Airwallex Acquires Paynuri to Deepen Its Global Payments Infrastructure
Hi FinTech Fanatic,
Greetings from LA! Los Angeles is the next stop on my US trip, connecting with some great people from the FinTech industry.
I really enjoyed San Francisco this week. Without taking anything away from all the great people I met there, I do want to highlight Shack 15, an exceptional place to connect with entrepreneurs from San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
It's a true landing spot for builders, and I'll definitely be back on my next SF visit. Big thanks to Jørn Lyseggen for the tour and for creating a space that helps so many entrepreneurs with both infrastructure and experience.
Next up: the LA FinTech Meetup, hosted by my man Seth Ross.
Looking forward to it!
Will I see you there?
Cheers,
Marcel
FINTECH NEWS
🇺🇸 Stripe’s John Collison says no rush for payment firm to go public. In an interview, Collison noted that Stripe is operating in what he described as the fastest-moving period the payments industry has seen since the company’s founding.
🇺🇸 Mastercard said to weigh Zerohash investment after ending takeover talks worth billions. Mastercard is considering making a strategic investment in blockchain infrastructure firm Zerohash after acquisition talks collapsed when the crypto company opted to remain independent.
🇬🇧 London FinTech Guavapay founder quits ahead of Mastercard court battle. Orkhan Nasibov, who launched the company in 2017, has stepped back from his role at the helm of the company due to “fatigue and health-related reasons,” a spokesperson said.
🇮🇳 Robinhood opposes the Indian tribes’ push for an injunction against Kalshi. Robinhood’s main argument against the motion by the plaintiff is that the company would likely suffer substantial and irreparable harm to its federally authorized event contract business if this Court were to enjoin Kalshi from offering sports-related event contracts on Indian lands.
🇺🇸 Clear Street reveals revenue surge in US IPO filing as new listings gain momentum. Clear Street reported a 160% jump in revenue in the first nine months of 2025 in its U.S. IPO filing, with profit rising to $157.2 million on $783.7 million in revenue, up sharply from a year earlier. The disclosure comes as U.S. IPO activity is expected to accelerate in 2026.
🇧🇷 Brazil’s Banco Master fallout mounts as FinTech gets liquidated. The Central Bank of Brazil has liquidated Will Financeira SA Crédito, citing insolvency and its ties to the failed Banco Master SA. The move highlights the broader fallout from Banco Master’s collapse, which was liquidated in November, while Will Bank had initially been kept outside the process.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🌎 Mastercard is helping set the rules for agentic commerce, partnering with Google and Microsoft to scale secure AI-driven payments. Through open protocols, Agent Pay, and Start Path, the focus is clear: speed with trust, interoperability, and standards that enable AI commerce to grow safely.
🇦🇪 Aafaq launches World Elite Mastercard credit card, a new premium Islamic finance product. The innovative product has been designed to deliver upgraded features that elevate customer lifestyle experiences. Keep reading
🇧🇭 Floward introduces the Floward Card in Bahrain with SimpliFi, INFINIOS, and Mastercard. The launch leverages Bahrain’s digital-first FinTech ecosystem, positioning the Floward Card as a modern alternative to cash gifts that fits seamlessly into everyday spending.
🇮🇳 Apple Pay is set to debut in India by the end of the year. According to the reports, Apple is in active discussions with regulators, banks, and card networks to finalise commercial arrangements and secure the necessary clearances. If all goes to plan, the service could go live toward the end of 2026, marking a major step in Apple’s efforts to expand its financial services footprint.
🇻🇳 9Pay opens a green corridor for U.S. FinTechs via stablecoin-to-QR payments in Vietnam IFC Sandbox. Through its Stablecoin-to-QR Payment Gateway, U.S. users can pay seamlessly by scanning local QR codes using their existing e-wallets or stablecoin applications, without friction or currency conversion complexity.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇯🇵 Revolut in Japan launches Joint Account Service. The feature allows friends and families share expenses using dedicated cards, real-time notifications, and multi-currency support, including yen. The free service expands the local offering of Revolut, which serves around 70 million users worldwide.
🌍 Qonto launches solutions for SME cash flow gaps. Credit Card is Qonto’s first credit card, allowing customers to switch between credit and debit on the same card. This offers control over how users pay for each transaction. The solution is now available to eligible customers in France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands, offering customers a monthly credit limit of up to EUR 15,000.
🌎 Nu and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team announce multi-year global partnership. The collaboration delivers immediate value in Nu’s core markets, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, while expanding the brand’s reach across Latin America and the United States. The multi-year partnership will deliver a range of dynamic on-track and off-track branding and activations designed to create memorable experiences for fans.
🇨🇱 Credicorp’s Tenpo wins Chile Neobank license. Tenpo’s CMF authorization formally moves Credicorp from testing digital banking concepts in Chile to operating a licensed bank that can offer checking accounts, consumer loans, and term deposits.
🇺🇸 Brazilian FinTech Inter gets green light to begin banking in the US. The company said its U.S. branch will allow Inter to, among other things, offer regulated credit and banking products aimed at U.S. and non-U.S. residents and support international businesses operating in the U.S. with compliant, technology-driven financial services.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇦🇹 Bitpanda expands into stocks and ETFs with universal exchange push. The company said trades in stocks and ETFs will be priced at a flat fee of 1 euro ($1.17) per transaction, with no additional order flow, custody, or withdrawal charges.
🇮🇶 Iran's Central Bank acquired $507m in Tether’s USDT stablecoin. All of the identified USDT has now left Iran-linked wallets, with the central bank having used the stablecoin to support the price of the Iranian rial. Read more
🇰🇾 WalletConnect integrates TRON to expand global stablecoin payments. With TRON now live across WalletConnect, users can send and receive TRC-20 stablecoins from any supported wallet, while developers gain instant access to TRON’s DeFi, NFT, and GameFi ecosystem, without additional integration work.
PARTNERSHIPS
🇦🇪 Saudi Sudanese Bank taps Network International to power digital payment processing. Through the partnership, Network International says it will provide the bank with a full suite of end-to-end digital payment processing services, including Mastercard Sponsorship, prepaid issuing, and a range of value-added services designed to support the bank's digital ambitions.
🇺🇸 Currency.com signs with Zodia Markets. Together, the two companies will be able to deliver more robust and scalable execution capabilities for cross-asset operations. Through this integration, Currency.com’s clients gain access to deeper liquidity and enjoy execution quality that meets institutional standards.
🇵🇭 Visa and RCBC launch debit partnership for more payment options. With Visa debit credentials, RCBC customers now have more secure, seamless ways to pay while maintaining the familiar control of transacting directly from their bank accounts.
🇬🇧 Acquired.com partners with Visa to unlock transparent, trusted, and flexible payment experiences. The collaboration introduces an alternative to Direct Debit and card-on-file, designed to deliver a smarter way to make recurring payments. Continue reading
🇫🇮 TrueLayer and Stripe power pay-by-bank payments in Finland with Kustom Checkout. Through this collaboration, thousands of Kustom merchants can now offer shoppers a localised, instant bank payment option at checkout, enabled by TrueLayer’s open banking technology and Stripe’s global payments infrastructure.
🇺🇸 OnePay introduces Swipe to Finance, powered by Klarna. The feature will allow eligible OnePay Cash customers to convert recent purchases into fixed-term payment plans directly within the OnePay app. The offering will be available for eligible debit transactions.
🇯🇵 Fiserv and Sumitomo Mitsui introduce the Clover suite of products, enabling digital commerce for millions of merchants. This collaboration will bring an integrated payments and business management platform to millions of retail, food & beverage, and professional service small businesses (SMBs) in Japan.
🇺🇸 DXC partners with Ripple to empower global banks with scalable digital asset custody and payments. Through this collaboration, DXC and Ripple enable financial institutions and FinTechs to access digital asset technology seamlessly, bridging legacy financial systems with on-chain finance.
🇿🇦 Leading South African Furniture Retailer Lewis Group partners with Provenir to drive AI credit decisioning transformation in the cloud. The retailer will deploy Provenir’s AI Decisioning Platform in the cloud to improve agility and operational efficiencies, with the ability to capitalize on greater customer insights.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 OneDosh raises $3m for stablecoin payments. With its $3 million pre-seed funding secured, OneDosh is ready to scale operations, expand corridors, and strengthen the infrastructure necessary to support truly global, programmable money movement, setting the stage for a new era in cross-border payments.
🇺🇸 Antidote completes $5M seed round for billing compliance automation. With the new funding, Antidote will advance its AI billing compliance platform, expand in the US, and scale adoption among law firms by automating real-time compliance and reducing billing friction.
🌍 Fimple has raised USD 10 million in a follow-on investment round to accelerate its international expansion, with a strategic focus on the MENA region and the GCC markets. It will also strengthen our capital structure and support our continued growth across international markets.
🌍 Datarails lands $70m Series C raise. Datarails says the new capital will accelerate its geographic expansion across North America and EMEA, further increase investment in R&D, and open up the possibility of acquiring other players in the sector in the coming months.
🇮🇳 Intellend Technologies raises $1.2 mn seed funding led by Incubate Fund Asia. The company said it will use the newly raised funds to boost the team, products, and its go-to-market strategy. Continue reading
🌎 Fracttal raises $35 million and accelerates its expansion strategy. Through these funds, Fracttal will accelerate its growth in the Latin American and European markets, including Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and France, where it has already seen a strong product-market fit, reference customers, and a growing demand from mid-range customers.
🇺🇸 Credit Key closes $90m in growth capital to scale B2B payments platform. The new capital will be invested in scaling growth and strengthening Credit Key's continued product innovation as B2B eCommerce merchants, marketplaces, and FinTech platforms increasingly seek solutions.
🇺🇸 Benepass raises $40m Series B to tackle rising healthcare costs. With the new funding, Benepass plans to enhance its platform to give employers greater control over healthcare spending while expanding employee choice. Read more
🇳🇱 Dutch crypto platform Finst raises €8 million to support European expansion. Finst plans to use the new funding to expand across Europe and accelerate product development, including broader staking with higher yields, a wider range of digital assets, and new platform features for retail and professional users.
M&A
🇰🇷 Airwallex acquires Paynuri to unlock global opportunities for Korean businesses. With the acquisition, Airwallex has secured key financial licenses in South Korea, enabling Korean enterprises to scale internationally while helping global brands operate more seamlessly in the local market.
🇮🇳 Pine Labs to fully acquire RBI-licensed Agya Technologies through Setu. Pine Labs currently holds around a 25% stake in Agya Technologies and intends to acquire the remaining shares in the near term, potentially in multiple tranches, according to the filing.
🇿🇦 South African banking giant buying international company for R13.9 billion. Nedbank has proposed acquiring a 66% stake in NCBA Group to expand its footprint in East Africa. The deal, structured as a mix of cash and Nedbank shares, would combine NCBA’s regional reach with Nedbank’s capital and cross-border expertise.
🇱🇺 Luxembourg Stock Exchange acquires ESG data unit from FinTech Tetrao. The transaction involves the purchase of a business line specialising in the extraction and collection of large volumes of sustainable bond data using artificial intelligence.
🇺🇸 Rize Credit Union partners with Upstart to expand access to personal loans. This collaboration will enable Rize to offer personal loans to more consumers across California, helping meet the growing demand for accessible financial solutions.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇪🇸 Revolut hires Santiago Pérez Olano as its new CEO for Spain. Pérez Olano brings experience from leading Remitly’s European operations, as well as prior roles at Expedia and the investment bank Fredericks Michael & Co., combining financial expertise with digital growth experience.
🇺🇸 ThetaRay appoints financial markets technology leader Brad Levy as Chief Executive Officer. Levy will lead ThetaRay’s next phase of growth as the company continues to scale its Cognitive AI platform, now emerging as the leading AI strategy and technology for transaction monitoring and transaction due diligence, across banks and FinTechs worldwide.
🇫🇷 Societe Generale plans 1,800 job cuts in France to trim costs. France’s third-largest bank revealed the plan for job cuts to labor unions this week. By the end of 2027, as Chief Executive Officer Slawomir Krupa aims to rein in costs. Continue reading
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