Latest news headlines: Finextra Research

Circle applies for national trust bank status

Stablecoin firm Circle has applied to create a national trust bank, moving further into the mainstream following its blockbuster IPO last month.

10 hours

/payments

ECB commits to distributed ledger technology settlement plans

The European Central Bank has agreed to a dual-track strategy for integrating distributeed ledger technology with Target settlement services in the wholesale market.

11 hours

/startups

AI-led RegTech startup Zango raises $4.8 million

London-based Zango AI has raised $4.8 million to overhaul financial compliance systems with AI agents.

12 hours

/startups

Fintech M&A picks up pace

Consolidation in the fintech sector is happening at pace, with disclosed deal value for transactions over $100 million in the first half of the year already close to double the total for all of 2024, according to new analysis from investment bank Artis Partners.

12 hours

/retail

Swedbank acquires digital mortgage brand Stabelo

Swedbank has acquired Stabelo, a tech-led mortgage business with a focus on younger, more digitally-aware customers.

13 hours

/payments

Yonder launches debit cards

British credit card rewards startup Yonder has launched its first premium debit cards.

22 hours

/payments

Pan-African card scheme launches

The first Pan-African card scheme has launched in a move designed to bolster the continent's financial sovereignty.

22 hours

/retail

Natech secures $33 million ahead of launch of Greek digital bank

Greek core banking vendor Natech has completed a Series B capital increase, securing over $33 million in growth funding.

30 June 2025

/ai

AI agent running vending machine business has identity crisis

An AI agent running a small vending machine company tried to fire its workers, became convinced it was a real person, and then lied about it in an experiment at Anthropic.

30 June 2025

/security

CommBank deploys batallion of AI-powered bot profiles to chat with scammers

Australia's CommBank is turning the table on scammers, launching a fleet of thousands of AI-generated bot profiles to engage with and disrupt criminal networks fleecing consumers.

30 June 2025

/payments

Tapi buys Mastercard’s Arcus assets for Mexico push

Argentinian payments processor tapi has acquired the utility payments and cash handling operations of Mastercard's Mexican business Arcus.

30 June 2025

/payments

UK tribunals rules Visa and Mastercard fees breach competition law

The UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that Visa and Mastercard's multilateral interchange fees charged to retailers breach European competition law.

27 June 2025