OnePay is partnering with Workday Wellness to embed banking, investing, and credit tools directly into employer HR and benefits platforms. The integration shifts financial wellness from a passive benefit to an in-workflow experience, helping employers drive engagement and usage. The partnership will also bring Enhanced Direct Deposit Switching (EDDS) to simplify payroll routing while helping OnePay acquire new customers and capture more deposits. Walmart-owned digital banking platform OnePay is reaching more customers through its new partnership with Workday Wellness The New York-based company has become a Workday Wellness partner for financial benefits. Under the agreement, Workday Wellness will integrate OnePay services with Workday Wellness to allow employers to bring OnePay’s banking, investing, credit building and other financial tools into the Workday experience. Workday Wellness is owned by Workday, an enterprise AI platform for managing people, money, and AI agents. The company’s tools are used by more than 11,500 organizations across the globe, including more than 65% of the Fortune 500. Workday Wellness offers employers a real-time view of which benefits their employees actually use and advises them on how to improve their offerings. Bringing OnePay’s financial tools into that experience will move financial wellness from a passive benefit to an embedded part of the employee experience, making it easier for workers to take action in real time and for employers to drive measurable engagement. “Financial stress doesn’t disappear at the office door. Employers today know that when their employees stress about their finances, it directly affects their business. We’re partnering with Workday to bring comprehensive money tools into the systems employees already use every day,” said OnePay Chief Commercial Officer Thomas Hoare. “These tools are designed for simple rollout by employers and ease of use by employees, with the goal of helping people reduce stress and make real progress.” For OnePay, embedding its financial tools within Workday Wellness will offer an advantage because it will meet end consumers where they already are within payroll, benefits, and HR. For employers, the integration helps close the gap between offering financial wellness benefits and actually driving usage by making financial wellness tools more visible, accessible, and actionable. The partnership will also bring Enhanced Direct Deposit Switching (EDDS), a tool that allows employees to instantly set up or change payroll deposits within their employer’s platform. EDDS eliminates the need to manually add routing account numbers, accelerates financial onboarding, improves security, and enables instant switching of paycheck destinations. On the surface, Workday Wellness and OnePay are offering EDDS to provide a smoother sign-up and paycheck allocation process. For OnePay, however, facilitating the process of direct deposit switching will help it onboard new customers and increase the amount of deposits of its existing clients. “Financial wellbeing has become a strategic priority for employers,” said Workday Global Vice President, Partner Strategy & Growth Saqib Sheikh. “Welcoming OnePay into Enhanced Direct Deposit and Workday Wellness helps our customers provide a more holistic financial journey for their employees. Our upcoming direct deposit tools cut through the red tape, aiming to make it easier for employees to send their paychecks where they need them to go to help build a more secure financial future.” The post OnePay Partners with Workday Wellness to Expand Distribution appeared first on Finovate.       

Financial infrastructure is becoming increasingly valuable as it powers payments and financial products. Instead of operating within closed systems, banks are now operating within broader ecosystems in which customers expect seamless integrations, faster money movement, and financial services experiences that become invisible within the customer journey. Fintechs are working to satisfy the demand for this infrastructure using API-driven tools that can support real-time payments, cross-border transactions, and embedded finance use cases. At FinovateSpring 2026, we’re hosting a group of fresh fintechs that will showcase their solutions designed to simplify payments, modernize infrastructure, and unlock new revenue opportunities. From digital asset infrastructure to cross-border payments and operational platforms, these four companies leading the way. AlphaPoint AlphaPoint enables smaller financial institutions to adopt stablecoin payments and treasury capabilities without the cost and complexity of building in-house infrastructure. Its platform provides the tools banks need to support digital asset transactions, helping them modernize payments and compete with larger, more technologically advanced players. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York, AlphaPoint gives banks a faster path to integrating blockchain-based financial services, positioning them to participate in real-time, programmable money. Quanto Quanto helps businesses reduce operational friction across financial workflows by streamlining back-office processes, allowing companies to focus on growth. Founded in 2025 and headquartered in Chicago, Quanto helps organizations scale more efficiently, reduce complexity, and accelerate time to scale. Reativ Reativ’s cloud-based treasury management system offers financial institutions real-time visibility into cash positions, liquidity, and risk. Its platform combines automation and AI-driven insights to help banks optimize cash usage, reduce operational costs, and improve decision-making. Designed for regional and community banks as well as credit unions, Reativ can reduce operational expenses by up to 50% while enhancing regulatory readiness. Founded in 2026 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company offers a modern, centralized approach to treasury management. Clockout Clockout helps financial institutions drive deposit growth and customer engagement through embedded financial wellness tools. Its platform is designed to increase direct deposits, boost per-user revenue, and differentiate banks and credit unions in competitive markets. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Tennessee, Clockout enables institutions to deepen relationships with their customers while creating new revenue opportunities tied to everyday financial activity. Why banks should care Banks are under pressure to offer faster money movement, integrate with third-party platforms, and meet rising customer expectations. At the same time, firms need to manage costs and are constrained by legacy systems. Fintechs are helping bridge this gap with solutions that simplify treasury management, enable stablecoin and real-time payments, and streamline operational workflows that allow institutions to modernize without large-scale overhauls. At the same time, embedded finance and deposit-driving tools create new opportunities to grow balances, increase revenue per customer, and stay competitive in an increasingly platform-driven financial ecosystem. Photo by Artur Łuczka on Unsplash The post Four Fintechs Driving Payments, Infrastructure, and Embedded Finance appeared first on Finovate.       

International money transfer company Paysend announced a follow-on investment of $25 million from Claret Capital Partners. Paysend will use the capital to fuel the continued expansion of its global payments infrastructure and product suite, helping the firm compete with other major money transfer firms including Wise and Revolut. Founded in 2016, Paysend most recently demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2018. UK-based international money transfer company Paysend has raised $25 million in a follow-on investment from Claret Capital Partners. No new valuation information was immediately available; the company reached a valuation of $700 million in 2021 following a Series B-II funding round. The capital infusion adds to Claret’s 2020 investment in the company and will support Paysend’s continued development of its global payments infrastructure and product suite. The investment will also help the company expand its geographic footprint, launch new products for both its retail and enterprise customers, and position Paysend to compete with rivals including Airwallex and fellow Finovate alums Wise and Revolut. “Paysend is delighted to work with a strong partner like Claret, who supports our vision to create the world’s largest cross-border digital network,” Paysend Group CFO Wilhelm Rohde said. “We are scaling rapidly on a global scale and this funding supports us in achieving our ambitions.” Founded in 2016 by Abdul Abdulkerimov, Ronald Millar, and Alberto Macciani, Paysend made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2016 and returned to the Finovate stage two years later for FinovateSpring 2018. Today, the international money transfer firm operates a digital payment network that connects more than 25 billion endpoints and serves more than 12 million customers around the world. Paysend supports cross-border transactions between 170+ countries, including international money transfers—certified by Mastercard, Visa, and UnionPay—that deliver funds in minutes in more than 95% of cases. “We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Paysend,” Claret Capital Partners Senior Associate George Morgan said. “The team has built a highly scalable global payments platform and continues to execute strongly against its growth strategy. We are pleased to further support the business as it scales internationally and expands its product offering, building on the progress achieved since our initial investment.” Paysend’s funding news comes just days after the company announced that its Paysend Enterprise division will support direct payouts into China via Alipay and WeChat Pay wallets. The move will help international businesses navigate a range of complex regulatory and settlement challenges when sending funds into China. Now, with a single API integration, Paysend Enterprise clients will secure access to global pay-to-card coverage, local pay-to-account rails across major markets, SWIFT capability for higher-value international transfers, and direct wallet payouts into China. “China is a strategically important corridor for cross-border commerce, but it requires local expertise and infrastructure depth,” Paysend CEO Ben Chisell said. “By combining direct wallet access with broader global payout capabilities, Paysend Enterprise gives partners the flexibility to choose the right rail for each transaction—all within one scalable platform.” Photo by NastyaSensei The post Global Money Transfer Firm Paysend Secures $25 Million in Funding appeared first on Finovate.       

Cognitive Banking Platform Personetics and embedded financial connectivity specialist Atomic recently announced a new partnership. The two companies will deliver a native, end-to-end solution for contextual direct deposit and billpay switching that sits within the digital banking experience. The new capability will enable banks to use transaction intelligence to identify the right customers and financial moments and then design, trigger, execute, and measure switching journeys within a single platform. Translating intelligence into action and action into meaningful outcomes, the integration of Atomic will expand the capabilities of the Personetics platform to include embedded, context-driven switching journeys that boost both deposit growth and share of wallet. “By partnering with Personetics, we’re enabling banks to bring highly relevant, real-time insights into everyday banking experiences, and seamlessly turn those insights into financial action,” Atomic Co-founder and CEO Jordan Wright said. “Together, we help banks deepen relationships while delivering measurable business outcomes.” The goal of the Personetics/Atomic partnership is to empower banks to avoid the kind of gaps that can occur with existing deposit switching solutions. In a statement, the companies noted that many current options lack the context required in order to engage the right customers at the right moment, instead delivering generic, fragmented campaigns. These solutions also often suffer from reliance on disconnected tools that add friction and make conversions more challenging. Furthermore, this makes it harder for banks to understand the connection between switching initiatives and measurable business outcomes. In contrast, the collaboration between Personetics and Atomic closes these gaps by combining transaction intelligence with seamless execution and closed-loop measurement in a single platform. “Atomic’s capabilities are a natural fit with our Cognitive Banking vision and our open platform roadmap, enabling banks to move beyond insights to deliver contextual financial actions that drive measurable business outcomes,” Personetics CEO Udi Ziv said. Atomic made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2021 and most recently demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2024. At FinovateSpring, the Salt Lake City, Utah-based fintech demonstrated how its PayLink solution simplifies subscription management by enabling users to manage their recurring payments and subscriptions from within their preferred bank or financial institution. Founded in 2019, Atomic enables financial institutions to offer a range of next-generation banking products including subscription management, direct deposit switching, payment switching, and bill optimization. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in New York, Personetics most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2016. The company’s Cognitive Banking Platform empowers banks to leverage data to respond swiftly and dynamically to customer needs. The platform provides relevant and timely insights that help consumers make smarter decisions to achieve financial wellness and reach their goals. Designed to help financial institutions boost customer engagement and sales, grow and retain deposits, support small businesses, and convert transaction data into insights and action, Personetics’ technology is used by banks and financial institutions in 35 markets around the world, supporting 150 million active monthly users. Photo by Joslyn Pickens The post Personetics and Atomic Partner to Help Banks Measure Deposit Growth appeared first on Finovate.       

BetaNXT has launched InsightX, an enterprise AI platform that embeds automation, analytics, and insights directly into wealth management workflows via API and integrated tools. InsightX is built for regulated environments and combines domain-specific data models with built-in governance, transparency, and auditability to support compliant AI adoption. BetaNXT also announced its new Innovation Lab that will help firms deploy production-ready solutions in as little as three months. Wealth management solutions company BetaNXT announced the launch of InsightX, its enterprise AI platform that power automation, analytics, and insights across enterprises. InsightX will leverage BetaNXT’s deep expertise in wealth management to deliver solutions designed around how clients actually think and behave. The platform is built on data models developed by domain experts and incorporates embedded governance and metadata to ensure full traceability and auditability. By integrating BetaNXT’s institutional knowledge of how operations teams and advisors work in practice, InsightX enhances real-world workflows rather than disrupting them. The platform also provides full transparency into its methodology and data sources, fostering user trust while creating a clear, auditable data trail. InsightX is available as an API for use in a firm’s existing tools, or through three of BetaNXT’s products: Data Studio, a self-service tool for creating custom dashboards and data visualizations; Compass, an AI assistant that enables natural-language prompting for operational intelligence; and Solutions Hub, a central hub for production-ready AI solutions. “The launch of InsightX is a major leap forward for firms at every stage of AI maturity,” said BetaNXT Chief Product Officer Jonathan Reeve. “From boutique asset managers looking to optimize distribution, to large broker-dealers seeking to enhance advisor support, to corporate issuers focusing on investor engagement, our AI platform provides the infrastructure and tools they need. Whether a firm wants to deploy pre-built AI solutions today or build their own AI capabilities for tomorrow, having BetaNXT as a partner can significantly accelerate their journey.” The New York-based company also unveiled its new BetaNXT AI Innovation Lab, an accelerator designed to fast-track the delivery of AI solutions. Participants can use the new Innovation Lab to quickly move AI initiatives from concept to production, with a process that can deliver production-ready solutions in as little as three months. “We are hearing from our clients that they’re focused on scaling AI’s transformative impact beyond their data and technology teams,” said BetaNXT CEO Bob Santella. “Figuring out how to integrate AI smoothly into day-to-day operations, advisor interactions, and leadership decisions is the key to unlocking AI’s full potential. Our vision is to break down the barriers to AI adoption in order to bring intelligence and insights to every user in our industry, regardless of their technical background.” Wealth management is a green field for AI applications. Embedding AI tools into advisor workflows, operations, and decision-making can make solutions more powerful, explainable, and compliant. Instead of using standalone tools or generic models, firms are looking for platforms built on domain-specific data, with governance and auditability baked in from the start. Combining usability and control in this way can help turn AI from a concept into a scalable tool. BetaNXT’s InsightX is another example of how AI in wealth management is becoming infrastructure. Founded in 2022, BetaNXT helps wealth managers differentiate their wealth management platforms while reducing backend costs and operational inefficiencies. The company serves broker dealers, advisors, wealth managers, issuers, and asset managers. Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki The post BetaNXT Wants to Move Wealth Management AI from Pilot to Production appeared first on Finovate.       

For the fourth year in a row, Finovate is hosting its Credit Union Spotlight. Coming to FinovateSpring 2026 next month on May 7, the Spotlight is an exclusive gathering space for credit unions and the fintechs that serve them and their members. Taking place on Thursday morning, the session is an opportunity for credit union executives to network with each other and speak candidly with a small, curated group of fintechs about new, innovative solutions designed specifically for credit unions. Finovate’s Credit Union Spotlight comes at a time when a growing number of Americans are joining credit unions. According to the National Credit Union Administration, 2.4 million Americans joined credit unions in 2025, which brought total credit union membership to more than 144 million. Total assets in federally insured credit unions rose by $126 billion last year, or 5.4%, to $2.43 trillion. At the same time, credit unions today face a range of challenges. Embedded finance is helping create new rivals from the technology and retail sectors. Technologies such as AI are making it possible for community financial institutions to offer a range of new services and products. But effectively harnessing these technologies and making them work for members while retaining the human, personal touch that defines the credit union experience remains a top concern. Other major issues include regulatory compliance at a time of increasingly complex requirements and keeping members safe in the age of AI-enabled financial criminals. Fortunately, a growing number of fintechs have taken on these challenges, specifically as they apply to community financial institutions like credit unions. These are the fintechs that will be a part of our Credit Union Spotlight at FinovateSpring next month. “Credit unions represent an exciting growth opportunity for fintech innovators, and credit unions are increasingly looking at new technologies as they seek to enhance their offerings and grow their memberships,” Finovate VP and Director of Fintech Strategy for Informa Festivals Greg Palmer said. “The Credit Union Spotlight is a perfect venue for both sides to come together and have the vital conversations they all need to plan for the future.” What can credit union professionals expect from the Spotlight? The nearly two-hour session will start with a networking breakfast to enable attendees to connect with each other and discuss their concerns and issues candidly in a peer setting. Following the breakfast, the Spotlight will introduce a select group of fintechs whose solutions are geared toward helping solve common challenges faced by credit unions. These fintechs will introduce themselves to the attendees in a round-robin fashion, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to meet and learn about each company. Then, attendees will have an opportunity to follow up with fintechs whose innovations are most interesting or relevant to them and their institution. If you are a credit union executive and would like to be a part of our Credit Union Spotlight, we want to hear from you! Contact our Engagement Manager, Rianne.Thompson@informa.com, to learn more about FinovateSpring’s Credit Union Spotlight and to save your spot on the guest list! The post FinovateSpring Showcases Credit Unions in Special Spotlight Session appeared first on Finovate.       

The US Treasury tapped Robinhood and BNY to power and manage Trump Accounts, the new government-backed, tax-deferred investment program for children seeded with $1,000 at birth. The platform will be fully white-labeled and operated by the Treasury, with Robinhood providing the technology, UX, education, and customer support behind the scenes. The deal marks a strategic shift for Robinhood from consumer brokerage to infrastructure provider. The United States Treasury Department announced today that digital stock brokerage app Robinhood will build the brokerage platform and serve as the initial trustee for Trump Accounts, the new custodial-style Individual Retirement Accounts for children under 18. The department selected BNY as the financial agent for the Trump Account program. BNY will be responsible for managing the initial accounts and has selected Robinhood to help develop the new Trump Accounts app. The new standalone Trump Accounts app will be fully white-labeled with no Robinhood branding and will offer an intuitive user interface and user experience that will help families to view and manage their Trump Accounts. Along with building the front-end experience, Robinhood will also create educational resources and manage customer support for Trump Accounts. “We are proud to power Trump Accounts with Robinhood’s technology and to work alongside a historic and trusted institution like BNY,” said Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev. “Our task is clear: to provide the next generation of Americans with a world-class, intuitive platform to jumpstart their financial future.” Trump Accounts launch on July 4 and will serve as tax-deferred investing accounts for children. Babies born between 2025 and 2028 receive a one-time $1,000 deposit from the Treasury to seed their retirement. Currently, more than four million children have been signed up for a Trump Account. As part of its efforts, Robinhood said it plans to match the Treasury’s $1,000 contribution to Trump Accounts for eligible children of its employees. Once the app is built, the US Treasury will retain control over the app and the operations for all accounts. The Treasury did not disclose any financial details around the agreement. “We continue to believe that the American stock market remains the greatest wealth creation vehicle of our time,” the company said in a statement. “…by providing young Americans with a dedicated platform to engage with the markets early, Trump Accounts will help millions of citizens maximize the power of compounding and build a lasting financial legacy.” The move positions Robinhood as an infrastructure provider. By powering a federally backed investing program at scale, the company is moving beyond consumer brokerage and into the realm of embedded financial services. Even without branding, this partnership gives Robinhood access to one of the largest distribution channels in retail investing and demonstrates its ability to operate as a trusted backend provider for government-led initiatives. While Robinhood still values owning the customer relationship, it is now expanding its scope to own the rails, as well. Photo by Aliaksei Smalenski The post Robinhood to Build Brokerage Platform for Trump Accounts appeared first on Finovate.       

ASN Bank has forged a strategic technology partnership with core banking platform provider Ohpen. Ohpen will deliver an integrated SaaS platform that provides mortgage origination, servicing, and credit management. Founded in 2009, Ohpen made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2012 in New York. Matthijs Aler is CEO. Netherlands-based ASN Bank announced a strategic technology partnership with cloud-native core banking platform Ohpen. The partnership will support the financial institution’s efforts to standardize and modernize its IT architecture, providing ASN Bank with a fully integrated SaaS platform that covers mortgage origination, servicing, and credit management. Ohpen’s platform will enable ASN Bank to transition away from legacy infrastructure that has limited the institution’s ability to implement new products and services, and hampered reporting transparency as well as operational efficiency. Beyond a simple technology upgrade, the partnership supports ASN Bank’s “Simplify and Grow” strategy to establish new foundations for its integral processes and systems. “Modernizing our mortgage operations unlocks an effective performance in our ability to serve customers via our franchisees and intermediaries as key distribution partners for mortgages,” ASN Bank Director of Lending Bianca de Bruijn-van der Gaag said. “Simplifying and standardizing our end-to-end processes means we can organize our business operations more effectively and efficiently. For our customers and distribution partners, this will lead to enhanced customer experience in document handling and accelerated processing time.” Ohpen’s core banking platform powers lending, mortgages, savings, investment, and pension products. The Amsterdam-based fintech enables banks and other financial services providers to modernize their banking infrastructure, streamline operations, and create end-to-end digital banking experiences for customers. The company will provide ASN Bank with a highly configurable origination engine, automated servicing workflows, and integrated credit management built on a unified data model. The solution offers higher levels of straight-through processing and a single source of data truth across the mortgage lifecycle. ASN Bank will also benefit from a solution that not only evolves without requiring major structural changes, but also helps the institution meet both current and future regulatory mandates. “This is about more than replacing legacy infrastructure,” Ohpen Director Jan Lamber Voortman said. “It is about giving ASN Bank the agility, transparency, and operational efficiency required for the next decade. Cloud-native architecture, configurable product design, and unified data are no longer differentiators. They are foundations.” Full implementation of the new technology is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. The process will also include structured change management and internal ambassadors across underwriting and servicing teams to ensure successful cultural and technical adoption. Headquartered in Amsterdam, Ohpen made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2012. The company has more than €100 billion in assets under management on its platform, and includes De Volksbank, Nationale-Nederlanden, and BNP Paribas Personal Finance among its customers. Matthijs Aler is Ohpen’s CEO. Photo by Thomas Balabaud The post Ohpen Forges Strategic Technology Partnership with ASN Bank appeared first on Finovate.       

The Finovate Awards are back, which means nominations for 2026 are officially open! Each year, the Finovate Awards recognize the companies, financial institutions, and individuals pushing the boundaries of financial services. The program highlights the newest tools, solutions, and ideas shaping how money moves, grows, and is managed. Today, we’re unveiling the full list of 31 award categories for 2026, including several new additions. Whether you’re building, partnering, or leading in fintech, there’s a category designed to recognize your impact. Check out the full list below: Awards for Banks and Financial Institutions These categories spotlight banks and financial institutions delivering standout innovation and customer value: Best Anti-Fraud/AML Solution Best Banking as a Service Provider Best Consumer Lending Solution Best Customer Experience Solution Best Digital Bank Best Financial Mobile App Best Marketing/Customer Acquisition Solution Best Wealth Management Solution Excellence in Open Banking/Open Finance Top Fintech VC Why it matters: In today’s era of increasing competition and elevated customer expectations, banks must now compete on experience, infrastructure, and ecosystem participation. These categories recognize institutions that are evolving beyond traditional models to meet modern expectations. Awards for Banks, FIs, and Fintechs These categories highlight collaboration, infrastructure, and breakthrough innovation across the ecosystem: Best Consumer-Facing Payments Solution Best Corporate Payments Solution Best Cryptocurrency Application for FIs Best Enterprise Payments Solution Best Fintech Partnership Best Generative AI Solution Best ID Management/KYC Solution Best Insurtech Solution Best RegTech Solution Best SMB/SME Banking Solution Excellence in Financial Inclusion Excellence in Sustainability Most Impactful AI-Based Solution Excellence in Stablecoins, Tokenized Deposits, or Tokenized Assets Excellence in Risk Management Why it matters: AI is moving from pilot and into production, tokenization is altering infrastructure, and partnerships are becoming the default path to innovation. These categories show the industry’s shift from standalone tools to a more connected financial ecosystem. Awards for Fintechs and Technology Firms These categories focus on the builders powering the next generation of financial services: Best Alternative Investments Solution Best Back-Office/Core Services Solution Best Embedded Finance Solution Top Emerging Fintech Company Why it matters: The most important fintech innovations today are often invisible to the end user because they are embedded into workflows, infrastructure, and platforms. These awards recognize the companies building the infrastructure behind modern finance. Awards for Individuals These categories celebrate the people driving the industry forward: Executive of the Year Innovator of the Year Why it matters: Behind every breakthrough product or platform is leadership and vision. These awards recognize the individuals shaping the direction of fintech. Submit Your Nomination If you’re building, scaling, or leading in fintech, now is the time to put your work forward. Submit your nomination today and save when you apply before the early-bird deadline of April 24, 2026. The Finovate Awards are designed to spotlight what’s new and what’s working. And in 2026, when the industry is moving from experimentation to execution using a range of new technologies, we’re excited to help differentiate between the solutions that show promise and the ones delivering real, measurable impact. The post Categories Unveiled for 2026 Finovate Awards appeared first on Finovate.       

Welcome to Q2! We’re looking forward to first-looks at how fintechs are faring in 2026, especially with regard to investment trends. For now, we’re seeing new C-suite leadership in digital banking, partnerships in insurtech, and a new fintech that is leveraging stablecoins for cross-border payments. Be sure to check back here at Finovate’s Fintech Rundown in the days to come for the latest fintech news headlines. Digital banking nCino introduces new Chief Revenue Officer Keith Kettell. Issuer-processor Paymentology partnered with Bank Zero to enhance access to modern digital banking in South Africa. Payments Derivative Path delivers FX payments solution powered by Wells Fargo’s FX Payment Solutions and connected through Jack Henry’s Treasury Management platform. Insurtech PK1Cloud, a division of independent actuarial and insurance consultancy, Perr&Knight, forged a strategic partnership with Pythia, an AI-native intelligence platform for the property & casualty insurance industry. Travel insurtech Koala announces partnership with European airline Volotea. Lending ASN Bank chooses core banking platform provider Ohpen as its new strategic technology partner to enhance its mortgage operations. Fraud prevention Marqeta enhances its Real-Time Decisioning (RTD) offering with an AI-powered risk score that analyzes transaction risk levels. Stablecoins Cross-border money movement startup Latitude emerges from stealth with $8 million in seed funding. Embedded finance Cognitive Banking Platform company Personetics teams up with embedded financial connectivity innovator Atomic. Photo by Polina The post Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News appeared first on Finovate.       

SoFi is entering commercial banking with a 24/7 model that combines fiat accounts, crypto rails, and its own tokenized deposit, SoFiUSD, to enable real-time money movement. The company is taking a “stablecoin sandwich” approach, converting fiat to SoFiUSD and back again to enable instant settlement while keeping deposits on its balance sheet. SoFi is positioning itself between banks and fintechs, aiming to deliver the speed of crypto-native players and the trust of a regulated bank in a single platform. Lending and wealth management fintech SoFi is joining the commercial banking world with the launch of SoFi Big Business Banking, its new set of enterprise banking tools. The new offering comes with both fiat and crypto-native infrastructure that allows for 24/7 money movement. The launch comes as part of SoFi’s new focus on integrating into the blockchain. Most recently, the company launched its own tokenized deposit, SoFiUSD, to settle its crypto trading business, offer faster settlement around the clock, power international remittances, and more. “To be competitive businesses today must operate in a global, always-on environment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while legacy banks typically still operate 9 to 5, Monday to Friday,” said SoFi CEO Anthony Noto. “SoFi Big Business Banking is changing that by combining the strength and regulatory foundation of a nationally chartered bank with the speed, scale, and flexibility companies need to move and manage money or digital assets in real time.” SoFi’s new business offering will help companies make payments, access funds, and operate in real time with a fully chartered bank. At launch, SoFi’s Big Business Banking comes with deposit accounts, fiat, crypto, and SoFiUSD payments. By leveraging digital currencies, SoFi is enabling businesses to transact outside of traditional banking hours. The company is taking the “stablecoin sandwich” approach, allowing businesses to convert from fiat to SoFiUSD, then back to fiat, enabling real-time settlement without relying on external rails, while ensuring deposits remain on SoFi’s balance sheet. By combining fiat accounts, payments, and digital asset infrastructure into a single regulated platform, SoFi is positioning itself as the bank for a world where money moves 24/7 and across formats. While fintechs like Ramp are building the operating systems for how companies spend money, SoFi is making a play to own where that money lives—and increasingly, how it moves between traditional and on-chain systems. SoFi’s Big Business Banking is already live. Initial clients include Cumberland, Bullish, BitGo, B2C2, Fireblocks, Wintermute, Galaxy, Jupiter, Mesh Payments, and Mastercard.  Competition in the business banking space has been steadily rising for the past six years, and the use of blockchain rails is intensifying the pressure. Banks are piloting tokenized deposits and blockchain-based settlement, while payments firms like Stripe and Checkout.com are adding stablecoin capabilities to support faster global commerce. Crypto-native players, such as Circle and Coinbase, continue to offer 24/7 settlement outside the banking system entirely. SoFi is attempting to bring these models into a single offering that delivers the speed of stablecoins with the trust of a regulated bank. And because it has its own stablecoin, it doesn’t rely on external infrastructure. Photo by DS stories The post SoFi Enters the Enterprise Banking World with Crypto-Native Infrastructure appeared first on Finovate.       

As the push into AI continues, many banks are still struggling to modernize their digital foundations without simply recreating their existing platforms. For institutions operating across multiple markets, that challenge becomes even more complex, as firms need to balance local autonomy with the need for standardization, speed, and scalability. In a recent conversation with Vanja Tokic of Raiffeisen Bank International, Tokic explained that the real work of transformation is happening in how banks rethink processes, align teams, and prepare their data and systems for what comes next. He also talked about what it takes to actually get started. “There is still a lot of overhype on the GenAI topic. Banks and people in general are underestimating what it takes to put those things into real processes, into real production… It looks really simple when you start prompting, but when you actually have to do it in a regulated environment, then it’s really difficult to get it done.” Tokic serves as Head of Digital Channels and Conversational AI and previously led retail digital transformation strategy at Raiffeisen Bank International. With more than two decades of experience in digital banking, he focuses on translating high-level strategy into execution by aligning teams across markets, driving adoption of reusable platforms, and building what he describes as a “digital bank with a human touch.” Raiffeisen Bank International is an Austria-based banking group that operates across Central and Eastern Europe, serving millions of customers through a network of subsidiary banks. The organization functions as both a central institution for the Raiffeisen Banking Group and a holding company for its international operations, offering retail and corporate banking services across the region. Photo by Ron Lach The post How Raiffeisen Bank International is Thinking About Digital Catch-Up appeared first on Finovate.       

For financial institutions, growth involves deepening relationships with existing customers. At a time when switching financial institutions comes at a low cost and fintechs offer many of the same benefits as traditional banks, customer engagement and financial wellness have become strategic priorities. For traditional financial institutions whose offerings can seem static, providing personalized experiences that help customers save smarter, build better financial habits, and feel more in control of their financial lives can help retain and win over clients. The banks that succeed will be those that can embed themselves into customers’ day-to-day financial decisions. At FinovateSpring 2026, five companies are focused on helping banks do exactly that. From savings and financial wellness tools to engagement platforms and next-generation consumer experiences, these solutions are designed to drive loyalty, increase product adoption, and deliver measurable value to both customers and institutions. Plinqit Business HYS by Plinqit helps banks compete for deposits while giving small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) more effective ways to manage their cash. The platform is designed to drive deposit growth by offering high-yield savings experiences tailored to business customers, an area where many traditional banks have struggled to differentiate. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan and founded in 2015, Plinqit enables financial institutions to attract and retain SMB deposits without overhauling their existing infrastructure which ultimately helps level the playing field to compete against larger competitors and digital-first challengers. Goodfin Goodfin is expanding access to alternative investments by opening institutional-grade opportunities to a broader range of investors. Its platform is designed to help financial institutions and fintechs offer differentiated wealth-building tools such as private equity, venture capital, and pre-IPO deals that go beyond traditional stocks and bonds. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in San Francisco, Goodfin enables banks to meet growing customer demand for access to alternative assets, while positioning themselves as gateways to more sophisticated investment opportunities. Level Level helps auto lenders reduce losses by identifying and recovering missed value in total loss insurance claims. Its AI-powered claims management platform centralizes workflows into a single portal, enabling lenders to detect undervalued claims and dispute them at scale. Backed by licensed claims experts, Level combines automation with human oversight to increase recoveries, reduce deficiency balances, and accelerate time to payment. Headquartered in New York and founded in 2023, the company offers banks, credit unions, and lenders a way to improve operational efficiency while directly impacting the bottom line. BankUniverse BankUniverse delivers a privacy-first intent engine that helps financial institutions identify and convert high-value prospects without relying on sensitive personal data. By analyzing user intent signals rather than personal identifiers, the platform enables banks to drive digital sales while maintaining strong data privacy standards. Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Greece, BankUniverse helps institutions increase conversion rates while navigating growing regulatory and consumer expectations around data protection. Bluum Finance Bluum Finance provides a unified platform for embedded investing, combining brokerage, custody, and reporting into a single API. Its infrastructure allows financial institutions and fintechs to launch fully compliant investment offerings quickly, without the complexity and cost typically associated with building these capabilities in-house. Founded in 2025 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Bluum enhances its offering with AI-powered advisory tools that deliver personalized investment experiences. The platform is built for a wide range of providers looking to bring investing into their existing customer journeys. Why banks should care Financial wellness and engagement are quickly becoming primary drivers of growth instead of nice-to-have features. Banks are under pressure to increase deposits, deepen relationships, and create new revenue streams while competing with fintechs that are often more agile and user-focused. Platforms that help customers save more effectively, access new investment opportunities, or receive more personalized financial guidance can translate directly into higher balances, stronger loyalty, and increased product usage. At the same time, these tools enable banks to expand their role in customers’ financial lives without significantly increasing operational complexity. Whether it’s embedding investing capabilities, improving digital acquisition, or unlocking overlooked sources of value in existing portfolios, financial wellness platforms offer a practical way for institutions to drive both customer outcomes and business performance. Photo by www.kaboompics.com The post Five Companies Powering Financial Wellness and Consumer Engagement appeared first on Finovate.       

Qover, a Belgian fintech that specializes in “Insurance-as-a-Service,” has raised $12 million in a capital extension from CIBC Innovation Banking. The company, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018, reported that its total funding now tops $100 million. The investment comes as the embedded insurance orchestration firm marks its 10th anniversary of serving customers throughout Europe. At a time when the international embedded insurance market is expected to grow from $176 billion in 2026 to more than $1.46 trillion by 2034, Qover currently protects 15 million customers via its insurtech platform and expects to reach 55 million users by the end of this year. “We started with a simple conviction: insurance could be simpler and truly accessible across borders,” Qover CEO and Co-Founder Quentin Colmant said. “Ten years and 15 million users later, that conviction has become a platform, and with AI now accelerating what’s possible, we are more ambitious than ever. Our goal is to protect 100 million people by 2030, building the infrastructure that makes a global safety net real.” Qover said that the funding from CIBC will support the company’s continued investment in its orchestration platform, AI capabilities, and operational infrastructure. Qover’s API-first platform orchestrates embedded insurance for businesses and insurers across Europe. Adaptable to any product, partner, country, or risk carrier, Qover’s platform gives institutions greater control with less complexity, covering the full insurance lifecycle, from design to claims. Organizations using the platform benefit from a configurable setup that enables them to tailor the solution to their needs, as well as a modular approach that allows users to select from different platform modules and how they are implemented. “The next decade of insurance will be defined by the companies that can operate at scale without sacrificing precision,” Qover General Counsel Caroline Hanotiau said. “AI gives us the opportunity to make compliance by design the standard, not the exception, allowing us to expand into more products and more regions with the confidence that we are always operating at the highest level. That’s how Qover will grow responsibly and at the scale our vision demands.” Founded in 2016, Qover made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2018. Today, the company protects 15 million people in more than 32 countries and boasts revenue growth of 3x and more than $173 million in gross written premiums over the past four years. Qover has orchestrated embedded insurance programs for a number of major international brands including fellow Finovate alums Revolut and Mastercard; as well as Monzo, bunq, and BMW. Qover’s fundraising news comes just a few days after the company announced that it had forged a strategic partnership with Willis, a WTW business. Together, the two companies will offer a product-agnostic solution that helps companies launch tailored insurance programs quickly and at scale. Photo by Viktoria Alipatova The post Insurtech Qover Secures $12 Million in Growth Funding appeared first on Finovate.       

What do banking consumers need most from their banks in 2026? How do these and other financial institutions translate major trends into actionable initiatives that solve problems for individuals, families, businesses, and communities? What role do partnerships between banks and fintech companies play in helping bring cutting-edge financial products and services to market? We caught up with Meghan Kober, Senior Vice President and Head of Fintech Partnerships & Strategic Investments at U.S. Bank, to answer these and other questions confronting banks and their customers today. In her role at U.S. Bank, Kober leads a cross-functional team that scales innovation portfolios and drives enterprise value through strategic partnerships. Her expertise is in translating emerging drivers and market signals into applied strategies. This interview is part of Finovate’s annual Women’s History Month commemoration. Previous installments include our salute to the women of FinovateEurope 2026 and our preview of the female founders and leaders who will represent their companies at FinovateSpring 2026, May 5-7. U.S. Bank has long been active in innovation, but your role sits at a unique intersection. How does the Fintech Acceleration team build on that legacy today? Meghan Kober: There’s a moment I often come back to early in my career, sitting inside a broker-dealer, trying to connect systems that were never designed to speak to each other. That experience shaped how I think about innovation today. We’ve entered the Great Convergence. Innovation is no longer built inside a single institution. It is shaped across startups, venture firms, accelerators, and universities. The challenge is not access to innovation. It is translation and direction. Signals are abundant, but without structure, they don’t convert into outcomes. That is the role of the Fintech Acceleration team. Since 2020, we have built on U.S. Bank’s innovation foundation to act as a system layer across the enterprise. We translate external signals into enterprise execution across product, risk, and partnerships. My broader thesis is that we are moving from an innovation economy to a participation economy. The institutions that win will not be the ones that invent the most, but the ones that enable the most people, businesses, and partners to participate in the system. Our role is to help design for those outcomes. That idea of translation and direction is powerful. How do you take something as abstract as future trends and turn them into clear action inside a large, regulated organization? Kober: We are operating in a period of convergence. AI, digital assets, and embedded finance are not evolving independently. They are compounding. That creates multiple futures unfolding at once. The risk for large organizations is reacting too late or moving without alignment. In financial services, you cannot separate innovation from risk, legal, and compliance. Execution requires coordination from the start. This is where applied foresight comes in. For us, it is not about predicting the future. It is about choosing which future to build toward. We integrate signals from across venture, academia, and global markets. Through my work nationally in regions such as Utah and Minnesota, as well as globally with the University of St. Thomas and studying ecosystems in places like Tokyo and Seoul, we are looking at how infrastructure, capital, and policy shape participation at a systems level. We then anchor those insights to a business problem and align with business line leaders. Leadership, in this context, is about creating clarity. It is about giving teams direction so they can build with confidence. Foresight without execution is noise. Applied foresight is what turns signal into strategy. When that clarity is in place, where do you see it driving the most meaningful outcomes today? Kober: If you look at the U.S. economy, small businesses represent approximately 43.5 percent of GDP and nearly half of employment. They are one of the most important economic engines we have. At the same time, many small businesses are still operating across fragmented systems, spending time managing tools instead of growing their business. If we are serious about economic resilience, we have to reduce that friction. In partnership with Shruti Patel, Chief Product Officer for Business Banking, and Business Banking leaders, we focused on how to embed financial services directly into small business workflows. That led to solutions like Business Essentials, partnerships with fintechs like Gusto, and capabilities like U.S. Bank Bill Pay for Business. What is important here is not just the product. It is the system design. We are moving from standalone banking products to integrated operating systems for businesses. The outcome is simple but powerful. Business owners get time back. They have better visibility. They can make better decisions. At scale, that drives job creation, stronger local economies, and a more resilient financial system. That is what participation looks like in practice. That kind of impact clearly depends on strong partnerships. What differentiates the way you approach fintech partnerships today? Kober: The market has matured. We are no longer in a phase where experimentation alone is enough. Partnerships need to deliver outcomes and scale. What differentiates successful partnerships is alignment and readiness. We start with a clearly defined business problem and align on shared outcomes from the beginning. We typically partner with founders who have achieved product market fit, understand regulated environments, and are often backed by venture capital firms. But what is often overlooked is that partnerships are not just about capability. They are about system effects. When we partner with a startup, we accelerate our speed to market. We solve real problems for our clients. At the same time, we support that company’s growth, which drives job creation, attracts capital, and strengthens the ecosystem. It creates a flywheel. My role is not just to participate in that ecosystem, but to help shape how it connects. Where capital flows, where partnerships form, and where innovation translates into real economic outcomes. You’ve mentioned participation a few times now. I’d love to connect that back to your own journey. How has your path shaped this perspective? Kober: My path into fintech was not traditional, but in many ways that is what gave me this perspective. I started by trying to understand systems: connecting data, teaching myself to code, and building dashboards to make better decisions. That curiosity led me into Minnesota’s innovation ecosystem, where I was inspired by leaders like Susan Langer, CEO of Spave, at Twin Cities Startup Week and became involved with the Minnesota Fintech Collective. I had the opportunity to join and help build the Fintech Acceleration team alongside some great leaders, and over time, help scale that into a broader platform across the enterprise. What I learned through that experience is that innovation is not a technology problem. It is a participation problem. Who has access to networks. Who gets exposure to opportunities. Who is able to build, invest, and contribute. Leadership is about expanding those surfaces. Creating more entry points into the system so more people can participate and shape it. Looking ahead, how are technologies like AI and digital assets influencing how you think about the future of financial systems? Kober: We are at an inflection point where financial infrastructure itself is being redefined. AI is changing how decisions are made. Digital assets are changing how value moves. Together, they are enabling more programmable, intelligent systems. But the real question is not what the technology can do. It is how we design systems around it. At U.S. Bank, we are applying AI across operations and exploring digital asset capabilities, including stablecoin infrastructure on networks like Stellar. These efforts are grounded in real use cases and informed by collaboration across fintech partners, venture ecosystems, and global research. The opportunity is significant, but so is the responsibility. These systems must be built with trust, resilience, and inclusion at their core. If we get that right, we are not just improving financial services. We are redesigning how participation in the economy works. Finally, during Women’s History Month, how do you define leadership in this moment, especially within fintech and financial services? Kober: The strength of our financial system is directly tied to how many people can participate in it. Throughout my career, I am grateful to have benefited from mentors, founders, investors, and institutions that created opportunities for me to step in, learn, and build. These ecosystems matter, spanning from accelerators and venture capital to universities and corporate leadership. Leadership, to me, is about doing that intentionally and at scale. It is about bringing applied foresight and direction to teams so they can build systems that drive resiliency and prosperity. It is about expanding who gets to participate in shaping the future. Because ultimately, the next era of financial services will not be defined by who innovates the fastest. It will be defined by who builds systems that work for the most people. Photo by weston m on Unsplash The post U.S. Bank’s Meghan Kober on Applied Foresight and the Rise of the Participation Economy appeared first on Finovate.       

Once again, Finovate celebrates fintech’s best and brightest with the 2026 Finovate Awards! Every year, the Finovate Awards showcase the banks, credit unions, financial service providers, and fintechs that are driving innovation in our industry. With award categories recognizing achievement in consumer lending, digital banking, fintech partnerships, and more, the 2026 Finovate Awards will crown winners in more than 30 different categories! SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION Now in its eighth year, the Finovate Awards recognize both individuals and organizations who are creating meaningful advances in financial technology. From making payments faster, safer, and easier, to helping small businesses secure the financing they need to grow, to promoting greater financial inclusion and wellness, Finovate Award winners are leaders in their respective fields, setting the pace for innovation in financial services today. Why apply? Showcase your innovation! Highlight your innovations to the broader banking and fintech community. Gain recognition from industry experts! Boost confidence with customers, partners, and investors as an acknowledged industry leader. Position yourself as a pioneer! Establish your firm as a key driver of innovation in financial services. Here’s a look at last year’s Finovate Award winners. Submit your nomination today! Entry criteria and instructions are available at our Finovate Awards hub. Winners will be announced during FinovateFall 2026 in September. Don’t delay! The Finovate Awards nomination window will run through May 22. Submit your nomination before April 24 and save $100. Questions? Email us at awards@finovate.com! The post Submit Your Nominations: The Finovate Awards Are Back! appeared first on Finovate.       

FinovateSpring 2026 comes to sunny San Diego, California, from May 5 to 7. Tickets are on sale and going fast. Save your spot, book your room, and get ready for a full-court press on many of the biggest issues in fintech today: from AI and embedded finance to stablecoins and hyperpersonalization in the customer experience. Today we highlight eight top fintech trends that will dominate the conversation at FinovateSpring this year—from main stage plenary keynotes to executive briefings and special spotlight sessions. We’re also showcasing where on the agenda you can find presentations and panel discussions on each theme. It’s All About Agentic AI AI is undeniably the most compelling and in-demand technology in banking and financial services today—and the innovation in AI that is attracting the most attention is agentic AI. Agentic AI systems are designed with a degree of autonomy and decision-making ability that allows them to complete an expanding range of tasks independently without requiring human intervention. In a relatively short time, this technology has evolved from pilot projects to powering e-commerce, fraud prevention, automated investment, credit risk assessment, and more. Agentic AI sessions at FinovateSpring Special Address: From Plateau to Compound: Why the AI That Got You to 65% Call Resoution Will Never Get You to 80% Executive Briefing: AI on a Shoestring—Lessons Learned from Community Banks & Credit Unions Who Are Seeing ROI Now Power Panel: AI, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once—What Are the Problems You Want to Solve? How Can Banks Use AI to Make Money or Save Money? Executive Briefing: The AI Competitive Imperative & the Ten Solutions You Need to Know About Today Special Address: Invisible Infrastructure, Visible Results: The Case for Agentic Orchestration in Financial Services Out of the Box Keynote Address: Creating Trust and Loyalty through AI-Enhanced CX Hands on Workshop with Our Keynote Speaker—Harnessing AI to Save Time & Money Out of the Box Keynote Address: Why Agentic AI is Truly a New Frontier in Financial Services & How Agentic Commerce Will Reshape the Retail Landscape Getting Serious about Stablecoins in Financial Services With growing use cases in financial services and increasing regulatory clarity, stablecoins have become the most constructive innovation to emerge from the DeFi movement. From cross-border payments and remittances to serving as a stable medium of exchange, store of value, and hedge against volatility for cryptocurrency users, stablecoins enable banks and other financial institutions to leverage blockchain innovation while benefitting from price stability. Stablecoin sessions at FinovateSpring Fireside Chat: The Stablecoin Frontier: Commercial Struggles Under the GENIUS Act & Federal Policy Shifts Power Panel: Balancing the Balance Sheet—With the Stablecoin Threat, Challenger Bank Competition, Low Interest Rates & a Booming Stock Market, How Can Banks & Credit Unions Win the Battle for Deposits Making Embedded Finance Work for Banks While much of the conversation about embedded finance focuses on how it empowers non-financial entities to offer financial services, it is also true that embedded finance offers banks and other financial services providers a way to scale and diversify their offerings while reaching new markets, customers, and members. Embedded finance sessions at FinovateSpring Executive Briefing: From Embedded Finance to Platform Banking—How Can Banks Capture this Huge Opportunity & Defend Against Ecosystem Threats? A Heat Check on the Open Banking Opportunity in the US Open banking and finance are thriving in many places around the world, and while there have been gains in the US, it still lags behind peers in Europe and Australia. The absence of a regulatory mandate makes open banking in the US largely a market-driven phenomenon, but the continued debate over Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act (which ensures consumers can access their financial data upon request) creates uncertainties and challenges for banks and fintechs regarding data sharing and the extent of customer control over their data. Open banking sessions at FinovateSpring Fireside Chat: Section 1033, Open Banking, and the Changing US Regulatory Landscape—Implications for Banks & Fintechs Fighting Financial Crime: New Challenges, New Solutions Using AI to stay ahead of AI-wielding fraudsters and financial criminals has been a key strategy for fintechs and financial institutions aiming to protect themselves and their customers. At the same time, a growing number of companies are recognizing that, beyond technological solutions, collaborating to fight common fraud threats offers significant benefits compared to firms relying solely on their own resources. Financial crime and cybersecurity sessions at FinovateSpring Power Panel: Financial Crime & Cyber Security—How Banks & Fintechs Can Work Together to Meet the Challenges of the Digital Era Leveraging Data, Analytics, and AI to Enhance the Customer Experience With more data than ever before at their disposal and powerful new analytical capabilities—including AI—at hand, financial institutions are looking at ways to better serve their customers and members with increasingly personalized products and services. In many ways, the ability to meet customers where they are—at home, on the go, or in the middle of a transaction—is increasingly seen as an opportunity for financial institutions to differentiate their offerings, as well as learn from and compete more effectively against non-financial rivals. Hyperpersonalization sessions at FinovateSpring Power Panel: Becoming Truly Customer Centric in a Hyper Personalized World & Meeting Customers at Their Point of Need Third-Party Risk and Building Better Partnerships in the Post-SVB Era How are banks and fintechs addressing partnership and third-party risk in the post-SVB era? As regulators sharpen their focus on the risks in bank-fintech partnerships—and a growing number of fintechs decide to “cut out the middleman” and become banks themselves—it remains critical that banks and fintechs understand what it takes to build constructive alliances and collaborations that benefit all stakeholders—including regulatory bodies. Third-party risk/Bank-fintech partnership sessions at FinovateSpring Fireside Chat: When Partners Become Liabilities: How Third-Party Risk is Reshaping Bank-Fintech Partnerships Power Panel: From Competitive to Collaboration & Co-Creation. More than Ever Banks Need to Build Strategic Partnerships—How to Create & Sustain Powerful Partnerships that Drive Real Outcomes Customers Still Count on Credit Unions and Community Banks Large national banks may have the lion’s share of customer money, but with 73% of Americans having favorable views of credit unions compared to 56% of Americans having favorable views of national banks, it is hard not to see an opportunity for smaller financial institutions to leverage that trust into bigger customer bases, memberships, and deposits. Credit unions and community banks that embrace modernization and fintech innovation will be best positioned to offer the kind of services and products that often attract customers to national brands. Community banks and credit union sessions at FinovateSpring The Coming Storm for Community Banks—How They Can Innovate with Intent, Craft a Strategic Plan, Get Employees to Buy into New Tech & Win the Next Generation Credit Union Spotlight & Breakfast The post Tracking the Top Fintech Trends at FinovateSpring 2026 appeared first on Finovate.       

The first quarter of 2026 comes to a close tomorrow. And amid the rush of end-of-month, end-of-quarter news, don’t forget that April Fool’s Day, April 1st, is right in the middle of the week. Every year there are a handful of fintechs that like to take advantage of the occasion by having a little fun with the press, so it’s always a good idea of have a bit of extra skepticism if you come across a headline that seems a little sensational over the next few days. Here on the Fintech Rundown, we promise to do our level best to keep you fool-free! Digital banking Metro Credit Union to deploy Tyfone’s nFinia Digital Banking Platform. Digital-only business banking startup VALT secures conditional approval for a national charter from the OCC. Rhineback Bank teams up with Alkami solution team MANTL to enhance digital banking onboarding. Money transfer innovator Wise launches current accounts for its active UK customers and business clients. Payments GoCardless completes recurring Pay by Bank transaction on behalf of business energy supplier Jellyfish Energy. DeFi B2B cross border payments infrastructure company Nium unveils a dual-network stablecoin card issuance platform. Financial wellness Visa introduces subscription management service. Insurtech Corgi Insurance acquires Corgi.com domain en route to building its fully-integrated, AI-powered insurance carrier. Digital communications AI-powered digital communications governance and archiving technology partner Shield unveils new enhancements to its Shield Archive solution. Lending Worth, a fintech platform that helps financial institutions onboard and undewrite small and medium-sized businesses, raises $30 million in Series A funding. Photo by Rachel on Unsplash The post Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News appeared first on Finovate.       

This week’s edition of Finovate Global highlights recent fintech headlines from Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa. Circle and Sasai Fintech team up to boost adoption of USDC Digital asset platform Circle announced a new partnership between one of its affiliates and Sasai Fintech, a business of Cassava Technologies. The partnership is designed to boost adoption of Circle’s USDC stablecoin and expand internet-native financial infrastructure across Africa. “Africa’s digital economy is entering a new era, propelled by entrepreneurship, a mobile-first generation, and the acceleration of intra-regional trade,” Cassava Technologies Founder and Executive Chairman Strive Masiyiwa said. “By integrating with the trusted and widely adopted USDC network, we can drive financial inclusion and open transformative opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.” Stablecoin adoption in Africa is accelerating due to increases in the number of mobile-first consumers, the growth of cross-border commerce, and the overall expansion of the digital economy. USDC is a fully-reserved, transparent payment stablecoin redeemable 1:1 for US dollars. The stablecoin has been used to power programmable payments and financial applications around the world. This week’s partnership announcement between Circle and Sasai Fintech calls for further exploration into practical applications for USDC. The two companies will also investigate ways that Circle’s full stack platform can lower costs, friction, and settlement time for Sasai’s enterprise and retail customers. “Emerging markets are at the forefront of stablecoin adoption, and Africa represents a significant opportunity for internet-native innovation,” Circle Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said. “Working with Cassava, we can extend the benefits of USDC and on-chain infrastructure into high-growth payment corridors to deliver always-on global connectivity.” Sasai Fintech is a pan-African digital payment solutions provider. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, and founded in 2021, Sasai Fintech has enabled more than 250 million wallets and more than 85,000 POS terminals. A division of Cassava Technologies, Sasai Fintech has 20+ enterprise partners and is active in 30+ cross-border markets. IFC Partners with Cashi to expand digital payments infrastructure International Finance Corporation (IFC) has teamed up with digital payment infrastructure company Cashi. The fintech offers a digital payment platform that allows users to send and receive money via mobile phones, point-of-sale devices, and SMS-based tools. Cashi’s platform links users with banks, telecoms, and other financial institutions in a single interoperable ecosystem that makes everyday transactions easier in an economy that still relies heavily on cash and faces significant obstacles to accessing comprehensive banking services. “IFC’s upstream support allows us to adapt our proven, crisis-tested platform to the realities of central Africa,” Cashi CEO Tarneem Saeed said. “This partnership enables us to work closely with regulators and ecosystem partners, build trust with local merchants, and deliver practical financial tools that people can use in their daily lives, even in low-connectivity environments.” Cashi’s platform helps address and alleviate digital infrastructure bottlenecks in economies that are cash-dependent and underbanked. The company offers a range of financial products and services that enable businesses and individuals to send, receive, and spend money. Cashi offers instant settlement, reliable uptime, and dedicated support for both merchants and users. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Khartoum, Sudan, Cashi operates as part of Alsoug.com, the country’s largest digital classifieds and marketplace. Financial infrastructure startup Littlefish raises $9.4 million A South African fintech infrastructure startup, littlefish, has scored $9.4 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Partech, and featured participation from TLcom Capital, Flourish Ventures, and Proparco. The investment is the latest fundraising for the company since its 2021 seed round, and the firm expects to use the new capital to grow its team, advance product development, and enter new markets such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. “This raise is a validation of our belief that the best way to serve Africa’s small businesses is to work with the institutions they already trust, not around them,” Brandon Roberts, Co-Founder and CEO of littlefish, said. “We’ve proven the model in South Africa, and this capital gives us the runway to deepen those relationships and bring what we’ve built to millions more merchants across the continent. The little guys deserve world-class financial infrastructure, too, and we’re building it.” Littlefish offers a merchant operating system that empowers banks to deliver fintech products and services to small businesses by integrating payments, POS software, CRMs, APIs, and more into a unified layer. This enables banks and other financial institutions to offer modern, digital services to merchants without disrupting their existing relationships with customers. Littlefish helps banks deliver more services to their business customers more efficiently, and gives small businesses the opportunity to gradually modernize and digitize their operations. Littlefish counts institutions such as Standard Bank, First National Bank, and Absa among its clients. The company was co-founded in 2021 by Roberts and Miod Davith Kahwa. Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world. Latin America and the Caribbean Mexico-based digital commerce platform, Clip, introduced Tap to Pay functionality on the iPhone. Mastercard executed a series of live, end-to-end agentic payment transactions across Latin America and the Caribbean. Cross-border payments technology company Reap obtained a Money Transmitter Registry in Mexico. Asia-Pacific Singapore-based fintech Fingular unveiled Shariah-first digital financing brand in Malaysia, Tazee. Enterprise on-chain settlement infrastructure company Capital Layer forged a distribution partnership with Taiwan-based domestic system integrator Stark Technology Inc. Vienamese police dismantle fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that cost investors billions of dollars. Sub-Saharan Africa Operating system for African banks and merchants, Littlefish, raised $9.5 million in Series A funding. Western Union partnered with Sasai Fintech to bring digital remittance access to South African consumers. African financial ecosystem platform Moniepoint acquired cloud-based restaurant management platform Orda Africa. Central and Eastern Europe Georgia-based TBC Bank partnered with GDS Link to power credit decisioning for retail lending. German fintech Solaris announced plans to become an “AI-native bank,” cut 20% of its workforce. PA Turkey looked at the strength of fintech investment in Turkey in 2025. Middle East and Northern Africa Saudi Arabia’s central bank issued its first Major Payment Institution license for open banking services to Lean Technologies. Vault22 announced plans to launch its Islamic finance platform Hafiq in the UAE by the middle of 2026. Banque Misr inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft Egypt to launch an open fintech innovation program for the Egyptian market. Central and Southern Asia Sri Lanka-based commercial bank Hatton National Bank enabled its debit cards to be added to Google Wallet. Indian employee health and insurance platform Plum raised $20.6 million in Series B funding. Revolut announced plans to boost its India-based workforce by 5,500 by the end of 2026. Photo by Adrien Olichon The post Finovate Global Africa: Stablecoins, Digital Payments, and Funding Infrastructure appeared first on Finovate.       

Italian fintech Opentech will power a new peer-to-peer money transfer solution under development by Viseca Payment Services and Cornèr Bank. Viseca and Cornèr Bank will leverage Opentech’s OpenPay Send technology, an all-in-one platform that orchestrates card-based transfers across multiple schemes and endpoints. Opentech most recently demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2026 in London. Stefano Andreani is Founder and CEO. Viseca Payment Services and Cornèr Bank have teamed up to develop a new open industry solution for international peer-to-peer money transfers leveraging Mastercard and Visa payment cards. The new offering, PayInit AG, will streamline direct, cross-border transfers between individuals, enabling them to send money from their payment cards to other cards, digital wallets, and bank accounts. The two companies will also create a recipient directory (alias directory) to allow end customers of participating card issuers and mobile payment solution providers to send money directly to each other using phone numbers or email addresses from the directory. “With PayInit, we are creating the foundation for worldwide P2P money transfers based on Swiss payment cards,” Viseca CFO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of PayInit AG, Michael Walther, said. “This closes an important gap in the Swiss payment card market and opens up new opportunities for the entire industry.” To this end, the two firms have selected Opentech as their technology partner for the project. Opentech, which most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2026 in London, is a specialist in providing digital services for banks and other financial services providers, and will bring its OpenPay Send technology to Viseca and Cornèr Bank’s new initiative. OpenPay Send is an all-in-one money transfer solution that combines money movement and alias directory services from leading payment networks to deliver a modern P2P and cross-border payment experience for customers. OpenPay Send enables fast and secure money transfers to billions of endpoints around the world, including bank accounts, cards, wallets, and cash-out locations. “The mission of PayInit AG aligns perfectly with the core values of Opentech: making payments more accessible, interoperable, and simpler,” Opentech Chief Executive Officer and Founder Stefano Andreani said. “As a technological innovation driver through the OpenPay Send platform, Opentech supports another initiative that once again demonstrates the Swiss financial sector’s role as a global pioneer while creating genuine value for all stakeholders.” The commercial launch of the PayInit AG solution is slated for the end of 2026. The collaboration comes months after Viseca and Opentech announced a strategic partnership designed to deliver new cross-border, peer-to-peer money transfer options for the Swiss market. A Finovate alum since 2013, Opentech supports digital transformation for banks and card issuers with secure, compliant, and scalable payment solutions. Most recently, at FinovateEurope 2026, the company demonstrated how its OpenPay for Merchants (O4M) solution embeds Buy Now, Pay Later functionality directly into the merchant digital channels, across merchant apps and checkout journeys. O4M boosts conversion and engagement for merchants, and provides banks with a distribution channel to deliver consumer financing options to pre-engaged customers at the moment of purchase. Founded in 2003, Opentech is headquartered in Rome, Italy. Viseca is a product and service provider in the cashless payments field, issuing both payment cards via Viseca Card Services and providing services to support the card business for issuers via Viseca Payment Services. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Viseca is owned by major Swiss and cantonal and retail banks, including all cantonal banks, the Raiffeisen Group, Entris Banking, Migros Bank, Bank Cler, regional banks, and private/commercial banks. Founded in 1952, the Cornèr Group is a private and independent Swiss banking group that offers the services of a universal bank. These services include private banking, credit financing, credit and prepaid cards (Visa, Mastercard, and Diners Club under the Cornèrcard brand), and online trading (Cornèrtrader). The group consists of parent company Cornèr Bank AG in Lugano, Switzerland, as well as its subsidiaries Cornèr Bank (Overseas) Limited, Cornèr Europe AG, Finpromotion SA, and Allegra Vermögensverwaltungs AG.  Photo by Henrique Ferreira on Unsplash The post Opentech Powers New Money Transfer Solution PayInit AG for Viseca, Cornèr Bank appeared first on Finovate.