There is a race to the top in Agentic commerce, and Google is here to make sure its name is front and center. The tech giant launched its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard for agentic commerce, and payments companies like PayPal and Ant International are jumping on board. Read on for more fintech news headlines. We’ll continue to add more announcements as the week progresses.
DeFi
Rain raises $250 million Series C to scale stablecoin-powered payments infrastructure for global enterprises.
BNY extends digital cash capabilities for institutional clients.
Ripple receives FCA permissions to scale Ripple Payments in the UK.
Payments and Commerce
Walmart and Google partner to launch agent-led commerce.
FIS launches tool to help banks participate in agentic commerce.
PayPal announces support of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).
Google launches the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard for agentic commerce.
MoneyHash and Spare partner to advance open banking adoption in the UAE.
Global Payments completes acquisition of Worldpay and divestiture of issuer solutions business.
Emburse launches Invoice Tax Validation to help global businesses comply with growing wave of e-invoice regulation.
Affirm updates underwriting with enhanced signals to better reflect consumers’ real-time finances.
AMLYZE partners with Vinted Pay as it expands payment infrastructure.
Digital banking
The State of Georgia Department of Banking and Finance has officially accepted Checkout.com‘s application for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter.
Wio Bank unveils first UAE bank account for content creators.
Prometeo becomes a member of FDATA.
Open banking
Plaid welcomes Jelena McWilliams as its President of Corporate and External Affairs.
Investing
Arcesium opens Hong Kong office to support growing APAC client demand.
BWT Alpine Formula One Team partners with eToro ahead of the 2026 season.
Small business solutions
Xero introduces enterprise-grade analytics to empower small businesses to make smarter, faster decisions.
Fraud and identity
SavvyMoney partners with Allstate Identity Protection to deliver fraud restoration services to customers.