq, Brazil’s Nubank—even the US’s PayPal, which sees a bank charter as a way to expand its operations in the States.

“Securing capital remains a significant hurdle for small businesses striving to grow and scale,” former PayPal CEO and President Alex Chriss said in December. “Establishing PayPal Bank will strengthen our business and improve our efficiency, enabling us to better support small business growth and economic opportunities across the US.”

For international firms, expanding operations is a major, though not the only, reason for coming to America. In the case of Nubank, which secured conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in January, the goal is more than just expanding operations. As David Vélez, founder and CEO of Nu Holdings explained, “It’s an opportunity to prove our thesis that a digital-first, customer-centric model is the future of financial services globally.” While insisting that the company’s focus would remain on Latin America, Vélez noted “This step allows us to build the next generation of banking in the United States.”

Revolut also cited bringing a proven customer experience to the US as part of its rationale when it announced that it had applied to the OCC and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for a US national bank charter. “Filing for a national bank charter is a major milestone toward our vision of building the world’s first truly global banking platform,” Revolut Co-Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky said. “This charter will give us the direct control needed to innovate faster and deliver the Revolut experience to millions more Americans as we move toward our goal of 100 million customers.”

The cryptos: On the road to regulatory maturity

The other major category of aspirants for US bank charters is the crypto community. This includes stablecoin issuers like Circle as well as cryptocurrency exchange companies like Kraken. Circle secured conditional approval from the OCC in December to establish a national trust bank, named First National Digital Currency Bank. The company’s statement announcing the approval shed light on the reason why crypto companies like Circle are seeking bank licenses in the US.

“As a public company, we’re focused on operating under rigorous regulatory oversight and building the infrastructure that allows digital dollars like USDC to become a core part of global finance,” Circle CEO, Co-Founder, and Chairman Jeremy Allaire said. “This important milestone will give the world’s leading institutions greater clarity and confidence to build on Circle’s platform as stablecoins and blockchain technology move rapidly into the mainstream.”

For businesses in this space, the rewards of a US bank charter go beyond the ability to market products and services to a new market—even one as large as the US. For these firms, the chance to build and secure institutional credibility via a US banking license is an opportunity that cannot be missed. Combined with benefits such as direct access to payment rails, reserve backing, digital asset custody, and tokenization, it is little surprise that some of the most innovative companies in DeFi are seeking out US banking licenses. Speaking on behalf of Ripple, which secured conditional approval to establish a national trust bank in December, CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized the importance of a bank charter for regulatory compliance and public trust.

“The conditional approval of our trust bank charter represents a massive step forward—setting the highest standard for stablecoin compliance with both federal and state oversight,” Garlinghouse said. “While anti-innovation bank lobbyists may claim otherwise, we are ensuring RLUSD is the most transparent and responsibly managed stablecoin in the market today.”

Risk, opportunity, and cutting out the middleman

However different the reasons may be for neobanks and digital asset companies seeking out US banking licenses right now, there is an interesting commonality between the two camps. In both instances, firms are seeking ways to transition away from the “intermediary model” in which fintechs rely on sponsoring banks. There are myriad reasons why this decade-long paradigm has endured and why it is proving inadequate for many firms, such as growing awareness of risk (including both financial institution and third-party risk), as well as new opportunities (such as the OCC’s 2021 national bank trust policy shift).

But the general takeaway is that some of the most innovative fintechs in our industry are concluding that rather than try to “unbundle” or partner with a bank, it might now be the best strategy to just become one.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

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PayPal Acquires Cymbio for Agentic Commerce Capabilities

PayPal Acquires Cymbio for Agentic Commerce Capabilities
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, PayPal
  • PayPal has acquired Cymbio to accelerate its push into agentic commerce, adding marketplace and drop-ship automation capabilities that help merchants sell across AI-driven channels like Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity.
  • The deal builds on an existing partnership between the two players, which first teamed up in October 2025.
  • The acquisition reinforces PayPal’s broader ambitions in agentic commerce.

PayPal just acquired drop-ship and marketplace automation platform Cymbio for an undisclosed amount. The move fits with PayPal’s push into agentic commerce, as Cymbio’s payment orchestration platform helps brands sell across agentic channels, including Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity.

Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close later this year, were undisclosed.

PayPal’s acquisition comes three months after PayPal first partnered with Cymbio to launch agentic commerce services, a suite of solutions to help merchants attract customers in an AI-powered commerce environment.

“PayPal has established itself as a leading commerce partner for merchants looking to sell within top AI platforms,” said PayPal Executive Vice President and General Manager of Small Business and Financial Services Michelle Gill. “Acquiring Cymbio’s technology and team will enhance our agentic commerce capabilities and accelerate the expansion to more of our merchants. By making their product catalogs discoverable on AI surfaces, merchants can increase sales while expanding product choice to the millions of consumers shopping on AI platforms today.”

Cymbio was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv. The company’s marketplace and social commerce automation platform facilitates collaboration between brands and retailers by automating processes such as product listing, inventory management, pricing, order fulfillment, and returns. Cymbio connects to 800 brands’ and retailers’ internal systems to enable strong collaborations that can be scaled quickly. The company has raised $35 million from investors including PayPal Ventures, and counts Balmain, Reebok, Abercrombie & Fitch, New Balance, Steve Madden, and Fabletics among its customers.

Once the deal is finalized, PayPal will use Cymbio to power Store Sync, one of PayPal’s agentic commerce services that allows merchants’ product data to be discoverable within AI channels. Store Sync drops orders to merchants’ existing fulfillment and management systems. The system allows the merchant to remain the merchant of record and retain customer relationships and control over their brand.

As a pioneer in fintech, PayPal is seeking to be an early mover in agentic commerce as well. In late 2025, the company rolled out agentic commerce services to help merchants connect product catalogs and checkout experiences to AI platforms like Perplexity. PayPal has also collaborated with AI ecosystem partners such as OpenAI to support instant checkout via the Agentic Commerce Protocol. It is clear that the company is seeking a top spot in the agentic commerce battlefield.

Photo by Julio Lopez

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Finovate Global Europe: Competition, Profitability, and a Reckoning Year for Regulation

Finovate Global Europe: Competition, Profitability, and a Reckoning Year for Regulation
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, NCR Corporation, PayPal, Thought Leadership

Last week, Finovate Global looked at how key trends are shaping fintech innovation in the UK. This week, our Friday column crosses the channel to consider the most significant forces shaping fintech innovation on the Continent, especially among advanced industrial economies in the West and Baltic north.

In our examination of the UK, we highlighted navigating regulatory complexity, accelerating technological transformation, and meeting rising customer expectations as three key issues facing banks and financial services providers there. These issues are also important to markets in the advanced markets of Europe. However, there are additional themes that distinguish the concerns of bankers in developed Europe from their colleagues in both the UK and the US.

Profitability and Competitiveness in the Shadow of NIRP

One of the challenges that European banks are still dealing with is the legacy of negative interest rates. Just as the US economy was emerging from its post-Global Financial Crisis (GFC)-initiated ZIRP or zero interest rate policy, the EU was plunging into what would be a seven-year experiment in negative interest rates (NIRP). A response to the threat of deflation in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis and, more acutely, the sovereign debt crisis of 2010-2012, the EU’s NIRP policy lasted longer and was more extreme, with rates falling to -0.50%.

The impact on EU banks has been significant. Even as interest rates have normalized since NIRP ended in 2022, net interest income for EU banks has remained squeezed, impeding profitability. Additionally, European banks suffer from structural challenges to greater profitability that extend beyond the legacy of NIRP. Among them is one fundamental issue: there are a lot of banks in Europe, arguably too many, all chasing too few customers. Considered on a per capita basis, countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy have a very large number of banks and similar financial institutions relative to their populations. By comparison, the UK is significantly less “bank dense,” and even the US, which is often accused of having “too many banks,” is considered only moderately bank dense.

Along with excess capacity, issues of market fragmentation and high cost-to-income ratios all contribute to an environment in which achieving profitability as an EU bank remains a challenge. Banks struggling to make money often hesitate to make the necessary investments in technology that can help them reach new customers, access new markets, and offer new products and services.

A More Integrated Union? Overcoming Fragmentation to Enable Innovation

Both the EU and UK face challenges when it comes to digital transformation. But the differences between the two regions are significant and in some ways related to the issues of market fragmentation that plague EU bank profitability. When it comes to digital transformation and investing in technology, fragmentation and diversity between member states make the task more difficult and more expensive. Larger EU banks often have country- and product-specific legacy cores—sometimes even different cores built in multiple decades. These legacy cores not only fail to communicate well with each other, but also often exist in increasingly outdated mainframe environments. On the other hand, smaller banks and financial institutions in the EU often simply can’t afford major core replacements.

Uneven development and country-specific challenges often hold back fintech innovation in the EU. Even where the EU has effectively encouraged innovation, such as PSD2, which mandated open banking, adoption and implementation has varied widely by country. While open banking adoption rates in parts of Europe, such as the Baltics, are exceptional, many other countries, including Western European countries like France, Germany, and Spain, have had more modest rates of implementation. In this context, it will be interesting to see how the different countries embrace Wero, the new pan-European instant payments and wallet scheme currently being introduced throughout the EU. Here, countries like France, Germany, and Belgium are experiencing strong implementation and user adoption trends, while others, including Spain, Italy, and Switzerland are lagging.

How are some of the other enabling innovations—such as AI and DeFi—shaping banking and financial services in Western Europe? The European Banking Authority characterizes adoption of AI in its industry as “widespread but cautious.” Unsurprisingly, use cases in customer service are the most common, as is the use of AI to help in AML/CFT screening. In addition to customer service, streamlining internal workflows is another popular use case for AI among EU banks. Generally speaking, the larger markets of the EU—Germany, France, the Nordics—are experiencing the most robust use of AI in banking and financial services.

The story is similar with DeFi and blockchain technology adoption in banking: the larger countries tend to have more banks engaged in activities such as digital asset custody services, tokenization, and trade finance. One especially interesting development is the pursuit of a euro stablecoin, an effort led by a consortium of EU banks including ING, UniCredit, and SEB that is expected to lead to a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin launch later this year.

A Regulatory Year of Reckoning for Payments, Crypto, and AI in the EU

There is a variety of regulatory events coming this year. Some of them are the latest chapters in policies that were enacted last year, while others will make their compliance debut here in 2026. With regard to the former, regulations such as DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Regulation) which was passed in 2025 and deals with ICT, third-party, and operational risk, will continue to have an impact as institutions look to ensure compliance with resilience requirements for governance, testing, and incident reporting. Elements of the Basel III reforms, initially designed to help fortify banks in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, have been postponed from scheduled implementation this year to 2027. Speaking of postponements, another significant regulation, the Enhanced Operational Risk Reporting Deadline, has been moved forward to June of this year.

Other key regulatory developments to anticipate for EU banks and financial services providers include the rollout of new payment regulations including PSD3, which focuses on licensing and institutional requirements, and PSR (Payment Services Regulation), which deals with day-to-day operational issues. PSD3, in particular, will be an important mandate insofar as it seeks to correct a number of problems with the previous open banking directive, PSD2. PSD3 features significant guidelines and requirements with regard to fraud prevention and liability, and also paves the way for open finance.

What about the enabling technologies highlighted in the previous section? With regard to DeFi and crypto, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) comes fully into effect in 2026. Among the requirements are that cryptocurrency firms must have MiCA licenses to operate by the middle of the year. While this will address centralized service providers (CASPs) in the DeFi market, it does not specifically define the parameters of DeFi, including what services should be subject to MiCA. This conversation will be key for EU policy-makers in 2026.

As for AI, 2026 will be a big year, as well. Enacted in 2024, the EU AI Act will require AI systems designated as “high risk” to adhere to new guidelines with regards to creditworthiness, loan origination, risk evaluation, and automated decisioning. Additionally, the Act will require these systems to use strong governance, risk management documentation, transparency, human oversight, and quality control. Note that the Act categorizes AI systems by risk: minimal/no risk, which is virtually unregulated; limited risk, where compliance consists largely of transparency obligations; high risk, which is strictly regulated; and banned AI, which includes capabilities such as social scoring by governments and real-time remote biometric identification. Another key development is the launch of national AI regulatory sandboxes in each EU member state by August of this year, as mandated by the Act. Here, both Denmark and Spain have been credited as being ahead of the game in terms of getting these initiatives underway.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Asia-Pacific

  • Singapore-based Airwallex acquired Paynuri in bid to enter the South Korean market.
  • Indonesian fintech UangCermat raised $26.4 million in a combination of equity and credit facilities.
  • Vietnam announced that crypto firms that want to participate in the country’s pilot digital asset market will need a minimum capitalization of VND 10 trillion ($400 million).

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Payment software firm Akurateco forged a strategic partnership with African digital payments service provider Payaza.
  • Two South African fintechs—Johannesburg’s RelyComply and Cape Town’s Ozow—teamed up to enhance security for digital payments in the country.
  • The Africa Report profiled SycaPay, the first fintech to be licensed by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).

Central and Eastern Europe

  • German KYB/KYC lifecycle management platform Sinpex raised €10 million in Series A financing.
  • Greece-based Epirus Bank teamed up with NCR Atleos to modernize and expand its ATM network.
  • Berlin-based climate fintech Cloover secured a $1.2 billion debt facility and raised $22 million in Series A funding.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • PayPal acquired Israel-based agentic commerce innovator Cymbio.
  • Financial infrastructure and payment solutions provider Montran opened a new office in Dubai.
  • Saudi Arabia’s EdfaPay, a payment infrastructure solutions company, secured approval to launch SmartPOS service in the Kingdom.

Central and Southern Asia

  • Indian digital payments giant PhonePe secured approval from the country’s financial regulator to launch an IPO, slated for mid-2026.
  • Pakistan-based fintech Neem raised an undisclosed sum in Pre-Series A funding in a round that featured participation from Epic Angels, the largest all-female investment collective in the world.
  • Kazakhstan enacted a range of new laws to regulate digital assets and to allow banks to expand into fintech, AI, and digital payments infrastructure.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Uruguayan cross-border payment platform dLocal teamed up with international AI device ecosystem company HONOR to launch local payments in Peru.
  • Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit launched Bybit Pay in Peru via integrations with the country’s Yape and Plin digital payment platforms.
  • UK-based stablecoin infrastructure company Noah partnered with Brazil-based digital wallet and investment platform Picnic.

Photo by Marco

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Finovate Global Hong Kong: Funding for Stablecoins, Yields on Idle Capital, and More!

Finovate Global Hong Kong: Funding for Stablecoins, Yields on Idle Capital, and More!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avaloq, Backbase, Finovate Global, PayPal, Temenos

This week’s edition of Finovate Global reviews the latest fintech news from Hong Kong.

RD Technologies raises $40 million in advance of stablecoin licensing

Hong Kong-based stablecoin infrastructure firm RD Technologies has secured $40 million in Series A2 funding. The round was jointly led by a consortium of both new and existing investors. Participating in the investment were ZA Global, China Harbour, Bright Venture, and Hivemind Capital. HSG, Eternal Digital, CMSC Partners, and Guotai Junan International Private Equity Fund were also involved in the funding. RD Technologies raised $40 million in a Series A1 round in September 2024.

The funding comes as Hong Kong’s stablecoin licensing regime takes effect. This regime provides a framework for stablecoin issuers, including the necessary licensing requirements as mandated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) for companies seeking to issue fiat-backed stablecoins. The new Stablecoins Ordinance also requires these firms to maintain proper reserve asset management, robust stabilization mechanisms, and the capacity to process redemption requests at par value under ordinary conditions. Companies also must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations as well as maintain obligatory risk management, disclosure, and auditing standards.

Founded in 2020, RD Technologies provides technology to help bridge the Web2 and Web3 worlds. An early advocate of stablecoins, RD Technologies drives responsible and sustainable innovation in digital finance via open networks, real-world use cases, and industry-wide collaborations. The company participated in the stablecoin sandbox launched by the HKMA earlier this year, and is developing HKDR, a stablecoin backed 1:1 by the Hong Kong Dollar, via its subsidiary RD InnoTech.

“We are thrilled with the passage of the Stablecoins Ordinance, which sets a clear and robust framework for the sustainable growth of Hong Kong’s virtual asset ecosystem as a global financial hub,” RD Technologies Rita Liu said earlier this year when the stablecoin legislation was passed. “As pioneers in the stablecoin space, with RD InnoTech Limited’s participation in the HKMA’s sandbox, we are dedicated to building trust by aligning with these regulations to deliver secure and innovative solutions for virtual asset trading, cross-border payments, and tokenization of real world assets.”

As part of the investment, RD Technologies and Hong Kong-based virtual bank ZA Bank inked a new partnership through which the two companies will investigate regulated stablecoin use cases in financial services.

Airwallex Launches Yield in Hong Kong

International payments and business financial platform Airwallex has introduced its Airwallex Yield solution in Hong Kong. Airwallex Yield is designed to enhance treasury management by enabling businesses to earn returns on their suplus funds held in multi-currency accounts. There are no lock-up periods with Airwallex Yield, which provides access to highly rated money market funds such as those managed by firms like Fullerton Fund Management and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

The launch of the new solution, which also went live in Singapore recently, makes Airwallex the first global payments institution to secure a Securities and Future Commission (SFC) license for asset management services in Hong Kong. Yield currently enables companies to generate returns of up to 3.97% on multi-currency balances via discretionary portfolio management services. Airwallex also has partnered with JP Morgan Asset Management to leverage short-duration money market funds in order to provide liquid returns without minimum lock-up periods. Launched in Australia in the fall of 2023, Yield reached more than $67.3 million in funds under management.

“We’re excited to announce the full launch of Airwallex Yield to businesses in Hong Kong,” Airwallex Asia-Pacific General Manager Arnold Chan said. “We’ve seen growing demand from businesses looking for more effective ways to maximize the value of their capital. In today’s dynamic market environment, businesses are actively seeking ways to make their capital work harder. Airwallex Yield gives them a seamless and flexible way to earn returns on their balances, all from within the Airwallex platform. We’re not just looking to help businesses make the most of their surplus balances—we also want to encourage them to bring new funds to Airwallex because of the value Yield provides.”

Chocolate Finance, WeBank, Syfe Announce Hong Kong Entry and Expansion

A number of fintechs have announced plans to enter or expand their presence in Hong Kong of late.

First, Singapore-based Chocolate Finance has secured regulatory approval to being operations in Hong Kong. The news comes as the savings app announced that it has added $19.4 million in Series A+ funding to its coffers courtesy of a round led by Nikko Asset Management. The round also featured participation from existing investors Peak XV, Prosus, and Saison Capital, along with company founder Walter de Oude. Along with the funding news, Chocolate Finance announced a limited time Double Referral Program from July 22 to August 31, offering additional rewards and limited-edition merchandise.

Founded in 2022, Chocolate Finance delivers returns of up to 3% on savers’ first ($15,500) SGD 20k, 2.7% on the next ($23,250) SGD 30k, and 2.7% on any additional amount.

Next up, Chinese digital bank WeBank has won approval to set up its Hong Kong subsidiary, which will manage the institution’s overseas operations there and offer services to businesses covered by the Belt and Road Initiative.

WeBank was launched in 2014 by Tencent in partnership with a handful of other Chinese companies. The financial institution is the largest online-only lender in China, and is one of the world’s largest unicorns with a valuation of $32.4 billion (235 billion yuan).

WeBank’s Hong Kong subsidiary is expected to investigate potential opportunities in fintech such as real-world asset tokenization. The firm will also be a part of Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s “architecture community” for Project Ensemble, the HKMA’s wholesale central bank digital currency initiative.

Lastly, Chocolate Finance isn’t the only Asian company leveraging the occasion of a recent funding to announce increased engagement with Hong Kong. Singapore-based digital wealth platform Syfe recently announced that its $80 million Series C round in June will help fuel the firm’s regional expansion, including further inroads into Hong Kong.

“This fund raise comes at an exciting time as we grow our presence across the region and expand our offerings,” Syfe Founder and CEO Dhruv Arora said. “In our markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, nearly half of all adults are in the ‘mass affluent’ segment, meaning those who have between a few hundred to a few million dollars in investable assets, and this segment is growing fast. As a platform built in the region, for the region, we have a deep understanding of what these investors need. We’re in a great position to serve them with personalized, accessible, and high-quality wealth management at scale.”

Syfe will use the capital, which includes an all-equity C2 round of $53 million, in part to fuel its expansion in Hong Kong. In a statement, the company noted that its business in Hong Kong has “doubled in size” since the beginning of the year. Syfe currently has more than $10 billion in assets under management as of end-of-year 2024 and has raised a total of $132 million in funding. The company was founded in 2019.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Orange Money and BaaS fintech JUMO have teamed up to offer credit services in Africa.
  • MoneyBadger and Peach Payments partnered to make it easier for merchants to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
  • Forbes looked at the connection between African mobile money service, M-Pesa, and Western-based services such as Venmo and PayPal.

Central and Eastern Europe

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Libyan Islamic Bank partnered with Backbase to modernize its consumer banking operations.
  • Israel-based tax preparation platform April raised $38 million in Series B funding.
  • Egypt’s Midbank announced the completion of its core banking migration with Temenos.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India’s Esaf Bank turned to SugarCRM for relationship management.
  • TBC Uzbekistan Fintech earned a spot on the CNBC and Statista roster of the world’s top fintech companies, the first Uzbek company to do so.
  • Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services acquired Indian fintech startup Rio.Money.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazilian financial infrastructure firm QI Tech secured $63 million in a Series B extension round.
  • PitchBook looked at seven fintech startups driving digital banking in Mexico.
  • Payment solutions provider Boku was granted a Payment Institution license from the Central Bank of Brazil.

Asia-Pacific

Photo by Florian Wehde on Unsplash

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PayPal Unveils PayPal World to Facilitate Global Payments

PayPal Unveils PayPal World to Facilitate Global Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, PayPal
  • PayPal’s new launch, PayPal World, is a new global platform designed to connect major digital wallets and payment systems.
  • The new platform will enable users to shop and send money across borders using their domestic wallets without needing international payment methods.
  • PayPal is partnering with Venmo, Mercado Pago, UPI, and Tenpay Global to create wallet interoperability for nearly two billion users and expanding cross-border capabilities for both consumers and merchants.

Fintech pioneer PayPal is unveiling PayPal World this week, a new platform that connects global payment systems and digital wallets.

At launch, PayPal is partnering with Mercado Pago, NPCI International Payments Limited (UPI), Tenpay Global, and Venmo to promote wallet interoperability for the more than two billion users of these platforms.

PayPal World aims to transform the way people send money, as well as how they shop online, in-store, and with AI agents across borders. The new capability will allow PayPal users to use their app to scan and pay when they shop across borders. With PayPal World, consumers won’t need to carry an international payment method to shop overseas. Instead, the platform will use the user’s domestic payment system or digital wallet to complete the transaction, even if the payment type at checkout is different from their home currency.

“PayPal World is a first-of-its-kind payments ecosystem that will bring together many of the world’s largest payment systems and digital wallets on a single platform. It is a testament to the passion our partners share for an inclusive, global digital economy and has the potential to revolutionize cross-border commerce,” said PayPal President and CEO Alex Chriss. “The challenge of moving money across borders is incredibly complex, and yet this platform will make it so simple for nearly two billion consumers and businesses. We believe the changes we are announcing today have the potential to be a real game changer over time. We can’t wait to welcome many more global partners, wallets, and their users soon.”

Merchants can benefit from PayPal World with no additional integration. The platform will connect millions of businesses to digital payment systems and wallet users worldwide, making it possible for businesses to automatically accept new digital payment options at checkout when more partners join the platform, expand their global client base, and increase payment options beyond online and in-store payments into AI agent payments.

PayPal is piloting the new platform through a partnership with peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app Venmo in which the two platforms will become seamlessly interoperable and expand access to global P2P payments. Under the collaboration, PayPal and Venmo users can send money to each other, regardless of geography.

While PayPal World’s wallet connectivity to PayPal and Venmo will go live this fall, Venmo users will be able to shop at millions of merchants across the globe that accept PayPal starting next year. The expanded purchasing capabilities will help merchants reach Venmo’s base of young, affluent, and digitally native consumers.

PayPal World is doing to the US what Revolut did to payments in the EU in the sense that it is breaking down borders, simplifying cross-currency transactions, and reshaping expectations around how money moves. By making digital wallets interoperable across platforms and regions, PayPal is positioning itself not just as a payment processor, but as a universal payment translator that bridges the gap between local payment habits and global commerce. As more wallets and systems join the platform, PayPal World could become a foundational layer in the next era of international payments.

PayPal’s new launch comes at a time when cross-border e-commerce is rising and consumers expect payments to be seamless. While players like Revolut, Alipay+, and Western Union have made strides in international money movement, PayPal’s scale and merchant network give it an edge in solving interoperability at both the consumer and merchant level.

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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: Fintech Rundown, PayPal, Signicat, TIFIN AG, VISA

According to a report in Bloomberg, JP Morgan is going to make fintechs pay up if they want access to customer financial data. Fighting words? Or just signs of what’s to come? Check out this news and more in this week’s edition of Finovate’s Fintech Rundown!

Identity management

Digital identity platform Signicat acquires Dutch NFC-based digital identity verification solutions provider Inverid.

Lending

Digital lending platform Yabx launches GenAI-powered voice solution designed to increase financial literacy among its underserved borrowers.

Billtrust unveils major collections software innovations.

Grasshopper Bank partners with Lendio to enhance SBA loan delivery with AI-powered tools.

Payments

Digital payments company Checkout.com goes live in Canada.

New QR-based payments platform QwikPay launches in Australia.

Cash App adds tap-to-pay for iPhone.

ICBA Payments and Visa renew partnership supporting community bank payments.

Finzly appoints its first Chief Financial Officer and Head of Partnerships to accelerate growth and expand market reach.

Wealth management

Weath management solutions company TIFIN unveils new multilingual LLM innovation hub in India.

Small business banking

Visa and TikTok team up to help founders of small businesses in the UAE access training, tools, and digital marketing advice.

Plaid joins forces with Xero for enhanced US bank feeds.

Insurtech

Saudi Arabia-based embedded insurtech platform Yasmina raises $12 million in seed funding.

Crypto and Defi

Crypto payments platform MoonPay announces support for 1-click cryptocurrency purchases via Revolut Pay.

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX integrates with PayPal to enable crypto purchases and deposits across the European Economic Area (EEA).

Digital banking

JP Morgan reportedly to charge fintechs for access to customer data according to a report from Bloomberg.

Photo by Floriane Vita on Unsplash

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PayPal to Ship Physical Credit Card

PayPal to Ship Physical Credit Card
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, PayPal
  • PayPal launched a physical credit card, expanding PayPal Credit’s reach from online use to in-store purchases, with no annual fee and flexible repayment options for travel purchases.
  • At launch, the card is offering buy now, pay later flexibility that will allow customers to spread travel costs over six months and access additional BNPL loans at checkout.
  • Despite its practicality, PayPal’s new card takes a more conventional approach compared to other fintechs that offer bold designs, tiered rewards, or unique incentives like stock or credit-building tools.

In a time dominated by digital payments, physical cards are holding strong. This week, fintech pioneer PayPal introduced a new physical credit card, extending the reach of PayPal Credit from online purchases to in-store payments.

The new card, which is issued by Synchrony, will allow customers to leverage buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment options. At launch, new card customers will have the option to pay for their travel purchases made by January 31, 2026, over the course of six months. Leveraging the BNPL model in combination with the flexibility of a credit card gives account holders more ways to pay for travel purchases by spreading the cost over time to best suit their cash flow.

For further payment flexibility, customers can also apply for a PayPal Buy Now Pay Later loan at the point of sale to break their purchases into smaller payments over weeks or months. The card also comes with no annual fee, purchase protection, ID theft protection, and travel concierge services.

“PayPal Credit is one of our most popular products and customers have long been requesting the ability to use it on-the-go as they look for more choice and flexibility wherever they shop,” said PayPal SVP, Global Head of Consumer Financial Services Scott Young. “From our buy now pay later options to our credit cards, we continue to bring customers a range of solutions to help them manage cash flow and pay in the ways that suits their budgets for the things they love and need.”

Credit is not new to PayPal. The company launched PayPal Credit, formerly known as Bill Me Later, in 2008, after PayPal’s then-parent company eBay acquired Bill Me Later for $945 million. Physical cards are not new for PayPal, either. The California-based company launched its Business Debit Mastercard in 2003 and began issuing debit cards for Venmo users in 2018.

PayPal said that the physical card will begin rolling out “in the coming weeks” to US customers.

PayPal’s move into physical credit cards comes as no surprise, but its approach is. While many consumer-facing fintechs have leaned into creative card designs and differentiated perks like sleek metal cards, bold rainbow finishes, or eco-friendly recycled materials, PayPal has opted for a more traditional route. Other fintechs have layered in tiered rewards, credit-building features, or even stock-based incentives. Though PayPal’s flexible repayment option for travel purchases adds some value, its new card feels relatively conservative compared to the more imaginative offerings from its fintech peers.

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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: Fenergo, Fintech Rundown, PayPal, Ripple, TreviPay, Tuum

The UK is looking to regulate Buy Now, Pay Later lenders. Meanwhile in the US, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reducing fines on previous enforcement actions. It’s a tale of two very different regulatory trends depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on.

We’ve got the latest regtech news along with the rest of the top headlines in fintech right here in this week’s edition of the Fintech Rundown!

Payments

Ripple reports that Zand Bank and fintech platform Mamo have deployed its blockchain-enabled payments solution, the first UAE-based financial institutions to do so.

French fintech Next Generation chooses enterprise platform Fireblocks to power its payment ecosystem.

Global Payments unveils new POS command center for business operations, Genius.

PayPal launches its Complete Payments service in Singapore.

Albertsons Companies offers invoice-based payment for its business customers courtesy of its partnership with TreviPay.

AAA Life Insurance partners with payments network One Inc. to support digital payment processing.

Digital banking

Finovate Best of Show winner Tuum launches suite of Islamic Banking solutions to enable financial institutions to offer more Sharia-compliant banking products.

Fraud prevention

Money and safety app for families, Greenlight, introduces Family Shield to help caregivers protect seniors from financial fraud.

Identity verification and fraud prevention services provider AU10TIX launches continuous AML risk monitoring.

MRI Software integrates Nova Credit’s Income Navigator into its fraud prevention and application qualification solution.

DeFi / crypto

Non-custodial stablecoin wallet MiniPay is now available as a standalone application on iOS devices.

Investment / wealth management

U.S. Bank Global Fund Services turns to Fenergo to digitize and streamline its investor onboarding and service experience.

Regtech

Risk management company EverC launches its AI-powered risk assessment solution for marketplaces, Smart Scan.

Photo by Martin Damboldt

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