fintech companies

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.

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.

Brazilian digital bank Nubank is reportedly in early-stage talks to acquire UK challenger bank Monzo in a deal valued at up to £10 billion. If completed, the takeover would mark one of the largest acquisitions of a British fintech and would give Nubank a major foothold in the UK banking market. Analysts and investors are watching closely for confirmation from either company.

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.

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.

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.

Mavi is betting that the AI boom will create demand for a new kind of accountant, TechCrunch reports. The company is positioning itself for a shift in which financial professionals must understand AI-driven tools and data rather than traditional bookkeeping alone. The startup is covered under AI, startups and fintech, suggesting it offers tech-enabled accounting services aimed at companies navigating rapid AI-driven growth and increasingly complex automated finances.

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 investment group Purple Group has launched Hello Purple, a new embedded finance division that will package the company's own technology and offer it to fintech developers. The move lets other businesses build Purple's financial infrastructure directly into their own products. The launch was reported by FinTech Futures and is being shared within banking and fintech circles as another sign of established financial firms moving into the embedded finance market.

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.

Block, the payments company founded by Jack Dorsey, has joined the x402 protocol and added support for the Bitcoin Lightning Network. The move ties Block's Bitcoin-focused payments infrastructure to x402, a standard for machine-to-machine payments that has drawn attention from fintech and crypto firms. Details on the scope of the integration have not been widely reported yet.

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.

Philippine fintech firm GCash has set the final price for its initial public offering at 6.60 pesos per share, making it the largest IPO in the country's history. The pricing sets the stage for one of the most closely watched stock market debuts in Southeast Asia, with investors and business watchers discussing what the listing means for the Philippines' capital markets and its fast-growing digital payments sector.

Payments company Block has launched its first-ever consumer advertising campaign focused on Bitcoin, arguing the cryptocurrency should be treated as everyday, usable money rather than purely an investment. The campaign marks a notable push by a major fintech firm to bring Bitcoin into mainstream consumer payments. Reaction so far is largely limited to the announcement itself, with details on scale and markets not yet disclosed.

Mercury CEO Jon Auxier says the fintech has always wanted a bank charter and that "now is the right moment to go after it," calling a charter a top priority for fintechs pursuing one. The statement comes after years of work by the company toward obtaining a banking charter.

SBI Holdings, the Japanese financial services group led by CEO Yoshitaka Kitao, is seeing a spike in search interest. No specific event has been confirmed behind the trend; the company is known for its securities business, banking operations and heavy involvement in crypto and fintech ventures, so attention may relate to any of these areas.

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.

CFO Brew reports that autonomous finance is emerging as a new way forward for companies frustrated with disconnected point solutions in financial operations. The piece argues that fragmented tools for payments, reconciliation and reporting are breaking down under complexity, and that AI-driven autonomous finance platforms could consolidate and automate these functions for finance teams.

A team of former intelligence officers and leaders from a fintech unicorn has launched a new open source platform positioned as a bet against the major AI labs. The venture argues that open, community-driven development offers an alternative to closed models controlled by big technology companies. Details about the platform's backers, technology and funding remain limited in the initial announcement.

A part-time remote vacancy is circulating in Russian-language fintech circles: a company is hiring a 'competitor researcher' to pose as a mystery shopper for rival fintech services, paying 30,000 rubles. The posting stresses it is not traditional competitor analysis but hands-on testing of other services. The listing is tagged for remote and part-time work and names a contact handle for applicants.

Charter Space has raised $5 million to develop insurance products for the space industry, TechCrunch reports. The startup sits at the intersection of space and fintech, aiming to cover satellites and other space assets as commercial activity in orbit expands. The funding round is drawing attention as more private companies launch hardware into space and seek protection against costly failures.