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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
X (formerly Twitter) has selected Visa as its first payments partner to launch the XMoney Account.
X’s new payments feature will be powered by Visa Direct, which will enable instant P2P payments, transfers to bank accounts, and creator monetization within the social media app.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino expects that X’s in-app payments will debut later this year.
Visa and X (formerly Twitter) have partnered to facilitate payments on X, or what the company owner Elon Musk refers to as the “everything app.” According to a tweet from X CEO Linda Yaccarino, the XMoney Account, which will facilitate in-app payments, will debut later this year.
X will leverage Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to instantly send and receive money directly to an eligible debit card or X Wallet. Once users connect their debit card to allow for P2P payments, they will have the option to transfer the funds to their bank account.
A payment partnership has been in the works for a long time. Musk purchased X (which was then called Twitter) in 2022 for $44 million. That same year, the company filed with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and began obtaining necessary state licenses, as well. The move was one of the first steps Musk took to create an “everything app” that he envisions will help users manage their entire financial lives. Today, X Payments is licensed in 41 states.
According to CNBC, which spoke to someone familiar with the matter, “The X Money service is expected to launch in the first quarter, and deals with more financial partners are likely. One of the first use cases for X Money is to allow creators on the site to accept payments and store funds without external institutions.”
Once launched, XMoney will compete with formidable players such as Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Zelle. XMoney may be able to differentiate itself in this competitive space by integrating social media, content creation, and financial tools. This would position it as more than just a payments platform, but rather as a central hub for digital interactions, creator monetization, and financial management. Its success, however, will depend on its ability to gain user trust, ensure security, and offer functionality that rivals established players.
In a newly announced strategic collaboration, KYC Portal has teamed up with PwC UK and PwC Channel Islands. PwC UK and PwC Channel Islands will deploy KYC Portal CLM, the company’s client lifecycle management platform that features AML technology, including risk assessment tools and advanced due diligence (CDD) capabilities. For its part, PwC — with its international expertise in financial crime prevention, process management, and regulatory landscapes — will offer its services to KYC Portal customers.
“KYC Portal CLM is revolutionizing the way organizations manage compliance, risk, and client lifecycle processes,” KYC Portal Founder and CEO Kristoff Zammit Ciantar said. “Through this collaboration with PwC, we are empowering companies with an unparalleled combination of technical excellence and strategic insight. We are extremely proud to have been selected by PwC for such a collaboration and are very excited to start presenting our combined service playbook to both existing and new customers.”
An advanced collation CLM platform for CDD and AML data collection, KYC Portal CLM centralizes and simplifies the customer due diligence process. KYC Portal CLM lowers costs, customer touch points, and overall duration, boosting efficiencies by over 60% across the board. The no-code, real-time solution features dynamic configuration capabilities enabling users to change processes, requirements, outreach, risk, workflow, and more with a click of a button. KYC Portal CLM also features real-time counterparty risk assessment (CRA) via an automated risk engine with user-defined parameters, weights, combined risks, categories, and more.
“With KYC Portal CLM, we are well-positioned to help organizations navigate the complexities of compliance with confidence,” said Mark Loring, Partner, Financial Crime Managed Services Lead, London PwC UK. “Our collaboration allows us to offer a seamless blend of strategic consulting and technical capability to support organizations in achieving their compliance and operational goals.”
Founded in 2008, KYC Portal made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2019 in London. At the event, the company demoed its KYCP — Know Your Customer Portal — solution, which allows organizations to quickly collate all data relating to all kinds of subjects being assessed in a single, centralized, secure repository. This repository features fully customizable parameters, fields, rules, user permissions, and collaborative practices.
KYC Portal is headquartered in Malta, with offices in Spain. The company includes RBS International, Loomis, and Arie Finance among its customers. Last fall, KYC Portal launched a SaaS model of its on-premises CLM solution.
Austin, Texas-based regtech Abrigo has acquired Integrated Financial Solutions (IFS). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition will make IFS’s end-to-end lease and loan origination and management automation platform, IFSLeaseWorks, available to more organizations and institutions.
Abrigo made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateFall 2024 in New York.
Abrigo, a compliance, credit risk, and lending solutions provider for financial institutions, has acquired Integrated Financial Solutions (IFS). Terms were not disclosed.
Integrated Financial Solutions is the provider of IFSLeaseWorks, an end-to-end lease and loan origination and management automation platform. Abrigo’s acquisition will enable the firm to help financial institutions become more efficient via front- and back-office automation.
“Financial institutions are eager to grow while keeping an eye on profitability. That’s why the automation provided by the IFS solution is a great complement to the lending automation that Abrigo provides to our 2,400 financial institutions today,” said Jay Blandford, Abrigo Chief Executive Officer.
IFSLeaseWorks brings segments of equipment and vehicular financing to Abrigo’s existing loan origination and management platform. The solution also adds to Abrigo’s set of automation tools and boosts its asset management capabilities. This will help financial institutions both diversify their portfolios and potentially earn additional interest income. IFSLeaseWorks enhances efficiency and digitalization throughout the entire lease and loan transaction lifecycle. This includes transaction structuring and pricing through application processing, credit decisioning, documentation, billing, collection, and remarketing.
The acquisition comes at a time when the market for equipment leasing and software in the U.S. is growing. Based on research from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, the market grew at an annualized rate of 7% in the second quarter of 2024. The IFS/Abrigo combination will help meet this demand with solutions that bring digitalization and greater efficiency.
“The IFS team has built a powerful application for leasing companies,” IFS founder and CEO Mitch Kaufman said. “By joining with Abrigo, we see a bigger opportunity to share these capabilities with the market and continue innovating for our clients.”
Founded in 2000, Abrigo made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. At the conference, the Austin, Texas-based company demonstrated its fraud detection technology that combines AI/ML check image analysis, a nationwide fraud data consortium, and a configurable rules engine to spot altered items, forgeries, and fraudulent checks. Abrigo’s “targeted efficiency” approach reduces fraud losses and protects customers while saving time for financial institution personnel.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on February 25. Register today using this link and save 20%.
Arva AI
Arva AI offers AI-enabled business verification for banks and fintechs.
Features
Provides AI agents for document intelligence and fraud detection
Analyzes web presence
Communicates with customers
Who’s it for?
Banks, credit unions, payment providers, and fintechs.
Doshi App
Doshi App helps financial institutions deepen customer loyalty through engaging financial education that empowers better financial habits.
Features
Generates AI-driven customer insights for personalised CRM
Delivers plug-and-play financial education for easy integration
Offers scalable white-label solutions for seamless branding
Who’s it for?
Banks, credit unions, fintechs, lenders, and credit builders.
Plumery
Plumery’s cloud-native digital banking platform empower’s financial institutions of all sizes to craft distinctive, customer-centric mobile and web banking experiences.
Features
Drives 60% higher customer engagement through lifestyle integration
Generates 40% growth in transaction volume through embedded services
Creates new revenue streams through partnership models
Who’s it for?
Financial institutions of any size, ranging from large multinational banks to smaller regional players.
Xaver
Xaver empowers banks, insurers, and brokers with agentic AI-driven omnichannel sales capabilities to improve pension savings for millions of Europeans.
Features
Delivers up to 65% sales efficiency gains through autonomous AI financial advisors and AI co-pilots
Provides seamless omnichannel experiences bridging online and offline
Clutch raised $65 million Series B funding, bringing its total raised to over $106 million.
The investment, which will offer Clutch 200 months of cash runway, comes from Alkeon Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, TruStage Ventures, and Peterson Partners.
Clutch was founded in 2020 to provide digital account and loan opening tools that enable over 135 credit unions to compete with big tech by enhancing user experiences without overhauling existing systems.
California-based Clutch recently announced it raised $65 million in Series B funds. The round, which boosts Clutch’s total raised to more than $106 million, was led by Alkeon Capital Management with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, TruStage Ventures, and Peterson Partners.
Clutch was founded in 2020, the year that started financial services’ digital transformation wave. With its digital account opening and digital loan opening tools, the company helps credit unions create a modern experience to help them compete with big tech companies while improving the user experience. Clutch is partnered with 31 out of the 33 credit union leagues and has over 135 credit union clients that leverage its digital origination platform to offer their users a better loan and deposit experience.
Clutch CEO and Co-founder Nicholas Hinrichsen attributes the company’s success to its involvement in the credit union space. “Deeply understanding the nuances of the credit union’s business and technology helps us solve the right problems, the right way. We are all-in on credit unions because generic technologies that serve banks and Fintechs alike fail to promote the unique way that credit unions do business — it’s the uniqueness of credit unions and their mission that helps deliver exceptional value to members.”
According to Hinrichsen, today’s investment brings Clutch more than 200 months of cash runway. Clutch will use the funds to support its growth plans and product innovation. The company is investing in AI and expanded platform capabilities to help credit unions compete in an increasingly digital world.
“We strongly believe that we can best serve the credit union movement by partnering with the existing technology providers and thereby leveraging the investments our credit union clients have already made,” said Clutch Chief Product Officer and Co-founder Chris Coleman. “No credit union leader wakes up in the morning, wanting to kick off a two-year long LOS conversion. Replacing your LOS will cost you two years — two lost years with no real progress. Real progress happens when you work with companies like Clutch that enable you to serve your members like a Fintech while getting the most out of your existing systems,” added Clutch Head of Product Tamanna Kottwani.
As consumer expectations for seamless, digital-first experiences continue to rise, it is critical for financial institutions to stay ahead of the curve. This is especially challenging for credit unions, which often face constraints in funding and technical talent. This gap presents an opportunity for third-party fintechs like Clutch, which can help empower credit unions to level the playing field.
Brokerage-as-a-Service innovator DriveWealth has forged a partnership with fixed-income specialist Moment Technology.
The partnership will make fixed-income more accessible to investors by reducing minimum investment requirements that can be as much as $200,000.
New Jersey-based DriveWealth won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2016 in London.
Brokerage-as-a-Service innovator DriveWealth has teamed up with Moment Technology to make fixed-income investing more accessible to a broader range of investors. Together, the two companies seek to redefine fixed-income investing, reducing the minimum investment threshold of $200,000 on many international fixed income products.
“At DriveWealth, we’re committed to empowering our partners with innovative, seamless solutions that make investing simpler and more accessible,” DriveWealth CEO Michael Blaugrund said. “Our partnership with Moment is a major milestone in expanding access to fixed-income markets, enabling us to offer a consolidated API that integrates equities, bonds, and other asset classes. DriveWealth has pioneered eliminating investment barriers from day one — like with fractional equities in 2015 — and this partnership is a natural extension of that legacy.”
Investing in fixed income products like bonds traditionally has been very difficult for retail investors due to high minimum investment requirements and fragmented liquidity. Most U.S. bonds, for example, have a $10,000 or even $100,000 minimum investment requirement, even as most of these instruments carry a $1,000 par value. Bonds sold under Regulation S — which enables companies to raise capital from non-U.S. investors — typically feature investment minimums of $200,000 or more.
Given this challenge, DriveWealth consolidates bond liquidity sources to make bond investing more accessible and offers an API suite that simplifies and accelerates the onboarding process for its partners. This enables them to add new bond investment capabilities quickly and seamlessly to their offering. Along with DriveWealth’s strong relationships with bond dealers, liquidity providers, and liquidity marketplaces, Moment Technology’s platform serves as a streamlined, cost-effective solution that enables users to access these resources efficiently and transparently.
“Moment’s platform simplifies bond liquidity access, operating collaboratively to support DriveWealth’s efforts to break down traditional barriers and help investors to engage more easily with this previously underserved market,” Moment Technology CEO Dylan Parker said.
New York-based Moment Technology provides fixed income trading technology, market data, and portfolio management to wealth platforms. Moment’s partners benefit from a sophisticated Order & Execution Management System (OEMS), Risk Management System (RMS), Portfolio Management System (PMS), and Data & Analytics platform. Founded in 2022, the company includes Andreessen Horowitz among its investors; the firm led a $17 million Series A round for Moment back in 2023.
Founded in 2012, DriveWealth won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2016 in London. In the years since, the New Jersey-based company has brought its Brokerage-as-a-Service technology to banks, broker dealers, asset managers, digital wallet providers, and consumer brands throughout the U.S., Latin America, EMEA, and APAC. The company’s platform supports trading and investing in U.S. equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, options, and fixed income products. A pioneer of fractional share investing, DriveWealth leverages its platform, APIs, and innovative pricing to provide significant flexibility for investors regardless of their net worth.
In less than a month, FinovateEurope returns to London at the iconic O2 Intercontinental, bringing together the newest and best ideas in fintech for two, action-packed days (get your ticket before prices increase!). With insightful keynote presentations, panel discussions, and lots of networking opportunities, this event consistently brings incredible value to attendees.
Among the most anticipated highlights of the first day are the live demo sessions, where companies take the stage to showcase their latest product or service. Each company gets just seven minutes to demo their technology— no slides, no pre-recorded videos, just live demonstrations of what makes their solution unique.
This year, we’re thrilled that, out of the 30+ companies set to demo on the Finovate stage, 17 have never made an appearance at a Finovate event in the past. These new faces represent a fresh wave of innovation in areas like AI, cybersecurity, regtech, and payments, and others. They are new to us, and will likely be new to you, as well.
Arva AI Arva AI uses AI to increase the efficiency and strengthen compliance of business verification for banks and fintechs.
b-next b-next empowers firms to uncover market patterns and correlations, enabling them to make smarter decisions through advanced financial data analysis.
Byne Grassroots experimentation can enable teams to leverage GenAI flexibly and cheaply. Byne helps to encourage this innovation while mitigating security risks.
CyberUpgrade CyberUpgrade offers a cybersecurity co-pilot that helps CTOs offload 95% of ICT security and compliance tasks.
EKAI EKAI uses GenAI to reduce costs associated with data review and analysis, produce tangible insights, and streamline compliance program management to maximize ROI.
Keyless Keyless replaces traditional multi-factor authentication methods with automated biometric authentication, improving user experience and cutting costs.
Light Frame Light Frame offers private banks the foundational technology to streamline back-office operations, accelerate innovation, and elevate security and resilience to the modern standard.
Mati Labs Mati Labs helps financial institutions transform and grow by enabling AI adoption with robust data foundations, ensuring security and compliance, and fostering knowledge-based innovation.
Mifundo Mifundo offers data technology to unify and passport credit data in Europe, providing banks with a standardized credit risk assessment.
Moonjelly Moonjelly is a GenAI platform designed for the finance sector, enabling rapid investment research, automated memo generation, and intelligent document management to enhance decision-making and operational efficiency.
PayIP PayIP recovers money from Visa and Mastercard for banks and optimizes their billing costs going forward.
Plumery Plumery helps organizations drive growth by accelerating digital modernization, reducing time-to-market, enhancing customer experiences, and enabling continuous innovation by integrating with existing banking systems.
PromoComply By streamlining compliance for financial promotions, PromoComply cuts down significantly on the time and cost of maintaining compliant marketing, so organizations build trust with consumers and regulators.
R34DY R34DY helps organizations transform their business by taking the pain out of integrations and making it easy for business owners to create use cases and reduce time-to-market.
Regsearch AI Regsearch AI empowers organizations to save time, reduce compliance costs, and scale operations by automating regulatory processes with trusted, explainable, and transparent AI Agents.
RE-ViVE RE-ViVE helps BFSI organizations navigate the challenges of modernization by simplifying complex processes, unlocking actionable insights from vast data, and driving efficient, scalable transformation.
Xaver Xaver empowers organizations with AI-driven sales technology to enhance omnichannel customer journeys, improve sales efficiency, and expand or refine their financial product offerings.
In addition to the 17 companies above, we’ll also seethe following Finovate alums, as well as others, take the stage to demo.
Dimply Dimply helps banks and credit unions unlock greater value from their data and create beautiful, personalized, insightful, and resonant embedded financial experiences. Dimply recently demoed at FinovateFall 2024.
Doshi App Doshi App transforms transactional relationships into engaging user experiences that attract GenZ and support cross-sell opportunities. Doshi App demoed at FinovateEurope 2024.
Intrepid Fox Intrepid Fox automates key components of KYC review, such as document collection, which reduces onboarding time by 10x. Intrepid Fox demoed at FinovateEurope 2024.
PointChain PointChain is an AI-driven solution that enables real-time transaction monitoring and risk scoring for financial institutions. PointChain demoed at FinovateFall 2024.
Torus Torus improves financial and operational efficiency by enabling banks and fintechs with data-driven insights from the billing and transactional data they already have. Torus demoed at FinovateEurope 2024.
We’re excited to host all of these companies, as well as our speakers, panelists, and sponsors, on February 25 through 26 in London. Get your ticket soon to save, and we’ll see you there!
Reports of a major breakthrough in Chinese AI technology sent stocks reeling in the U.S. to begin the week. Here at Finovate’s Fintech Rundown, we’ve got one eye on the latest from DeepSeek and another eye on the latest developments in fintech.
As Monday begins, we share news of a partnership in the open banking space, an expansion into the APAC, and both new funding and new tools for business banking.
Open banking
Tink and Adyenteam up with prepaid platform Recharge to offer its German customers Pay by Bank services.
Payments
Visa and South Korean fintech DealMeteam up to offer cross-border card installment payments.
Canadian paytech Nuveiexpands into the APAC region on the completion of its acquisition of Paywiser Japan and granting of its acquiring license from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
Skipifypartners with Retail Realm to launch identity-powered payments for Microsoft Dynamics 365 merchants.
Cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions, Alkami Technologylaunches its Business Banking Digital Maturity Assessment tool.
Shanghai Commercial Bank partners with Hong Kong-based digital banking solutions provider Planto.
Alliant credit union selectsBackbase to accelerate banking innovation.
The regulatory landscape for fintechs and financial services companies operating in the European Union is expected to undergo significant changes this year, with new standards, guidelines, and rules governing payments, data privacy, digital assets, and more.
In this week’s edition of Finovate Global, we caught up with Maya Shabi, Senior Risk Strategist with EverC, a firm that provides tech-driven risk management solutions for ecommerce companies. In our extended conversation, Shabi discusses the policy and regulatory changes that are expected in the EU in 2025, what these changes are designed to achieve, and how they will impact fintechs, financial services companies, and their customers.
Founded in 2015, EverC offers a fully-automated, AI-driven, cross-channel risk management platform that helps drive growth for innovators in the online seller ecosystem. With domain expertise in risk intelligence, data science, and payments, EverC scans 30 million items a day — more than 10 billion products since inception — helping businesses detect and remove high-risk merchants, products, and services so they can safely grow and expand into new verticals and new markets.
In your opinion, did the regulatory environment of 2024 help or hinder innovation in fintech and financial services in the EU?
Maya Shabi: The EU’s regulatory push has been a double-edged sword for innovation in fintech and financial services. On the one hand, clear and consistent rules across member states have lowered barriers to entry, making it easier for fintech companies to collaborate, innovate, and scale across the EU. On the other hand, tighter regulations come with higher compliance costs and can limit the flexibility that’s often critical for driving rapid innovation. Given how quickly crime risks evolve in the financial sector, especially with the advent of AI, I see the overall impact of EU regulations as balanced — supporting innovation in some areas while slowing it down in others.
One early issue will be compliance with the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR). What is this policy about? What are the implementation challenges and what are the opportunities for those that get it right?
Shabi: The Instant Payment Regulation (IPR) is designed to make instant euro payments secure and accessible across the EU. Its goal is to modernize the region’s payments landscape by improving the speed and efficiency of transactions within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). SEPA is a broad payment integration initiative that allows consumers and businesses to make cross-border euro payments under the same conditions as domestic transactions, simplifying and unifying payments across EU member states and a few neighboring countries.
With the IPR in place, PSPs must offer instant payment services that process transactions within 10 seconds and are available 24/7 for all euro payments. For European consumers, this means faster, more reliable payments without delays —even during weekends or holidays. It enhances convenience, supports smoother online shopping experiences, and improves cash flow for businesses by eliminating waiting times for fund transfers.
Implementing the IPR presents several challenges for PSPs and other financial institutions. Many FIs need to significantly upgrade their payment processing systems to handle real-time transactions, which also need to uphold fraud detection and AML/CTF rules in real time. The cost of upgrading systems alone is huge, not to mention the added technical challenge of ensuring interoperability between different PSPs and banks across borders. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that not all FIs have the same level of digital maturity, leaving many to play catch-up.
That said, there are several opportunities for those who comply with the IPR sooner rather than later. Early adopters of IPR-compliant systems can position themselves as leaders in innovation and customer service. Offering seamless, instant payments can attract more customers and build trust. Additionally, faster cross-border payments lower barriers for businesses to expand across the EU.
Another policy that will kick in early in 2025 is DORA, the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act. What does this policy call for and why is it important?
Shabi: The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a pivotal regulation aimed at strengthening the financial sector’s ability to withstand digital disruptions and cyber threats. It sets clear IT security standards, focusing on managing information and communication technology (ICT) risks, improving incident reporting, and overseeing third-party ICT service providers. Financial institutions will be required to assess “concentration risk” when outsourcing critical or significant operations to external vendors.
For some added context, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) emphasizes protecting personally identifiable information (PIII) through consent and data security, whereas DORA shifts the focus to the digital supply chains of financial institutions. This introduces a new and potentially more challenging regulatory environment that pushes firms to strengthen their defenses against IT disruptions. It is designed to prevent major outages, like the devastating CrowdStrike software update last summer, from crippling banking, payment, and investment services. Under DORA, similar service interruptions will be met with stricter oversight and accountability, driving firms to prioritize digital resilience. Otherwise, non-compliance could lead to fines of up to 2% of a firm’s annual global revenue, and individual managers could face personal penalties of up to €1 million for breaches.
In terms of new open banking regulations, what are your expectations?
Shabi: Open banking regulations opened the door for greater innovation and competition, but they also brought meaningful friction as FIs worked to keep up with rising fraud risks. Under the EU’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), banks are required to share customer data with third-party providers through APIs — a move that, while promoting transparency and choice, also widens the attack surface for cybercriminals. It increases the risk of data breaches, identity theft, and payment fraud.
To counter these threats, PSD2 and its upcoming successor, the Third Payment Services Directive (PSD3), mandate stronger security measures like enhanced customer authentication and tighter oversight of third-party access. While these safeguards are critical, they can slow down user experiences and complicate partnerships. Still, this added friction is necessary to strike a balance between the advantages of open banking and the growing need to protect consumers and the broader financial system. Given that the PSD3 is expected to take hold in late 2025 or early 2026, FIs must prepare to ensure they remain compliant.
The EU AI Act passed in 2024. What kind of impact will this regulation have in 2025 and what should companies in financial services be doing now?
Shabi: Governments worldwide are racing to regulate the perceived risks of artificial intelligence. The US issued an AI Executive Order, the UK released a non-binding Declaration of Principles, and China introduced what appears to be a business-friendly AI framework. The EU’s AI Act marks the most significant step yet toward bringing structure to an industry that has largely operated like the Wild West, at least for now.
What makes the EU AI Act stand out is its risk-based approach. Instead of applying blanket regulations to all AI technologies, it scales oversight based on the potential for societal harm — the greater the risk, the stricter the rules. This method strikes a crucial balance between fostering innovation and protecting fundamental rights. In the payments industry, we’re no strangers to how effective a risk-based framework can be when navigating the fine line between managing risk and driving innovation.
Notably, over 100 companies – from global corporations to smaller financial institutions – have already pledged to comply with the AI Act ahead of its full enforcement. This early buy-in signals broad industry support or, at the very least, an interest in collaboration. Even critics who argue the law is either too sweeping or too narrow recognize that engaging with regulators and key stakeholders is often the smarter path. By collaborating early, companies can help shape the conversation surrounding AI instead of being sidelined and forced to comply without having a voice.
Other areas that are likely to receive regulatory scrutiny in 2025 in the EU are crypto and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). What developments are most likely for businesses in these spaces?
Shabi: Complying with the MiCA framework is the first thing that comes to mind when cryptocurrency and the EU are mentioned in the same sentence. MiCA is the EU’s first comprehensive legal framework for crypto assets that introduces clear and consistent rules across member states. Although it’s been in development for several years, key compliance deadlines took effect in 2024 and will continue through 2025. We’re already seeing major crypto firms like Coinbase adjusting their operations to meet MiCA’s requirements, while others are reassessing their market strategies — some even shifting focus to countries with more relaxed crypto regulations. For any crypto business operating in the EU, heavy compliance standards are becoming the norm, much like other industries that come with significant AML/CTF risks.
BNPL, however, presents a different regulatory challenge. In many ways, BNPL is just a modern spin on subprime lending — a long-standing issue in financial services when it comes to consumer protection. The explosive growth of BNPL services has raised concerns about rising consumer debt, as the lack of transparency about fees, terms, and penalties leaves consumers exposed to hidden costs. Additionally, weak credit checks and poor due diligence practices heighten the risk of users falling into financial overextension. These issues harm individual financial stability and pose systemic risks, especially since BNPL providers often operate across borders with inconsistent oversight.
To address these concerns, regulators across the globe are scrambling to regulate BNPL providers similarly to traditional credit frameworks. EU regulators updated the Consumer Credit Directive to strengthen consumer protections in the credit market, explicitly covering BNPL services. For businesses operating in this space, this means significant regulatory changes are on the horizon. EU member states must implement the directive into national law by November 20, 2025, with full enforcement beginning on November 20, 2026.
By this time next year, what areas of fintech/financial services do you think will have benefitted the most from greater regulatory clarity? Where do you anticipate that more work will be needed?
Shabi: By this time next year, crypto-assets, payments, and RegTech will likely be the biggest winners from greater regulatory clarity in the EU. The full rollout of the MiCA will finally bring consistency across member states, giving crypto firms the green light to develop secure, consumer-friendly products without second-guessing compliance. Likewise, updates to the Payment Services Directives are set to streamline open banking, tightening data security while making it easier for fintechs to access and use consumer data — fueling innovation in payments.
Simultaneously, the growing complexity of EU compliance is driving up demand for RegTech solutions. Fintech companies offering tools to automate compliance, manage risk, and strengthen cybersecurity will be well-positioned for growth as firms scramble to meet evolving requirements under regulations like DORA as well as AML/CTF directives. Ideally, this regulatory progress will create a more stable, trustworthy environment that supports responsible innovation across the financial sector.
However, several areas still need more attention. The EU AI Act doesn’t fully address how AI is used in financial services — especially in critical areas like credit scoring and fraud detection — leaving gaps around transparency, data use, and risk management. Cross-border payments and digital identity systems also remain fragmented, making it harder to streamline transactions and verify users across the EU.
Emerging asset classes like NFTs and tokenized assets are another blind spot, lacking comprehensive oversight and leaving both consumers and markets exposed to risk. Smaller fintechs, too, may struggle to keep up with strict cybersecurity and operational resilience requirements under DORA, highlighting the need for more scalable compliance pathways. Closing these gaps will be key to ensuring the EU can balance innovation with long-term financial stability and consumer protection.
How will this evolving regulatory landscape impact your customers and the work EverC does for them?
Shabi: As platforms and payments continue to evolve, bringing more of our finances (and our lives) online, fraudsters will continue to exploit these opportunities, and regulators will continue to create structures to protect consumers. The evolving regulatory landscape is a challenge that marketplaces and payment providers must meet to continue doing business successfully.
The cost of noncompliance — in terms of enforcement actions and fines, lawsuits, decreased revenue, and loss of reputation and consumer trust — will always outweigh the cost of creating and maintaining a solid risk and compliance strategy. With technology, we can fight fraud and make ecommerce and digital finance safer while allowing our customers to benefit from operational efficiencies and more effective resource allocation.
EverC enables payment providers, ecommerce players, and financial institutions to meet these challenges with customer-centric innovation. That innovation is accelerated with the power of GenAI for scalable, tech-forward solutions. Our experts stay current with regulatory trends so we can anticipate and meet our customers’ needs as they navigate this rapidly evolving landscape.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
German fintech 21X partnered with AllUnity, a joint venture between DWS, Flow Traders, and Galaxy Digital.
Lithuania-based Urbo Bank (formerly Medicinos Bankas) announced a collaboration with certified payment technology company DECTA to go live with Visa card issuing services.
Dubai-based cybersecurity firm CyberHive inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with business planning and operations smart solutions provider Meerana.
Israel-based conversational AI innovator and Finovate Best of Show winner eSelf.ai raised $4.5 in seed funding.
Egyptian financial services company Paymob secured a Retail Payment Services (RPS) license from the Central Bank of the UAE.
Brazilian fintech Nubank partnered with Mexican convenience store chain Oxxo to expand its cash deposit and withdrawal network.
El Salvador bought twelve Bitcoin this week despite an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce its activity in the cryptocurrency market.
Philippines-based Netbank partnered with Discovery Credit Solutions Corporation (DCSC) to launch a new solution to optimize loan management.
South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) fined KakaoPay and ApplePay $5.8 million for violations of the country’s Personal Information Protection Act.
Revolutlaunched its robo-advisor service in Singapore.
Neonomics has acquired UK-based payments and data provider Ordo to expand its services in the UK and beyond.
Specifically, Neonomics will leverage Ordo’s expertise in Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) and pay-by-bank tools.
The acquisition has been approved by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway.
Norway-based open banking innovator Neonomics has offered its payments and financial data solutions since 2017. This week, the company purchased Ordo, a UK-based open banking payments and data service provider.
Financial terms of the agreement, which was approved by both the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, were not disclosed.
Ordo was founded by former members of the UK Faster Payments scheme in 2014, becoming an FCA authorized open banking payments provider. The company’s payments and data services include variable recurring payments as well as pay-by-bank tools.
“We are proud to join forces with one of the most well positioned independent open banking providers in Europe, to jointly scale our offering to both existing and new customers across the UK and Europe,” said Ordo CoFounder and Managing Director Fliss Berridge. “The two teams bring a wealth of experience in developing tailored solutions in a complex and highly regulated environment at what we believe will be among the industry’s most competitive commercial terms.”
Neonomics delivers payment initiation and account information services to a wide range of businesses, as well as a pay-by-bank app directed at consumers. The company also offers a newly launched AI tool, Nello AI, to serve as a personal finance manager app to motivate consumers with a monthly financial review, daily spending meter, a chatbot, and more.
“The team at Ordo represents some of the most experienced payments experts in the UK, having a leading voice across many of the most important forums that span the UK and EU in shaping how open banking will evolve,” said Neonomics Founder and CEO Christoffer Andvig. “This acquisition strengthens our commercialization strategy and time to market while expanding our product offering.”
Neonomics will leverage Ordo to help it accelerate its growth by offering services in the UK and other regions. With Ordo’s UK-centric payment tools, including its Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) capability, Neonomics plans to build a more open and connected economy.
The agreement comes as new payments regulations, including the Payments Services Regulation (PSR) and the third Payment Services Directive (PSD3), sit on the horizon. These regulations are expected to standardize open banking practices, enhance consumer protection, and drive further adoption of open banking solutions across Europe.
Acquiring Ordo positions Neonomics to benefit from these changes. The company’s payment suite and data tools are suited to offer more connected and seamless payments that are tailored to the continuously evolving regulatory landscape.
Method Financial has raised $41.5 million in Series B funding.
The funding round, led by Emergence Capital and joined by investors like avra and Samsung Next, brings Method’s total funding to $60 million.
The company plans to use the funds to enhance loan refinance automation, expand card network integrations, and deepen banking relationships.
Financial connectivity API provider Method Financial has raised $41.5 million. The Series B round was led by Emergence Capital. New investors avra and Samsung Next also participated, along with existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Y-Combinator, and Ardent Venture Partners.
Today’s round more than doubles Method Financial’s previous funding total, bringing the company’s total funding to $60 million. The company will use today’s round to accelerate delivery of its loan refinance automation and expand into other use cases that leverage card network integrations. It will also deepen its banking relationships to deliver more competitive products and expand credit card network integrations to streamline checkout.
“Our latest round of funding will help us build on Method’s already strong growth trajectory. Our team takes immense pride in supporting millions of Americans on their financial journeys while helping lenders and fintechs increase conversion with better user experience and engagement,” said Method CoFounder and CEO Jose Bethancourt. “As we serve new markets with our growing data and payment capabilities, we are thrilled to collaborate with Emergence and avra, as well as our existing investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, YC, and other leading stakeholders in fintech.”
Method was founded in 2021 to provide real-time, permissioned read/write access at 15,000 financial institutions, without requiring a consumer’s username and password. The company’s APIs power end-to-end refinance experiences, real-time account data access, and one-click checkout for over 60 fintechs, lenders, and FIs including Aven, Upgrade, SoFi, and PenFed. Since launch, Method has enabled 30 million passwordless account connections for 4 million consumers and has facilitated over $500 million in liability repayments.
“Method’s strength lies in the broad usability of its data and payment products across a wide range of industries and verticals,” said avra Managing Partner Anu Hariharan. “Initially, Method enabled lenders to offer competitive financial products by providing real-time visibility into consumer debts. Now, they are increasingly expanding their reach, supporting new use cases like card linking and new verticals like retail and travel.”
Method recently launched a new credit card connectivity solution called Card Connect, which offers transaction-level data. Since launching Card Connect, Bilt Rewards saw two million users connect 10 million cards to earn points on their eligible purchases.
Method recently demoed at FinovateSpring 2024, where it showcased its Connect, Data, and Pay APIs. During the demo, Method explained how the tools essentially serve as a single sign on (SSO) for all of a user’s liabilities without exposing their personal information.
Method Financial fits into the growing ecosystem of financial connectivity providers like Plaid, MX, and Finicity. However, Method differentiates itself with its unique focus on liabilities and its write capabilities that enable integration and real-time updates. Overall, Method is suited to feed the increasing demand for open banking APIs as consumers, banks, and fintechs continue to seek real-time data aggregation.
Face-to-face conversational AI innovator eSelf has raised $4.5 million in seed funding.
The round was led by Explorer Investments, and featured participation from Ridge Ventures, as well as strategic angel investors.
Based in Israel, eSelf won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023 in New York.
Here’s some alumni funding news that slipped beneath our radar: eSelf, which offers a platform that enables businesses to build face-to-face conversational AI agents, has secured $4.5 million in seed funding. eSelf won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023. The company announced its successful seed round in December.
The funding was led by Explorer Investments with participation from Ridge Ventures and strategic angel investors, including Eyal Manor, former VP of Engineering at YouTube and current Chief Product & Engineering Officer at Twilio.
Along with its funding announcement, eSelf unveiled its platform for building conversational AI agents. These customized AI agents can have face-to-face video conversations with customers, and seamlessly integrate with existing business systems and processes. eSelf provides a self-service studio in which businesses can configure their virtual agents’ personality, knowledge base, and capabilities — without needing any specialized skills or technical expertise.
“We’ve developed a unified engine that processes speech, understanding, and visual elements simultaneously, allowing us to achieve response times of under one second which is crucial for natural conversation,” eSelf Co-Founder and CEO Alan Bekker explained. “Unlike other solutions that simply animate faces for voice responses, our platform is a complete visual comprehension engine. This means (that) our AI agents can actively engage with visuals in real-time — showcasing property tours, educational content, or presentation slides during conversations. By enabling businesses to create sophisticated, customized agents through our self-service studio, we aim to transform how they engage with customers at scale.”
Use cases for eSelf’s virtual agents have been diverse. Christie’s uses the agents as a first point of contact for potential buyers at its real estate brokerage firm in Portugal. Brazilian digital bank, AGI Bank, deploys the agents to help its 10 million customers access the institution’s digital banking services. Hong Kong-based financial services company DL Holdings leverages eSelf’s technology to provide financial advice to its customers in both English and Mandarin. eSelf reports that its technology currently powers “millions of real-time conversations.”
eSelf made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023. At the conference, the company won Best of Show for a demonstration of its virtual agent technology that serves as an additional workforce for sales and customer success teams. eSelf’s virtual agents bring face-to-face communications to large language models, providing a human-like experience and a positive user journey that enhances the sales process and minimizes human involvement.
eSelf recently announced that its face-to-face conversational engine produces responses faster than ChatGPT Voice as well as other conversational AI technologies. “Shorter latency means smoother, more natural interactions — no awkward pauses, just real-time conversations that feel human,” Bekker wrote on the eSelf LinkedIn page last month. “This is just the beginning. We’re building toward instant replies with immersive, visually rich outputs that redefine human-machine interaction.”
Headquartered in Israel, eSelf was founded in 2022.
