As back-to-school and back-to-office upgrades peak, certified refurbished specialist Orbit365 says most buyers are paying for processing power they don’t need and getting a shorter-lived machine for the privilege.   UK consumers could be overspending by as much as £420 million a year on laptops specced far beyond what they’ll ever…Read the full article on TechBullion.

Growing up in Montana, community banking was the only type of banking I ever knew until I left town for college. My best friend’s mom worked at the bank down the street, and all of the tellers recognized my parents when we walked into the branch. My mom started her own business by obtaining a working line of credit after presenting a business plan and a promise. As a kid, I thought every town worked this way. Now, decades later, looking back on those experiences offers important insights into banking. Community banking, especially in a small town, has always depended on trust, reputation, personal connections, and long-term relationships. When I switched to a digital-only bank in 2006, that sense of connection largely disappeared. My relationship with the bank felt less personal and more centered on the transactions I was making. That disconnect may help explain why so many fintechs now invest heavily in recreating digitally what community banks have spent generations building in person. Personalization, customer engagement, financial wellness, AI assistants, and customer relationship management may sound modern, but the underlying ideas are not. Community banks have long relied on knowing their customers, understanding their needs, and building loyalty over time. In 2026, those same goals remain priorities across the financial services industry. Because community banks already understand many of the qualities customers value most, they do not need to imitate megabanks. They do, however, need technology that helps them extend those strengths. With the right partners, community banks can serve customers faster, automate manual work, strengthen fraud detection, and give employees more time to focus on meaningful customer interactions. The opportunity will help strengthen the relationship-driven model by supporting it with digital tools and workflows that meet rising customer expectations. This technology gap is exactly what the Community Bank Spotlight at FinovateFall seeks to bridge. On September 11, we’re hosting a special breakfast session open only to community banks and a few selected fintechs, that will provide executives a place to share best practices, talk through common challenges, and discover innovative solutions. If you’re interested in attending the Community Bank Spotlight at FinovateFall, reach out to billy.smith@informa.com to get yourself on the guest list. Keep in mind that space is limited, and only community bank employees are eligible to attend. The post What Montana Taught Me About the Future of Community Banking appeared first on Finovate.       

Nevada gaming regulators are asking a court to fine Kalshi $120,000 per day, alleging that the prediction market operator continued to offer prohibited event contracts in the state after a court-ordered deadline. The request moves Nevada’s dispute with Kalshi from the broader question of who can regulate prediction markets to a narrower one: whether the company complied with an existing injunction while that larger case continues. In July, Kalshi agreed to use GeoComply and block trading from Nevada by Aug. 12, 2026. However, the regulator claims its investigators could still access the platform after the deadline. The court has not ruled on the request or imposed a final amount. If it accepts the state’s position and counts the alleged violation through Aug. 17, the requested penalty would amount to about $600,000. Kalshi Blames the Testers According to The Nevada Independent, the control board said in a court filing that Kalshi “has profited enormously from its continued violations of Nevada law.” State investigators said they were able to buy sports, election and entertainment contracts from Nevada through mobile phones, including through a previous version of the app that was not covered by the geoblocking. Kalshi disputes the state’s account. In a Friday letter to the board, the company’s attorneys said investigators “were able to place a trade because they had violated federal law by misrepresenting their residence to Kalshi, and, in at least one instance, actively worked to circumvent the Kalshi restrictions that blocked the investigator from trading.” That creates a practical enforcement dispute. Nevada says Kalshi made access impossible from inside the state. Kalshi says the trades regulators cited depended on testers using false information or bypassing restrictions.Another Contempt Fight This is not the first escalation over geofencing. In June, the Nevada Gaming Control Board also asked a court to hold Kalshi in contempt over alleged non-compliance with a May order requiring it to block access to sports, election and entertainment contracts from within Nevada. That request also cited a proposed penalty of $120,000 per day, but the the judge has not imposed the daily fine in either round. The parties are also waiting for the Ninth Circuit to rule on the broader question of Nevada’s authority over Kalshi’s event contracts. That leaves two tracks running at once: while the appeals court considers whether Nevada can prohibit the contracts, the state is asking a court to punish Kalshi for allegedly violating the existing order. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

SoftBank has invested $200m in Swiss robotics startup Gravis Robotics, in what has been billed as a record investment. Gravis says the Series A funding round, in which the Japanese investor was the sole investor, is the largest Series A in construction robotics history. It follows the Swiss startup raising $23m in a funding round in November last year. The Swiss startup, which was spun out of ETH Zurich university, builds autonomous tech for heavy construction machines. It has built software which transforms existing excavators and other heavy equipment into autonomous machines, operating without human drivers, which carry out work on construction sites. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son sees the fast-growing robotics sector as a key tech channel for SoftBank, which has backed the likes of OpenAI, Alibaba, and Yahoo!, to invest in. The startup said it will use the funding to scale autonomous heavy machinery globally. Dominic Jud, CTO and co-founder of Gravis Robotics, said: “Skilled operators read the earth through subtle physical feedback - listening to the engine strain, sensing the machine vibration and reacting to hydraulic resistance. Our AI takes that same physical input and grounds it in machine telemetry, responding to varying subterranean forces and soil mechanics at microsecond speeds. We didn’t try to simplify the world for our software; we gave it the physical intuition to handle real job sites with precision that goes beyond what any human can feel from inside the cab.”

Selected customers in Singapore can sign up for Revolut’s Ultra tier at S$89.99 a month or S$899 a year, now the most expensive debit card offering in the market. Revolut’s own help centre and a promotional terms page, running from 11 August to 17 November 2026, confirm the tier, though Revolut hasn’t made a public announcement. Per Revolut’s help centre, Ultra includes unlimited airport lounge access with DragonPass fast track, 1.5% cashback on card spending, fee-free currency exchange including on weekends, S$3,500 in monthly fee-free ATM withdrawals, and travel and everyday protection insurance underwritten by Tokio Marine. Membership also bundles subscriptions to ChatGPT, Financial Times, Foodpanda, NordVPN, and ClassPass. The promotional terms page sets out the actual mechanics for eligible customers: a 10% discount for the first three months, on an underlying 12-month contract term. Customers who cancel between 14 days and six months after claiming the offer face an early cancellation fee equivalent to one month’s subscription (S$89.99); cancelling within the first 14 days gets a full refund. Revolut has operated in Singapore since 2019 under MAS licence PS20200326, and Raymond Ng, the company’s actual CEO for Singapore and Southeast Asia, has said Revolut aims to be “an everyday usage app” as it expands across the region. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on an image by dikarte via Magnific. The post Revolut’s Ultra To Debut in Singapore as The Priciest Debit Card at S$899 Annually appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Cars that run on software offer benefits automakers and many customers say older cars cannot compete with. But some analysts worry the vehicles might not last.

PayPal is still reportedly negotiating a potential sale to Stripe and private equity firm Advent, as the fintech firm's new CEO attempts to turn the company around.

ETH Zurich spin-off Aisot Technologies has raised CHF 2 million in a seed extension round. Existing and new investors backed the financing, including family offices and angel investors. Felix Haldner, a former Partner at Partners Group and former President of the Swiss Funds & Asset Management Association, joined as a new investor. The latest financing follows a CHF 1.8 million seed round in 2023 led by Haute Capital Partners. The company develops technology for institutional investors that combines quantitative financial analysis, machine learning and news sentiment analysis powered by large language models. Its platform helps larger asset managers identify additional investment signals while supporting portfolio forecasting, construction and personalisation. It also gives smaller firms access to professional data, AI and quantitative infrastructure without having to build and operate their own systems. Stefan Klauser Stefan Klauser, Co-Founder and CEO of Aisot Technologies, said, “The fact that our existing investors continue to expand their trust, while we’ve also gained experienced figures like Felix Haldner as new supporters, confirms we’re on the right path. We want to help wealth managers in Switzerland and internationally to integrate AI into their investment processes in a way that is well-founded, transparent and impactful.” Felix Haldner Felix Haldner said, “We are convinced that aisot’s solutions can generate significant efficiency gains for asset and wealth managers, including in analysis, portfolio management and product development. Aisot Technologies’ models also deliver signals across different investment strategies, with the aim of contributing to return optimisation,” Founded in 2021, Aisot Technologies is based in Zurich and has a network of employees and partners across Europe, Asia and the United States.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Who is Danny via Magnific The post ETH Zurich Spin-Off Aisot Technologies Raises CHF 2 Million appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Fintech users often contact support when payments or connections fail. Plaid Link now offers an AI tool to address these problems right away. The Fin AI Agent steps in to guide users through fixes. Table of Contents Key Facts Simple Breakdown Why This Matters What's Next Key Facts The Fin AI Agent is now part of Plaid Link. It helps when users report issues with connections or payments. Most support questions involve things not working as expected. The tool aims to speed up responses for fintech customers. Plaid focuses on open banking links between banks and apps. Simple Breakdown Plaid Link lets apps connect to bank accounts safely. This is key for open banking and Digital Payments. The new AI agent acts like a smart helper. It answers questions about errors or failed links. Users get quick tips without waiting for a person. The system spots common problems in real time. Why This Matters Support teams handle many calls about broken links or payment fails. This AI tool cuts wait times for answers. It lets human staff focus on hard cases. Fintech apps can keep users happy with faster help. Better support builds trust in digital payments and embedded finance tools. What's Next More fintech firms may add similar AI helpers soon. The tool could grow to cover more payment types. Users might see even quicker fixes as the AI learns. Watch for updates in open banking services over the coming months. ⚡ Key Takeaways Plaid Link now has an AI agent for support tasks. The tool targets common issues like failed connections. It reduces time spent on basic support questions. Fintech users gain faster help with payments. The change supports open banking and digital finance. Teams can handle more complex problems with AI aid. Expect similar tools in other payment platforms. FAQ What does the Fin AI Agent do in Plaid Link? It helps users fix issues like failed bank links or payment errors. Why add AI to fintech support? AI handles simple questions fast so staff can focus on tough cases. Is this change only for US users? The update applies to Plaid Link users in supported regions. How soon can users try the AI agent? It is now live in Plaid Link for immediate access. Conclusion The Fin AI Agent marks a step toward quicker help in payments. Fintech firms will likely build on this idea. Users should see smoother experiences ahead. Sources Finextra (2026-06-04)