Klarna has launched peer-to-peer payments in 13 European markets, enabling users to send money, split bills, and gift cash directly within the Klarna app. The move shifts Klarna beyond buy-now, pay-later toward becoming an everyday digital hub for spending and money management. While initially limited to Klarna users sending domestic payments to other Klarna users, the company plans to expand P2P payments to non-users, cross-border transactions, and potentially stablecoin-based options in the future. Digital payments app Klarna is taking a step to become more like a bank. The Sweden-based company has launched peer-to-peer (P2P) payment capabilities this week, making it possible for users to send funds to family and friends. The new P2P capabilities will initially be available in 13 European countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Customers in these nations will be able to use the Klarna app to split bills, gift cash, and send funds under the protection of a regulated bank. Klarna, which originally launched as a buy-now, pay-later tool in 2005, views this launch as the next step in its evolution as an everyday digital hub for spending and money management. “Customers are sick of the friction and fees of traditional banking, which is why millions signed up to Klarna Card within a few months of launch,” said Klarna Co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski. “With peer-to-peer payments we’re making it even easier to manage all of your payments through Klarna, now including small transfers, making managing your money quicker, easier, and cheaper.” At launch, P2P payments will only work between Klarna users sending domestic payments. To send funds, users need a recipient’s phone number or email address, or they can use a QR code or saved contact. When the sender confirms the amount, Klarna checks the transaction details for fraud. The company plans to expand the capabilities to non-Klarna users and to cross-border payments in the future. This is among the first major announcements Klarna has made since going public in September 2025. And while it comes two months after the company debuted the KlarnaUSD, its stablecoin, the company said that its P2P payments will initially run over traditional payment rails, though it is exploring stablecoin-based options. The launch of the new P2P payment capabilities marks Klarna’s first move in 2026 after a busy 2025, when the company saw the deposits in its Klarna Balance account double from $9.5 billion in 2024 to $14 billion in 2025. Additionally, Klarna’s debit card saw more than four million sign-ups just four months after launching. Klarna made no mention of plans to launch P2P payment capabilities in the US, where it would face entrenched competitors such as Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle. However, adding P2P payments to an already robust app deepens Klarna’s role in users’ daily financial lives, which would reinforce its ambition to move beyond buy-now, pay-later and closer to a full-service digital banking experience. Photo by cottonbro studio The post Klarna Launches P2P Payments in Europe appeared first on Finovate.       

While perhaps not as flashy as AI or blockchain technology, embedded finance, open banking, and open finance are already transforming the way individuals and businesses interact with banks, financial service providers, and even retail organizations. By enabling firms to leverage partnerships and APIs to offer services and products they would struggle to offer on their own, these technologies give companies a tremendous opportunity not only to enhance their offerings with greater efficiency and personalization, but also to expand their product lines, provide new solutions, and secure new sources of revenue. This week, in our continuing series previewing companies that will demonstrate their latest innovations at FinovateEurope 2026, we showcase four companies that are helping banks and other financial institutions take advantage of the opportunities made possible by embedded finance, open banking, and open finance. FinovateEurope 2026 will take place at London’s Intercontinental O2 on February 10 and 11. Tickets are available now. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today and take advantage of big early-bird savings! AAZZUR AAZZUR enables brands—both small and medium-sized businesses as well as large corporations—to launch their own embedded finance solutions with a single integration. The company’s open banking platform serves as a layer above banks and fintechs, facilitating the exchange of data, messages, and transactions to boost satisfaction, retention, and monetization, while enhancing the way fintechs work with banks. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, AAZUR was founded in 2017. Francis Francis enables financial institutions and fintechs to leverage AI to resolve challenges in their open finance initiatives. The company’s technology transforms fragmented financial data from pensions, property, investments, cash, and other sources into actionable wealth insights. Francis uses AI to process unstructured data and integrates it with market data, providing a holistic view of both personal and business finances. Founded in 2025, Francis is based in London, England. Opentech Opentech, a digital payments and transaction enrichment services provider, develops and operates full-stack solutions currently deployed by financial institutions and service providers in Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. The company’s open and scalable platform fosters interoperability between banks, card issuers, and international payment networks. Founded in 2003, Opentech is headquartered in Rome, Italy. Hagbad Hagbad works with organizations to digitize trust-based savings. The company modernizes traditional group savings systems through its secure digital platform, enabling compliant engagement, expanding customer reach, and promoting inclusive growth via a regulated, culturally aligned financial infrastructure. Hagbad’s platform features automated tracking and real-time transparency to ensure that contributions, payouts, and group activity are effectively monitored. Headquartered in the UK, Hagbad was launched in 2025. Why banks should care Embedded finance, open banking, and open finance offer banks an exceptional opportunity to introduce new products and services and to compete more effectively with rivals in both Big Tech and Big Retail. All three innovations foster increased accessibility, enabling financial institutions reach customers where they are. They also support greater personalization, empowering firms to offer more tailored financial products to customers, while simultaneously creating new revenue sources to divto ersify beyond traditional banking offerings. Catch these and other innovative fintech companies next month at FinovateEurope 2026. With less than a month to go, there’s no better time than now to visit our FinovateEurope hub and secure your spot to the first big fintech conference of the year! Photo by Ashkan Forouzani on Unsplash The post Four Innovators in Embedded Finance, Open Finance & Banking Infrastructure appeared first on Finovate.       

B2B2C crypto enablement platform Coinme has agreed to be acquired by Web3 software development firm Polygon Labs in a deal that also involves onchain payments company Sequence. The two acquisitions will help Polygon Labs complete its Open Money Stack, which is designed to enable regulated stablecoin payments and transfers. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Coinme made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022. Neil Bergquist is CEO. Coinme, a US-based B2B2C crypto enablement platform, has agreed to be acquired by Web3 software development firm Polygon Labs. Polygon Labs is also acquiring Sequence, which facilitates onchain payments at scale. Acquiring the two firms gives Polygon Labs the core infrastructure it needs for its Open Money Stack, an open and integrated suite of services and technologies that enable regulated stablecoin payments and money movement, powered by Polygon’s blockchain rails. “By combining Coinme’s regulated US payment infrastructure and nationwide cash network with Polygon’s ecosystem, we’re creating something powerful: a turnkey solution that enables Web2 and Web3 companies to embed compliant stablecoin payments directly into their platforms,” Coinme noted in a statement. “This means seamless movement between traditional fiat systems and onchain settlement—the kind of infrastructure needed to support the global stablecoin payments market, projected to exceed $2.8 trillion in transaction volume by 2028.” The transaction is pending customary regulatory approvals. Following the acquisition, Coinme will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Polygon Labs, managing its regulated exchange, wallet, and Crypto-as-a-Service platform. Coinme operates a network of 50,000+ locations across the US where individuals can exchange cash for cryptocurrencies, and holds a money-transmitter license in 48 US states. The Sequence acquisition is intended to “complement and accelerate” Polygon Labs’ interoperability goals. Sequence offers enterprise-grade smart wallets and a solution, Trails, which acts as a one-click, cross-chain routing and intents engine. Sequence also provides infrastructure that conceals bridging, swaps, and gas fees from end users. This helps applications move stablecoins between networks without exposing users or payment teams to underlying blockchain complexity. The popularity of stablecoins is soaring, particularly in use cases such as serving as a settlement layer for cross-border and international payments. According to Polygon Labs, the primary barriers to more robust use of this technology are the requisite regulation, orchestration, and integration needed to make stablecoins easier for companies to deploy. The company’s acquisition of Coinme and Sequence, running on Polygon rails that have already facilitated trillions in onchain value transfer, will make it possible for more financial systems to deploy onchain money and achieve faster settlement, lower fees, better execution, and capital that is always at work. “By combining regulated access, enterprise infrastructure, and onchain settlement, Polygon Labs establishes a clear path to more than $100 million in annual revenue, driven by real payment flows,” Polygon Labs said in a statement. “Combined, these companies have already processed $1 billion in offchain sales and $2 trillion in onchain volume.” The statement also mentioned that successful execution will mean that the company is no longer reliant on financial support from the Polygon Foundation. “Instead,” the statement continued, “Polygon Labs is building payments infrastructure that earns revenue the same way the global payments industry always has: by moving money reliably, at scale.” Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Coinme made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022. Today, the company is a licensed and regulated B2B2C crypto enablement platform provider that enables its partners to quickly launch and scale native crypto products into their offerings. Coinme customers leverage the firm’s crypto infrastructure, compliance program, and regulatory licensing to offer crypto trading, custody, and on/off ramps. Neil Bergquist is Co-founder and CEO. Photo by Declan Sun on Unsplash The post Polygon Labs Acquires Coinme, Sequence to Facilitate Stablecoin Payments appeared first on Finovate.       

Checkout.com has received approval for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter in Georgia. The charter enables the UK-based payments provider to operate as its own acquirer in the US. The move marks a major expansion of Checkout.com’s North American strategy, as it expects full banking operations in 2026. Digital payments provider Checkout.com has received approval for its Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter from the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. For UK-based Checkout.com, this regulatory approval will allow the fintech to transition to operating a MALPB in the US. Checkout.com sees the approval as the next step in its journey, which includes direct US card network integration and the ability to operate as its own acquirer in the US market. Bringing both of these aspects in-house will offer Checkout.com more control, allow it to move faster, and offer better acceptance rates in order to deliver the performance US merchants expect. The approval reduces Checkout.com’s dependence on sponsor banks, which will enable greater control over settlement, risk management, and merchant onboarding. These capabilities are increasingly important as payment volumes and regulatory scrutiny grow in the US market. “With our MALPB charter now approved, the ‘definitive catalyst’ we identified in October is officially activated. This milestone paves the way for a new era of payment performance,” said Checkout.com MALPB CEO and Head of North American Banking Jordan Reynolds. “Our focus is now on scaling our infrastructure and building up talent in Atlanta and the US to meet the rigorous conditions of our approval. We are on track toward full charter banking operations in 2026, doubling down on our commitment to provide US enterprise merchants with the performance and reliability they demand.” As Reynolds hints, while the charter has been approved, Checkout.com will still need to meet regulatory and operational milestones before fully launching banking operations, which it expects to complete later this year. Today’s move indicates that Checkout.com is interested in significantly expanding its North American operations. The US bank charter will offer US enterprises a payment platform optimized for the complexities of the US market. The company operates a US headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia with additional offices in New York and San Francisco. Checkout.com was authorized as an electronic money institution in the UK in 2017 and in France in 2019. In 2023, the company obtained its Retail Payment Services license from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and since then has brought Mada (Saudi Arabia’s National Payment Network) and Apple Pay to merchants across the UAE and KSA. Founded in 2012, Checkout.com is a global payments platform that empowers businesses to accept, process, and manage payments seamlessly. The company uses its payments network to enable organizations to accept payments locally and internationally with global acquiring capabilities. The company also offers a suite of services that allows businesses to create and manage their own payment cards, advanced risk management tools to optimize performance and reduce fraud, and treasury management services to streamline cash flow and reconciliation. Checkout.com processed more than $300 billion in ecommerce volumes last year and counts Uber, eBay, Pinterest, Klarna, and GE Healthcare among its clients. Photo by cottonbro CG studio The post Checkout.com Gets the Thumbs Up to Operate as its Own Bank Charter appeared first on Finovate.       

Nationwide has selected Moneyhub to enrich and categorize card and direct debit transaction data using AI-driven analysis. The partnership enables deeper transaction-level insights that support better personal finance management for customers, alongside improved fraud detection, risk monitoring, and personalization for Nationwide. The deal highlights how transaction data is becoming a strategic differentiator for banks competing on insight-led products and customer experience. UK financial services company Nationwide has selected open data platform Moneyhub to help categorize, enrich, and better understand consumer transaction data. Nationwide will leverage Moneyhub’s AI-driven Categorization and Enrichment engine to analyze consumer transactions made on cards and with direct debits. The transaction analysis will allow Nationwide to see details such as contact and location data for the website or store where the purchase was made. This deep understanding of transaction details will benefit both customers as well as Nationwide. The additional data will help customers better manage their personal finances and quickly identify fraudulent transactions. For Nationwide, the granular insights support more accurate transaction categorization, improved risk detection, and the ability to deliver more personalized products and services. By working with Moneyhub, Nationwide is positioning itself to turn raw transaction data into actionable insights that can power smarter products, clearer customer experiences, and more proactive financial support. “At Nationwide our tech teams work to deliver fairer, more rewarding, and more convenient banking, so selecting the right partners is crucial, to make sure we’re giving our customers the best experience possible,” said Nationwide Chief Data and Analytics Officer Sri Kanisapakkam. “Moneyhub’s AI-driven tech will help enrich the data we’re giving back to our customers and set us up for success with even more personalized products and services in the future.” Moneyhub was founded in 2014 and offers personal finance technology tools, open data APIs, decisioning solutions, and payments capabilities. Its platform is designed to empower financial institutions, employers, and technology providers to deliver more tailored financial experiences through real-time data access and intelligent analysis. Regulated by the FCA, Moneyhub’s infrastructure supports a wide range of use cases, including budgeting tools, affordability assessments, wealth insights, and financial wellness programs. “Moneyhub exists to help our financial services clients build services that improve their customers’ digital experience and deliver better financial outcomes,” said Moneyhub CEO Alastair McGill. “Presenting retail customers with a fine-grained understanding of their income and expenditure is an essential part of this journey, so we’re delighted that Nationwide selected our Categorization and Enrichment engine. We look forward to working with Nationwide as they continue to further enhance their customer engagement.” Across the globe, transaction data is becoming a strategic asset for banks. As competition heats up in the traditional banking space, financial institutions face growing pressure to improve personalization, fraud prevention, and customer trust. Fortunately, the broad availability of AI tools combined with open banking regulations such as PSD2 make it easier than ever for firms to gain insights from transactions. Moneyhub demoed its enterprise platform at FinovateEurope 2017. Last year, the company formed a partnership with Lloyds, deepened ties with Experian, and appointed a new CEO. Photo by Xi Qiao The post Nationwide Selects Moneyhub for Consumer Spending Insights appeared first on Finovate.       

Challenger bank Revolut has launched new anti-impersonation functionality on its app to help its users avoid deepfakes and scams. The new in-app identification feature works in real-time to let users know if they are receiving a call from a legitimate Revolut agent or a potential fraudster. Founded in 2015, Revolut made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope the same year. Nik Storonsky is Founder and CEO. How confident are you that you can tell the difference between a genuine caller and an AI-powered deepfake impersonation? All the time? Most of the time? Some of the time? According to a report from the National Library of Medicine, only 25% of people can accurately identify a deepfake voice, making impersonation scams that much more effective and turning voice calls into what it called “a critical vulnerability.” In response, Revolut has unveiled its solution to the rising security challenge of AI deepfakes and impersonation scams. The company announced a new in-app identification feature that detects when users are in a call and verifies if the call is coming from a legitimate Revolut employee or a potential scammer, all in real time. “As fraudsters adopt AI and advanced deepfake tools, we need to innovate fast to defend our customers and stay ahead of rapidly evolving fraud threats,” Revolut Product Owner Rami Kalai explained. “This new feature not only gives users real-time, contextual warnings in the moment they need them most, but also guides them to identify impersonation scams, providing clear, actionable steps to keep their money safe while the fraud attempt is happening.” Revolut’s anti-scam solution is straightforward. When a user receives a call, they simply check their mobile Revolut app. If the call is legitimate, a banner or pop-up will appear to confirm that the call is from Revolut. If the call is not from Revolut, the pop-up will turn red and warn the user. At this point, the user can tap the pop-up to alert Revolut that they have received a potential scam call, and then hang up immediately. The technology is currently active for all Revolut customers using iOS devices. Customers using Android will need to specifically authorize the new functionality from the Security Hub. The range of scam types is truly staggering, including purchase scams, investment scams, impersonation scams, job scams, romance scams, delivery scams, charity scams, rental scams, and triangle scams. Revolut’s new anti-impersonation feature is only the latest solution the company has deployed to help its customers deal with the growing threat of fraud and financial crime in recent years. Among these solutions are biometric verification to help prevent transfer mugging (in which a victim is coerced or threatened into transferring funds from their account to a fraudster) and advanced machine learning strategies to identify suspicious transactions. A Finovate alum for more than a decade, Revolut first demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2015. Today, the company boasts more than 65 million customers around the world—12 million in the UK alone—offering a range of banking services via its mobile app. Revolut retail and business customers have access to money transfer services, stock trading, a cryptocurrency exchange, current accounts, a pre-paid debit card, insurance, and more—as well as premium services available via subscription. Operating under a European banking license, and having licenses and approvals in Mexico, Australia, Japan, the UK (restricted) and the US (via partnerships), Revolut has a presence in more than 48 countries. Headquartered in London, England, Revolut was founded in 2015. Nik Storonsky is founder and CEO. Photo by Christian Gertenbach on Unsplash The post Revolut Unveils Anti-Impersonation Scam Solution appeared first on Finovate.       

International data, analytics, and technology company Equifax UK has teamed up with Greece’s sole credit bureau Tiresias. The strategic partnership is designed to help Tiresias develop modern business tools to enhance credit assessment, bolster fraud prevention, encourage responsible lending, and improve debt management. Equifax UK is a division of Atlanta, Georgia-based Equifax located in London, England. In Greek mythology, Tiresias was a blind prophet famous both for his clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years by the Greek goddess Hera. Tiresias is also the name of the sole credit bureau in Greece and is the latest strategic partner of global data, analytics, and technology company Equifax UK. The two entities are collaborating in an effort to boost financial inclusion, stimulate economic growth, and bring advanced credit assessment and fraud prevention to businesses and consumers in Greece. “Our partnership with Tiresias is a testament to everything we have built at Equifax and the strength of our global solution capabilities and expertise in the marketplace,” Equifax UK Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Craig Tebbutt said. “This collaboration will further strengthen Tiresias as a strategic pillar of the Greek economy, drawing on Equifax data, analytics capabilities, and cloud technology to drive insights and decision-making confidence, helping more people live their financial best.” Tiresias will benefit from access to Equifax’s advanced data and analytics expertise, technology platforms, and best-in-class practices to assist the bureau as it develops new, modern products and services. Among these new offerings are business tools to enhance credit assessments, bolster fraud prevention, encourage responsible lending, and improve debt management. In a statement, Tiresias highlighted Equifax’s global reach, with operations in 24 countries, as well as the firm’s combination of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology. “This marks a new chapter in the Greek credit market, where transparency, reliability, and innovation will combine to deliver modern, safe, and more effective services to benefit society, while safeguarding the rights and freedoms of individuals and protecting their personal data,” Tiresias Chief Executive Officer Ilias Xirouchakis said. Founded in 1992 and based in Marousi—a suburb north of Athens—Tiresias is an interbank company that provides reliable data on the assessment of credit risk for businesses and private citizens. The company seeks to limit the over-indebtedness of individual borrowers, facilitate responsible lending, protect against fraud, and enhance the security of commercial transactions via its Tiresias Risk Control System (TSEK). Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax has been a Finovate alum since 2011. The company’s UK-based division, Equifax UK, offers credit scores and credit reports, as well as identity protection tools. The company also provides resources to help consumers find the right loan, credit card, automobile financing, and insurance offers, as well as educational information on financial subjects ranging from debt management to mortgages. Photo by Hans Reniers on Unsplash The post Equifax UK Partners with Greek Credit Bureau Tiresias appeared first on Finovate.       

Google launched Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an interoperability layer that lets AI agents discover products, authenticate users, and complete transactions. Unlike AP2, which governs how agents move money, UCP orchestrates the entire commerce flow. UCP will require banks to create new approaches to authentication, consent, liability, and trust as AI agents become active participants in commerce. Google unveiled its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) today, which essentially serves as the plumbing for how AI agents buy things on consumers’ behalf. But what does it really do and how is it different from Google’s AP2 launched last fall? Here’s a simple breakdown of the newly launched protocol. What does UCP do? Co-developed with major retailers and ecommerce players, including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol is essentially a standardized way for AI agents to discover products, request prices, authenticate users, and complete transactions. You can think of it like HTTPS, which is a set of rules that serves as a standardized protocol that governs and encrypts how browsers request and servers send web content over the internet. Similarly, UCP is an interoperability layer that allows many systems to talk to each other and enables AI agents to make purchases and decisions on a consumer’s behalf, instead of just making product recommendations. UCP is more than a marketplace or a wallet. The new protocol coordinates the various aspects of how agents, merchants, identity systems, and payment rails interact during a transaction. Google plans to use UCP to power a new checkout feature on select Google product listings that will allow shoppers to check out using Google Pay and PayPal from eligible retailers in AI Mode within Search and in the Gemini app. From an end users’ perspective, this may seem similar to OpenAI’s partnerships with retailers like Walmart that allow shoppers to make purchases within ChatGPT. Google’s move, however, is markedly different. That’s because Google owns the payment rails. While the retailer remains the seller of record, Google controls the checkout experience as well as the protocol, which standardizes identity, payment credentials, shipping information, and consent. How does UCP differ from AP2? The final quarter of 2025 brought a deluge of new agentic commerce protocols to the market, creating confusion about the roles of protocols and the players involved. Among the protocols launched last year was Google’s AP2, its Agent Payments Protocol. AP2 is much narrower in scope than UCP, however, because while AP2 governs how an AI agent is allowed to move money, UCP orchestrates the entire commerce flow. UCP handles product and service discovery, pricing and availability queries, merchant interaction, user intent and authorization checks, transaction confirmation, and fulfillment. AP2, on the other hand, is entirely payments focused. It handles payment initiation, authorization limits, credential handling, transaction execution, and settlement signaling. What does all of this mean for banks? Agentic commerce is moving fast and is set to change how transactions are initiated, authorized, and executed. As AI agents take on a more active role in purchasing, banks will need to rethink their role in the transaction stack and consider how to authenticate AI agents and create policies around who is liable when an agent transacts. Fortunately, protocols like UCP create auditability and can program trust into every transaction. Photo by Growtika on Unsplash The post Google Just Launched Its Agentic Commerce Protocol, the HTTPS for Agent-Led Shopping appeared first on Finovate.       

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. 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. Photo by John Robertson The post Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News appeared first on Finovate.       

There’s no doubt that 2026 is shaping up to be yet another year in which DeFi—from stablecoins to tokenized assets—commands its share of fintech headlines. But the innovations taking place in insurance and insurtech are also worthy of note. From embedded insurance solutions to insurance that is bundled with loans, mortgages, or other financial products, technology is having as much impact on the insurance industry as it is in any other field within fintech. Insurtech is leveraging automation, machine learning, AI, and even blockchain technology to help improve efficiency, control costs, better manage and safeguard data, and enhance the insurance process for both retail and enterprise customers. Here’s a look at a handful of recent stories that help show where insurtech is today. Corgi Investment Fuels AI-Powered Insurance for Startups Corgi Insurance has secured $108 million in funding, as well as regulatory authority to operate an AI-native, full-stack insurance carrier dedicated to startup companies. Investors included Contrary, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Kindred Ventures, Leblon Capital, Oliver Jung, Seven Stars, and Y Combinator. Also participating in the funding were Andrej Henkler and Fadwa Ouardani, Alumni Ventures, Fellows Fund, Phosphor Capital, Quadri Ventures, SV Angel, and Vocal Ventures. Corgi Insurance will use the capital to grow its insurance offering for startups, with a focus on broadening coverage options and widening distribution. The company will also invest in its AI systems that support underwriting, claims processing, and policy administration. “Founders shouldn’t have to choose between speed, coverage quality, and price,” Corgi Co-Founder and CEO Nico Laqua said. “We built Corgi to deliver all three in one place, so startups can get covered quickly and focus on building. This capital helps us expand coverage and keep improving the product.” Headquartered in San Francisco, California and founded in 2023, Corgi is a full-stack carrier, overseeing the design and management of its insurance products internally. This makes it easier to adapt policies to fit startup customers as they grow. Additionally, Corgi notes that its technology enables instant quotations, pricing, and coverage that changes as businesses scale. Securing regulatory approval makes Corgi a licensed insurance carrier, providing underwriting, claims handling, and policy management via its AI-enhanced platforms. Corgi’s insurance products include AI liability, directors and officers liability, errors and omissions liability, commercial general liability, cyber insurance, fiduciary liability, and hired and non-owned auto coverage. The company has reported annual recurring revenue of more than $40 million since securing full regulatory approval in July 2025. Insurtech Covr Announces New C-Suite Leadership Digital insurance solutions provider Covr Financial Technologies shared news of two major C-suite changes last week. The company announced that Sam Barnett would join Covr as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with Bob Klein taking on the role of Chief Distribution Officer (CDO). Barnett and Klein are co-founders of VIBE Insurance Services and, as part of the leadership transition, Covr will “acqui-hire” the VIBE team. The leadership announcement also follows Covr’s recent merger with Optifino in the fall of 2025. Together, the three entities combine Covr’s operational and compliance infrastructure, Optifino’s AI-powered platform, and VIBE’s independent agency expertise and leadership to offer a comprehensive suite of insurance solutions. “Following the Optifino-Covr merger last fall, I retained Sam and Bob’s firm, VIBE Consulting Services, to help guide our transition,” current Covr CEO David Kleinhandler explained. “As we worked together, it became clear that the opportunity was larger. Their expertise, vision, and ability to execute made them the natural choice to run the newly merged company, and I approached them about joining full-time to help author our next chapter. I’m truly excited that they accepted, and look forward to our ongoing collaboration.” Headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and founded in 2016, Covr empowers advisors to identify the right insurance product for their clients at the right time. The firm boasts 20 partnerships with financial institutions and banks, offers 122 insurance products, and serves more than 30,000 financial professionals and 100+ million customers. The company leverages enterprise-grade distribution, best-in-class compliance infrastructure, and advanced AI-driven planning tools to deliver faster case design, smarter product fit, and a seamless end-to-end insurance journey. “This merger creates powerful synergies,” Covr Chief Innovation Officer Michael Doniger said. “Our institutional distribution and compliance infrastructure perfectly complements Bob and Sam’s independent channel distribution. And when you layer in our strong carrier relationships with the tech firepower of the Covr-Optifino platform, we’re giving advisors and agencies capabilities they’ve simply never had before.” Cyber and Specialty Insurer Cowbell Launches Growth Initiative It’s been a busy winter for adaptive cyber and specialty insurance solutions provider Cowbell. In November, the company announced a brand refresh to reflect the firm’s growth into a broader digital protection partner in the field of commercial specialty insurance. In December, Cowbell introduced self-service capabilities for its Cowbell Resiliency Services (CRS). This enabled policyholders to query and activate risk management services directly from their policy dashboard. The new offering also expanded Cowbell’s commitment to making it easier for businesses to manage digital risk. This month, we learned that Cowbell has announced its next stage of strategic growth, which includes an emphasis on five drivers: international cyber, financial lines, resiliency services, mid-market expansion, and franchise subscriptions. In a statement, company CEO and Founder Jack Kudale said that the new initiative marks the firm’s evolution from an Adaptive Cyber Insurance provider to a digital protection partner spanning cyber, professional, and management liability lines. “As we enter this new cycle, parlaying our success in new products, new services, and new markets over the past 18 months, we are poised to scale responsibly and profitably,” Kudale said. “Cowbell has built a solid foundation of technology, talent, and trust. Now, we’re focusing on translating that strength into sustained growth, global expansion, and operating profitability while continuing to deliver protection that creates confidence, not complexity.” The company’s strategic growth announcement comes as Cowbell introduces new Chief Financial Officer John Botros, who brings to the insurtech more than 10 years of financial leadership in technology and cyber risk organizations, most recently as CFO of Resilience. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Pleasanton, California, Cowbell is a commercial insurance company that helps make digital risks manageable. Cowbell offers cyber liability insurance to defend businesses against cyber risks before, during, and after any incident; errors and omissions coverage for technology professionals; and insurance protection for managers and leaders of small to medium-sized organizations. The firm serves approximately 30,000 SMEs around the world, representing a total insured revenue of $610 billion. Cowbell has paid over $275 million in claims since inception. M3 Insurance Teams Up with SimplePin to Modernize its Operations US-based insurance brokerage and risk management firm M3 Insurance has partnered with SimplePin to modernize its finance and accounting operations. SimplePin will help M3 Insurance automate its insurance receivables across multiple payment channels, accelerating processing, enhancing data accuracy, and ensuring organization-wide visibility in financial activity and performance. “SimplePin helps us reduce manual work behind the scenes while improving the payment experience for clients, carriers, and partners,” M3 Insurance Senior Director of Finance Jamin Friedl said. “It’s a meaningful step forward as we modernize operations and keep pace with where the industry is headed.” The partnership reflects M3 Insurance’s response to higher transaction volumes, growing complexity in payment options, and other operational pressures. Collaborating with SimplePin will enable the insurer to automate the capture, posting, and reconciliation of insurance payments. This will provide real-time visibility into cash flow and enable M3 Insurance to respond to issues and exceptions. The company praised SimplePin’s platform for its ability to reduce the amount of manual effort involved, and noted that the partnership was about more than a single technology implementation. “We’re not looking for a traditional vendor relationship,” Friedl said. “We value partners we can collaborate with as the industry changes and new needs emerge. SimplePin stood out as a team that understands insurance operations and is aligned with the way we want to evolve.” Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, and founded in 1968, M3 Insurance is a private and independent insurance broker and risk management firm. The company offers a wide range of services and products including property and casualty coverage, employee benefits programs, retirement and wealth management solutions, HR services, and more. This week, M3 Insurance announced the promotion of Erik Vandermause to Chief Information Officer (CIO). Part of M3 Insurance since 2023, Vandermause was previously Vice President of Applied Intelligence at the firm. He has served in executive roles at companies including Accenture and CUNA Mutual Group. Meet Finovate’s Insurtech Alums Finovate has showcased a number of fintech innovators over the years. Some of these companies provide solutions for insurance companies, while other firms leverage embedded technology to enable companies to offer insurance products to their customers. In fact, this latter group has made up the majority of those insurtechs that have demonstrated their technology live on the Finovate stage. This includes Best of Show winners like Wysh (FinovateFall 2023), startups like Amplify Life Insurance (FinovateFall 2021), and veterans like Insuritas and Gradatim. Mortgage tech Blend launched its own home insurance offering in 2018, the same year Revolut began offering travel insurance. Also among Finovate’s insurance-related alums are UK-based insurance advisory firm Anorak and Sureify, which specializes in educating insurance consumers. Coverhound, which made its Finovate debut back in 2012, offers a rate-comparison solution to help consumers save money when buying insurance. Photo by Vlad Deep The post Insurtech 2026: Raising Capital, Leveraging AI, and a Look at Finovate’s Insurtech Alums appeared first on Finovate.      Related StoriesInsurtech Eleos Launches AI Voice AgentInsurtech Qover Teams Up with MastercardInsurtech Eleos Secures $4 Million in Seed Funding 

Bilt is partnering with Verifone to embed its loyalty and customer experience platform directly into Verifone Victa point-of-sale devices and will allow merchants to recognize and engage members at checkout with personalized experiences. The integration requires no new hardware and works across multiple payment providers. For Bilt, the deal creates a scalable distribution channel through Verifone’s point-of-sale devices, significantly expanding its merchant reach. Loyalty platform Bilt announced it is teaming up with Verifone this week. The partnership will integrate Bilt’s experience and loyalty platform into Verifone’s Victa point-of-sale hardware devices. The nine Verifone Victa point-of-sale devices range from enterprise-grade registers to small mobile and portable devices. Integrating Bilt’s loyalty tools into these devices will help merchants engage customers at point of sale by embedding personalized experiences and member identity into the payment experience. The native integration, which won’t require additional hardware investment or changes to existing workflows, is designed to be easy for merchants to adopt. It works across multiple payment providers as an out-of-the-box tool that has already been tested and certified, which lowers implementation risk and shortens the time it takes for businesses to go live with Bilt’s customer experience tools. “By embedding Bilt’s loyalty technology directly into the Verifone platform, delivered through Victa, we’re enabling merchants to elevate customer engagement without adding hardware or disrupting existing workflows,” said Verifone CEO Himanshu Patel. “Through the Verifone gateway, merchants get a pre-certified, enterprise-grade integration that accelerates time to market and is already proven at scale—while unlocking access to Bilt’s member base.” Bilt was founded in 2021 to offer a loyalty rewards program and credit card that allows renters to earn points when they pay their rent, building credit with every payment. With no annual fee, the Bilt Mastercard credit card also allows cardholders to earn points on select dining experiences, rideshare purchases, and travel purchases. These points can be redeemed for travel, fitness classes, home decor, and even a down payment on a future home. For Bilt, today’s partnership has the potential to massively increase its merchant footprint by placing its loyalty and customer experience tools directly into widely deployed point-of-sale hardware. By meeting merchants where transactions already occur, Bilt can scale distribution without requiring merchants to adopt new systems or change how they operate. This is big news for Bilt. The partnership has the potential to move Bilt from a card-centric loyalty program into embedded commerce infrastructure that meets consumers and merchants directly at the point-of-sale. “Partnering with Verifone—the gold standard in payment hardware—means our merchant partners get best-in-class customer experience technology that’s already delivering better reviews, faster operations, and happier customers,” said Bilt Founder and CEO Ankur Jain. “This partnership with Verifone brings our proven membership and loyalty tech right to the point-of-sale—dining, fitness, retail, you name it. Together, we’re completely changing how merchants connect with their customers. Now they can automatically recognize and reward people at checkout, which means every transaction becomes a chance to build real relationships and unlock new revenue with personalized offers.” Bilt will begin rolling out the Verifone integration with select restaurant groups, and will make its tools more available to a broader set of merchants throughout 2026. The post Bilt Embeds Loyalty at Checkout with Verifone appeared first on Finovate.       

This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Egypt. Valu Launches Platform in Jordan Egyptian fintech Valu has secured final approval from the Central Bank of Jordan to begin operations in Jordan. Valu was granted a Specialized Finance license that will enable the company to launch financial services in the Kingdom. Valu said it would being offering services in Q1 of 2026, providing consumers with flexible financing solutions across retail, healthcare, electronics, and education. Former Jordanian Minister of Investment and Digital Economy Mothanna Gharaibeh will serve as Chairman of the new entity, with fintech executive Mohammad Al Yousef serving as CEO. “Securing final approval from the Central Bank of Jordan under a Specialized Finance license is a pivotal moment for Valu and a testament to the strength of our platform, governance model, and long-term vision for the market,” Valu Chief Market Expansion and Strategy Officer Habiba Naguib said. “Jordan is a key pillar in Valu’s regional expansion strategy.” The decision to launch in Jordan reflects Valu’s determination to further financial inclusion and deepen its presence in the region. Valu secured initial regulatory clearance in 2025, the same year it was listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), and strengthened its partnership with Amazon. Amazon purchased a 3.25% stake in the Egyptian fintech last spring. “As we prepare to begin operations in the first quarter of the year 2026, our focus remains on driving financial inclusion through innovative, customer-centric products while investing in local talent and contributing meaningfully to the Jordanian financial ecosystem,” Naguib added. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Sheikh Zayed City, Egypt, Valu is a lifestyle-enabling fintech platform and a pioneer in offering Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions in the MENA region. Valu offers flexible, customizable financing plans across more than 5,000 points of sale and more than 600 websites. The company also offers investment products, savings solutions, HR payroll services for businesses, and Sha2labaz, an instant cash redemption program. Bank NXT Teams Up with IBM Egypt-based Bank NXT has selected a trio of solutions from IBM to accelerate its digital banking transformation. In collaboration with Inspire for Solutions Development, the financial institution will implement IBM’s Instana, Turbonomic, and Cloud Pak solutions to enhance real-time observability, automated resource optimization, and advanced integration. The addition of all three technologies reflects Bank NXT’s integrated approach to boosting resilience, minimizing downtime, optimizing IT resources, and delivering better banking experiences for customers. “This progress strengthens the reliability of the bank’s digital platform and boosts operational efficiency,” Bank NXT Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Tamer Seif said. “It accelerates service delivery and expands the range of digital solutions we offer, ultimately leading to a better customer experience and faster, more responsive service.” IBM Instana will provide the financial institution with real-time observability across digital banking applications to support proactive monitoring and faster issue resolution. IBM Turbonomic offers automated, intelligent resource optimization across hybrid cloud environments, helping maximize IT utilization while keeping costs low and performance consistent. IBM Cloud Pak—both for Integration and for Business Automation—runs on Red Hat OpenShift to create a unified digital platform that streamlines operations, reduces complexity, and promotes faster development and deployment of new solutions and services. “Our collaboration with IBM and Inspire for Solutions Development is a crucial part of the bank’s transformation strategy,” Seif said. “By adopting the DevOps model and improving our business automation capabilities, we have enhanced the flexibility of our technology infrastructure. This advance prepares us to integrate with fintech companies through an API-driven ecosystem, fostering a more open and innovative environment.” Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Cairo, Bank NXT serves both retail and business customers with services ranging from basic bank accounts and loans to wealth management. AFS Launches SoftPOS Arab Financial Services (AFS) announced that its subsidiary in Egypt has secured a SoftPOS license from the country’s central bank. The approval makes AFS Egypt one of the first fintechs in Egypt to bring a fully licensed SoftPOS solution to market. AFS’s SoftPOS solution transforms any NFC-enabled smartphone into a secure and fully functional payment terminal. The solution provides merchants with a fast, low-cost, and highly scalable option for accepting payments. The technology eliminates the need for expensive hardware and supports all types of contactless cards, making digital commerce more accessible for both merchants and their customers. “Going live with SoftPOS in Egypt is a transformative milestone for AFS and the Egyptian market,” AFS CEO Samer Soliman said. “This fully licensed solution allows us to instantly turn any NFC-enabled Android smartphone into a secure payment terminal, eliminating hardware costs and making digital acceptance accessible to businesses of all sizes. We view this launch as the foundation, and our immediate plan is to continuously expand its feature set and introduce innovative use cases that will further accelerate financial inclusion and power a digitally empowered economy.” AFS Egypt is a subsidiary of AFS, which was formed in 1984 to provide banks and merchants with payment services, solutions, and expertise. Today, the company is owned by 37 banks and financial institutions, serving more than 60 clients in 20+ countries throughout the MENA region. A leading digital payment solutions provider regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, AFS boasts a portfolio that includes digital mobile wallets, merchant acquiring services, digital payroll solutions, contact centers, and more. Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world. Central and Southern Asia Pakistan-based digital nano-lending platform Daira announced a strategic partnership with Infinix Pakistan, itel Pakistan, and Tecno Mobile Pakistan to deliver Buy Now, Pay Later services. Bangladesh’s largest private commercial bank Pubali Bank PLC and payments solution provider BPC teamed up to modernize the bank’s card management infrastructure. Forbes profiled recent fintech developments in countries in “South Asia beyond India” including Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Latin America and the Caribbean Latin American Post profiled the leadership transition at Argentina’s MercadoLibre. Brazilian banking and payments firm PicPay filed for an initial public offering in the US. Crowdfund Insider makes the case for why Mexico is Latin America’s next fintech hub. Asia-Pacific South Korean digital life insurance provider Kyobo Lifeplanet forged a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com. Japanese aggregated payment platform Netstars announced a pilot program to accept Circle’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin. Airwallex acquired Indonesia fintech PT Skye Sab Indonesia as part of its expansion strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. Sub-Saharan Africa African fintech giant Flutterwave acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono. Nigeria’s Sterling Bank announced plans to join Thunes’ Direct Global Network. News Ghana looked at the growth of the country’s digital banking and fintech sectors. Central and Eastern Europe Payments intrastructure provider Banking Circle joined the Czech Fintech Association. Buy Now, Pay Later firm Zilch acquired Lithuanian lender Fjord Bank in bid to secure European banking license. Czech digital banking solutions provider Finshape, which won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2022, introduced new CEO Neil Budd. Middle East and Northern Africa Digital bank Zand and business banking platform Yuze announced a strategic alliance. Fintech infrastructure platform VoPay established a new global headquarters in Qatar. UAE-based Ajman Bank completed its core banking system upgrade in partnership with Accenture. Photo by J R The post Finovate Global Egypt: New Partnerships, New Products, New Markets appeared first on Finovate.       

In our latest interview from FinovateFall 2025, Beyond the Arc CEO Steven Ramirez talks with Shruti Patel, EVP and Business CPO at US Bank, about the institution’s approach to supporting small- and mid-market businesses. The two discuss the emergence of new digital capabilities, embedded payroll and account payable solutions, as well as the role of customer experience in shaping product design. “We are super focused on our small businesses. They are looking for very simple banking products: an easy-to-use, best-in-class operating, savings, or money market account. They’re looking for a great rewards card. And then, last but not least, small dollar loans. We excel in our small business access loans. We are number four nationally and very close in California, as well. When it comes to their lending needs, when it comes to their banking needs, we’re very much focused on how can we make the life of a small business really, really easy.” Joining US Bank in 2023, Patel has brought leadership experience from across fintech, banking, and payments. Previously head of global partnerships and monetization at Shopify—and before that head of embedded payments and partnerships at JPMorgan Chase—Patel today oversees services for US Bank’s small business and mid-market customers across money movement and credit card solutions, as well as the bank’s full suite of digital capabilities. With nearly 1.4 million business customers representing up to $25 million in revenue, US Bank serves its clients at every business life stage—from starting a business to managing a growing company to selling a successful venture. US Bank provides a comprehensive and integrated suite of banking and payments solutions delivered both digitally and via its trusted banking partners. Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash The post Transforming Business Banking with US Bank’s Shruti Patel appeared first on Finovate.       

Clover is partnering with Wink to embed biometric identity directly into the payment flow across Clover’s point-of-sale ecosystem. The integration enables identity-based payments using facial, palm, and voice recognition and will support transactions, loyalty enrollment, and age verification without passwords, physical cards, or additional hardware. The partnership treats identity as a core layer of the transaction and aims to deliver faster checkout, reduced fraud, and simpler operations for merchants. Fiserv-owned Clover, a company that provides Android-powered point-of-sale tools, announced it is partnering with biometric identity and payments platform Wink to offer a new way to pay. Clover will integrate Wink’s biometric identity technology into its existing platform, enabling identity-based payments designed to improve security and streamline checkout for both merchants and customers. Texas-based Wink, a FinovateSpring 2023 Best of Show winner, provides a multi-factor biometric platform that combines facial, palm, voice, and device recognition to authenticate customer identities across in-store, mobile, and online transactions—without relying on passwords, physical cards, or additional hardware. The integration brings together Clover’s payment and loyalty tools with Wink’s biometric authentication capabilities, allowing consumers to complete transactions, enroll in loyalty programs, and verify age-restricted purchases using biometric authentication. All transactions are processed through Wink’s PCI Level 1 and SOC 2–compliant payment gateway. “The future of commerce is the unification of payment and identity,” said Fiserv SVP and Global Chief Product Officer of Merchant Solutions Sanjay Saraf. “By embedding Wink’s leading biometric security and intelligence directly into the Clover platform, we’re making cutting-edge technology simple, secure, and accessible for Main Street SMB businesses, helping them to deliver exceptional experiences and unlock new opportunities for growth.” While contactless payments tools became less exciting after COVID, the heart of this collaboration is around a more central aspect of payments: identity. By integrating Wink’s tools, Clover is bringing identity into the core layer of the transaction, rather than a separate step handled through passwords, cards, or manual checks. For merchants, this could mean faster throughput, lower fraud, and fewer operational touchpoints. Clover was originally founded in 2010 to help small businesses accept payments. Today, the company serves as a one-stop shop for multiple payment needs. In addition to offering a range of payment acceptance terminals, Clover also has software to help businesses with online orders, accounting, loyalty programs, staff management, inventory, and more. Clover was acquired in 2012 by First Data, which was acquired by Fiserv in 2019. “Wink’s strategic integration with Clover will bring unparalleled security, speed, and intelligence to every transaction across a large ecosystem of merchants, app developers, and partners,” said Deepak Jain, Founder and CEO of Wink. “We are excited to work closely with Fiserv to bring to market many advanced use cases of identity-driven payments that will define the future of connected commerce at scale across retail, hospitality, venues, and stadiums.” Clover will make the biometric capabilities available across all of its point-of-sale devices, including Station Duo, Mini, Flex, and Clover Kiosk, and will not require additional hardware changes. The new biometric technology will be available to QSRs, sports venues, and retailers, in a continuous rollout throughout 2026. Photo by Angela Roma The post Clover Selects Wink to Offer Biometric-Powered Payments appeared first on Finovate.       

UK-based paytech Modulr has entered the US as part of a strategic partnership with global fintech FIS. The partnership will enable FIS to leverage Modulr’s technology for its cloud-native orchestration platform Money Movement Hub. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS has been a Finovate alum since 2010. UK-based payment technology provider Modulr has gone live in the United States, bringing its real-time, API-first payment capability to one of the largest payment markets in the world. Modulr has forged a strategic partnership with global fintech FIS and will provide critical technology for the company’s Money Movement Hub, a cloud-native orchestration platform that harmonizes the payments ecosystem by integrating major global networks via a single API. “Expanding into the US is a natural step for Modulr as we respond to growing global demand for real-time, reliable payments infrastructure,” Modulr Founder and CEO Myles Stephenson said. “Our partnership with FIS is a collaborative launchpad, combining our proven expertise with FIS’s deep market presence to help US financial institutions modernize, innovate, and unlock the full potential of instant payments.” FIS Money Movement Hub offers a unified point of access to real-time, batch, and cross-border payment rails, enabling financial institutions to provide their customers with faster, more flexible services. For its part, Modulr brings extensive experience in accessing payment schemes across the UK and Europe, including the company’s direct participation in the UK’s main payment schemes, Faster Payments and Bacs, as well as SEPA and SWIFT access. “Modulr’s expertise in payments and scalable solutions perfectly complements FIS’s expansive reach,” FIS Co-President, Banking Solutions, Jim Johnson said, “creating a powerhouse for innovation, efficiency, and expansion across the money lifecycle.” Processing more than 300 million transactions a year, with a total payment volume of more than £150 billion, Modulr’s API-first platform enables companies to embed payments into core solutions and services. With deployments across a network of more than 15 ERP, accounting, payroll, and travel booking integrations—including Sage, BrightPay, Xero, and Juniper—Modulr’s payments hub provides customers with greater efficiency, control, and security. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, Modulr is a regulated Authorized Electronic Money Institution (AEMI) in the UK under the Financial Conduct Authority and is regulated in the Netherlands by De Nederlandsche Bank. A Finovate alum since 2010, FIS most recently demoed on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2016. The company provides comprehensive financial services including payment processing, banking technology, and financial software, working with banks, merchants, and capital markets firms to improve efficiency, scalability, and security. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and founded in 1968, FIS works with 95% of the world’s leading banks and has more than 14,000 clients across 150 countries. FIS counts 90% of private equity firms, 70% of the top 100 insurance firms, and more than 4,900 financial services companies and credit unions among its customers and partners. FIS ended 2025 being recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for retail core banking systems in North America. Stephanie Ferris is the company’s CEO and President. Photo by Vlado Paunovic on Unsplash The post Partnership with FIS Brings UK Paytech Modulr to the US appeared first on Finovate.       

As we enter the next era of digitization 2.0, identity verification and fraud prevention have moved from supporting roles to critical infrastructure. At the same time, advances in AI are making it easier for bad actors to circumvent legacy controls, increasing both the complexity and the stakes of managing digital risk. From onboarding new customers to authenticating transactions and preventing losses in real time, banks and fintechs are under pressure to strike the right balance between security and user experience. Fortunately, fintechs are tackling this challenge head-on, building identity and fraud controls that reduce friction, strengthen trust, and make digital finance scalable. The four companies below are building some of the most cutting-edge tools in this segment and will showcase their solutions on the demo stage at FinovateEurope, which takes place February 10 and 11 in London. Candour Identity Candour Identity aims to improve digital onboarding by combining identity verification, biometrics, and fraud prevention into a single workflow. The platform is designed to help financial institutions increase conversion rates while maintaining regulatory compliance, enabling ongoing biometric authentication beyond initial onboarding. By supporting daily identity checks for login and payment use cases, Candour reduces fraud losses without introducing additional friction for legitimate users. Darwinium Darwinium helps organizations detect and prevent fraud while minimizing friction for trusted customers. Its platform distinguishes between high-risk and low-risk users in real time, allowing banks and fintechs to provide a “VIP” experience to good customers while applying stronger controls where needed. The approach is designed to reduce fraud losses without sacrificing the overall customer experience. Elephant Elephant targets false declines and chargebacks, two persistent challenges in digital payments. By improving transaction decisioning, the company helps businesses approve more legitimate transactions while reducing downstream fraud and disputes. The result is higher authorization rates, fewer customer complaints, and lower operational costs tied to chargeback management. Keyless With Keyless, users are the key. The company’s technology replaces traditional multi-factor authentication methods, such as one-time passwords, with biometric authentication. Keyless’s technology enables passwordless and tokenless login experiences while maintaining strong security controls. By removing reliance on call centers and manual recovery flows, Keyless aims to improve user experience and significantly reduce authentication-related costs for banks. Keyless was acquired by Pindrop Security in November 2025. Why banks should care Digital channels are increasingly becoming the primary point of interaction with customers, shifting the importance of verification technologies. The companies highlighted above show how banks, payments firms, and marketplaces can reduce fraud and operational costs while improving customer experience by applying smarter, more adaptive controls. Rather than relying on rigid rules or legacy authentication methods that can easily be spoofed using AI, modern identity and fraud platforms allow banks to approve more good customers, intervene only when risk is real, and scale digital growth without sacrificing trust. To watch these companies demo their newest tools in person, register for FinovateEurope, see what’s new, and shake hands with the innovators. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko The post Four Identity and Fraud Startups Laying the Foundation for Digital Finance appeared first on Finovate.       

Czech Republic-based digital banking company Finshape introduced new CEO Neil Budd. Budd replaces current CEO Petr Koutný, who will take on a new position as Chairman of the Board. Budd comes to Finshape after serving in executive roles for companies including Finastra and Accenture. Forged in a 2021 merger between W.UP and BSC, Finshape won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022. Digital banking company Finshape, which won Best of Show in its debut at FinovateEurope 2022, has appointed a new CEO. The Prague, Czech Republic-based fintech introduced Neil Budd—a veteran financial services executive with more than 25 years of experience in banking, technology, and consulting—as its new Chief Executive Officer. “Banks are looking for technology partners they can trust for the long term,” Budd said in a statement. “Finshape has a strong, relevant product portfolio, experienced teams, and stable, trusted relationships with banks. With our Agentic Digital Bank Operating System and new capabilities in loyalty and personalization, I am confident we will continue to help banks deliver tangible value to their customers and accelerate our growth journey to new markets.” New markets, indeed. CEO Budd will be tasked with driving the company’s continued growth internationally, and expanding operations across Western Europe, the Middle East, and the APAC region. Finshape’s current CEO Petr Koutný will transition into the role of Chairman of the Board. “Clients value not only our products and expertise, but above all the practical impact that digital transformation delivers as part of their strategic programs,” Budd said. “Our goal is to continue developing technologies and services that perform in the demanding banking environment. At the same time, we are open to working with partners who share the same values—a strong focus on quality and customer orientation.” Budd’s experience includes more than three years at Finastra, where he served as Vice President & Global Head of Strategic Partnerships, Ecosystems and Alliances—as well as Global Head of Managed Services. Before that, he was Managing Director responsible for financial services at Accenture. Immediately preceding his appointment with Finshape, Budd was Senior Partner and Chief Revenue Officer at Phi Partners, a capital markets consulting firm that specializes in quantitative and technology services. Founded in 2021 via a merger between W.UP and BSC (Banking Software Company), Finshape won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2022 and returned the following year for FinovateEurope 2023. In its most recent appearance, the fintech demonstrated its offering, called SME Stories, which helps banks boost digital engagement, loyalty, and sales among their micro- and small business customers via automated, easy-to-digest swipeable stories filled with actionable insights. Finshape’s C-suite announcement coincides with the company reporting 55 million Euros in revenue in 2025, with 30% year-on-year growth. Finshape also noted its August acquisition of loyalty platform Realtime XLS from Collinson Group, which Koutný called at the time a “strategic milestone,” adding that the platform would “form an integral part of our growing, customer-centric digital banking portfolio.” In October, the company announced a partnership with Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the world’s first Islamic bank and the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates. Photo by Tobias Reich on Unsplash The post FinovateEurope Best of Show Winner Finshape Introduces New CEO Neil Budd appeared first on Finovate.       

Barclays has made its first investment in digital currency infrastructure by backing Ubyx. Ubyx aims to simplify the redemption and acceptance of stablecoins and tokenized deposits through a many-to-many clearing system designed to unify today’s fragmented digital money landscape. The move shows that Barclays is focused on regulated interoperability rather than issuing its own stablecoin. UK-based banking giant Barclays is making its first investment in the digital currency infrastructure space this week. The bank made a strategic investment in Ubyx, a US-based clearing system for digital money. Ubyx was founded in 2025 to create stablecoin ubiquity. In other words, the company focuses on facilitating live transactions through a many-to-many clearing system to make redeeming stablecoins and tokenized deposits as simple as depositing a check. Ubyx uses a collaborative network model to transform the current, fragmented stablecoin landscape into a unified, ubiquitous payment system. “Our mission is to build a common globalized acceptance network for regulated digital money including tokenized deposits and regulated stablecoins,” said Ubyx CEO Tony McLaughlin. Barclays’ strategic involvement is especially important in Ubyx’s model, as the traditional bank adds a regulated element to the payments model. “Bank participation is vital to provide par value redemption through regulated channels. We are entering a world in which every regulated firm offers digital wallets in addition to traditional bank accounts.” While it serves as one of the top banks in the UK, Barclays has previously not been among those launching stablecoin programs. Today’s investment is Barclays’ first major move in the stablecoin space since October of 2025, when the bank joined a group of ten major financial institutions to explore a jointly issued stablecoin pegged to G7 currencies. “Interoperability is essential to unlock the full potential of digital assets,” said Barclays Head of Digital Assets and Strategic Investments Ryan Hayward. “As the landscape of tokens, blockchains, and wallets evolves, specialist technology will play a pivotal role in delivering connectivity and infrastructure to enable regulated financial institutions to interact seamlessly. We are pleased to be joining Ubyx on their journey as we drive forward our shared ambition to accelerate and shape innovation across our industry.” What’s interesting in this move is that Barclays isn’t taking a step toward issuing its own stablecoin or tokenized deposits. Instead, the bank is focused on interoperability, redemption, and acceptance at par. While clearing and settlement have long been dominated by bank-led networks, they are currently a bottleneck in digital money adoption. Ubyx’s many-to-many clearing model aims to solve that bottleneck, and Barclays’ participation adds regulatory credibility at a moment when banks are looking for ways to engage with digital assets without fragmenting liquidity or bypassing existing safeguards. Photo by Jose Marroquin on Unsplash The post Barclays Invests in Crypto Connectivity Startup Ubyx appeared first on Finovate.       

Two UAE-based companies—digital bank Zand and business banking platform Yuze—have teamed up to help small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs secure digital business accounts. The strategic alliance between the two firms is designed to make financial services available to eligible, underserved companies via fast onboarding, an IBAN account, digital banking solutions, and advanced business tools. Both companies are headquartered in Dubai. Zand was founded in 2018. Yuze launched in 2022. Blockchain-powered digital bank Zand and digital business banking platform Yuze have teamed up to help small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs secure digital business accounts. The strategic alliance will enable eligible, underserved businesses in the UAE to access financial services via Yuze’s platform. “The SME sector is a key growth engine driving the UAE economy,” Zand CEO Michael Chan said. “We are excited to partner with Yuze to support the business banking needs of SMEs and startups across the UAE, with our innovative and client-centric digital banking solutions.” The strategic alliance will provide companies with access to IBAN accounts, digital banking solutions, and advanced business tools to support their operational and financial management, as well as their future growth. The partnership will also streamline the onboarding process for business customers, allowing them to establish banking relationships more quickly. “At Yuze we believe that when banking becomes intelligent, businesses become limitless,” Yuze CEO Rabih Sfeir added. “Together with Zand, we are committed to providing customer-centric and next-generation banking services to businesses in the UAE.” Headquartered in Dubai, Yuze offers modern business banking solutions including digital onboarding, business banking accounts, payment cards, and expense management tools. Founded in 2022, Yuze recently announced the launch of its Yuze Freelancer App in India. Designed to empower the next generation of freelancers, the solution enables users to open a digital wallet in minutes, send and receive payments, and track income and expenses—all within a single, intuitive app. “We’re not just giving financial access,” Sfeir said when the offering was announced. “We’re giving a partner that listens, understands, and grows with people.” Founded in 2018 and based in Dubai, Zand is a digital bank that serves both retail and enterprise banking customers. A self-described “blockchain-powered bank,” Zand specializes in using AI and blockchain technology to bridge the gap between traditional and decentralized finance. The institution is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, the first all-digital bank in the UAE to earn this accreditation. Zand is also the first bank in the region to secure ISO certifications for information security management systems and for privacy information management systems covering Web3 services. Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash The post Digital Bank Zand and Business Banking Platform Yuze Announce Strategic Alliance appeared first on Finovate.       

Citi has selected CredAble as a fintech partner to modernize trade finance controls by adding invoice and shipping data verification to its digital trade loan tools. By integrating CredAble’s white-labelled technology, Citi aims to reduce fraud, manual reconciliation, and post-disbursement risk while improving transparency and speed for corporate clients and their suppliers. The partnership reflects a broader trend of banks embedding fintech infrastructure into core trade finance workflows, as institutions look to add automation, intelligence, and trust to increasingly complex global supply chains. Citi has selected India-based CredAble, a company that provides working capital infrastructure for banks and other businesses, to modernize trade finance controls and better verify invoices after payments are made across global markets.  Through its network of more than 20 ecosystem partners, CredAble provides liquidity programs for enterprise ecosystems, offers API-based working capital solutions and embedded credit solutions for banks, and provides an all-in-one credit, trade, and cash management platform for small businesses. Since it was founded in 2017, the company has served more than 175 corporations and 350,000 small businesses. “This partnership goes beyond product innovation. It reflects our joint vision of making trade finance smarter, more secure, and aligned with the digital expectations of global businesses,” said CredAble Co-founder and MD Ram Kewalramani. “We are proud to be Citi’s fintech partner and elevate the standard for invoice verification and supplier financing.” Citi will use a white-labelled solution from CredAble to add a verification layer to its digital trade loan tool. Integrating CredAble’s technology will allow Citi to help its corporate clients and their suppliers validate invoices by detecting inconsistencies and verifying shipping data with a user experience that offers better transparency and speed. Overall, Citi’s tool will reduce manual follow-ups and enhance the accuracy of invoices without disrupting existing business workflows. “As supply chains become more global and complex, digitization is essential to deliver control and confidence at scale,” said Citi Head of Asia South and Indian subcontinent, Trade and Working Capital Solutions, Mayank Gupta. “Our collaboration with CredAble supports our vision of modernizing trade with technology that is secure, user-centric, and built for widespread adoption.” In an increasingly digital era, traditional banks are turning to fintechs to modernize trade finance infrastructure. Embedding invoice verification and shipping data validation into digital trade loan tools will help banks address fraud, manual reconciliation, and post-disbursement risk. As international trade continues to rise, fintechs like CredAble and its competitors like Persona will increase in popularity as they help banks add intelligence, automation, and trust to trade finance processes. Photo by Tiger Lily The post Citi Taps CredAble for Trade Finance Controls appeared first on Finovate.