The visit was full of friendly overtures, orchestrated pageantry, business dealmaking, and headline-grabbing sideshows.

Embedded BNPL provider equipifi has raised $34 million in Series B funding to help banks and credit unions offer pay-over-time options directly within their own platforms. equipifi’s infrastructure enables consumers to access BNPL through their existing banking app and debit card without opening a new account, filling out an application, or using a third-party provider. equipifi’s growth reflects a broader shift in BNPL from a standalone fintech product into embedded financial infrastructure. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) infrastructure company equipifi has raised $34 million in Series B funding. The new round boosts the Arizona-based company’s total funding to $49 million. The investment was led by Left Lane, with participation from existing investors Curql, PHX Ventures, New Stack Ventures, SixThirty Fund, Baleon Capital, Rise of the Rest, and SaaS Ventures. New strategic partners, SWBC and the Bankers Helping Bankers Fund, also contributed. equipifi was founded in 2021 to offer consumers access to pay-over-time solutions from their preferred banking provider, not through a third party. The company’s solution helps banks and credit unions compete in an era when consumers have begun to expect BNPL as an option and crave flexibility without the need for a credit card. equipifi powers BNPL for millions of checking accounts with its tool that natively embeds BNPL options inside the bank’s own platform without requiring the user to fill out an application or undergo a credit check. “A consumer opens their banking app,” the company explained on its website. “There’s a flexible payment option waiting for them. On the debit card already in their wallet. No new account. No application. No third-party service. They select their preferred term, tap accept, and they’re done. The institution just created a loan in real time, kept the relationship at the top, and gave the consumer something they didn’t think their bank could do.” equipifi views its embedded BNPL offering as an infrastructure play. The company calls it “infrastructure for modern credit” that places flexible payments options inside financial institutions’ existing platforms. equipifi plans to use today’s $34 million round to bring flexible payments to every financial institution in the country. The BNPL trend is interesting because when it first emerged over a decade ago, it wasn’t necessarily something customers were looking for. Now, however, BNPL tools have almost become table stakes. equipifi has proven that BNPL is no longer just a standalone fintech product competing against banks. Instead, it can work as embedded infrastructure that banks themselves want to own and integrate directly into their existing customer relationships. In this case, equipifi is positioning itself less as a consumer brand and more as an infrastructure provider powering the next generation of flexible payments behind the scenes. The post equipifi Raises $34 Million to Build Flexible Payments Infrastructure appeared first on Finovate.       

This week, we tracked more than 65 tech funding deals worth over €1.4 billion and over 5 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe. If email is more your thing, you can always subscribe to our newsletter and receive a more robust version of this round-up delivered to your inbox. Either way, let's get you up to speed. ? Notable and big funding rounds ?? Nscale secures $790M financing to underscore commitment to Norway data centre ??  Recursive Superintelligence emerges from stealth with $650M raise ?? N8N's valuation doubles to $5.2B following SAP strategic investment ??‍?? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers ?? Glocalzone acquired by MovitOn to expand decentralised logistics network ?? Blackstone acquires Greek market leader Skroutz ??  Superprof acquires its Italian rival ? Interesting moves from investors ?  BioInnovation Institute launches AI Lab with €7M from Danish Industry Foundation ?  New Arāya Sie Fund closes at £7.5m to back female-led startups ?. Ofgem and Innovate UK launch £500m energy fund ?️ In other (important) news ?  Corti launches no-equity accelerator for healthcare AI startups ?  Nordic Compass launches to fast-track Nordic resilience and industrial competitiveness ? Keel unveils fintech infrastructure business after pivot from neobank ? Startup nsave is bringing international banking access to Syrians shut out of the financial system ?  Meet the startup taking on gaming's cheating problem ??  From outsourcing to AI-native delivery: Poland’s software evolution ? European tech startups to watch  ??  Gyver scores €1.4M to help power Europe’s industrial workforce ??  Regulate raises €1.4M seed to bring science-backed breathwork into the workplace ?? DDD Invoices raises €1.31M to simplify global e-invoicing compliance ??  Holmes launches with €1.1M pre-seed for autonomous software testing ?? Minima secured £780,000 in the form of a convertible loan

This week, Interactive Brokers integrated contracts from Kalshi, CME Group, and ForecastEx into a single trading platform for retail and institutional clients. At the same time, the SEC slowed down a wave of prediction market ETFs, while the CFTC eased reporting requirements for operators. Here’s what mattered this week. Interactive Brokers Brings Prediction Markets Into Its Trading Stack On May 14, Interactive Brokers launched a prediction markets platform combining contracts from Kalshi, CME Group, and its own ForecastEx exchange. The system allows retail and institutional clients to trade contracts tied to economics, climate, and political events from a single interface, with pricing displayed across venues side by side.Kalshi x Interactive Brokers One of the largest brokers in the world. Casual, sophisticated, and institutional investors can now trade the future. All in one place. pic.twitter.com/yM2S4mksU9— Kalshi (@Kalshi) May 14, 2026 The move pushes prediction markets deeper into traditional brokerage infrastructure. Rather than operating as standalone platforms, event contracts are increasingly being integrated alongside existing trading products and execution systems.Interactive Brokers said sports and entertainment contracts are not part of the initial rollout. Kalshi Extends Its Lead as Polymarket Volume Slips Polymarket’s trading activity declined in April for the first time in eight months, while Kalshi continued to gain ground in the U.S. market.According to Dune Analytics data compiled by @datadashboards, Polymarket’s monthly notional volume fell about 9% to $10.3 billion. Over the same period, Kalshi’s volume rose 13% to $14.8 billion. Polymarket attributed the slowdown to a major infrastructure overhaul rolled out at the end of April after months of trading delays, failed transactions, and postponed product releases. The platform also introduced trading fees across most markets in late March, a change that may have contributed to lower activity. A company spokesperson told Bloomberg that the upgrade is intended to improve execution speed and reliability. “Over the coming weeks, we are shipping a series of updates that will make trading faster and smoother than ever — reducing delays and delivering the biggest speed improvement in Polymarket’s history,” the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, Kalshi’s institutional expansion has continued to accelerate following its $1 billion funding round earlier this month.CFTC Eases Reporting Requirements for Prediction Markets On May 13, the CFTC issued a no-action letter relieving prediction market operators from certain swap data reporting requirements tied to fully collateralized event contracts. Previously, companies had to seek this relief individually. The new letter creates a single framework that other operators can join. The change lowers compliance costs for prediction market platforms and gives the industry a more standardized regulatory setup while broader rulemaking is still being developed.SEC Slows Down Prediction Market ETFs The SEC delayed the launch of 24 prediction market ETFs this week, pausing products filed by Roundhill Investments, Bitwise, and GraniteShares. The funds would have given retail investors exposure to event contracts tied to elections, economic data, and other real-world outcomes through a standard ETF structure. Under SEC rules, the filings were approaching automatic approval deadlines before the agency intervened. ETF analysts said the delay was likely procedural rather than a rejection, comparing it to the early regulatory path of spot bitcoin ETFs. But the SEC’s hesitation reflects broader concerns around market manipulation, insider trading, and whether prediction market infrastructure is mature enough for mainstream investment products. The delay matters because prediction markets are already moving toward institutional finance.Quote of the WeekOn May 12, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig gave a rare interview to Axios in which he drew a direct line between prediction markets and financial derivatives — and away from sports betting. Selig is the sole current member of the typically five-member commission, appointed by Trump, and his classification of these products as financial instruments carries direct regulatory weight."They represent different frameworks. Standard sportsbooks and casinos provide entertainment and possess considerable power to exclude winners. In derivative markets, that is not permissible. If you keep winning? Fantastic. You retain your profits. What we are witnessing is a distinction between markets and entertainment." Bottom Line This week showed prediction markets moving closer to the structure of traditional financial markets. Interactive Brokers integrated event contracts into its brokerage infrastructure. The CFTC reduced reporting friction for operators. ETF issuers moved closer to bringing prediction markets into retail investment accounts, even as the SEC slowed the process down for additional review. At the same time, the debate over what these products actually are remains unresolved. Industry participants continue to frame prediction markets as financial derivatives tied to hedging and price discovery. Critics still view them as gambling products operating under a financial label. The infrastructure is moving faster than the classification debate around it. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Atos and Backbase have formed a new partnership to support banks moving AI from pilots into regulated digital banking environments. The collaboration covers international markets including Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Portugal, Spain, Southeast Europe, Switzerland and Turkey. It will support financial institutions modernising digital banking systems while managing data controls, resilience and regulatory requirements. Atos and Backbase will work together on opportunity development, professional services, delivery support, training and joint go-to-market activities. The partnership combines Backbase’s AI-Native Banking OS with Atos’ expertise in systems integration, sovereign cloud, cybersecurity, AI transformation and large-scale service delivery. Daniele Principato Daniele Principato, Head of International Markets at Atos, said, “This agreement with Backbase reflects our commitment to helping financial institutions in International Markets harness the power of AI in a secure and scalable way. The demand for resilient and future-ready banking platforms continues to grow across all our markets and by combining our global expertise with strong partners and our regional leadership, we are well positioned to support our clients in navigating transformation with confidence and control.” Ricardo Ribelles Ricardo Ribelles, Global VP Partnerships and Alliances at Backbase, said, “Atos brings the sovereign cloud infrastructure, integration depth, and regional reach that banks in these markets need. Together we close the gap between a bank’s AI ambitions and the reality of running those capabilities at scale – inside a governed, compliant architecture that meets local data sovereignty requirements.” The agreement reinforces Atos’ work with financial services firms on secure cloud and digital transformation, while drawing on Backbase’s banking and agentic technology expertise.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Frolopiaton Palm via Magnific The post Atos and Backbase to Support AI-Native Banking in Regulated Markets appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Blockchain analytics company Elliptic has secured US$120 million in a Series D funding round to scale its compliance platform as traditional financial institutions increase their exposure to digital assets. Growth equity firm One Peak led the round, with participation from Nasdaq Ventures, Deutsche Bank, and the British Business Bank. The investment brings the company’s valuation to $670 million. Elliptic will use the new capital to expand its enterprise-grade analytics tools for banks, government agencies, and cryptocurrency platforms. The funding arrives as regulated institutions begin transacting more frequently on digital asset networks, deepening their integration with tokenised assets. Stablecoins processed US$33 trillion in transaction volume in 2025. This rising volume has turned real-time crypto compliance monitoring into an operational necessity for exchanges and payment firms. Sabih Behzad “The sustainable growth of digital assets depends on strong, institutional-grade risk and compliance foundations,” said Sabih Behzad, Global Head of Digital Assets and Currencies Transformation at Deutsche Bank. “Our investment in Elliptic reflects our focus on strengthening these foundations,” Behzad added. Deutsche Bank has been actively building its digital asset capabilities, including a partnership with Swiss fintech Taurus to establish digital asset custody. Elliptic screens over one billion transactions weekly across more than 65 blockchains. The company says two-thirds of global crypto trading volume is transacted on exchanges that already use its systems. In 2025, the company launched an AI system designed to automate compliance investigations and reduce costs. The architecture relies on a proprietary dataset built over 13 years of continuous entity labelling. Simone Maini “Financial systems are being rebuilt on-chain,” said Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic. “The institutions leading that transition need an analytics partner that matches their scale, their sophistication, and their ambition.”       Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Markus Winkler via Unsplash The post Deutsche Bank Backs Elliptic in US$120M Round to Scale Crypto Compliance Tools appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Scammers use AI-driven deception to trick people out of their money and family assets. These attacks have grown more precise and hard to spot. Fintech firms push for better defenses to protect users. Table of Contents Key Facts Simple Breakdown Why This Matters What's Next Key Facts Digital predators shifted from simple tricks to AI-powered tactics like deepfakes and voice cloning. A recent Finextra report notes a rise in scams targeting wealth transfers and inheritance processes. AI Tools make fake calls and videos that fool even bank verification systems. Victims lost millions last year to these advanced frauds in the US and UK. Fintech security now focuses on multi-layer checks beyond passwords. Simple Breakdown AI-driven deception means bad actors use artificial intelligence to create realistic fakes. Think deepfake videos where someone looks and sounds just like your bank advisor asking for account details. Or AI-generated emails that mimic your lawyer discussing inheritance. These scams work because AI learns from real data to copy voices, faces, and writing styles. No more bad grammar or obvious errors – attacks feel real. In fintech, this hits payments, loans, and asset management hard. Banks use basic ID checks, but AI beats them unless updated. For everyday users, it starts with a call from ‘your son’ needing urgent funds. AI clones the voice perfectly. Result: quick wire transfers before doubt sets in. Why This Matters This shift affects everyone using digital finance. Families lose savings meant for kids or grandkids. Trust in apps and banks drops when scams succeed. In the US and Europe, regulators push fintechs to add AI detection. Small losses add up to billions yearly. Users face stress from frozen accounts during probes. Businesses see higher fraud costs, passed to fees. Open Banking speeds payments but opens doors to AI tricks. Real impact: slower services while firms catch up. What's Next Fintech will roll out AI vs. AI tools – defenses that spot fakes in real time. Expect voice biometrics with liveness checks and device behavior scans. Regulators in UK and EU may require zero-trust models for high-value transfers. Banks team up for shared scam databases. Users get simple apps to verify calls. By late 2026, most platforms could block 90% of these attacks with better tech. ⚡ Key Takeaways AI scams use deepfakes to mimic trusted contacts. Target areas include money transfers and legacy planning. Old security like passwords fails against smart AI. Multi-factor checks with AI detection offer better safety. Users must confirm big requests via trusted channels. Fintech firms invest in real-time fraud blocks. Stay updated on new scam patterns via reliable sources. FAQ What is AI-driven deception? It uses AI to make fake videos, voices, or messages that seem real to steal money or data. How do these scams hit fintech users? Scammers pose as bank staff or family to approve fake payments or change account details. What steps protect my wealth? Use app callbacks for verification, avoid urgent transfers, and enable all security alerts. Will banks fix this soon? Yes, many add AI shields and biometrics; full rollout expected in months. Conclusion Fintech security adapts to match AI threats. Users play a key role by staying cautious. Watch for updates to keep assets safe. Sources Finextra (2026-05-14) American Banker (2026-05-14) Reuters (2026-05-14)

A new era is on the way for Apple as Tim Cook plans to step down from his CEO role in September, handing the reins to hardware chief John Ternus.   Ternus may be inheriting one of the most durable businesses in tech, but he’s also stepping into a very different ecosystem than the one Cook spent decades shaping. The App […]

The first spot DOGE ETF just started trading on Nasdaq, and the biggest meme coin in crypto still cannot break $0.10. Every Dogecoin price prediction model this year tops out between $0.13 and $0.22, and that range tells DOGE holders exactly how long they will wait for returns that barely change their position. Pepeto is […] The post Could the Dogecoin Price Prediction Ceiling Explain Why DOGE Holders Are Moving Into Pepeto appeared first on TechBullion.