In Switzerland, neobanking has moved past early adopters and into broader mainstream usage. As of March 2026, the market attracted nearly 2.3 million customers, representing a penetration rate of approximately 25% of the country’s population of 9 million, according to new research by the Institute of Financial Services Zug (IFZ) of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. This means that one in four people in Switzerland now holds a neobanking account, marking a notable increase from a reported 10% in 2020, according to the Swiss Payment Monitor (SPM) study by the University of St. Gallen and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Neobanking leaders in Switzerland The IFZ report, based on data and forecasts from the institute, as well as estimates from SPM survey results, show that Revolut maintains its lead with an estimated 1.2 million customers in March 2026, giving it 53% market share and making it the undisputed market leader in Switzerland’s neobanking landscape. Founded in 2015, Revolut is one of the world’s biggest digital bank, boasting more than 70 million customers and 500,000 business customers across over 160 countries and regions. The company offers a mobile banking app with services including currency exchange, international money transfers, budgeting tools, and cryptocurrency trading. It aims to serve 100 million customers by mid-2027, and enter more than 30 new markets by 2030. Yuh follows Revolut, continuing its upward trajectory in 2026, with an estimated 424,000 customers, up from 399,000 at the end of 2025. It captures nearly 19% of the market. Launched in 2021 as a joint venture between PostFinance and Swissquote, Yuh is a digital banking platform that provides banking, payments, saving, and investing services. Swissquote acquired full ownership of Yuh in mid-2025, and is now working on tightening integration between its traditional trading platform and the newer Yuh app, which targets retail customers with simplified financial services. Yuh turned profitable in 2024. Neon, another Swiss neobank, follows with 251,000 users (11%). Founded in 2017, Neon provides banking services through a mobile app, operating in partnership with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg. Its main appeal is low-cost, simple banking, offering features like a debit card, payments, and account management directly from a smartphone. Other notable players include UK-based Wise with an estimated 183,000 users in Switzerland (8% market share); N26, a licensed digital bank from Germany, with 84,000 customers (4%); Zak, a mobile app operated by Bank Cler, with 83,000 customers (4%), and Alpian, a Swiss digital private bank that combines everyday banking with wealth management, with 31,500 customers (1%). Development of user numbers of neobanks active in Switzerland 2019-2026, Source: Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ, Apr 2026 Neobanking matures Despite strong growth, neobanking in Switzerland has yet to reach true critical mass. Scaling in banking is notoriously known for being expensive, slow and regulatory demanding. Consequently, several neobanking players have struggled to expand, leading some to pivot towards alternative focus areas. Kaspar&, founded in 2020, initially launched as an investment app in collaboration with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, offering account, card, investment, and Pillar 3a solutions. In 2024, the company pivoted to the business-to-business (B2B) market, providing its technology to banks as a white-label solution. In February 2026, Liberty Vorsorge AG in Schwyz acquired Kaspar& to strengthen its technology and digitalization expertise. Similarly, Yapeal, a Swiss-based neobanking company founded in 2018, has shifted its focus towards its embedded finance offering. In March 2026, the company’s Board of Directors appointed Dr. Dominik Bollier as CEO, a role he now holds alongside his existing position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yapeal. Dr. Eidel will support Yapeal’s next phase of growth, driving strategic expansion and value-creating partnerships, and scaling its embedded finance business. The global neobanking landscape The neobanking industry has reached mainstream adoption worldwide. The sector now serves 1.4 billion accounts globally, representing 19% of total banking accounts, according to strategy consulting firm Simon-Kucher. Leaders include Revolut, and Nubank, the latter claiming 131 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Nubank claims that 62% of Brazilian adults are customers, showcasing widespread reach. Furthermore, over 29 million people obtained access to their first credit card thanks to Nubank, underscoring how the digital bank has improved access to finance. In addition to these leaders, more than 20 institutions now exceed 10 million customers and roughly 100 have passed the one-million-user mark, according to a global analysis conducted by Simon-Kucher. Beyond an expanding customer base, neobanks around the world are also seeing deepened customer relationships. Revenues per customer jumped to approximately US$100 per account per year in 2025, up from US$75 in 2023, according to the firm.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on images by Who is Danny and kavalenkava via Freepik The post Neobanking Reaches Mainstream Adoption in Switzerland appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

In 2026, agentic artificial intelligence (AI) systems will transform how individuals and organizations operate, converting employees into human supervisors of AI agents, helping security teams handle alert triage and threat investigation more efficiently, and enhancing customer experiences with personalized concierge-style services, according to a new whitepaper by Google Cloud. At the same time, the rise of AI agents will also require organizations to invest in workforce upskilling, including internal innovation programs, and comprehensive training on AI risks and data governance. The whitepaper draws on qualitative and quantitative data, including internal Google Cloud and Google DeepMind interviews with AI leaders, customer case studies and insights from studies. It highlights five critical shifts in business driven by AI agents in 2026. Boosting productivity In 2026, agentic models will expand the potential of individuals, turning them into the primary engine for innovation and growth. AI agents will manage complex, multi-step workflows across systems, while employees will be responsible for setting the strategy and overseeing the system responsible for tasks, such as invoicing and contracts. In this new paradigm, every employee will become a human supervisor of agents. Their new responsibilities will be to delegate mundane or repetitive tasks, set goals and desired outcome for the agent, and outline strategy. For example, in marketing, managers could orchestrate systems of specialized AI agents to achieve their goals, rather than performing every task personally. A typical setup will involve five specialized agents working in concert. The data agent will sift structured and unstructured data points to find patterns in market trends. The analyst agent will monitor market trends, competitors’ announcements, and social media sentiment. The content agent will draft copies for social media posts and blog articles. The creative agent will generate images and videos to accompany those social posts. Finally, the reporting agent will connect to the company’s analytics platforms to pull and analyze weekly campaign data and deliver summaries. Running businesses Digital assembly line: Orchestrating agentic systems. Source: AI Agent Trends 2026, Google Cloud Agentic systems will orchestrate multiple agents to make the entire businesses run more intelligently, efficiently, 24/7, and at scale. Agentic workflows will bridge previously siloed functions, such as network operations, field services, and customer contact centers in telecommunications. In this integrated environment, agents will autonomously remediate network anomalies, proactively open a ticket with the field service systems, and alert contact centers to inform customers of a technician dispatch, all within a single sequence. For example, an AI agent from a media company could connect to a retailer’s agent to showcase the details and pricing on a specific product displayed in streamed or broadcast content. Similarly, AI agents at a hospital could work directly with labs or insurance agents, provided the patient grants permission. In e-commerce, AI agents could monitor prices and availability and, with human pre-approval, execute a secure purchase. Leading the change in this space, PayPal is creating agentic shopping and commerce experiences by adopting the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), an open standard protocol that enables AI agents to carry out payments on behalf of users, and enabling checkout within Microsoft’s Copilot. Salesforce is working with Google Cloud to create AI agents that work across both platforms using the Agent2Agent (A2A) open protocol. Elanco, a leader in animal health, uses Gemini models within the Elanco.ai platform to automate workflows, retrieve and analyze company data, and execute knowledge tasks across the business. Concierge-life experiences for customers Over the past decade, customer service automation involved pre-programmed chatbots answering simple questions and deflecting support tickets. With advances in large language models (LLMs) and A2A, 2026 will deliver more helpful concierge-style agents that connect enterprises and customers by remembering preferences and past conversations to offer truly one-on-one experiences. A notable example of this trend is Home Depot’s Magic Apron, a suite of generative AI (genAI) tools that helps store associates quickly access product knowledge, answer customer questions, and get guidance on home improvement projects. It combines company data with AI to improve employee productivity and customer service on the sales floor. In 2026, agentic concierges will monitor systems for triggers and resolve problems using real-time data to provide insights and take actions with human guidance and oversight. For example, in healthcare, agents could integrate data such as imaging, electronic health record (EHR) systems, and claims, to deliver proactive insights directly into the clinician’s workflow. This would enable preemptive risk management across patient populations and democratize high-quality healthcare. Advancing security With their ability to reason, act, observe, and adjust actions based on new information, AI agents will help security teams identify and respond to threats more effectively. In 2026, AI agents will increasingly assist with tasks like vulnerability discovery, alert triage, and investigation. Google Cloud’s 2025 ROI of AI study further highlights this trend. Among the 3,400+ executives polled, 46% of the organizations with production-ready AI agents use them for security operations and cybersecurity. Source: Google Cloud’s 2025 ROI of AI study With the addition of agentic systems acting as force multipliers and assume the draining and reactive work of “alert-watching”, human analyst roles will change, and shift to a more strategic level, engaging in activities including threat hunting, supervising and fine-tuning agents, and focusing on long-term security posture like architecting better defenses and anticipating the next wave of attacks. This comes as IT and cybersecurity leaders face increasing alert and data overload. A 2025 Forrester survey of more than 1,500 senior leaders at enterprise organizations found that 82% of respondents are concerned their organizations are missing real threats due to these volumes, underscoring the challenge of prioritizing and responding to potential threats effectively. Upskilling talent As AI evolves, the skills gap is widening, especially as the scope of employee work shifts to include agent management and orchestration. To thrive, organizations will need to build an AI-ready workforce and establish a holistic strategy built on five pillars: Setting up clear and measurable goals that align with the bigger picture of what their organization needs; Gathering a team of primary stakeholders for their AI initiative, tasked with providing the necessary funding and messaging on AI’s importance; managing grassroots campaigns, generating excitement, and collecting employee ideas; and transforming those prioritized ideas into functional solutions; Maintaining momentum through regular multichannel communication and a quarterly awards program to recognize and reward AI use cases, new ideas, and innovators; Hosting internal hackathons where small teams compete to develop and pitch innovative AI solutions, and encouraging staff to practice using new custom AI tools and other innovations; and Preparing their organizations for increasing risks by training their staff on what data can and cannot be used in AI tools, and teaching them how to recognize sophisticated threats like social engineering that uses AI.   Featured image by Frolopiaton Palm on Freepik The post 5 Defining AI Agent Trends for 2026 appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

American technology giants Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Microsoft dominate the cloud database management systems (DBMS) market, leading the space with their extensive market presence and reputation, broad selection of cloud DBMS services, and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, according to an analysis by Gartner, an American research and advisory firm. Cloud DBMS are software products designed to store and manipulate data, and which are primarily delivered as platform-as-a-service (PaaS) in the cloud. These systems address diverse use cases, including online transaction processing, high-volume simple transactions, and the management of session states at scale. They also provide rich user profiles, offer variable consistency mechanisms, and manage data from multiple sources within highly structured schemas to meet analytical demands. Common features include support for multiple data models and types, PaaS delivery with options for on-premises deployment, and integrated AI, machine learning (ML) and generative AI (genAI) capabilities. With the DBMS industry experiencing significant growth and undergoing a profound transformation driven by AI adoption, real-time processing requirements, and new interaction methods between systems, Gartner has shared a new analysis of vendors. This analysis is based on the Magic Quadrant, a framework that evaluates providers’ capabilities based on their execution and vision in 2024 and early 2025, as well as their future plans. It categorizes DBMS providers into four groups: the Leaders, the Visionaries, the Challengers, and the Niche Players. DBMS leaders The Leaders, which comprise nine players, support a broad range of DBMS use cases, lead in advanced features and architecture, and demonstrate strong strategic vision. AWS stands out as one of these Leaders, recognized for its extensive global infrastructure spanning over 30 regions, its comprehensive suite of purpose-built databases, and its ability to unify data and AI governance through SageMaker, which provides central access to create, govern and share data, analytics and AI assets. However, AWS also faces limitations. First, the sheer volume of overlapping and sometimes conflicting features can create confusion for customers trying to determine the optimal solution mix. Second, the lack of a unified pricing model can make cost tracking and management challenging. AWS has also limited its focus on multicloud strategies, preferring native connectors and support for open-source engines. This is forcing many customers to rely on third-party solutions for hybrid and multicloud orchestration. Google is another DBMS leader, recognized for its comprehensive suite of managed database services, including Spanner, BigQuery, AlloyDB, and Cloud SQL. A primary strength of Google’s offerings is its deep integration of its proprietary AI models, like Gemini, directly into its database offerings to facilitate agentic AI and complex automated workflows. However, Google also has limitations, including an ecosystem that can be complex to navigate and which is still maturing, and intricate cost management within its cloud database services. Another key DBMS leader is Microsoft, offering an extensive portfolio that comprises Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, and its converged data, analytics and AI platform, Microsoft Fabric. Other strengths of Microsoft include the company’s deep engagement with the PostgreSQL community, driving improvements in I/O and performance, as well as its strong capabilities to support genAI and AI agents. Limitations include a potential overlap between its unified “all-in-one” platform and established enterprise strategies, unproven functions in Microsoft Fabric and ongoing customer concerns regarding its data warehouse and data governance functions, and the aggressive integration of operational databases like Azure SQL and Cosmos DB into Fabric which can introduce compatibility challenges such as performance and resource management in the short term. Besides the Leaders, the Visionaries category includes DBMS vendors with a strong market understanding and a robust roadmap for the cloud DBMS market, but which lack the market presence of Leaders. These players include Cloudera, SAP, and Teradata. The third category, the Challengers, are vendors with strong, established offerings, but which lack a clear vision for the cloud DBMS market. They include InterSystems, and Huawei Systems. Finally, the Niche Players are those delivering a highly specialized but restricted range of products with particular, limited market appeal. They include Couchbase, EDB, and SingleStore. Magic Quadrant for Cloud Database Management Systems, Source: Gartner, Nov 2025 DBMS market growth and trends The global DBMS market reached US$119.5 billion in 2024, growing 13.4% year-on-year. Gartner expects the industry to expand by 18.4% in 2026 to US$161 billion, driven by rising data volumes and growth of analytic workloads, AI adoption and cloud-native expansion. Organization across all industries are generating unprecedented amounts of data amid digital transformation initiatives, expanded online operations, and automation of business processes. This changing landscape requires scalable, cost-effective storage and processing solutions that traditional on-premise systems struggle to offer. At the same time, AI applications demand databases optimized for ML, real-time analytics, and predictive technologies, requiring architecture capable of efficiently handling massive scale, low-latency requirements, and vector operations. AI penetration in the enterprise is accelerating. An analysis by Andreessen Horowitz, based on internal data and conversations with corporate executives, found that 29% of the Fortune 500 and about 19% of the Forbes Global 2000 are now live, paying customers of a leading AI startup. This rapid adoption is notable because large corporations historically resist being early tech adopters and typically wait years before becoming customers. According to the research, enterprise adoption is currently dominated by specific use cases and industries. Coding, support, and search represent the lion’s share of use cases, while the tech, legal, and healthcare sectors are the industries most eager to adopt AI. Application of AI in the enterprise, Source: Andreessen Horowitz, Apr 2026 In finance, AI usage is expanding rapidly, with 71% of the companies polled by KPMG in 2024 reporting the use of AI, and 41% utilizing it to a moderate or large degree. Companies are turning to AI in every area of finance. Accounting and financial planning are currently the furthest ahead, with nearly two-thirds of the respondents piloting or using AI for these functions. In these areas, organizations are aiming for benefits including improved data processing, financial reporting, real-time insights, and predictive analysis. Treasury and risk management follow suit, with nearly half of respondents piloting or using AI to improve debt management, cash-flow forecasting, fraud detection, credit risk assessment, and scenario analysis. Progress made in the use of AI in finance areas, Source: KPMG Global AI in Finance Report, 2024   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by arslantanoli via Freepik3 The post Who Leads the Cloud Database Management Systems Market? appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

In Q1 2026, venture capital (VC) investment in the global fintech industry fell in both volume and decline, marking a shift from the previous quarter. According to new data released by CB Insights, fintech funding dropped 37.3% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), reaching US$12.1 billion. Deal count slumped 19% QoQ to 762 transactions. Quarterly equity funding and deals in fintech, Source: State of Venture Q1 2026, CB Insights, Apr 2026 This decline contrasts sharply with the broader VC landscape, which saw total funding double QoQ, surging from US$142.3 billion in Q4 2025 to its highest level ever of US$285.5 billion in Q1 2026. The downturn underscores a shift in investor focus, marking a decline in the dominance of fintech in the global VC landscape. In Q1 2026, the sector accounted for only 4% of global VC funding, compared to 11% in 2025 when it ranked second only to artificial intelligence (AI). A focus on established firms In Q1 2026, fintech investors continued to favor more established firms. Mid-stage and late-stage deals took a larger share of the deal count, accounting for 23% of fintech transactions in Q1 2025, up 2 points from 2025. This trend pushed deal sizes upward. In Q1 2026, the average deal size stood at US$22.5 million, representing a 10.8% increase from US$20.3 million in 2025. The median deal size also increased, rising from US$4.7 million in 2025 to US$6 million in Q1 2026. Annual percent of deals in fintech by deal stage, Source: State of Venture Q1 2026, CB Insights, Apr 2026 This year, the US continues to lead the market, securing about half of global fintech funding and deal count in Q1 2026 at US$6.7 billion and 361 transactions. The country also dominated in transaction sizes, securing five of the quarter’s six largest fintech deals. These deals involved: Kalshi, a prediction market which secured a US$1 billion Series F in March at a US$22 billion valuation; Tala, a global financial infrastructure company which raised US$500 million in a Series F in January; World Liberty Financial, a Trump-linked cryptocurrency venture which raised a US$500 million round in January; Devoted Health, a healthcare company which closed a US$317 million Series F-Prime financing round in January; and Rain, an enterprise-grade infrastructure for stablecoin-enabled payments which secured US$250 million in a Series C at the beginning of the year. Investors remain bullish Echoing these broader market data, Amias Gerety, partner and head of US at QED Investors, a fintech-focused VC firm, told Crunchbase News that his company has been investing at a slightly slower pace so far in 2026 than in the previous years, citing macroeconomics and geopolitical challenges, and emphasizing a strategic pivot towards “high-conviction companies.” Despite a more measured approach, Gerety said QED Investors remains bullish on specific growth sectors, particularly the application layer of AI in fintech and stablecoins, and has backed several startups that are harnessing large language models (LLMs). Looking ahead, Gerety expressed optimism for the fintech sector as a whole this year. Part of the excitement is around the fact that larger companies are enhancing their operations with agentic workflows. “More and more transformation is moving from the ‘co-pilot’ phase, and we’re moving into the ‘OpenClaw’ phase,” Gerety said. “Reasoning agents will start to actually do all the work that was too tedious and slow to be done manually.” AI drives VC funding surge In Q1 2026, VC investors shifted their focus further away from fintech and towards AI. The sector continued to be the dominant investment theme, totaling US$226.2 billion and representing 79% of all VC funding for the quarter. AI secured some of the period’s largest transactions, including US$122 billion for OpenAI, US$30 billion for Anthropic, US$16 billion for Waymo, and US$7.5 billion for xAI. Quarterly equity funding and deal count, Source: State of Venture Q1 2026, CB Insights, Apr 2026 While global VC funding surged, deal count declined 15% QoQ, reaching their lowest quarterly total since Q4 2016 with 6,598. Capital concentrated into fewer and larger bets, with early-stage deals trending lower, falling to 64% of total deals, compared to 67% in 2025. This trend is further evidenced by the dramatic increase in deal sizes. The average deal size surged to US$66.3 million in Q1 2026, marking a near threefold increase from 2025’s US$23.5 million. Meanwhile, the median deal size reached US$4 million in Q1 2026, rising increased 29% from 2025. Annual average and median deal size, Source: State of Venture Q1 2026, CB Insights, Apr 2026     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by freepik via Freepik The post Fintech Funding Cools as Capital Floods into AI Instead appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Finastra has announced that MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) has selected its Global PAYplus platform to support ACH services in the US. The deployment expands the existing relationship between MUFG and Finastra and extends a unified payments architecture across Japan, Europe and now the US. It follows MUFG’s earlier modernisation of its payments infrastructure in Japan and Europe as part of a wider effort to build a more scalable system. MUFG Americas CIO, Alla Whitston, said: Alla Whitston “In 2021, we began our ISO 20022 journey with a bold decision to replace the core payment engine with a completely new one. After careful evaluation, we selected Finastra as our partner to first modernise our payment capabilities and following its successful completion decided to migrate our legacy ACH platform, benefiting from their global payments’ expertise and modern technology stack.” The US rollout is part of a multi-year programme to simplify MUFG’s payments infrastructure and improve processing performance. The bank said that standardising on a single platform has helped increase straight-through processing rates to more than 95% across its global operations. Barry Rodrigues, EVP, Payments at Finastra, said: Barry Rodrigues “We’re proud to partner with MUFG on this journey, helping deliver the resilience, speed and flexibility that banks need today, while building a foundation that can evolve with future demands.” MUFG is consolidating ACH and cross-border payment processing onto a single ISO 20022-native platform. The initiative aims to reduce operational complexity and improve the bank’s ability to respond to regulatory and customer requirements.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Frolopiaton Palm via Freepik The post MUFG Selects Finastra’s Global PAYplus for US ACH Modernisation appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Euronet has agreed to acquire PaynoPain, a provider of digital-first payment solutions serving businesses ranging from SMEs to large enterprises across sectors including ecommerce, hospitality, microfinance and marketplaces. The acquisition will expand Euronet’s merchant acquiring footprint in Spain and Portugal and support the growth of its omnichannel online payments and alternative payment methods offering. Euronet expects to close the transaction in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions. It will integrate PaynoPain’s merchant portfolio and technology into its existing acquiring business, strengthening its position in the European merchant acquiring market. Euronet will also establish an additional Merchant Acquiring Centre of Excellence in Spain to support advanced in-store and digital payment capabilities across its global operations. The deal supports Euronet’s broader strategy to deliver a unified omnichannel customer experience across digital and physical payment channels. It also addresses rising demand for ecommerce and omnichannel solutions, particularly among very small businesses, SMEs, and high-growth sectors such as hospitality. Euronet’s Ren payments platform will be enhanced through the integration of PaynoPain’s online payment capabilities, aimed at improving the delivery of secure and flexible merchant solutions. The company will also utilise PaynoPain’s payment service provider license, authorised by the Bank of Spain, within its Merchant Services platform to strengthen its regulatory and operational presence in the region. Nikos Fountas, EVP and CEO of EFT for EMEA and the Americas at Euronet, said: Nikos Fountas “The acquisition of PaynoPain enhances our ability to deliver scalable, technology-driven omnichannel payment solutions and further expands our merchant acquiring capabilities in Europe.” Jordi Nebot Carda, CEO and Founder of PaynoPain, added: Jordi Nebot Carda “Joining Euronet marks a significant milestone in PaynoPain’s journey… giving us global scale, expanded capabilities, and the opportunity to deliver greater value to merchants.”       Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by freepik The post Euronet to Acquire PaynoPain in Bid to Expand European Payments Reach appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

OpenAI has acquired AI personal finance startup Hiro, with the acquisition signalling a deliberate push into specialised financial agents, as reported by TechCrunch. The deal functions primarily to recruit talent, bringing Hiro founder Ethan Bloch and his ten-person team to the ChatGPT developer. The standalone Hiro application will cease operations on April 20 2026. Hiro will permanently delete all user data from its servers by May 13 2026. The startup confirmed that customer financial information will not transfer to OpenAI. Founded in 2023, Hiro built an automated tool designed to act as a personal CFO. The application allowed consumers to input salary, debt, and monthly expenses to model various financial scenarios. Hiro built its tool with a strict focus on mathematical accuracy. Users could verify the specific calculations produced by the AI, addressing a known weakness of large language models in numerical reasoning. Ethan Bloch “As we got to know the team at OpenAI, it became clear that joining forces would give us the opportunity to pursue that vision at a much larger scale for a much broader audience,” said Ethan Bloch, Founder, Hiro. The OpenAI Hiro acquisition follows the developer acquiring another AI personal finance application, Roi, in 2025. These purchases indicate a strategy to develop autonomous financial agents capable of completing complex tasks rather than simply answering queries. Following the OpenAI Hiro acquisition, European wealthtech companies face a shifting market. The integration of high-precision financial modelling into mainstream tools like ChatGPT sets a new benchmark for automated advisory services in regions like Switzerland.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Dikarte via Freepik The post OpenAI’s Hiro Acquisition Brings Specialised Financial Agents to ChatGPT appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Deutsche Börse Group has announced a strategic investment of US$200 million in Payward, the infrastructure layer behind the global cryptocurrency platform Kraken. Deutsche Börse Group is making the investment through a secondary share purchase, giving it a 1.5% fully diluted stake in the company. The transaction further strengthens the strategic partnership between Deutsche Börse Group and Kraken. As previously announced in December 2025, the two firms intend to combine their respective capabilities to connect traditional financial markets with the digital asset ecosystem. The collaboration spans trading, custody, settlement, collateral management, and tokenised assets, with the aim of enabling more integrated access across both environments for institutional clients. The investment also underscores Deutsche Börse Group’s focus on its digital asset strategy, which centres on building a hybrid market infrastructure capable of processing both traditional securities and blockchain-based tokens within a unified liquidity pool. Customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, still apply to the transaction, and Deutsche Börse Group expects it to close in the second quarter.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by MohammadNahid011 via Freepik The post Deutsche Börse Acquires Stake in Kraken in $200M Digital Asset Deal appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Australian fintech unicorn Zeller has launched in the UK, introducing its payments and financial platform to the country’s 5.7 million SMEs. The move comes as UK businesses face rising operating costs and continued expectations from customers for smooth checkout experiences. Research from Foresight Factory, commissioned by Zeller, found that poor checkout experiences lead to nearly half of customers abandoning purchases, putting around £272bn in payments at risk. Zeller Terminal, the company’s payment hardware, is being introduced in the UK alongside its integrated platform, which combines payments, point-of-sale, invoicing, accounts, cards, and expense management in a single system. The company said the aim is to reduce the need for merchants to use multiple disconnected providers. Zeller said UK merchants could reduce payment processing costs by up to 35% annually compared with fintech and legacy providers, equivalent to as much as £5.2bn across the market. It also noted that its digital onboarding process takes under six minutes, compared with an industry average of around five days, with many providers still requiring in-person verification or paper-based applications. Early uptake in the UK includes more than 100 businesses during the pre-launch phase. Ben Pfisterer “The UK is one of the world’s most advanced fintech markets and home to millions of small businesses that are vital to the economy. But despite progress being made, payments is dominated by legacy providers offering unreliable, outdated, and costly payments hardware, paired with lengthy and time-consuming onboarding processes. UK merchants have been underserved for too long,” said Ben Pfisterer, co-founder and CEO of Zeller. Zeller, which supports more than 100,000 businesses in Australia, counts merchants including Domino’s Pizza, Baskin Robbins, The Cheesecake Shop, and SSP among its users.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Frolopiaton Palm via Freepik The post Australian Fintech Zeller Launches in the UK to Target SME Payments Market appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Banking Circle Group will appoint former UBS and ING Group CEO Ralph Hamers as Chairman of its Group Board of Directors from 20 April 2026. Hamers has also advised companies in the fintech ecosystem, including Arta and Grab. He will work with management to expand into new markets, deepen Banking Circle’s product ecosystem, and strengthen its operational and regulatory foundations. Ralph Hamers said, “For more than a decade, Banking Circle Group has innovated at the intersection of banking, technology and regulation. The team has built a one-of-a-kind platform and ecosystem, delivering real and compounding value to clients as they scale. I look forward to joining the board and partnering with the team and other stakeholders as we enter this exciting next chapter of growth – continuing to strengthen the platform, expanding globally and delivering even greater value to our clients.” Anders La Cour Anders La Cour, Co-Founder and CEO of Banking Circle Group, said, “I am immensely proud of the achievements of all my colleagues, and the trust that our clients have placed in us on the journey. Ralph’s experience will be critical as we continue to scale the business and prepare for the next phase of growth. We are very excited to welcome him into the business.” Banking Circle is a financial technology platform for global commerce that provides payments infrastructure to payment service providers, fintech firms, banks, global marketplaces, corporates and online merchants. The business has surpassed €500 million in revenue, with growth driven by client adoption, international expansion and continued investment in products, technology and its regulatory footprint.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by ismode via Freepik This article first appeared on Fintech News Singapore The post Ex-UBS CEO Ralph Hamers Named Chairman of Banking Circle appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Inventx is expanding its AI portfolio with “AI-Models as a Service”, enabling financial and insurance institutions to operate large language models, small language models, and traditional machine learning models within its ix.Cloud environment. The service allows customers to select, combine, or replace AI models as needed. Inventx deploys open-source models and makes them available for production use without requiring customers to build their own GPU infrastructure or rely on public cloud services. The company says the setup supports the use of sensitive data within a controlled environment for training and automation use cases. Inventx operates ix.Cloud and hosts it in its own data centres in Switzerland. It designs the platform to meet regulatory and data protection requirements for highly regulated industries, while customers retain control over data, infrastructure, and governance. Carla Caspar, Product Manager Data Platform & AI and Head of InventxLab, said: Carla Caspar “The Model Serving Service provides our customers with a stable and secure interface via hosted model endpoints, enabling seamless integration of open-source AI models into existing applications. The platform allows models to be flexibly exchanged, applied to sensitive corporate data, and used to build automated AI workflows.”       Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik The post Inventx Launches AI Models as a Service on ix.Cloud for Financial and Insurance Clients appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Crypto Finance, AMINA, and Incore Bank have completed the second stage of the first phase of their payment infrastructure pilot on Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), moving from a November 2025 proof-of-concept to interbank production validation. The three regulated financial intermediaries said the exercise demonstrated the consolidation of multiple transfers into single bank-to-bank clearing operations, with settlement efficiency improving as more institutions join the network. They added that the setup shows a potential route to modernising payment operations without altering existing regulatory frameworks or introducing new forms of digital money. AML and sanctions screening are embedded within the transaction flow to support compliance and data privacy requirements. In this stage of the pilot, participating banks processed live client transactions in a production environment. The earlier phase had demonstrated near real-time settlement using GCUL. Stijn Vander Straeten “We’re moving toward a more connected financial system in which money and assets can settle in real time without compromising trust,” said Stijn Vander Straeten, CEO of Crypto Finance Group. Franz Bergmueller “This pilot with Google Cloud Universal Ledger validates our technology infrastructure’s readiness for production environments within existing regulatory frameworks,” said Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA. Crypto Finance acted as Currency Operator during this stage, setting governance standards, onboarding criteria, and transaction rules, while AMINA and Incore Bank integrated the system into their regulated environments. The pilot, supported by Google Cloud’s private permissioned ledger infrastructure, demonstrated automated domestic transfers operating continuously, combining existing Swiss payment rails with a shared ledger layer. The partners said future work will explore cross-currency settlement, FX workflows, and digital asset transfers.       Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by freepik The post AMINA, Incore Bank and Crypto Finance Complete GCUL Payment Pilot Phase appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Celsion Bank has started its operations under a license from the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA) and with authorisation under MiCAR. This enables the bank to provide services to clients across the EU/EEA, Switzerland, and other jurisdictions where legally permitted. Designed for digital asset banking, Celsion integrates digital asset services with traditional banking infrastructure. Its services target clients active in digital assets, including companies, asset managers, foundations, and other corporates. At launch, the bank offers digital asset custody, trading, staking, and transfer services. These are provided alongside core banking functions, all within a regulated framework. These services operate on a single platform, allowing clients to manage digital and traditional assets together. Celsion’s executive team combines experience in regulated banking, capital markets, audit, technology, risk management, and digital assets. The leadership team comprises CEO Dr Markus Federspiel, CGO Mauro Casellini, COO Holger Schultes, CFO Harald Siegel, and CRO Kevin Pekar, supported by a team across all key functions. The bank also benefits from a long-term investor base with expertise in digital assets. Lee Weiss “Clients active in digital assets require a banking setup where trading, custody and payments operate seamlessly together. That is the infrastructure Celsion provides,” said Lee Weiss, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr Markus Federspiel, CEO, added: Dr Markus Federspiel “We are not simply building another bank, but shaping a model that enables the long-term integration of traditional banking and digital assets within a fully regulated environment.” Celsion operates from Liechtenstein, a financial centre noted for stability, high supervisory standards, and a clear legal framework for digital assets. The jurisdiction provides a foundation for a bank bridging traditional and digital financial markets.   Featured image credit: Celsion Bank press release The post Celsion Bank Begins Operations, Combining Digital Assets and Traditional Banking appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Revolut has signed a ten-year lease for its Western European headquarters in Paris. The office, scheduled to open in early 2027, will occupy 2,400 square metres across six floors of a renovated late 19th-century building designed by Albert Waldwein. The building retains its original steel structure, stone façade, and wooden staircases, while the renovation introduces open-plan layouts, high ceilings, and large windows. The site is located between Paris’s historic financial district and the Sentier, a technology and start-up hub. It will house Revolut’s Western Europe and Paris teams and serve as a hub for operations in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, and Portugal. The company plans to display its logo on the ground floor to signify its local presence. The move is part of Revolut’s broader investment strategy in the region, including applying for a French banking license, planning more than 400 new hires, and eventually employing over 1,500 staff for the new bank. These initiatives are part of a €1 billion investment in Western Europe. Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, CEO for Western Europe at Revolut, said: Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier “This location perfectly reflects what Revolut stands for in the region. It embodies our ambition to combine a strong banking foundation with technological innovation. This new headquarters will be a place where our teams come together to shape the future of banking in Europe.” The office will complement Revolut’s global headquarters in London and existing European banking operations. As a remote-first company, Revolut plans to use the site for product launches, workshops, and collaborative work, while employees will continue to have flexible working options.     Featured image credit: Revolut press release The post Revolut Secures Paris Headquarters for Western Europe Growth appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

After stalling in 2022 and 2023 amid rising interest rates, tighter funding conditions, and heightened regulatory scrutiny, the fintech mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market is reopening, with transaction volume expected to rise from US$25 billion in 2024 to US$40-60 billion over the next 24 months. According to Luciano Colos, CEO and co-founder of PitchGrade.com, an AI-powered research platform for entrepreneurs to create and refine pitch decks, this growth will be driven by consolidation in the banking-as-a-service (BaaS) industry, demand for regtech solutions, and payment modernization efforts. BaaS consolidation In a new analysis, Colos looks at the state of fintech M&A in 2026 and shares predictions for what to come for the state through 2027. He names consolidation in the BaaS sector as one of the most likely transaction themes in 2026 and 2027, driven by distressed valuations among players who struggled in 2023 and 2024. These players included Synapse, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2024, Blue Ridge Bank, which terminated consent orders in 2025, and the Evolve Bank data breach in 2024, which forced the company to pay US$11.9 million in settlement for a class action lawsuit. This wave of failures created a category-wide credibility problem. As a result, acquirers are picking up infrastructure at a discount. At the same time, the BaaS companies that survived face tougher regulations where having a large size and capital is essential for survival. According to Colos, the most promising targets in this category include Unit, Column, and Increase. Unit is a leading US embedded finance startup offering ready-to-launch solutions that help software companies transform into “money hubs” for their customers. It claims more than 100 business customers, including Wix, Bill.com, Honeybook, Relay, and Homebase, serving over 2 million end customers. Column is an American chartered bank that provides regulated financial infrastructure for companies innovating in financial services, serving clients include Carta, Brex and Ramp. It claims to power as much as 40% of all money moving across the Bay Area’s tech industry, doubling its revenue to US$200 million in 2025, with free cash flow of more than US$100 million, or about US$1 million per employee. Finally, Increase provides banking infrastructure that lets fintech startups and businesses move money, store deposits and access payment rails without building direct bank connections. It processes hundreds of billions in payments volume per year. Well-capitalized processors, like Fiserv and FIS, as well as banks such as JP Morgan and US Bank, are the most likely buyers in the BaaS platform consolidation. Regtech growth AI-native compliance and know-your-customer (KYC) solutions are another key theme in 2026 and 2027. As Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) requirements expand, regtech is entering a growth phase. Companies like Alloy, Sardine, and Resistant AI represent a new generation of compliance infrastructure, setting a new standard that incumbents must need to remain competitive. Alloy provides an identity and fraud prevention platform that enables global financial institutions and fintech startups to manage identity risk, serving more than 700 of the world’s largest financial institutions and fintech companies. It’s valued at US$1.55 billion, and is a natural target for well-capitalized processors like FIS or Fiserv to bundle advanced compliance capabilities with their core banking offerings. Sardine offers an agentic risk management platform, unifying data across risk teams to detect fraud in real-time and streamline compliance operations. It has protected over US$1 trillion in transaction volume for 503 million consumers and 2.6 million businesses to date, serving companies including FIS, GoDaddy, Deel, Checkout, and Brex. Finally, Resistant AI is a provider of native AI models for financial crime and fraud prevention. Resistant AI claims that companies using its services see a 3x increase in document fraud prevention, 5x faster review times, 90% automation rates, and a 5x increase in second-line analyst productivity. It serves customers including Dun & Bradstreet, Payoneer, Close Brothers, AXA, PennyMac, Bank of Valletta and Finom. Resistant AI raised US$25 million in a Series B in October 2025 after breaking even. Colos expects two or three significant acquisitions in this category in 2026 and 2027 at 6-10x annual recurring revenue (ARR) multiples. B2B payment infrastructure Another key fintech M&A theme in 2026 and 2027 is international payment infrastructure. With business-to-business (B2B) cross-border payments remaining expensive, slow and fragmented, acquirers with global ambitions will continue to buy payment rails and local infrastructure, especially those operating in high-growth markets, like Latin America (LatAm), Southeast Asia, and Africa. Most likely buyers include Mastercard, Visa, Block and Stripe, with probable targets that encompass Rapyd and Nuvei. Rapyd is a cross-border payment and embedded finance infrastructure serving 250,000 merchants. At its 2021 peak, Rapyd was valued at US$15 billion but has since seen its valuation shrink to US$4.5 billion, according to reports. Nuvei offers a modular, flexible and scalable technology that allows companies to accept next-generation payments, offer various payout options, and benefit from card issuing, banking, risk and fraud management services. Nuvei supports customers in more than 200 markets, with local acquiring in 50 markets, 150 currencies, and 680 alternative payment methods Nuvei was privatized in 2024, and is now owned by a private equity firm. The company could be re-sold or become a merger target. Colos also expects a number of B2B payment transactions focused on the US market. With the RTP and FedNow networks now operational, the plumbing for instant B2B payments is in place. This will likely prompt strategic buyers like Fiserv and FIS, as well as ERP providers like SAP and Oracle, to accelerate acquisitions of software layer above that infrastructure. Colos expects a particular focus to be placed on solutions that enable treasury management, payment orchestration, and accounts payable automation over real-time rails. Fintech M&A rebounds After stalling in 2022 and 2023, the fintech M&A market rebounded in 2025 as incumbents became strategically motivated to acquire distribution and technology. Targets are now those with proven revenue and clear integration rationale, rather than high-growth loss-makers. Valuation multiplies, while recovering from 2022-2023 lows, reflect a new equilibrium. Payment infrastructure are now trading at 3-7x revenue, neobanks at 2-4x, and data and compliance platforms at 5-8x. This marks a significant recalibration from 2021, when fintech companies traded at 20-40x revenue multiples, valuations that made most targets unacquirable. Fintech deal multiples in 2025-2026, Source: Luciano Colos, PitchGrade.com, Mar 2026 Globally, the fintech industry recorded 1,030 M&A transactions in 2025, reaching a four-year high and climbing 29% year-over-year (YoY) from 797 deals in 2024. The largest transactions last year included Dunamu, the company operating South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit valued at US$10.3 billion and acquired in November 2025 by Naver Financial; Melio, a US-Israeli payment firm valued at US$3.1 billion and acquired in July 2025 by New Zealand’s cloud accounting software giant Xero; and Deribit, a crypto options exchange valued at US$2.9 billion and acquired in August 2025 by US crypto firm Coinbase. Fintech exit trends, Source: State of Fintech 2025, CB Insights, Feb 2026   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by funtap via Freepik The post BaaS, Regtech, Payment Infrastructure Take Center Stage in Fintech M&A Rebound appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

UBS, PostFinance, Sygnum, Raiffeisen, ZKB and BCV are working with Swiss Stablecoin to explore the potential of a Swiss franc (CHF) stablecoin. The collaboration will test selected use cases in a secure digital live environment, known as a sandbox, providing a controlled setting for experimentation. The initiative aims to support the development of a Swiss digital currency ecosystem, build expertise in digital payment solutions, and generate practical insights. Participating institutions will focus on enhancing process efficiency and creating tangible benefits for customers. The sandbox is based on a jointly developed list of potential use cases, with the technical infrastructure for issuing the stablecoin provided by Swiss Stablecoin. Scheduled for 2026, the sandbox is open to other banks, companies and institutions interested in contributing to the development of a CHF stablecoin.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by freepik The post Swiss Banks to Pilot CHF Stablecoin in Secure Digital Sandbox appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Buyers in the events, media and information services sector are increasingly targeting specialized verticals, preferring niche communities over broad appeal. According to the latest M&A Activity Update report from Grimes, McGovern & Associates, which tracked over 360 transactions across 2025, acquirers prioritized sector-leading niche events and media companies with loyal communities in 2025, favoring brands with committed niche audiences, strong identity and repeat attendance. Several deals illustrate this trend. In March 2025, Emerald acquired all assets of Insurtech Insights, a London-based company that serves the growing insurance technology community. Founded in 2018, Insurtech Insights produces leading conferences across Europe, Asia, and the US, bringing together insurers, brokers, technology providers, investors, and thought leaders to explore innovations shaping the industry’s future. In July 2025, Cambridge Innovation Institute (CII) acquired Integrative Healthcare Symposium, a longstanding event for integrative healthcare practitioners, and Integrative Practitioner, a podcast and e-newsletter to support integrative healthcare professionals. This strategic acquisition was intended to expand CII’s healthcare portfolio, and strengthen its position as a leader in advancing innovation through conferences and media. Most recently, in January 2026, Nineteen Group, an international events and media organization, purchased Reliabilityweb, a respected global community dedicated to reliability engineering, maintenance excellence, and asset management. The acquisition marked a key milestone in Nineteen Group’s expansion in the US and reinforced its growing footprint across the manufacturing sector. Event M&A activity continues upward trend Findings from the Grimes, McGovern & Associates study revealed that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the events, media and information services industry rebounded in 2025, with transaction volume rising from 341 in 2024 to 361 in 2025. This growth was largely driven by event deals, which totaled 95 transactions in 2025, up from 94 in 2024 and 73 in 2023. This sustained expansion underlines investors’ continued confidence in face-to-face event platforms throughout the years. The media and information services vertical also rebounded in 2025, rising from 247 in 2024 to 266 in 2025, and returning to 2023 levels after the 2024 dip. Together, these trends point to a market that has factored in macroeconomic uncertainty and entered a disciplined but active acquisition cycle focused on scalable, specialized, and defensible media and event properties. Events and media mergers and acquisitions deal count, Source- M&A Activity Update, Grimes, McGovern and Associates, 2026 In 2025, private equity (PE) involvement remained high in M&A deals, with a rising share in deal counts of 25% compared to 17% in 2024 and 20% in 2023. PE firms were particularly active in the events category, where 46% of the deals involved PE, up from 33% in 2023 and 36% in 2024. This climb signals that PE firms are prioritizing live and experiential assets, where pricing power, community-driven defensibility, and platform roll-up opportunities may be more tangible, while remaining more selective in traditional and digital media transactions. Event and media mergers and acquisitions deal count with involvement of private equity firms, Source: M&A Activity Update, Grimes, McGovern and Associates, 2026 Software companies target media assets in acquisition push In the events and media M&A landscape, 2026 got off to a strong start, with 14 deals in the events category in January and February alone. This figure represents nearly double the number recorded in the same period last year. Another trend that is the acceleration of software companies acquiring media brands. In February 2026, HubSpot Media, the in-house media division of the enterprise software firm HubSpot, acquired a creator-led entrepreneurship publication called Starter Story. Founded in 2017 by software engineer Pat Walls, Starter Story is a video-first media brand with more than 800,000 YouTube subscribers, a 275,000-person newsletter, and a total audience of roughly 1.6 million across platforms. The company is profitable and generates a seven-figure revenue, according to Founded. HubSpot’s media network, which also comprises the Hustle, now drives over 50 million engagements and tens of thousands of leads each month. With Starter Story joining the network, HubSpot’s combined YouTube subscriber count rises to 2.9 million. In March 2026, Plaid, a US$8 billion open banking startup, acquired This Week in Fintech (TWIF), marking the company’s first buy of a media business as it focuses on broadening customer relationships by  providing additional resources, expanding content formats, and creating more opportunities for community engagement. TWIF provides news and analysis for operators, builders, and investors navigating the fintech industry, with a newsletter operation that’s said to have around 200,000 subscribers, according to Axios. Most recently, in April 2026, OpenAI acquired Technology Business Programming Network (TBPN), bringing a team with strong editorial instincts, deep audience understanding, and a proven ability to convene influential voices across tech, business, and culture.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by MDROTONALI via Freepik The post Buyers Target Niche Media Across Events and Information Industries appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), coupled with increased accessibility and sophistication of AI-based impersonation attacks, have elevated AI to the top data security concern. According to a new survey conducted by S&P Global Market Intelligence for Thales, AI-fueled attacks are now a prominent threat, with 59% of the 3,120 global security and IT experts polled reporting witnessing deepfake attacks, underscoring the rapid proliferation of AI-based social engineering. The cost and impact of these technologies is becoming tangible. 48% of respondents said that they have experienced reputational damage as a result of AI-generated misinformation. This reveals how such content can inflict harm on personal and professional reputations, leading to significant credibility loss, eroded trust, and potential financial consequences. Infrastructure supporting AI applications and data are also emerging as a prime target for attackers. 70% of respondents cited the rate of change as the top AI risk, suggesting that the speed of evolution within the AI ecosystem is a primary concern. Furthermore, 61% reported that their AI applications are being actively targeted, with sensitive data being the leading target. Most concerning AI security risks, according to security and IT managers, Source: 2026 Thales Data Threat Report Against this backdrop, spending on AI security is accelerating. According to a recent 451 Research Voice of the Enterprise study by S&P Global Market Intelligence, AI security spending now ranks as the second-highest priority, trailing only cloud security, among 17 listed areas. One in four respondents ranked AI security among their top three spending categories. Furthermore, 30% of organizations now have a dedicated budget for AI security, up 10 points. However, more than half (53%) still fund AI security using their existing security budgets. This indicates that for most organizations, AI security is not yet treated as a distinct priority, suggesting that tools and strategies may still be lacking the specialized capabilities needed to detect, mitigate, and respond to unique AI risks. Security spending priorities, Source: 2026 Thales Data Threat Report Adoption of AI surges Rising security concerns coincide with the massive surge in AI adoption within the business community. According to the 451 Research Voice of the Enterprise study, more than a third of enterprises (34%) reported that embedded agents are already in use, and a majority (73%) said they expect to use them within 12 months. These findings align with Deloitte’s 2026 State of AI report, which is based on a survey of 3,235 director-level to C-suite-level respondents globally in Q3 2025. The study found that workforce access to AI expanded by 50% in 2025, growing from under 40% a year prior to under 60% of workers with sanctioned access to AI tools. Notably, 11% of leading companies now provide workers with near-universal access to sanctioned AI tools. The study also found that AI adoption is rapidly shifting from experimental pilots to production. 25% of respondents indicated that their organization have moved 40% or more or their AI experiments into live products so far. 54% expect to reach that level in the next three to six months, demonstrating the pathway to value is clear and achievable. Proportion of AI experiments deployed, Source: The State of AI in the Enterprise, Deloitte, Jan 2026 The survey reveals that AI deployments are already yielding benefits. 25% of the leaders reported that AI is having a transformative effect on their companies, more than double from 12% a year ago. In particular, 66% cited widespread gains in efficiency and productivity. However, benefits in other areas are taking longer to achieve. For example, revenue growth remains largely an aspiration, with 74% of organizations hoping to grow revenue through their AI initiatives in the future compared to just 20% having actually achieve this. Similarly, while 65% of respondents aim to reduce costs, only 40% are seeing these benefits realized. AI benefits achieving today versus hope to achieve, Source: The State of AI in the Enterprise, Deloitte, Jan 2026 The rising threat of quantum computing In addition to AI risks, the Thales and S&P Global Market Intelligence study emphasizes the growing threat landscape surrounding quantum technology, identified by 61% of respondents as a top issue. When asked about specific quantum risks, 61% of respondents cited future decryption of existing data, known as harvest now, decrypt later (HNDL), as the top concern. The second-highest concern, future encryption compromise, was the top concern in the year-ago survey. Organizations are beginning to prepare of these risks. The survey examined organizations’ progress in mitigating quantum risks, as reflected in planned security measures for the next 18-24 months, and found a slight uptick in the proportion of organizations prototyping and evaluating post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) algorithms (59%). Quantum technology harnesses quantum mechanical phenomena like superposition and entanglement to develop advanced devices and systems. Quantum computing is one of the most prominent applications of quantum technology, promising exponential speedups for complex problems, such as molecular simulation, cryptographic analysis, and risk model optimization, that classical computers cannot efficiently solve. However, quantum computing also introduces risks, including the potential to break widely used cryptography methods such as RSA and ECC, which have protected sensitive data for now decades. Despite these risks, organization are actively working on quantum computing projects. Almost a third (32%) of the respondents of the Thales and S&P Global Market Intelligence study reported having either already identified quantum projects or started experimenting with quantum computing. Respondents anticipate the most significant impacts of quantum computing as improvements in machine learning, such as enhanced classification (57%), as well as advanced simulation (54%) and concurrent data processing (49%).   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by yanalya via Freepik The post AI Becomes A Top Data Security Concern appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Merge, a regulated fintech backed by Octopus Ventures and Coinbase, has launched Named EUR IBANs, an enhancement to its API-first payments infrastructure. The new product allows businesses to issue fully named, dedicated EUR IBAN accounts to their end users, supporting fiat collection, reconciliation, and payout across Europe. Unlike traditional virtual IBAN arrangements, Merge’s Named EUR IBANs are actual accounts opened in the name of the end customer. These accounts can receive, hold, and send funds, supporting both first-party and third-party payments. The functionality accommodates a range of use cases, including marketplaces, fintech platforms, and regulated crypto-native companies bridging fiat and stablecoin systems. The release addresses a challenge in cross-border and digital asset payments: the lack of scalable fiat infrastructure integrated with blockchain-based systems. By combining dedicated IBAN accounts with its stablecoin payment capabilities, Merge allows clients to manage end-to-end flows between fiat and digital assets, while maintaining regulatory compliance and traceability. Kebbie Sebastian “Named EUR IBANs are a foundational building block for any business looking to operate at scale across fiat and stablecoin rails,” said Kebbie Sebastian, CEO of Merge. “We’re giving our clients the ability to offer their users a true modern payment infrastructure combining flexibility, speed, and programmability.” With this launch, Merge aims to strengthen its position as a provider of fiat and stablecoin payment infrastructure for regulated institutions. Clients can now issue dedicated IBANs in the end-user’s name, improving trust and payment acceptance, automate reconciliation through one-to-one account mapping, integrate with SEPA payment schemes, and ensure interoperability with stablecoin rails, including on/off-ramp functionality. The service operates within Merge’s EMI and VASP regulatory framework and is available immediately to clients across supported jurisdictions, with API-driven onboarding. As stablecoins gain traction in global payments, robust fiat infrastructure remains essential. Merge’s Named EUR IBANs help businesses build financial products that bridge traditional and digital payment systems while maintaining reliability and compliance.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Mockup_Mania via Freepik The post Merge Launches Named EUR IBANs for End-to-End Fiat and Stablecoin Payments appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Robinhood is taking a leading role in supporting the US Department of the Treasury with the rollout of the new Trump Accounts programme. As brokerage and initial trustee for the accounts, Robinhood will help ensure families can access and manage their accounts quickly and efficiently. Robinhood, working with BNY Mellon, appointed as a financial agent of the US government, is developing the Trump Accounts app, a secure, user-friendly platform that helps families manage their accounts with confidence and ease. It is helping develop the app as a bespoke, white-label product exclusively for government use. The National Design Studio, together with Robinhood, is designing an intuitive user interface and user experience that allows families to explore their Trump Accounts with clarity and control. Throughout this process, the Treasury will retain full oversight of the app and operations for the initial accounts.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by freepik The post Robinhood Joins US Treasury Initiative to Launch Trump Accounts appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.