fintech

Brazilian digital banking giant Nubank is reportedly in early-stage talks with UK challenger bank Monzo over a possible full takeover. Separately, buyout firm Advent International has been named among several private equity groups interested in acquiring a minority stake in the British lender. The reports suggest Monzo, long the subject of sale speculation, is now drawing serious interest from both strategic and financial suitors, potentially reshaping the UK fintech banking landscape.

Fintech firm Revolut is testing 'Pay with Smile', a biometric payment method that lets customers pay in shops using facial recognition. The system links customers' existing KYC identity data, runs on Revolut's own point-of-sale hardware, and deducts money directly from a Revolut account, bypassing cards or smartphones. Commentators note this creates a nearly closed payment ecosystem around the company, raising both convenience and privacy questions as the trial draws attention in banking and fintech circles.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank has published five insights from its payments chief on the next chapter of fintech. The commentary offers the Fed's perspective on how payment technology and regulation may evolve, drawing attention from banking and financial technology watchers interested in the central bank's outlook on innovation.

U.S. regional bank Valley National has agreed to buy Israeli fintech Bluevine for $340 million. The deal gives the bank a digital small business lending platform and is expected to accelerate its technology and artificial intelligence strategy. Industry commentators are watching it as another sign of traditional banks buying fintech capabilities rather than building them in-house.

Mastercard, former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt are investing in a finance platform serving small businesses, according to Forbes. The backing from a major payments company and two of tech's most prominent figures signals growing investor interest in lending and financial tools aimed at small firms, an area often underserved by traditional banks.

Revolut has received approval from Argentina's central bank to proceed with its acquisition of Banco Cetelem, the Argentine banking unit. The clearance removes a key regulatory hurdle for the fintech company's expansion into Argentina's retail banking market. The move marks a significant step in Revolut's push into Latin America, allowing it to operate through an established local bank rather than building its licence from scratch.

Fintech startup Mavi is betting that the AI boom will create demand for a new kind of accountant — one focused on auditing, verifying and managing AI-driven financial systems rather than traditional bookkeeping. The company is positioning itself to serve businesses whose accounting needs are being transformed by automation, arguing that human oversight of AI-generated financial data will become a growing market.

Argentine regulators have approved Revolut's acquisition of Banco Cetelem, clearing the way for the British fintech to take over the consumer bank. The deal marks a significant step in Revolut's expansion into Latin America, giving it a local banking licence and established customer base in Argentina, one of the region's largest financial markets.

Purple Group has launched Hello Purple, a new embedded finance division that packages the group's in-house financial technology as a service for fintech developers. The move lets other companies build Purple's banking and payments capabilities directly into their own products, and the announcement is drawing attention across the fintech and banking sector as embedded finance continues to grow as a business model.

Payments company Ebanx is working to broaden payment access for gamers across Latin America, a region where many players lack access to traditional banking and credit cards. The push reflects growing interest in serving local payment methods for gaming purchases. Details on specific partners or products were not provided.

Former Stripe employees are founding a series of new payments companies, continuing a pattern in which alumni of the payments giant go on to build their own ventures in the sector. The trend highlights how Stripe's workforce has become a breeding ground for fintech entrepreneurship, with ex-employees applying what they learned there to new payments plays.

South African financial services firm Purple Group has launched Hello Purple, a new division focused on embedded finance. The unit is expected to allow other businesses to integrate Purple's financial products and infrastructure directly into their own platforms, tapping growing demand for banking-as-a-service offerings. Details on partners, products and launch markets have not yet been widely reported.

Valley National Bancorp has agreed to acquire Bluevine, a small-business banking platform, in a deal valued at $340 million. The acquisition gives the New Jersey-based bank a larger footprint in digital banking services for small businesses, combining a traditional regional lender with a fintech-focused banking provider. Terms beyond the headline price have not been detailed in initial reports.

According to the headline, 19 Indian startups raised a combined total of more than $397 million in funding between September 21 and September 26, 2026. The rounds spanned a wide range of sectors, including electric vehicles, foodtech, cleantech, healthtech, defencetech, footwear, fintech and artificial intelligence. No further details about the individual companies, investors or deal sizes are given, so the full picture of the week's fundraising activity remains limited.

Verona has launched verUSD, described as the first stablecoin designed specifically for AI agents, enabling automated systems to hold and transact in a dollar-pegged digital currency. The announcement is drawing attention from crypto and AI communities, who see it as a step toward machine-to-machine payments and autonomous commerce infrastructure.

Valley National Bancorp announced an agreement to acquire Bluevine Inc., a digital small business banking provider. The deal is intended to speed up the bank's digital small business growth strategy and strengthen its core funding capabilities. Details on price, timing and regulatory approval were not included in the initial announcement.

Experian has become the first personal finance application to launch on Google's Gemini platform. The move places the credit bureau's services within the AI assistant environment, potentially letting users manage or access financial tools through Gemini. The announcement was reported by fintech news outlet The Paypers, with details on functionality and availability not yet fully disclosed.

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, says it is working to build financial infrastructure that extends beyond its core exchange business. The move signals an effort to diversify into broader financial services, positioning the company as a wider fintech provider rather than a crypto trading platform alone. Details on specific products or timelines were not provided.

Nu, the Brazilian fintech behind Nubank, has begun rolling out its first credit card in the United States, offering 1.5% cash back on purchases. The move marks the company's most significant push into the American market to date, as it expands beyond its dominant Latin American customer base. The no-annual-fee card is being rolled out gradually, and commentators are watching to see how Nu's low-cost model will compete against established US issuers.

Financial technology firm Finastra has announced the launch of an AI-powered supply chain finance solution aimed at helping banks grow their working capital offerings. The product is designed to let lenders automate and scale supply chain finance services for corporate clients. News of the launch is circulating across financial technology trade coverage, with attention focused on how banks may adopt artificial intelligence to expand working capital business.

Fintech firm Moneyview's upcoming IPO is in focus, with investors tracking its grey market premium as a signal of expected listing gains. Commentary, including in The Economic Times, is weighing whether the issue can deliver long-term growth for high-risk investors, as sentiment ahead of the listing remains mixed.

Finastra has introduced SCF, a software solution designed to help banks deliver supply chain finance faster. The product is aimed at streamlining how financial institutions offer financing to businesses across their supply chains, reducing processing times and operational friction. Details on pricing, launch partners and customer adoption were not included in the initial announcement.

Payments company EBANX has announced a partnership with NetEase Games to process payments across Latin America. The deal means NetEase Games will use EBANX's local payment infrastructure to support its titles in the region, expanding access for players there. The announcement has drawn attention from gaming and fintech outlets as a sign of continued growth of games monetization in Latin American markets.