fintech industry

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.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank has published five insights from its payments chief on the next chapter of fintech, outlining how the regulator sees the evolution of digital payments and financial technology. The piece offers a central bank perspective on where innovation in the payments industry is heading.

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.

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.

South African investment group Purple Group has launched Hello Purple, a new embedded finance division that packages the company's own banking and payments technology as a service for fintech developers. Through the offering, external firms can build Purple's financial infrastructure directly into their own products. The move follows a broader industry trend of financial groups monetising their technology stacks via business-to-business partnerships.