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  • FinovateEurope 2026: Meet the Keynotes! – Finovate

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    FinovateEurope 2026 is only weeks away—but there’s still time to grab your ticket and save your spot. Be sure to visit our registration page today and take advantage of early bird savings!

    We recently kicked off our FinovateEurope 2026 Sneak Peek series to help you get to know this year’s demoing companies. Today, we’re sharing a look at the content side of things: starting with four keynote addresses—two for Tuesday and two for Wednesday—that you won’t want to miss.

    From the impact of geopolitics on financial decision-making to the rise of agentic AI to the possibilities of open banking and open finance, these FinovateEurope keynotes will explain how the most significant trends in fintech and financial services are impacting bankers and financial services professionals—and will share insights on how to make the most of these exciting new developments and innovations.


    The Global Economic Outlook & the Escalation of Geopolitical Risk and the Impact on Banks and their Customers

    Manas Chawla, Founder and Chief Executive of London Politica, is a political risk expert who has advised heads of state, UN agencies, and a range of Fortune 500 companies on how to navigate geopolitical risk and volatility. Chawla is also the Director of the Oxbridge Diplomatic Academy.

    London Politica is the world’s largest political risk advisory for social impact. Founded in 2020, the organization leverages a global network of more than 300 experts to provide locally grounded insight with a global perspective.

    Catch Chawla’s presentation at 10:20 am on Tuesday, 10 February!


    AI-First Banking—Why Agentic AI is Truly a New Frontier in Banking

    Alpesh Doshi, Managing Partner at Redcliffe Capital, will discuss how banks can harness agentic AI to reimagine a range of business process. With a focus on delivering real value for both customers and banks, Doshi’s keynote address will help bankers understand how they should be thinking about a Brave New World in which bots are the customers.

    Redcliffe Capital specializes in investing and building companies that help enterprises and entrepreneurs leverage innovation in technology such as digital transformation, data, and artificial intelligence.

    Catch Doshi’s presentation at 3:50 pm on Tuesday, 10 February!


    Finding a Commercial Model for Open Banking in Europe—What is the State of the Market & Where Have We Seen Real Success Stories for Retail Customers & Corporates?

    Taner Akcok, Head of Global API Banking, Deutsche Bank AG, is a serial entrepreneur, intrapreneur, and investor. With two exits on his resume and a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 roster in Europe, Akcok has extensive experience with API platforms, open banking, banking-as-a-service (BaaS), embedded finance, and contextual banking.

    Germany’s Deutsche Bank is the country’s leading financial institution. Founded in 1870 to support emerging German businesses, Deutsche Bank today includes investing, corporate, and retail banking among its core services along with asset and wealth management. The institution operates in more than 70 countries and trades publicly on the Frankfurt and New York Stock Exchanges.

    Catch Akcok’s presentation at 2:30 pm on Wednesday, 11 February!


    Open Data Will Enable Hyper-Personalization—How Do You Do It & What Do Customers Actually Want?

    Jurgen Vandenbroucke, Director at everyoneINVESTED, has more than two decades of experience in financial services. He combines expertise in financial engineering, behavioral finance, and digital innovation to transform the way people think about investing. With a PhD in Applied Economics, Vandenbroucke’s mission is to make investing easy, personal, valuable, and reliable.

    everyoneINVESTED empowers financial institutions around the world to boost digital investment engagement via solutions based in behavioral science, regulatory compliance, and user-centric design. The company is the WealthTech spin-off of KBC Group and is a recognized WealthTech 100 company.

    Catch Vandenbroucke’s presentation at 3:10 pm on Wednesday, 11 February!

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  • Two Compliance and Risk Fintechs Turning Controls into Competitive Advantage – Finovate

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    Financial institutions are scaling digital products, expanding into new markets, and automating their decision-making more than ever in 2026, which makes managing controls, models, and regulatory obligations just as important as stopping fraud.

    At FinovateEurope 2026, two new fintechs are showing how banks can move beyond manual processes and static controls toward more dynamic, data-driven approaches to compliance and risk. Check out how the following companies are helping banks reduce cost, improve transparency, and turn regulatory requirements into tools for smarter decision-making.

    FinovateEurope 2026 will take place at London’s InterContinental O2 on February 10 and 11. Tickets are available now. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today and take advantage of big early-bird savings!


    FINTRAC

    UK-based FINTRAC helps financial institutions automate controls and workflows across the model lifecycle, enabling stronger governance with less manual effort. Its platform replaces fragmented, spreadsheet-driven processes with centralized controls, audit-ready documentation, and richer analytics that improve transparency across risk, compliance, and model management teams.

    Because its tools are integrated into banks’ existing systems, FINTRAC allows banks to reduce costs while maintaining regulatory compliance in real-time.


    Serene

    Serene helps firms turn compliance and collections data into actionable insights by helping lenders optimize arrears management, reduce defaults, and expand access to credit by combining compliance discipline with frontline intelligence.

    Serene positions compliance as a feedback loop that improves decision-making across collections and lending operations. The company offers organizations data and guidance to enable them to balance risk management with customer outcomes while remaining compliant.

    Why banks should care

    As banks continue to digitize lending, payments, and risk decisioning, compliance and control functions can no longer rely on manual processes. In fact, regulators are increasingly expecting firms to implement continuous governance, which places more pressure on teams to move faster, adopt AI-driven models, and reduce operational cost.

    Fintechs like FINTRAC and Serene are good examples of how compliance and risk intelligence are being embedded into everyday operations. By automating controls and leveraging compliance data for actionable insights, banks can improve transparency, strengthen risk management, and scale more confidently.

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  • Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News – Finovate

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    We’re more than halfway through the first month of the year, and topics like AI and stablecoins continue to dominate both the headlines and the mindshare in fintech. Below, we’ve aggregated the top news in fintech for the week. We’ll continue to add more announcements as the week progresses.

    AI

    AI voice start-up ElevenLabs in funding talks at $11bn valuation (paywall).

    Synechron launches suite of AI agents to automate complex workflows, reduce risk and speed adoption.

    Payments

    dLocal partners with HONOR to launch localized payments in Peru’s growing tech landscape.

    TreviPay launches Pay by Invoice for issuers, enabled by Visa Credentials.

    Blackhawk Network’s Giftcards.com expands access to digital gift cards across PayPal.

    Lending

    Block surpasses $200 billion in credit provided to customers, continuing to address global lending gaps.

    Fraud and compliance

    eflow client base surges 23% as trading complexity intensifies surveillance demands.

    Tax

    PayPal introduces free DIY tax filing for PayPal debit card customers in partnership with April.

    Community banking

    Infusion Marketing Group, QwickRate and IntelliCredit combine to form OptimaFI.


    Photo by Google DeepMind

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  • Nick Reiner Was In a Yearlong Mental Health Conservatorship Ahead of Parents’ Murders

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    It’s been one month since Rob and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death inside their home.

    And we continue to receive new information about the late couple’s son and suspected murderer, Nick Reiner.

    Nick was arrested shortly after the murders and is currently being held without bail as he awaits trial.

    Actor/Producer/Director Rob Reiner (center) and wife Michele Singer (L) and son Nick Reiner (R) attend Teen Vogue's Back-to-School Saturday kick-off event at The Grove on August 9, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.
    Actor/Producer/Director Rob Reiner (center) and wife Michele Singer (L) and son Nick Reiner (R) attend Teen Vogue’s Back-to-School Saturday kick-off event at The Grove on August 9, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Teen Vogue)

    As we previously reported, Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the years before the murders.

    Now we have a new report about the severity of Reiner’s mental illness, courtesy of The New York Times.

    The outlet has learned that Reiner was placed in a yearlong conservatorship in 2020 due to his mental health issues.

    Conservatorships are usually considered a last-resort approach in cases of severe mental health issues.

    Honoree Rob Reiner poses with family at the 41st Annual Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on April 28, 2014 in New York City.  Honoree Rob Reiner poses with family at the 41st Annual Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on April 28, 2014 in New York City.
    Honoree Rob Reiner poses with family at the 41st Annual Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on April 28, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

    Typically, a judge will only sign off on a conservatorship — which essentially strips an adult psychiatric patient of their legal autonomy — in cases where the patient is believed to be an immediate threat to themself or others.

    Reiner’s conservatorship was not renewed in 2021 for reasons that remain unclear.

    News of the conservatorship could have a massive impact on Reiner’s trial, as it may bolster the argument that he’s not guilty by reason of insanity.

    “In order to win and not be determined guilty of murder, he has to show that he suffers from a severe mental illness, and at the time of the act, he didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t know wrong from right,” David Glass, a family law attorney and former psychologist, tells Los Angeles ABC affiliate ABC7.

    Director Rob Reiner (second from left) and family arrive at the premiere of Director Rob Reiner (second from left) and family arrive at the premiere of
    Director Rob Reiner (second from left) and family arrive at the premiere of “Rumor Has It” at the Grauman?s Chinese Theater on December 15, 2005 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

    Reiner has not yet entered a plea.

    He was scheduled to be arraigned last week, but the hearing was postponed when Reiner’s attorney, Alan Jackson, abruptly withdrew from the case.

    He is now being represented by a public defender, but that’s expected to change before the trial.

    Whatever the case, it’s unclear what sort of strategy Reiner’s team will pursue, but many legal experts expect the 32-year-old to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

    It’s an infamously risky strategy, as it requires the defense to begin their argument by admitting that the

    But stipulations in California make it easier to prove insanity there than in most states, and Reiner has a long and well-documented history of severe mental illness.

    We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.

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  • Feedzai and Matrix Partner to Create Standardized Fraud Fighting Approach – Finovate

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    • Feedzai and Matrix USA are launching a Center of Excellence to deliver a standardized, repeatable approach to help financial institutions deploy fraud and AML solutions.
    • The partnership addresses the growing AI-driven fraud threat, as more than 50% of fraudsters now use AI.
    • By combining AI-native technology with deep implementation expertise, the companies aim to help banks modernize fraud and AML programs at speed and scale without disrupting day-to-day operations.

    Risk management solutions provider Feedzai is teaming up with advisory and technology services company Matrix USA to help financial institutions fight the rising threats of fraud and money laundering.

    The two companies are collaborating on a Center of Excellence that will create a standardized approach to deploying fraud and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions.

    Highlighting the need for fraud prevention strategies that can keep pace with increasingly sophisticated threats, Feedzai Co-Founder and CEO Nuno Sebastião said AI has permanently reshaped the financial crime landscape. “AI has changed the fraud landscape forever, and financial institutions need solutions that can evolve just as quickly. That requires advanced technology with the right expertise to put it to work effectively. Together, Feedzai and Matrix USA will help financial institutions translate powerful capabilities into real-world impact against sophisticated, AI-enabled financial crime.”

    Feedzai was founded in 2011 as a risk operations platform specializing in identity verification, fraud prevention, and financial crime detection. The company’s AI-powered solutions span KYC, AML, watchlist screening, and transaction fraud monitoring to help financial institutions stop fraud in real time without compromising the customer experience. Today, Feedzai protects over one billion consumers in more than 190 countries and safeguards over $8 billion in transactions annually.

    Founded in 2006, Matrix USA provides advisory services to help financial institutions prevent financial crime and stay compliant when leveraging agentic AI, AI and LLM, automation, and model validation tools. The New Jersey-based company operates in more than 20 countries and has implemented more than 1,000 projects.

    With new advancements in AI becoming more accessible than ever, the partnership comes at a key time. According to research from Feedzai, more than 50% of fraudsters now use AI. When paired with banks’ outdated infrastructure, the enabling technology is widening the gap between increasingly sophisticated financial crime and the tools institutions have used for decades.

    Regarding the pressure banks face as they modernize legacy systems, Matrix USA CEO Lior Blik said financial institutions must strengthen fraud and AML defenses without slowing business operations. “Financial institutions are under tremendous pressure to modernize their fraud and AML defenses without slowing down business. By pairing Feedzai’s industry-leading AI capabilities with our deployment and integration expertise, we’re giving customers a faster, more reliable path to advanced prevention and stronger compliance.”

    By combining Feedzai’s AI-native financial crime prevention technology with Matrix USA’s implementation and advisory expertise, the two companies aim to deliver a structured, repeatable approach that helps financial institutions fight fraud and money laundering at speed and scale without disrupting day-to-day operations.


    Photo by Tara Winstead

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  • Finovate Global UK: Regulatory Complexity, Tech Innovation, and Keeping Consumers Safe – Finovate

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    Heading into 2026, there are some challenges to banks, fintechs, and financial services companies that are almost universal. How can firms navigate regulatory uncertainty? What is the most sustainable pace for the adoption of enabling technologies like blockchain and AI—much less basic modernization and digital transformation? What do consumers expect from banks and financial services providers in 2026 and how can these institutions do a better job of serving them?

    With FinovateEurope coming to London in less than a month, this week’s Finovate Global will examine these issues in the context of fintech in the United Kingdom. Future editions will look at how these trends are playing out in Western and Southern Europe, the Baltics, as well as Central and Eastern Europe.


    Navigating Regulatory Complexity: Balancing Innovation and Risk

    More than a decade later, the consequences of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union continue to reverberate throughout the region: and its financial sector is no exception. In the years since Brexit, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has created and implemented its own financial regulations, including guidelines for the use of enabling technologies like crypto assets and AI, that diverge from those in the EU.

    The UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA), for example, regulates stablecoins through use cases related to payments, whereas the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation, is broader, including asset-based tokens as well as e-money tokens. Policies in both regions have been credited for their emphasis on consumer protections. Nevertheless, some have suggested that the UK’s approach, by comparison, is more focused on balancing innovation with risk management, in alignment with the UK’s efforts to position itself as an international hub for digital finance.

    Unsurprisingly, this pattern is also apparent in the differing approaches the UK and the EU have taken toward AI regulation in financial services. Whereas the UK’s approach seeks to grant more space for financial institutions and fintechs to experiment with AI technologies and relies on existing regulators (i.e., the FCA) to ensure compliance, the EU approach, with its AI Act, puts a primary focus on risk management. The Act itself categorizes AI systems by “risk levels” (high, limited, minimal) and mandates risk assessments, transparency disclosures, and compliance with other technical standards.


    Accelerating Technological Transformation: Early Embrace Leads Broad Adoption

    The UK’s early embrace of open banking has helped the region not only develop a robust open banking and finance ecosystem, but also has fueled its embedded finance industry. The combination of an active regulator in the FCA, innovations such as standardized APIs, and the availability of regulatory sandboxes have helped the UK reach a point where analysts believe its embedded finance market alone could double from 6.5 billion pounds ($8.7 billion) in 2024 to 15.8 billion pounds ($21 billion) by 2029. This far surpasses the EU’s embedded finance growth expectations of $194.6 million by 2030.

    While fraud and cybersecurity threats are as much a concern in Europe as they are in the UK, the UK’s status as a major international financial hub also means that it suffers from a disproportionately high rate of cybercrime and fraud. Even innovations like Faster Payments have had the unfortunate consequence of making certain types of fraud—such as Authorized Push Payments (APP) scams—easier for cybercriminals to pull off. It is true that the UK does an exceptional job when it comes to fraud reporting; in the UK tracking and analyzing fraud data is more centralized compared to the EU where this data is predictably more fragmented. However, this alone does not account for the difference in fraud rates.

    One area of transformation that still haunts much of the UK banking and financial services sector is the reliance on outdated infrastructure. The persistence of outdated core systems significantly limits the ability of banks and other financial services providers to innovate and scale. Successfully modernizing and digitizing their systems is key to enabling them to take advantage of some of the enabling technologies noted here: from AI and blockchain technology to faster payments and tougher cybersecurity protections.

    It is true that both the UK and the EU suffer from more mainframe-based core banking infrastructure and layers of middleware than is beneficial to either region’s financial sector. This is especially true when the less developed areas of both—the UK’s north and the EU’s east—are taken into account. What is interesting is that the demand for modernization is greater in the UK, where there is both strong pressure from regulators and from increasingly digitally savvy consumers. The dominance of a few major banks in the UK also puts significant constraints on modernization, and encourages a tendency to innovate and modernize “around the core” rather than engage in wholesale replacement.


    Meeting Customer Expectations: Incentive Innovation, Increase Engagement

    The UK banking and financial services customer is sophisticated, digitally savvy, and is willing to experiment with new banking and fintech innovations across payments, lending, investments, and more. Because of this, the UK enjoys a relatively high trust in banks, creating a virtuous circle that, along with these other factors, incentivizes innovation in financial services and a higher degree of engagement among financial services consumers.

    As such, it is no surprise that the chief concern for UK banking consumers is financial crime and fraud. If anything, it is refreshing that a population open to new technologies and methods in an area as delicate as finance is similarly focused on ensuring that these new financial products and services are secure. Moreover, because fraud fears are a consistent, but not necessarily dominant concern, it is worth noting that much of what drives concerns over financial crime involve recent developments such as faster payments and greater personalization. In this light, it is clear that the key to ensuring continued adoption of innovations in fintech and financial services—for individuals as well as businesses—lies in a path to adoption that is accessible, transparent, regulated, and safe.


    Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

    Latin America and the Caribbean

    Asia-Pacific

    • WeLab, a Pan-Asian fintech that operates a number of digital banks in the region, raised $220 million in a debt and equity round involving HSBC and Prudential.
    • Liminal Custody, a digital asset custody firm, joined the Fintech Association of Japan.
    • Temenos and Myanmar Citizens Bank partnered to fortify core banking operations and facilitate real-time payments.

    Sub-Saharan Africa

    • Capital.com secured a license from Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
    • Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations de Côte d’Ivoire announced an investment in local fintech GREEN-PAY.
    • US fintech PayServices filed a lawsuit in US federal court against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over a failed banking and payments infrastructure modernization project.

    Central and Eastern Europe

    Middle East and Northern Africa

    • Payment orchestration platform MoneyHash teamed up with Spare to promote open banking payments in the UAE.
    • Oman’s first licensed payment service provider Thawani Technologies inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oman-based fintech Monak.
    • Floss, a fintech based in Bahrain, secured a $22 million credit facility arranged by UAE-based investment company Shorooq.

    Central and Southern Asia

    • Leading banks in India announced a plan to deploy more than 17,000 ATMs across the country’s banking network to promote cash recycling.
    • Crowdfund Insider looked at how Pakistan’s fintech industry is dealing with a payments ecosytems that is still dominated by cash.
    • TBC Uzbekistan introduced its TBC Plus subscription service to expand its range of financial and lifestyle offerings.

    Photo by Deeana Arts 🇵🇷

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  • From Gadgets to Systems: What CES 2026 Signals for the Future of Banking – Finovate

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    CES is known for flashy gadgets and fun consumer technology. For most banks, CES is not a must-attend event because it does not focus on fintech and banking. There is, however, still value in attending the show, as emerging technologies can signal how customer expectations and new operating models are evolving.

    U.S. Bank understands this and sent two executives, Don Relyea, Chief Innovation Officer, and Todder Moning, Head of R&D, Innovation, on a “Future Safari” to check out what’s new, what’s next, and what’s possible when it comes to implementing technologies.

    After they returned to the office last week, we interviewed Relyea and Moning to unpack what CES 2026 revealed from a banker’s perspective. From embedded AI and robotics to agentic commerce and cross-industry convergence, they highlight new trends, unpack which were overhyped, and explain what bank leaders should be paying attention to over the next 12 to 24 months.

    From a banker’s perspective, what signals did CES send this year about where technology investment is actually heading—and which trends felt more operationally real than hype?

    Don Relyea and Todder Moning: Well, it’s safe to say the technology investment is increasing across the board. We love taking Future Safaris™ to CES because it is a great way to get ideas and see and follow emerging trends across many spaces that will allow us to improve the customer experience as well as integrate with other new tech innovations.

    Trends that stuck out to our team this year include:

    Everywhere Intelligence – Embedded in Everything: Artificial intelligence is no longer a standalone category—it’s being woven into devices large and small, at the edge (on-device) and in the cloud, turning ordinary products into smart, context-aware companions. In terms of potential financial implications, personalized financial assistants that understand behavior, spending patterns, and context could dramatically improve user experience and trust in the future. However, increased reliance on AI raises privacy, bias, and regulatory concerns—especially as financial decisions become automated.

    Digital Health/Wellness/Longevity Tech: Tech that senses, analyzes, and predicts health was signposted at CES 2025 and carries into 2026 with smarter biofeedback devices. We see healthcare as connected to financial services and even have a saying: “healthcare is wealth care.” Money is emotional and has impacts on people, their families, and businesses, both good and bad, and helping to reach better wealth care outcomes (financial outcomes) positively impacts people’s health and wellness.

    The convergence of AI, wearables, brain interfaces, and other age-tech are going to extend life. There is an opportunity for banks to weave that into a more holistic planning process for our clients. We also saw numerous wearables and other AI-based innovations that monitor various metrics and values to inform you about health risks or concerns. This is relevant because there is a strong correlation between physical health and financial health. These innovations could also help catch costly medical problems before they occur, saving people money and stress. For example, transaction metrics could flag early signs of dementia or an eldercare abuse issue.

    Robots for industrial and home use: The resurgence of robotics was the most visible trend at CES this year. “Embodied AI” or what some call “Physical AI” are catchier names for intelligent robotics. We’re seeing tons of AI and far more robotics this year than in prior years, and as the two domains merge more deeply, a wave of AI-enabled, more general purpose, and often more human-like robotics solutions are emerging.

    Robots, humanoid, non-humanoid, and robotic exoskeletons that you wear are graduating from controlled environments to unstructured, real-world contexts—folding laundry, navigating homes, manufacturing or even autonomous vehicles.

    Looking ahead: CES shows a shift from gadget splendor to system-wide integration—everything is connected and intelligent. AI, robotics and immersive interfaces are converging—not just making things “smart” but connecting behaviors, identities and environments.

    As CES showcased advances in consumer hardware, AI assistants, and connected devices, what new expectations do you think customers will bring back to their financial institutions?

    Relyea and Moning: You’re hitting on two of the five themes about why we like to take Future Safaris and why CES is one of the best—what we call lateral and longitudinal. At CES, we’re able to see many industries and domains in a concentrated amount of time. Taking the lateral view, we see what and how numerous industries use similar technologies to do something. This is a great way to collect and curate direct or indirect ways that you can do metaphorically similar things in your future, industry and domain of interest.

    On the longitudinal view, if you’re in a place and time where lots of technologies, developments, or business models are present, it’s a great opportunity to gauge how each technology, development, or business model is changing over time. This was the bank’s 15th year at CES, which allows us to gauge how each technology or development is changing over time. Are robots getting better and more useful, or are they developing slowly (or worse, stalled and in decline)? Is AI advancing and if so, in what places and ways? Is a touted technology delivering against the hype, or is it prancing around with no real innovation use. In Texas, we call the latter “big hat, no cattle.”

    The big idea is that technology, design, and experiences are erasing the barriers and boundaries between industries. If one comes to expect what’s possible to do in one industry, business, or product, they will likely come to expect that for other industries and businesses. That’s the kind of meta-trending we try to find and then apply to what that means for banks and financial services going forward.

    Customer interactions continue to become increasingly digital and increasingly enabled by AI and sensors, and U.S. Bank is at the leading edge of visioning where tech is headed and what our customers need from us—as we provide the technology and guidance that make their financial lives simpler and more convenient. We’re proud to have one of the longest running dedicated innovation practices in banking today.

    AI being embedded in everything is going to raise the bar for consumer expectations of what good is. This year AI was not front and center at CES, it was embedded and improving the automation of consumer devices in subtle and easy to use and easy to access ways. Think rings, pins, and business card form factors that you can talk to (that may or may not connect to other devices or the cloud) and ask them to transcribe, translate, make PowerPoints, fill out forms, manage calendars, and many other things. This is going to raise the expectations of customers that more should be done for them.

    Did you notice fintech concepts like embedded finance, identity, or real-time payments showing up inside non-financial technology at CES?

    Relyea and Moning: Yes, we saw things like an AI-enabled oven that helps you grocery shop for ingredients.

    We saw several biometric payment checkout interfaces. These were easy to use and set up and could be integrated into anything requiring identity and payments pretty easily.

    We saw biometric technology using keyboard behavior that could help flag a significant behavior change in an employee (for example), who is either under duress or as a disgruntled employee could make poor decisions impacting the business. Another example we saw is asset-tracking technology that could be used off-grid, to say track trucks, railcars, mining equipment, etc.

    For the majority of bank leaders who didn’t attend CES, what is one emerging theme from the show that you think will impact financial services over the next 12 to 24 months, and why?

    Relyea and Moning: I’d say the embedding of AI into devices and what has started happening in agentic commerce. Devices of all sorts are showing signs of becoming commerce orchestrators and agents for customers—and it’s a short jump from there to having devices become a type of customer. Many of the things we see at CES come with subscriptions—for instance, the longevity mirror I used came with an annual subscription for you and your family to use its AI data and models. You can imagine that many of these monthly or annual subscriptions we might have in the future. Are you going to manage all of those, or will the device manage it for you with limited spending capabilities you provide it?

    Tell us about the coolest non-banking use of technology you saw at CES?

    Relyea and Moning: I think the exoskeletons were really cool. Don was able to wear the leg ones that helped him climb stairs much easier and faster. I was able to wear one on my back and hips that helped me to pick up a heavy item with ease. I also liked the sustainable printed battery that was paper thin. It could be embedded into most anything and power airtags in things like your passport carrier, purse, wallet, that kind of thing. And when you throw it away, it is completely compostable.

    And we always love the autonomous mobility work that the big agricultural and construction/mining brands show—autonomous combines with autonomous hoppers that keep pace with the combine, and AI-assisted and autonomous Bobcats and construction excavators. It just shows how autonomous mobility is happening, even if its pace is slower than was originally expected at the beginning of the decade.


    Photo by Pixabay

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  • Worldline Connects AI Agents to its Global Payment Ecosystem – Finovate

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    • Worldline is launching new AI capabilities to help merchants move from experimenting with AI agents to deploying them in real-world commerce.
    • The company’s MCP servers act as a bridge between LLMs and payment APIs to allow AI agents to initiate transactions, issue refunds, and manage payment workflows using natural language.
    • Worldline acknowledged its support for emerging standards like Google’s AP2 and UCP, as well as European regulatory requirements.

    Global payments company Worldline is making new moves to join the agentic future. The France-based firm is launching new capabilities that are helping companies to move from experimenting with AI agents to deploying AI agents.

    According to McKinsey, agentic commerce could see between $3 trillion and $5 trillion in global retail value by 2030. To help users leverage this opportunity, Worldline is unveiling two new capabilities to interface with AI agents and help merchants experiment with AI-powered workflows and commerce experiences.

    For the first capability, Worldline is using its Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to act as a translation layer between LLMs and Worldline’s APIs. This bridge will enable consumers to participate in AI-driven shopping by allowing agents to share secure payment links. Shoppers can use AI agents to initiate a transaction using natural language, while merchants can support agent-initiated actions such as payment creation, refunds, status checks, and payment captures.

    Worldline views its new AI capabilities as a foundational step toward making agentic commerce practical at scale. According to Gertjan Dewaele, VP of Product & Technology at Worldline, the introduction of MCP servers helps bridge the gap between experimentation and real-world deployment. “The shift to agentic commerce is underway, and MCP servers are the first building block for moving merchants from experimentation to real-world deployment. By providing secure, simple access to Worldline’s payment capabilities for AI agents, we enable the next generation of agentic commerce and streamline internal operations.”

    Worldline has also introduced ConnectAI, which will allow developers and merchants to explore, build, test, and prepare for agentic commerce. ConnectAI serves as a hub that offers tools, documentation, and guidance for new agentic payment protocols.

    According to Worldline Head of Global Commerce Stijn Gasthuys, the company sees agentic commerce as a catalyst for broader innovation in payments. “Agentic commerce will unlock new waves of innovation, helping merchants deliver better customer experiences. Our investments in this area position Worldline to capture a growing global market for AI-powered transactions, delivering secure, scalable infrastructure that empowers merchants and developers to innovate with confidence.”

    Worldline’s move comes during a major shift in the payments industry, which is racing to accept the reality that AI agents are starting to participate in commerce. By focusing on infrastructure, standards alignment, and regulatory compliance, Worldline is positioning itself among the players willing to enable agentic commerce safely and at scale.

    Worldline’s new capabilities make it easier for merchants to experiment while reducing the operational and compliance risks that slow adoption. The tools make it easier for companies to transition from AI pilots to real, revenue-generating use cases.

    As part of today’s announcement, Worldline is actively supporting emerging standards, including Google’s newly launched Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) and Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). The company also noted that it will place “a strong focus” on complying with European regulatory and trusted requirements.

    Founded in 1974, Worldline offers payments technology and solutions customized for hundreds of industries. The company counts more than one million businesses as clients around the world and generated $5.3 billion (4.6 billion euros) in revenue in 2024.


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  • Plumery Launches AI Fabric to Help Banks Operationalize AI – Finovate

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    • Digital banking development platform Plumery unveiled its AI Fabric this week.
    • The new offering will help banks operationalize AI safely and aid them as they deploy AI-assisted digital banking solutions.
    • Headquartered in Amsterdam, Plumery made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025 in London. Ben Goldin is Founder and CEO.

    A new offering from digital banking development platform Plumery will help banks safely operationalize AI and provide a foundation for AI-assisted digital banking. Plumery’s AI Fabric gives financial institutions a standardized way to connect AI and generative AI models and agents to banking data. This alleviates the need for customized system integrations and helps direct institutions toward an event-driven, API-first architecture that scales as firms grow.

    “Financial institutions are clear about what they need from AI. They want real production use cases that improve customer experience and operations, but they will not compromise on governance, security, or control,” Plumery Founder and CEO Ben Goldin said. “Our AI Fabric gives them a standard, bank-grade way to allow AI use within their tools and data without rebuilding integrations for every model. The event-driven data mesh architecture improves the process by transforming how banking data is produced, shared, and consumed, instead of adding another AI layer on top of fragmented systems.”

    One of the biggest challenges faced by banks when seeking to operationalize AI is data fragmentation across legacy cores, channels, and integrations. This means that each new AI project tends to start from scratch, with additional infrastructure setup, security review, and governance—all of which can slow the process, delay value realization, and increase risk. Growing regulatory concerns regarding AI auditability and explainability also put pressure on institutions trying to take an ad-hoc approach to implementing and scaling AI.

    Plumery’s AI Fabric empowers institutions to integrate and exchange AI capabilities as the ecosystem evolves. The technology presents quality, domain-oriented banking data streams and events across products, channels, and customer journeys in a consistent, governed, and reusable manner. Plumery’s AI Fabric distinguishes systems of record from systems of engagement and intelligence to enable institutions to innovate continuously, integrate new capabilities seamlessly, and deliver consistent experiences across channels. The company’s latest offering enables institutions to move away from point-to-point integrations and one-off data pipelines, simplifying changes and making adjustments safer, cheaper, and less complex. Because Plumery’s AI Fabric provides institutions with clear data lineage, ownership, and control, companies can explain decisions, manage risk more effectively, and satisfy compliance regulations.

    Founded in 2016 and headquartered in the Netherlands, Plumery made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025 in London. At the conference, the company demonstrated its Super App Accelerator, which empowers financial institutions to launch a comprehensive Super App within weeks. Last fall, Plumery unveiled its cashback management capability, which helps banks build and launch their own cashback programs in weeks, featuring real-time, personalized rewards to boost customer engagement.

    Learn more about Plumery and its innovations in digital banking in this interview from the company’s FinovateEurope appearance last year.


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  • Instagram password reset surge: Protect your account

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    If your inbox suddenly shows an Instagram “Reset your password” email you never requested, you are not alone. A wave of unexpected reset messages is hitting people right now, and attackers are betting you will panic, click fast and make a mistake.

    Here is the tricky part. Many of these emails are real. They can come directly from Instagram because someone triggered the legitimate password reset flow. That makes the alert feel extra convincing, even when you did nothing wrong.

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    FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM ARE USING YOUR DATA TO TRAIN AI: LEARN HOW TO PROTECT IT

    Unexpected Instagram password reset emails can look completely legitimate, which is why so many users are caught off guard during this surge. (Cyverguy.com)

    Why Instagram password reset emails are surging

    This surge is happening because the reset emails themselves can be real, even when the intent behind them is not. Instead of building fake phishing pages or using malware, attackers take advantage of Instagram’s normal account recovery system.

    The process is simple. An attacker enters your username or email into Instagram’s real password reset form. Instagram automatically sends a legitimate reset email to you. The attacker then waits to see how you react.

    At this point, your account has not been hacked. The risk comes from what happens next. Attackers are counting on common mistakes, such as clicking the reset button and rushing through the process, reusing a weak password, getting redirected to a fake follow-up page or falling for a second scam email that arrives soon after.

    That is why this tactic works as a stress test. It creates urgency and pressure, even though nothing has been compromised yet.

    Why attackers love this tactic

    This is classic social engineering. The attacker does not need to outsmart Instagram. They need to outsmart you in a stressed moment. A reset email creates urgency. It also feels official. That combination leads people to click first and think second, which is exactly the outcome attackers want. You can treat these surprise reset emails as an early warning system. If you get one:

    • Someone may know your username or email
    • Your account could be on a target list from a leak or scrape
    • Your current security setup will decide whether this stays annoying or turns into a takeover

    If an email pressures you to act immediately, threatens account deletion or asks for extra information, treat it as suspicious.

    The BreachForums leak connection

    The timing of this surge has raised fresh concerns. Reports point to data tied to roughly 17.5 million Instagram accounts being shared on BreachForums, an underground forum where cybercriminals trade and discuss stolen data. The alleged post appeared in early January 2026, which lines up with when many users began reporting a sudden wave of password reset emails, sometimes receiving several in a short period of time.

    This timing alone does not prove a direct connection. However, leaked usernames or email addresses can make it much easier for attackers to target large numbers of accounts at once, which is exactly what this kind of reset spam depends on. We reached out to Meta for comment but did not receive a response before our deadline. 

    We reached out to Meta for comment, and a spokesperson for the company told CyberGuy, “We fixed an issue that allowed an external party to request password reset emails for some Instagram users. We want to reassure everyone there was no breach of our systems and people’s Instagram accounts remain secure. People can disregard these emails and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused.” 

    How to tell if the reset email is legitimate

    A legitimate Instagram reset email can still be part of an attack attempt. So your goal is not “confirm it is real,” it is “avoid reacting in a risky way.” Instagram’s own guidance boils down to this:

    • A reset email alone does not mean your account is compromised
    • If you did not request it, do not use the link
    • Use Instagram’s official paths in the app to review security and report suspicious messages

    Also, if you get emails about changing your account email address, Instagram says those messages can include a way to reverse the change, which can help you recover if someone broke in.

    Instagram icon on an iPhone sitting on table.

    These real-looking messages are designed to create urgency and push people to click before slowing down and checking their account security. (Cyverguy.com)

    What a real Instagram password reset email looks like

    A legitimate reset email usually has these elements:

    • Sender: Comes from an official Instagram domain, such as security@mail.instagram.com
    • Subject line: Often says “Reset your Instagram password” or “Password reset request”
    • Instagram branding: Logo at the top with clean formatting
    • Call to action button: A button like “Reset Password”
    • Reassurance text: A line explaining that if you did not request this, you can ignore the email and nothing will change
    • Safety option: Language telling you how to report the email if you did not initiate it

    This is why the current surge is so effective. The emails look normal and arrive from real Instagram systems. 

    META ENDS FACT-CHECKING PROGRAM AS ZUCKERBERG VOWS TO RESTORE FREE EXPRESSION ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM

    What Instagram reset alerts can look like inside the app

    You may also see security messages directly in Instagram, such as:

    • Login attempt alerts
    • Notifications about a password reset request
    • Prompts asking you to confirm a login from a new device

    These in-app alerts are generally safer to interact with than email links, especially during a surge.

    What scammers rely on

    Attackers are counting on one thing: panic. When users see a reset email they did not request, many rush to click before reading the fine print. That fast reaction is what turns a harmless reset request into a real account takeover.

    What to do right now if you get a reset email you did not request

    So, what should you do if one of these password reset emails lands in your inbox? Take a breath first. Then do this.

    1) Do not click the button in the email and use strong antivirus software 

    Even if the message looks real, treat it like a hot surface. If you want to change your password, do it from the Instagram app or by typing Instagram’s address into your browser yourself. Strong antivirus software adds another layer of protection here. It can help block malicious links, fake login pages and follow-up scams that often appear during a reset email surge.

    The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

    Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

    2) Check your Instagram security activity in the app

    Open Instagram and look for signs someone tried to log in:

    • Unknown devices
    • Login alerts you do not recognize
    • Changes to email, phone number or linked accounts

    If anything looks off, remove the device and update your credentials.

    3) Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) and keep it on

    Two-factor authentication (2FA) is the biggest roadblock for account takeover. Even if someone knows your password, they still need your code to get in from an unfamiliar device. Instagram has pushed 2FA heavily for higher-risk accounts and urges users to enable it. Use an authenticator app if you can. It is often safer than SMS.

    4) Change your password if you feel unsure

    If you suspect someone guessed your password, or you reused it elsewhere, change it. Make it long and unique. A password manager can help you generate and store strong passwords without reusing them. Then update the password on your email account too. Your email inbox controls most password resets, so make sure it also uses a strong, unique password.

    Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our #1 password manager (see Cyberguy.com/Passwords) pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.

    Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com.

    5) Use a data removal service to reduce targeting

    Password reset surges often follow data leaks. When your email address and personal details appear on data broker sites, attackers can target you more easily. A data removal service helps limit where your information shows up online. By shrinking your digital footprint, you reduce the chances of being singled out during large-scale reset email attacks.

    While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

    Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

    Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

    Someone with a hoodie types suspiciously on a laptop that displays a dark screen.

    The safest response is to avoid email links, open the Instagram app directly and review login activity and security settings instead. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

    6) Watch for follow-up scams

    After a reset surge, criminals often switch tactics. Next, you may see:

    • Fake “Instagram Support” emails
    • DMs claiming your account will be deleted
    • Login approval prompts you did not trigger

    Slow down and verify everything inside the app.

    Kurt’s key takeaways

    A spike in Instagram password reset emails feels scary because it looks like someone is already inside your account. Often, they are not. Still, the surge is a reminder to tighten your basics. Use the app to check security. Turn on two-factor authentication. Change the passwords you reused. Most importantly, do not let an unexpected email rush you into the one click that hands over access.

    Have you received an unexpected Instagram password reset email recently, and how did you handle it? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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    Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. 

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  • Four Innovators in Embedded Finance, Open Finance & Banking Infrastructure – Finovate

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    While perhaps not as flashy as AI or blockchain technology, embedded finance, open banking, and open finance are already transforming the way individuals and businesses interact with banks, financial service providers, and even retail organizations. By enabling firms to leverage partnerships and APIs to offer services and products they would struggle to offer on their own, companies gain a tremendous opportunity not only to enhance their offerings with greater efficiency and personalization, but also to expand their product lines, provide new solutions, and secure new sources of revenue.

    This week, in our continuing series previewing companies that will demonstrate their latest innovations at FinovateEurope 2026, we showcase four companies that are helping banks and other financial institutions take advantage of the opportunities made possible by embedded finance, open banking, and open finance.

    FinovateEurope 2026 will take place at London’s Intercontinental O2 on February 10 and 11. Tickets are available now. Visit our FinovateEurope hub today and take advantage of big early-bird savings!


    AAZZUR

    AAZZUR enables brands—both small and medium-sized businesses as well as large corporations—to launch their own embedded finance solutions with a single integration. The company’s open banking platform serves as a layer above banks and fintechs, facilitating the exchange of data, messages, and transactions to boost satisfaction, retention, and monetization, while enhancing the way fintechs work with banks. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, AAZUR was founded in 2017.


    Francis

    Francis enables financial institutions and fintechs to leverage AI to resolve challenges in their open finance initiatives. The company’s technology transforms fragmented financial data from pensions, property, investments, cash, and other sources into actionable wealth insights. Francis uses AI to process unstructured data and integrates it with market data, providing a holistic view of both personal and business finances. Founded in 2025, Francis is based in London, England.


    Opentech

    Opentech, a digital payments and transaction enrichment services provider, develops and operates full-stack solutions currently deployed by financial institutions and service providers in Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. The company’s open and scalable platform fosters interoperability between banks, card issuers, and international payment networks. Founded in 2003, Opentech is headquartered in Rome, Italy.


    Hagbad

    Hagbad works with organizations to digitize trust-based savings. The company modernizes traditional group savings systems through its secure digital platform, enabling compliant engagement, expanding customer reach, and promoting inclusive growth via a regulated, culturally aligned financial infrastructure. Hagbad’s platform features automated tracking and real-time transparency to ensure that contributions, payouts, and group activity are effectively monitored. Headquartered in the UK, Hagbad was launched in 2025.


    Why banks should care

    Embedded finance, open banking, and open finance offer banks an exceptional opportunity to introduce new products and services and to compete more effectively with rivals in both Big Tech and Big Retail. All three innovations foster increased accessibility, enabling financial institutions reach customers where they are. They also support greater personalization, empowering firms to offer more tailored financial products to customers, while simultaneously creating new revenue sources to divto ersify beyond traditional banking offerings.

    Catch these and other innovative fintech companies next month at FinovateEurope 2026. With less than a month to go, there’s no better time than now to visit our FinovateEurope hub and secure your spot to the first big fintech conference of the year!


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  • Equifax UK Partners with Greek Credit Bureau Tiresias – Finovate

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    • International data, analytics, and technology company Equifax UK has teamed up with Greece’s sole credit bureau Tiresias.
    • The strategic partnership is designed to help Tiresias develop modern business tools to enhance credit assessment, bolster fraud prevention, encourage responsible lending, and improve debt management.
    • Equifax UK is a division of Atlanta, Georgia-based Equifax located in London, England.

    In Greek mythology, Tiresias was a blind prophet famous both for his clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years by the Greek goddess Hera.

    Tiresias is also the name of the sole credit bureau in Greece and is the latest strategic partner of global data, analytics, and technology company Equifax UK. The two entities are collaborating in an effort to boost financial inclusion, stimulate economic growth, and bring advanced credit assessment and fraud prevention to businesses and consumers in Greece.

    “Our partnership with Tiresias is a testament to everything we have built at Equifax and the strength of our global solution capabilities and expertise in the marketplace,” Equifax UK Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Craig Tebbutt said. “This collaboration will further strengthen Tiresias as a strategic pillar of the Greek economy, drawing on Equifax data, analytics capabilities, and cloud technology to drive insights and decision-making confidence, helping more people live their financial best.”

    Tiresias will benefit from access to Equifax’s advanced data and analytics expertise, technology platforms, and best-in-class practices to assist the bureau as it develops new, modern products and services. Among these new offerings are business tools to enhance credit assessments, bolster fraud prevention, encourage responsible lending, and improve debt management. In a statement, Tiresias highlighted Equifax’s global reach, with operations in 24 countries, as well as the firm’s combination of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology.

    “This marks a new chapter in the Greek credit market, where transparency, reliability, and innovation will combine to deliver modern, safe, and more effective services to benefit society, while safeguarding the rights and freedoms of individuals and protecting their personal data,” Tiresias Chief Executive Officer Ilias Xirouchakis said.

    Founded in 1992 and based in Marousi—a suburb north of Athens—Tiresias is an interbank company that provides reliable data on the assessment of credit risk for businesses and private citizens. The company seeks to limit the over-indebtedness of individual borrowers, facilitate responsible lending, protect against fraud, and enhance the security of commercial transactions via its Tiresias Risk Control System (TSEK).

    Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax has been a Finovate alum since 2011. The company’s UK-based division, Equifax UK, offers credit scores and credit reports, as well as identity protection tools. The company also provides resources to help consumers find the right loan, credit card, automobile financing, and insurance offers, as well as educational information on financial subjects ranging from debt management to mortgages.


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  • Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News – Finovate

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    There is a race to the top in Agentic commerce, and Google is here to make sure its name is front and center. The tech giant launched its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard for agentic commerce, and payments companies like PayPal and Ant International are jumping on board. Read on for more fintech news headlines. We’ll continue to add more announcements as the week progresses.

    DeFi

    Rain raises $250 million Series C to scale stablecoin-powered payments infrastructure for global enterprises.

    BNY extends digital cash capabilities for institutional clients.

    Ripple receives FCA permissions to scale Ripple Payments in the UK.

    Payments and Commerce

    Walmart and Google partner to launch agent-led commerce.

    FIS launches tool to help banks participate in agentic commerce.

    PayPal announces support of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).

    Google launches the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard for agentic commerce.

    MoneyHash and Spare partner to advance open banking adoption in the UAE.

    Digital banking

    The State of Georgia Department of Banking and Finance has officially accepted Checkout.com‘s application for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter. 

    Wio Bank unveils first UAE bank account for content creators.

    Prometeo becomes a member of FDATA.


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  • Bilt Embeds Loyalty at Checkout with Verifone – Finovate

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    • Bilt is partnering with Verifone to embed its loyalty and customer experience platform directly into Verifone Victa point-of-sale devices and will allow merchants to recognize and engage members at checkout with personalized experiences.
    • The integration requires no new hardware and works across multiple payment providers.
    • For Bilt, the deal creates a scalable distribution channel through Verifone’s point-of-sale devices, significantly expanding its merchant reach.

    Loyalty platform Bilt announced it is teaming up with Verifone this week. The partnership will integrate Bilt’s experience and loyalty platform into Verifone’s Victa point-of-sale hardware devices.

    The nine Verifone Victa point-of-sale devices range from enterprise-grade registers to small mobile and portable devices. Integrating Bilt’s loyalty tools into these devices will help merchants engage customers at point of sale by embedding personalized experiences and member identity into the payment experience.

    The native integration, which won’t require additional hardware investment or changes to existing workflows, is designed to be easy for merchants to adopt. It works across multiple payment providers as an out-of-the-box tool that has already been tested and certified, which lowers implementation risk and shortens the time it takes for businesses to go live with Bilt’s customer experience tools.

    “By embedding Bilt’s loyalty technology directly into the Verifone platform, delivered through Victa, we’re enabling merchants to elevate customer engagement without adding hardware or disrupting existing workflows,” said Verifone CEO Himanshu Patel. “Through the Verifone gateway, merchants get a pre-certified, enterprise-grade integration that accelerates time to market and is already proven at scale—while unlocking access to Bilt’s member base.”

    Bilt was founded in 2021 to offer a loyalty rewards program and credit card that allows renters to earn points when they pay their rent, building credit with every payment. With no annual fee, the Bilt Mastercard credit card also allows cardholders to earn points on select dining experiences, rideshare purchases, and travel purchases. These points can be redeemed for travel, fitness classes, home decor, and even a down payment on a future home.

    For Bilt, today’s partnership has the potential to massively increase its merchant footprint by placing its loyalty and customer experience tools directly into widely deployed point-of-sale hardware. By meeting merchants where transactions already occur, Bilt can scale distribution without requiring merchants to adopt new systems or change how they operate.

    This is big news for Bilt. The partnership has the potential to move Bilt from a card-centric loyalty program into embedded commerce infrastructure that meets consumers and merchants directly at the point-of-sale.

    “Partnering with Verifone—the gold standard in payment hardware—means our merchant partners get best-in-class customer experience technology that’s already delivering better reviews, faster operations, and happier customers,” said Bilt Founder and CEO Ankur Jain. “This partnership with Verifone brings our proven membership and loyalty tech right to the point-of-sale—dining, fitness, retail, you name it. Together, we’re completely changing how merchants connect with their customers. Now they can automatically recognize and reward people at checkout, which means every transaction becomes a chance to build real relationships and unlock new revenue with personalized offers.”

    Bilt will begin rolling out the Verifone integration with select restaurant groups, and will make its tools more available to a broader set of merchants throughout 2026.

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  • Finovate Global Egypt: New Partnerships, New Products, New Markets – Finovate

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    This week’s edition of Finovate Global looks at recent fintech headlines from Egypt.


    Valu Launches Platform in Jordan

    Egyptian fintech Valu has secured final approval from the Central Bank of Jordan to begin operations in Jordan. Valu was granted a Specialized Finance license that will enable the company to launch financial services in the Kingdom. Valu said it would being offering services in Q1 of 2026, providing consumers with flexible financing solutions across retail, healthcare, electronics, and education. Former Jordanian Minister of Investment and Digital Economy Mothanna Gharaibeh will serve as Chairman of the new entity, with fintech executive Mohammad Al Yousef serving as CEO.

    “Securing final approval from the Central Bank of Jordan under a Specialized Finance license is a pivotal moment for Valu and a testament to the strength of our platform, governance model, and long-term vision for the market,” Valu Chief Market Expansion and Strategy Officer Habiba Naguib said. “Jordan is a key pillar in Valu’s regional expansion strategy.”

    The decision to launch in Jordan reflects Valu’s determination to further financial inclusion and deepen its presence in the region. Valu secured initial regulatory clearance in 2025, the same year it was listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), and strengthened its partnership with Amazon. Amazon purchased a 3.25% stake in the Egyptian fintech last spring.

    “As we prepare to begin operations in the first quarter of the year 2026, our focus remains on driving financial inclusion through innovative, customer-centric products while investing in local talent and contributing meaningfully to the Jordanian financial ecosystem,” Naguib added.

    Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Sheikh Zayed City, Egypt, Valu is a lifestyle-enabling fintech platform and a pioneer in offering Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions in the MENA region. Valu offers flexible, customizable financing plans across more than 5,000 points of sale and more than 600 websites. The company also offers investment products, savings solutions, HR payroll services for businesses, and Sha2labaz, an instant cash redemption program.


    Bank NXT Teams Up with IBM

    Egypt-based Bank NXT has selected a trio of solutions from IBM to accelerate its digital banking transformation. In collaboration with Inspire for Solutions Development, the financial institution will implement IBM’s Instana, Turbonomic, and Cloud Pak solutions to enhance real-time observability, automated resource optimization, and advanced integration. The addition of all three technologies reflects Bank NXT’s integrated approach to boosting resilience, minimizing downtime, optimizing IT resources, and delivering better banking experiences for customers.

    “This progress strengthens the reliability of the bank’s digital platform and boosts operational efficiency,” Bank NXT Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Tamer Seif said. “It accelerates service delivery and expands the range of digital solutions we offer, ultimately leading to a better customer experience and faster, more responsive service.”

    IBM Instana will provide the financial institution with real-time observability across digital banking applications to support proactive monitoring and faster issue resolution. IBM Turbonomic offers automated, intelligent resource optimization across hybrid cloud environments, helping maximize IT utilization while keeping costs low and performance consistent. IBM Cloud Pak—both for Integration and for Business Automation—runs on Red Hat OpenShift to create a unified digital platform that streamlines operations, reduces complexity, and promotes faster development and deployment of new solutions and services.

    “Our collaboration with IBM and Inspire for Solutions Development is a crucial part of the bank’s transformation strategy,” Seif said. “By adopting the DevOps model and improving our business automation capabilities, we have enhanced the flexibility of our technology infrastructure. This advance prepares us to integrate with fintech companies through an API-driven ecosystem, fostering a more open and innovative environment.”

    Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Cairo, Bank NXT serves both retail and business customers with services ranging from basic bank accounts and loans to wealth management.


    AFS Launches SoftPOS

    Arab Financial Services (AFS) announced that its subsidiary in Egypt has secured a SoftPOS license from the country’s central bank. The approval makes AFS Egypt one of the first fintechs in Egypt to bring a fully licensed SoftPOS solution to market.

    AFS’s SoftPOS solution transforms any NFC-enabled smartphone into a secure and fully functional payment terminal. The solution provides merchants with a fast, low-cost, and highly scalable option for accepting payments. The technology eliminates the need for expensive hardware and supports all types of contactless cards, making digital commerce more accessible for both merchants and their customers.

    “Going live with SoftPOS in Egypt is a transformative milestone for AFS and the Egyptian market,” AFS CEO Samer Soliman said. “This fully licensed solution allows us to instantly turn any NFC-enabled Android smartphone into a secure payment terminal, eliminating hardware costs and making digital acceptance accessible to businesses of all sizes. We view this launch as the foundation, and our immediate plan is to continuously expand its feature set and introduce innovative use cases that will further accelerate financial inclusion and power a digitally empowered economy.”

    AFS Egypt is a subsidiary of AFS, which was formed in 1984 to provide banks and merchants with payment services, solutions, and expertise. Today, the company is owned by 37 banks and financial institutions, serving more than 60 clients in 20+ countries throughout the MENA region. A leading digital payment solutions provider regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, AFS boasts a portfolio that includes digital mobile wallets, merchant acquiring services, digital payroll solutions, contact centers, and more.


    Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

    Central and Southern Asia

    • Pakistan-based digital nano-lending platform Daira announced a strategic partnership with Infinix Pakistan, itel Pakistan, and Tecno Mobile Pakistan to deliver Buy Now, Pay Later services.
    • Bangladesh’s largest private commercial bank Pubali Bank PLC and payments solution provider BPC teamed up to modernize the bank’s card management infrastructure.
    • Forbes profiled recent fintech developments in countries in “South Asia beyond India” including Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

    Latin America and the Caribbean

    Asia-Pacific

    • South Korean digital life insurance provider Kyobo Lifeplanet forged a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com.
    • Japanese aggregated payment platform Netstars announced a pilot program to accept Circle’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin.
    • Airwallex acquired Indonesia fintech PT Skye Sab Indonesia as part of its expansion strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.

    Sub-Saharan Africa

    • African fintech giant Flutterwave acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono.
    • Nigeria’s Sterling Bank announced plans to join Thunes’ Direct Global Network.
    • News Ghana looked at the growth of the country’s digital banking and fintech sectors.

    Central and Eastern Europe

    • Payments intrastructure provider Banking Circle joined the Czech Fintech Association.
    • Buy Now, Pay Later firm Zilch acquired Lithuanian lender Fjord Bank in bid to secure European banking license.
    • Czech digital banking solutions provider Finshape, which won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2022, introduced new CEO Neil Budd.

    Middle East and Northern Africa


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  • Transforming Business Banking with US Bank’s Shruti Patel – Finovate

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    In our latest interview from FinovateFall 2025, Beyond the Arc CEO Steven Ramirez talks with Shruti Patel, EVP and Business CPO at US Bank, about the institution’s approach to supporting small- and mid-market businesses. The two discuss the emergence of new digital capabilities, embedded payroll and account payable solutions, as well as the role of customer experience in shaping product design.

    “We are super focused on our small businesses. They are looking for very simple banking products: an easy-to-use, best-in-class operating, savings, or money market account. They’re looking for a great rewards card. And then, last but not least, small dollar loans. We excel in our small business access loans. We are number four nationally and very close in California, as well. When it comes to their lending needs, when it comes to their banking needs, we’re very much focused on how can we make the life of a small business really, really easy.”

    Joining US Bank in 2023, Patel has brought leadership experience from across fintech, banking, and payments. Previously head of global partnerships and monetization at Shopify—and before that head of embedded payments and partnerships at JPMorgan Chase—Patel today oversees services for US Bank’s small business and mid-market customers across money movement and credit card solutions, as well as the bank’s full suite of digital capabilities.

    With nearly 1.4 million business customers representing up to $25 million in revenue, US Bank serves its clients at every business life stage—from starting a business to managing a growing company to selling a successful venture. US Bank provides a comprehensive and integrated suite of banking and payments solutions delivered both digitally and via its trusted banking partners.


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    David Penn

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  • Four Identity and Fraud Startups Laying the Foundation for Digital Finance – Finovate

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    As we enter the next era of digitization 2.0, identity verification and fraud prevention have moved from supporting roles to critical infrastructure. At the same time, advances in AI are making it easier for bad actors to circumvent legacy controls, increasing both the complexity and the stakes of managing digital risk.

    From onboarding new customers to authenticating transactions and preventing losses in real time, banks and fintechs are under pressure to strike the right balance between security and user experience. Fortunately, fintechs are tackling this challenge head-on, building identity and fraud controls that reduce friction, strengthen trust, and make digital finance scalable. The four companies below are building some of the most cutting-edge tools in this segment and will showcase their solutions on the demo stage at FinovateEurope, which takes place February 10 and 11 in London.


    Candour Identity

    Candour Identity aims to improve digital onboarding by combining identity verification, biometrics, and fraud prevention into a single workflow. The platform is designed to help financial institutions increase conversion rates while maintaining regulatory compliance, enabling ongoing biometric authentication beyond initial onboarding. By supporting daily identity checks for login and payment use cases, Candour reduces fraud losses without introducing additional friction for legitimate users.


    Darwinium

    Darwinium helps organizations detect and prevent fraud while minimizing friction for trusted customers. Its platform distinguishes between high-risk and low-risk users in real time, allowing banks and fintechs to provide a “VIP” experience to good customers while applying stronger controls where needed. The approach is designed to reduce fraud losses without sacrificing the overall customer experience.


    Elephant

    Elephant targets false declines and chargebacks, two persistent challenges in digital payments. By improving transaction decisioning, the company helps businesses approve more legitimate transactions while reducing downstream fraud and disputes. The result is higher authorization rates, fewer customer complaints, and lower operational costs tied to chargeback management.


    Keyless

    With Keyless, users are the key. The company’s technology replaces traditional multi-factor authentication methods, such as one-time passwords, with biometric authentication. Keyless’s technology enables passwordless and tokenless login experiences while maintaining strong security controls. By removing reliance on call centers and manual recovery flows, Keyless aims to improve user experience and significantly reduce authentication-related costs for banks. Keyless was acquired by Pindrop Security in November 2025.

    Why banks should care

    Digital channels are increasingly becoming the primary point of interaction with customers, shifting the importance of verification technologies. The companies highlighted above show how banks, payments firms, and marketplaces can reduce fraud and operational costs while improving customer experience by applying smarter, more adaptive controls. Rather than relying on rigid rules or legacy authentication methods that can easily be spoofed using AI, modern identity and fraud platforms allow banks to approve more good customers, intervene only when risk is real, and scale digital growth without sacrificing trust.

    To watch these companies demo their newest tools in person, register for FinovateEurope, see what’s new, and shake hands with the innovators.


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  • Digital Bank Zand and Business Banking Platform Yuze Announce Strategic Alliance – Finovate

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    • Two UAE-based companies—digital bank Zand and business banking platform Yuze—have teamed up to help small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs secure digital business accounts.
    • The strategic alliance between the two firms is designed to make financial services available to eligible, underserved companies via fast onboarding, an IBAN account, digital banking solutions, and advanced business tools.
    • Both companies are headquartered in Dubai. Zand was founded in 2018. Yuze launched in 2022.

    Blockchain-powered digital bank Zand and digital business banking platform Yuze have teamed up to help small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs secure digital business accounts. The strategic alliance will enable eligible, underserved businesses in the UAE to access financial services via Yuze’s platform.

    “The SME sector is a key growth engine driving the UAE economy,” Zand CEO Michael Chan said. “We are excited to partner with Yuze to support the business banking needs of SMEs and startups across the UAE, with our innovative and client-centric digital banking solutions.”

    The strategic alliance will provide companies with access to IBAN accounts, digital banking solutions, and advanced business tools to support their operational and financial management, as well as their future growth. The partnership will also streamline the onboarding process for business customers, allowing them to establish banking relationships more quickly.

    “At Yuze we believe that when banking becomes intelligent, businesses become limitless,” Yuze CEO Rabih Sfeir added. “Together with Zand, we are committed to providing customer-centric and next-generation banking services to businesses in the UAE.”

    Headquartered in Dubai, Yuze offers modern business banking solutions including digital onboarding, business banking accounts, payment cards, and expense management tools. Founded in 2022, Yuze recently announced the launch of its Yuze Freelancer App in India. Designed to empower the next generation of freelancers, the solution enables users to open a digital wallet in minutes, send and receive payments, and track income and expenses—all within a single, intuitive app. “We’re not just giving financial access,” Sfeir said when the offering was announced. “We’re giving a partner that listens, understands, and grows with people.”

    Founded in 2018 and based in Dubai, Zand is a digital bank that serves both retail and enterprise banking customers. A self-described “blockchain-powered bank,” Zand specializes in using AI and blockchain technology to bridge the gap between traditional and decentralized finance. The institution is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, the first all-digital bank in the UAE to earn this accreditation. Zand is also the first bank in the region to secure ISO certifications for information security management systems and for privacy information management systems covering Web3 services.


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  • Welcome to 2026! First Look at Europe Demos – Finovate

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    FinovateEurope 2026 takes place in London on February 10 and 11. Register to attend and save up to £400.

    FinovateEurope is returning to London in February, spotlighting the latest in fintech innovation.

    The exceptional lineup of 30+ cutting-edge demos and 1,000+ senior-level attendees—including an impressive 600+ from banks and other financial institutions—makes FinovateEurope a must-attend event.

    This year’s demo lineup showcases the key trends driving change across the financial services sector and the innovative technologies bringing them to life. Here’s an early look at the first wave of companies taking the stage:

    Stay tuned for more announcements as we reveal the next wave of innovators in the coming weeks!

    Interested in demoing? Applications are still open!

    FinovateEurope is the perfect platform for organizations driving innovation in financial services—whether you’re a startup, bank, public entity, or established leader. Demoing offers unparalleled exposure, including:

    • 7-minute demo slot on the main stage
    • A plug-and-play exhibit hall stand
    • Speaker passes and lead generation reports
    • Coaching calls with Finovate’s host and resident expert
    • Marketing and media coverage

    Don’t miss the chance to kick off 2026 with a strong pipeline of leads and high ROI. Apply now to secure your spot.

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  • Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News – Finovate

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    2026 begins in earnest today as the first full working week of the year gets underway. Be sure to check in with Finovate’s Fintech Rundown over the next few days to get you up and running with the latest in fintech news and announcements!


    Open banking

    Flutterwave acquires African open banking infrastructure company Mono.

    Credit and analytics

    Experian announces availability of its commercial data via its Ascend platform.

    Investing and wealth management

    Universal Exchange (UEX) Bitget opens its TradFi trading suite to all users.

    Crypto and DeFi

    Telcoin, a digital asset bank that just won final charter approval from the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance, launches its eUSD stablecoin.

    Kast, a financial platform built on stablecoin rails, expands global payouts to 11 new local currencies including GBP, EUR, and CAD, as well as a multiple currencies in the Asia Pacific region.

    Insurtech

    Zurich North America partners with modularized AI underwriting, data, and intelligent document automation workbench company Convr.

    Insurance broker and risk management firm M3 Insurance turns to SimplePin to modernize its finance and accounting operations.

    Agentic commerce

    Fiserv and Mastercard extend their partnership to advance agentic commerce for merchants, leveraging Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework at scale.

    Lending

    India-based digital lender Knight Fintech raises $23.6 million in Series A funding.

    Digital banking

    Egypt’s Bank NXT partners with IBM and inspire for Solutions Development.


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    David Penn

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