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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
It’s Monday again, which means it’s time for another look at the weekly fintech news. So far this week, there’s a spike in business banking news. Here’s a look at what else is trending. We’ll continue to add more announcements as the week progresses.
BinancelaunchesBinance Agent OS, a developer platform built as part of Binance Intelligence.
Credit union technology
Member Driven Technologies (MDT) partners with AI development and consulting firm OnTrac AI to extend MDT’s Transcormational Consulting capabilities with deeper AI readiness, strategy, and implementation expertise.
Open finance
Personetics and Plaidteam up to help banks secure a broader view of customers’ financial lives and enhance personalization efforts.
Apex Fintech Solutions and Plaid have teamed up to streamline account transfers and boost digital capabilities for brokerage firms.
The partnership combines Plaid’s secure connectivity and data validation with Apex Fintech Solutions’ ACATS infrastructure and risk engine to bring greater efficiency to the fund transfer process.
Apex Fintech Solutions’ subsidiary Apex Clearing made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015. Plaid has been a Finovate alum since 2014.
A new partnership between Apex Fintech Solutions and Plaid will enable Apex to offer Plaid’s suite of financial data products to streamline account transfers and help brokerage firms improve their digital capabilities. The partnership combines Plaid’s secure connectivity and data validation with Apex’s ACATS infrastructure and risk engine to reduce the number of errors and delays in the fund transfer process while also boosting efficiency for brokerages and their customers.
ACATS stands for Automated Customer Account Transfer Service, a system managed by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) that automates and standardizes asset transfers from one account to another. Apex’s ACATS infrastructure delivers reliable processing and conformity with ever-changing industry protocols and, together with Plaid’s expertise in financial data connectivity, supports an account transfer experience that is more comprehensive than either company would produce on their own.
“For too long, account transfers have been a source of frustration for investors and a missed opportunity for firms to grow,” Apex Chief Customer Officer Connor Coughlin said. “Plaid brings world-class account connectivity, and we bring proven ACATS infrastructure—together we’re delivering something neither of us could build alone. Now firms can offer a transfer experience as modern as the rest of their platform—and focus on building relationships with investors instead of chasing down paperwork.”
Key capabilities of the integration include automated account linking via Plaid with secure connections that eliminate manual data entry errors and common rejection triggers, and real-time processing and event-driven updates to provide status updates as soon as changes are announced. The integration will also deliver simplified infrastructure that consolidates multiple endpoints into a single API endpoint, unified audit trail interface and operational visibility, and day-one alignment with new protocols, including a fully configured simulator environment to facilitate transfer testing before going live.
“Transferring assets between investment accounts is still far too manual, slow, and error-prone for investors,” Plaid Head of Partnerships Adam Yoxtheimer said. “By integrating Plaid’s Investments Move with Apex’s clearing infrastructure, we’re delivering a first-of-a-kind, end-to-end ACATS solution. The solution can deliver a better transfer experience that gets investors’ assets into their new accounts faster with reduced error rates. We’re excited about what we can continue to build together.”
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Apex Fintech Solutions enables hundreds of clients to launch, scale, and support digital investing for tens of millions of investors. The company provides infrastructure and an ecosystem of cloud-based solutions to enable and streamline trading, wealth management, tax reporting, and more. The firm serves wealth management firms, full-service broker-dealers, startups, banks and credit unions, cryptocurrency trading platforms, corporate treasury managers, and through its subsidiary Apex Clearing, also offers custody and clearing services.
Apex’s partnership with Plaid comes less than a month after the firm announced that it had forged a new data relationship with real-time financial news and market data provider Benzinga. Apex is making Benzinga APIs available to its network of financial platforms, brokerages, and developers, enabling them to integrate real-time market intelligence structured financial datasets directly into their offerings.
A Finovate alum since 2014, Plaid offers a data network that enables users to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services that help them manage and improve their financial lives. The company’s network covers more than 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe. Plaid’s partnership announcement with Apex is just one of a number of announcements the San Francisco-based company has made in recent weeks. Plaid recently announced an expansion of its Bank Intelligence solution with four new capabilities across two areas: Fraud Insights and Loyalty Insights. The enhanced offering will bring stronger fraud defense to the open finance channel and enable firms to better understand where their customers are in their financial lives.
FinovateSpring is right around the corner (May 5-7). So while we’re busily compiling and sharing the top fintech headlines and announcements of the day, please forgive us for occasionally sharing our excitement at what we believe is an incredible line-up at this year’s conference.
From the more than 40 companies that will be making their Finovate debuts to an all-star roster of insightful banking and fintech keynote speakers and panelists, FinovateSpring 2026 in sunny San Diego is an event you won’t want to miss!
Until then, we’ll keep you posted on the fintech news you need to know here at the Fintech Rundown!
Wealth management
AI-native registered investment advisor Savvy Wealthunveils its agentic AI solution for advisors, Savvy Intelligence.
Mackenzie Investments teams upOneVest to power a full digital transformation, including the launch of modern advisor and investor portals, a new mobile app, and more.
GCC-based wealth management firm, The Family Office, launches its AI-powered assistant, Wealth Mermaid, fully integrated into its Client app.
Payments
PayNearMeunveils new capabilities within its PayXM platform including Payer Re-Engagement, Dynamic Payment Options, and Invite a Payer.
Enfuce, a card issuing and payment processing provider and a Finovate Award winner, to join Mastercard Product Express to support business card issuance throughout Europe.
Stablecoins
Cross-border payments platform dLocal launchesStablecoin Full to enable merchants to collect, convert, and make payouts using stablecoins across emerging markets.
Business banking fintech Meowpartners with stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK to power crypto-to-fiat business payments.
C-suite
Capital markets technology platform services provider Trading Technologiesintroduces new Chief Strategy Officer Nick Garrow.
Chase UKselects Monzo’s chief banking officer Kunal Malani as its new CEO.
Spring has sprung, March Madness is in the air, and the fintech headlines are filled with new payment solutions to enhance face-to-face commerce, new developments in the tokenized asset space, and a range of announcements on agentic AI including new tools, new partnerships, and new deployments.
Be sure to check back with Finovate’s Fintech Rundown all week long for the latest in fintech news!
Payments technology company Splititunveils its Splitit Go mobile and API-based solution that brings card-linked installment payment options to in-person commerce.
Fraud prevention and identity verification
Digital identity and compliance platform ComplyCubeunveils its expanded fraud intelligence suite.
Finix and Plaid team up to enhance bank verification and streamline money movement.
Australian fintech Vivi Moneychooses Pismo’s infrastructure to launch new AI-native financial solution on Visa’s global payment network.
Constant AI, an agentic AI firm that specialists in lending operations for credit unions, launches AI Skip-A-Pay agent, Nia.
AI platform Go AbacusunveilsThe Go1, an on-prem AI hardware solution to give banks data sovereignty. Catch Go Abacus in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2026 in San Diego.
Insurtech
AI assistant for financial advisors, Zocks, introduces its new AI assistant for life insurance. See Zocks make its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2026 in San Diego, May 5-7.
DeFi
Q2partners with digital asset platform Stablecore to enable banks and credit unions to offer stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and other digital asset products.
TAPP Engine and KoreInside team up to bring financial stablecoins to private capital markets.
We’re fresh off an outstanding FinovateEurope conference in London (meet our Best of Show winners!) and already gearing up for our Spring event in San Diego. In the meanwhile, here’s a look at some of the fintech headlines that have crossed the wire in recent days. Be sure to check back here at the Fintech Rundown all week long for updates!
Digital banking
Oklahoma-based Blue Sky Bank partners with Jack Henry, deploying the fintech’s Banno Digital Platform along with other integrated solutions.
UK-based embedded insurance company Wriskacquired real-time financial intelligence platform Atto to build an integrated embedded finance platform.
DeFi
Payoneerteams up with stablecoin infrastructure platform and Stripe company Bridge to support its launch of new embedded stablecoin capabilities.
Netherlands-based paytech and stablecoin issuer Quantozteams up with Visa, enabling the firm to issue irtual Visa debit cards as serve as a BIN-sponsor for third-party fintechs and platforms.
Financial data network Plaid and real-time clearing and embedded banking enabler ClearBank announced a new partnership this week.
The partnership will enable Plaid to leverage ClearBank’s virtual accounts and UK Faster Payments Service (FPS) access to enhance the sending, receiving, and reconciling of open banking payments.
Founded in 2013, Plaid has been a Finovate alum since its debut at our developers conference, FinDeVR Silicon Valley 2014.
A new partnership between ClearBank and Plaid will deliver faster, more secure, and friction-free Pay by Bank experiences for both businesses and customers throughout the UK. Courtesy of the collaboration, ClearBank‘s virtual accounts and direct access to the UK Faster Payments Service (FPS) will enable Plaid to enhance the sending, receiving, and reconciling of open banking payments. This includes making it easier for companies to match incoming payments to specific users or transactions, enhancing the reconciliation process and reducing reliance on manual effort.
“ClearBank and Plaid share a commitment to modernizing financial services through transparency, security, and innovation,” ClearBank Group Chief Executive Officer Mark Fairless said. “By combining ClearBank’s cloud-native infrastructure with Plaid’s open banking connectivity, we’re unlocking potential for businesses to deliver faster, more reliable, and secure payment experiences.”
An enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking, ClearBank will provide a regulated, real-time, cloud-native infrastructure that will benefit consumers with faster, more predictable bank payments. The partnership will enable Plaid to offer faster, more reliable pay-ins and payouts that will empower companies to provide better customer experiences at checkout and during account funding.
“Pay by Bank is no longer a niche option,” Plaid Head of Product, Europe, Zak Lambert said. “Adoption is rising quickly, especially among younger consumers who expect instant, secure, and low-friction ways to pay. To meet that demand, businesses need reliable real-time payment infrastructure. ClearBank’s technology helps Plaid deliver instant, secure, and cost-efficient bank payments so companies can better serve their customers’ needs.”
Plaid’s partnership announcement with ClearBank comes as Plaid announced a new AI-enhanced transaction categorization capability that delivers up to 10% greater accuracy on primary categories and 20% greater accuracy on detailed sub-categories. The result is fewer missed transactions and more accurate data labeling. In addition to AI-assisted label generation and targeted human review, Plaid also noted that it would deploy an expanded category taxonomy with more than a dozen new subcategories to help differentiate income types, repayments, disbursements, bank fees, and transfers.
A Finovate alum for more than a decade, Plaid made its Finovate debut at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2014. Today, the San Francisco-based fintech offers a data network that covers more than 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe, making it easier for people to connect their financial accounts to the products and services they want. Plaid works with thousands of companies, including Fortune 500 firms and many of the world’s largest banks.
Plaid was founded in 2013. Co-founder Zack Perret is CEO.
Updated: This post previously stated that the renewed data sharing agreement does not cover account access for payments, which was incorrect. Plaid has clarified that the data sharing agreement covers all types of data sharing, including payments.
Late yesterday, JPMorgan Chase and Plaidannounced that they have mutually agreed to renew their data access agreement that dictates how Plaid is able to pull data on their shared customers from JPMC.
The renewed agreement’s most notable feature is a new pricing structure. Plaid will now pay JPMC to facilitate data access for its fintech clients. Aside from the financial terms, the deal also sets commitments from both sides to ensure consumers can access their data securely. Additionally, the firms have pledged joint investment in innovation and technology to make data sharing faster, safer, and more efficient.
Plaid’s take
Since JPMC initially signaled in July that it plans to charge aggregators to access consumer data, there have been many conversations on both sides of the debate regarding why or why not banks should charge for data access. Given the multiple stakeholders involved, including banks, fintechs, aggregators (like Plaid), and end consumers, there are multiple viewpoints on what charging for data access should look like.
As a central player in this debate, Plaid has a lot to lose (or win) depending on how fees are assessed. To that end, Plaid COO Eric Sager emphasized the firm’s willingness to collaborate with JPMC to preserve the consumer experience: “We have always believed consumers should have the right to access and share their own financial data, and JPMorganChase has been a partner in that effort,” said Sager. “This extended agreement ensures ongoing access for the millions of Chase customers who rely on Plaid every day to connect with the products and services they trust.”
To back up those assurances, Plaid outlined three key takeaways from the renewed agreement:
Continuity is guaranteed Plaid says existing JPMC customers can keep accessing fintech services without disruption.
No pricing changes for now Current contracts and customer fees remain unchanged.
Advocacy continues Plaid will keep pushing for consumer data rights in the CFPB’s 1033 rulemaking.
This agreement is likely to set a precedent in future cases with other large banks and aggregators, shaping not only how data is shared but also how payments are initiated and monetized. As more institutions move to formalize similar arrangements, the industry will be watching to see whether these pricing structures trickle down to smaller players and, ultimately, to consumers. With the CFPB’s 1033 rulemaking still in flux, JPMC and Plaid’s renewed deal may serve as both a template and a test case for the next phase of open banking in the US.
Financial data network Plaid has been in the fintech headlines of late for its new partnership with data and technology company Experian, and for the launch of its Plaid Protect fraud prevention solution.
“Today we’re launching Plaid Protect: a real-time fraud intelligence system that helps detect and prevent fraud from the moment a user first interacts with your app or service,” Plaid Head of Fraud Alain Meier wrote on the company blog. “By drawing on fraud signals across a billion devices in the Plaid network, Protect goes beyond what any single company can see—surfacing fraud patterns that exist between linked bank accounts, connections to financial apps and services, and more.”
Plaid Protect is built on an adaptive, machine learning-powered risk engine that provides real-time risk scores and attributes that evolve as the user context changes—from initial contact during onboarding through account linking to ongoing user activity. Calling their fraud model Trust Index (Ti), Plaid’s first production model can access 10,000 high-signal attributes including cross-app patterns, device history, bank account risk signals, and more. The Trust Index leverages network intelligence, bank account risk, consortium feedback, and advanced identity intelligence, keying in on fraud signals that are difficult for criminals to manipulate or fake. Plaid reported that one of the solution’s early adopters found in testing that enhancing verification for just 5% of its users would have intercepted nearly 40% of first-party fraud.
Currently available in beta, Plaid Protect provides an intuitive dashboard that uses semantic search powered by natural language. This means that users can ask questions about the data in plain English (i.e., “all users who opened new accounts in the last 30 days”) instead of needing to use SQL or custom queries.
“With this new lens on fraud, companies can reduce fraud losses, dramatically improve conversion, and make smarter decisions from the very first user interaction and every step thereafter,” Meier wrote.
Plaid’s new product announcement comes days after the company reported that it had partnered with fellow Finovate alum, Experian. The two firms have entered into a strategic collaboration designed to help businesses access cashflow solutions and expand financial inclusion.
“This is just the beginning of what we believe will be a very powerful relationship with Plaid,” Group President Financial Services of Experian North America Scott Brown said. “Together, we’re helping to accelerate the adoption of cashflow insights to drive faster decisions, stronger portfolios, and new financial opportunities for consumers. We’re achieving this while delivering an experience that is transparent and provides consumers with control every step of the way.”
Courtesy of the collaboration, financial institutions can access Plaid’s secure connectivity capabilities—used by 50% of all US bank account holders—and Experian’s expertise in advanced credit analytics and decisioning from a single solution. Once a borrower agrees to share cashflow data from their bank account as part of the loan application process, Plaid’s consumer reporting agency generates a Consumer Report on their behalf. The report is delivered securely to Experian which analyzes the applicant’s data, produces a predictive Cashflow Score or set of Cashflow Attributes, and delivers it to the lender in near real time.
The report features up to two years of historical data and cashflow information from 12,000+ financial institutions. Experian reports that its Cashflow Score provides an increase of as much as 25% in predictive performance compared to scores that rely on more conventional credit data. The new offering will empower banks, credit unions, and consumer lenders to accelerate decision-making, make more accurate risk assessments, and improve borrower outcomes.
“Our work with Experian is about removing long-standing barriers, making it easier for lenders to access consumer-permissioned data and make better decisions,” Plaid Chief Operating Officer Eric Sager said. “Together, we’re building a more inclusive, intelligent, and competitive financial system.”
Founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey and headquartered in San Francisco, Plaid introduced itself to Finovate audiences at our developers conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2014. In the years since, the company has grown into a major financial data network covering more than 12,000 financial institutions in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe. With partners including Venmo and fellow Finovate alums SoFi and Betterment, Plaid works with fintechs, Fortune 500 companies, and leading banks to enable their customers to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they count on every day.
The dust is still settling in the wake of Circle’s “buzzy IPO” in the words of MarketWatch. We’ll see if the fintech headlines can keep up this week!
Digital banking
KAF Digital Bank goes live with Temenos SaaS to bring Islamic digital banking services to customers in Malaysia.
ABN AMRO’s payment app Tikkie has developed a full-service bank, BUUT, that caters to younger customers.
Digital bank N26unveils an updated version of its premium subscription, N26 Go.
Open banking solutions provider Salt Edgepartners with digital banking experience platform Plumery.
Farsightraises $16 million in funding, announces Series A to automate financial workflows and decision-making.
Fraud prevention and identity verification
FrankieOne launches new risk and compliance platform that offers fraud detection and identity verification.
Cybercrime consultancy We Fight Fraud partners with Salv to facilitate intelligence sharing between financial institutions in Europe.
Regtech iDenfyteams up with international hosting provider SpaceCore to bring optimized customer verification to global hosting.
The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and the Bank of England (BoE) collaborate on testing to see if AI can spot fraudulent activity in retail payments data.
AML and CFT solutions provider AMLYZEonboards Advanzia Bank as part of its European expansion.
Veleraadds real-time account validation functionality to digital channels.
Legislation in California moves forward to give the state authority to seize unclaimed cryptocurrency assets held on exchanges after three years of inactivity.
Plaid raised $575 million in a down round valuing the company at $6.1 billion, which is less than half its 2021 valuation.
The funding will support employee restricted stock units tax obligations and provide internal liquidity.
Plaid’s delayed IPO likely reflects US open banking uncertainty, as the CFPB finalizes its data access rule. Waiting for regulatory clarity and consumer awareness could position Plaid for a stronger public debut down the road.
Financial data network Plaidannounced it has brought in $575 million in a round led by new investor Franklin Templeton, with existing investors NEA and Ribbit Capital, as well as new investors BlackRock and Fidelity, also contributing.
The Venture Round is a sale of common stock; Plaid has directly issued the new shares to raise capital. In a company blog post announcement, Plaid CEO and Co-Founder Zach Perret said that the funds will be used “to address employee tax withholding obligations related to the conversion of expiring restricted stock units (RSUs) to shares, and to offer some liquidity to our current team.”
While today’s funds increase Plaid’s total funding to $1.3 billion, the round revealed a decreased valuation for the California-based fintech. Once valued at $13.4 billion during fintech’s brief hype days of 2021, Plaid’s valuation is currently less than half that, at $6.1 billion.
In explaining the significant gap in valuation to the Financial Times, Perret said, “In 2025, tech multiples have massively compressed between the time that we raised last and today. What I will say is that the fundamentals of the business underneath are dramatically stronger than they were in 2021. Revenue is much higher.”
Plaid’s $575 million comes at a time of growth for the company. Not only did the fintech expand its product suite, but it also saw an increase in organizations building with its account connection tools. In 2024, Plaid boasted positive operating margins, saw a revenue increase of more than 25%, and experienced an increase in both the number companies and markets it serves. As a result, more than 1 in 2 Americans have used Plaid.
If you are wondering when Plaid plans to IPO, you’re not alone. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that Plaid will not go public this year, but it plans to continue tracking towards a public listing. “An IPO is certainly a part of the longer-term plan. We have not attached a specific timeline to it,” Perret told the Financial Times. “As I’ve said in the past, it will not be this year.”
Plaid’s decision to hold off on an IPO may also be a strategic move given the evolving state of open banking in the US. Unlike regions such as the UK and EU, where open banking is well-established and governed by clear regulatory frameworks such as PSD2, the US market remains in flux. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is currently working toward finalizing its proposed Personal Financial Data Rights rule under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, but the lack of formalized standards has created uncertainty for data aggregators like Plaid.
By delaying its public debut, Plaid may be seeking to ride out regulatory headwinds and position itself on more solid ground once clearer guidelines are in place. In addition to regulatory clarity, Plaid may also benefit from a recognition and understanding from mainstream consumers, many of whom have never heard the term “open banking.” Once regulations go into effect, banks will slowly begin in educate consumers on the benefits of open banking, and the concept of the value that Plaid brings will come to light. This regulatory clarity, combined with consumer understanding, could improve investor confidence and support a stronger valuation when the company ultimately decides to go public.
Plaid and Algebrik have forged a partnership to integrate consumer-permissioned data with Algebrik’s AI-powered, digital Loan Origination Platform (LOS).
The partnership will help credit unions make better, more accurate lending decisions and provide a frictionless, transparent process for borrowers.
Plaid made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Francisco.
A newly announced partnership between Algebrik and Plaid will bring seamless identity verification, financial data access, and better decision-making to lenders, banks, and credit unions. Algebrik is the company behind the world’s first, cloud-native, AI-powered, digital Loan Origination Platform (LOS). By integrating Plaid’s consumer-permissioned data, the company will be able to help its financial institution clients streamline the borrowing experience while maintaining both compliance and data security.
“Credit unions are the lifeblood of financial inclusion, and we’re excited to bring them cutting-edge technology that enhances their ability to serve their members by incorporating cash flow data into credit decisions,” Algebrik AI CEO and Founder Pankaj Jain said. “Partnering with Plaid allows us to reimagine the loan origination process — faster, more secure, and deeply personalized for every borrower.”
The access to consumer-permissioned real-time financial data will help credit unions and other lenders make better and faster lending decisions. Credit unions and community banks in particular are likely to realize significant operational advantages thanks to the partnership, including reduced time-to-decision and greater underwriting accuracy. The integration will help lenders conduct income verification and financial wellness assessments, while borrowers benefit from a lending experience with less friction and greater transparency.
“This alliance underscores Algebrik’s commitment to leveraging advanced technology to simplify and humanize the lending process,” Jain said. “Together with Plaid, we’re enabling credit unions to unlock greater value for their members while setting a new standard for lending efficiency and borrower satisfaction.”
Headquartered in New York, Algebrik was founded in 2024. The company’s mission is to help credit unions deliver digital loans to their members, revolutionizing the loan origination process by leveraging inclusive AI technology. In a world in which lenders and borrowers alike are faced with inefficiencies — from manual processes to disconnected systems — Algebrik blends AI-powered automation, intelligent insights, and seamless workflows to transform the loan lifecycle from borrower onboarding to loan closure.
Plaid made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Francisco. Today, the company boasts more than 100 million users on its data and insights network and more than 12,000 financial institutions. The company’s open finance network facilitates fast customer onboarding, account verification, multi-rail payments, fraud prevention, credit underwriting, and more. Zach Perret is CEO.
