ClearBank Europe Gains CASP Status in the Netherlands
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Yesterday marked a massive milestone for my hometown FinTech scene, right here in the heart of the Netherlands.
ClearBank Europe has become the first Dutch credit institution to complete MiCAR notification, unlocking digital asset services across Europe as a regulated Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP).
For a sector that has spent years balancing innovation with compliance, this is another sign that the next phase of digital assets in Europe will be built within MiCAR's guardrails.
As part of this move, ClearBank Europe will roll out Circle’s Mint platform, giving clients access to stablecoins such as Euro Coin (EURC) and USD Coin (USDC), which are pegged to the euro and the US dollar, respectively.
MiCAR is turning Europe into one of the world’s most structured digital asset markets, and ClearBank is among the first institutions to act on that opportunity.
Speaking of which, the Dutch FinTech ecosystem (especially in Amsterdam) continues to grow and bring people together in new ways.
If you’re part of that ecosystem and your team enjoys a bit of football, this might be for you!
My good friend Duncan has been organizing FinTech football tournaments in London for years and has built a strong reputation there. Now, he’s bringing this concept to Amsterdam.
Teams from across the local FinTech scene will compete for the Amsterdam championship, a great way to connect, have fun, and meet others in the industry.
Sign up here and make sure your team is part of it!
I might stop by as well to check it out (and cover some of it). See you there!
The rest of today’s FinTech news is just a scroll away. See you on Monday! 👇
Cheers,
PODCAST RECOMMENDATION
🎤 Digital euro is not crypto. It is digital cash by DashDevs. In episode 145 of FinTech Garden, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea speak with Rainer Olt, Head of Payment and Settlement Systems at Estonia’s central bank, Eesti Pank, about the future of money in Europe. Drawing on his experience, Olt explores why the digital euro matters now, how it compares with stablecoins, and the latest developments shaping its role in Europe’s financial system. Watch the full podcast here
Digital euro is not crypto. It is digital cash by DashDevs
FINTECH NEWS
🇺🇸 Airwallex appoints Carolyn Renzin as Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer to drive next phase of global growth. Based in New York, Renzin will lead Airwallex's global regulatory and compliance program as the company continues to aggressively scale its financial infrastructure across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and other key markets worldwide.
🇺🇸 Intuit completes FedNow® Service Certification to accelerate instant payments for small and mid-market businesses. By leveraging the FedNow Service, Intuit is able to partner with financial institutions to send instant payment transactions on behalf of its customers.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇬🇧 Recurring payments are evolving as open banking gains momentum, with Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) and commercial VRP (cVRP). Platforms like Yapily highlight how these account-to-account payments offer lower costs, instant settlement, and greater control, positioning open banking as a key driver of the next generation of recurring payment infrastructure.
🇰🇷 Mastercard makes getting around Korea easier for international travelers with an iPhone. With the new service, travelers can top up their MobileTmoney balance directly in Apple Wallet using their Mastercard debit or credit card, eliminating the need to buy physical transit cards or carry cash.
🌍 Worldline powers next-generation stablecoin payments with Circle Payments Network (CPN) Managed Payments. Through this collaboration, Worldline will enable access to compliant, stablecoin-powered settlement capabilities for financial institutions and payment service providers across Europe.
🇺🇸 Visa opens the door to AI-driven shopping for businesses worldwide. The solution integrates both Visa Intelligent Commerce APIs, which are used to process agent purchases using Visa cards, and other networks’ APIs, allowing agents to pay with both Visa and non-Visa cards.
🇳🇱 Adyen launches Intelligent Money Movement to unify enterprise payments, liquidity management, and payouts. Designed for large global enterprises, the solution enables businesses like Etsy, Expedia Group, and Vinted to move funds faster, gain real-time visibility into their cash positions, and reduce operational complexity.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇺🇸 The US Entry Playbook: Revolut 🆚 Nu
Same market. Completely different timing.
🇫🇷 How Revolut and BoursoBank crushed the banking giants in the race for new customers. France’s banking landscape is shifting as neobanks rapidly gain ground. While traditional banks lost 2.2 million customers between 2021 and 2025, digital players like Revolut and BoursoBank drove a combined gain of over 15 million users, highlighting a major transition in consumer banking preferences.
🇬🇧 Revolut follows Starling with an AI agent as tech arms race heats up. Revolut said the financial assistant would have a zero data retention policy, with no personal information stored by third-party partners. Read more
🇳🇬 Flutterwave targets aggressive lending growth with Nigerian banking licence. This allows the FinTech giant to move beyond payment processing to “aggressive” lending growth, reducing reliance on partner banks, enhancing margins, and improving settlement efficiency.
FINTECH RUNNING CLUB
🇬🇧 FRC London x FinTech Fringe on April 15th: 5km, the launch of 'FinTech Fringe Friends' monthly mixer, and a pint at The Green.
RSVP and come run with us! 🏃➡️
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇪🇺 ClearBank Europe becomes the first Dutch credit institution to complete MiCAR notification to offer digital assets services in Europe. This regulatory confirmation enables the bank to begin offering digital asset services and marks its entry into digital currency infrastructure as part of its broader digital assets strategy.
🇦🇪 Binance Wallet introduces prediction markets for real-world outcomes. This service allows users to take positions on various real-world outcomes, ranging from cryptocurrency trends to global events. The platform aims to simplify the process by eliminating the need for complicated wallet setups and gas fees, making it more accessible to users.
🌍 Crypto.com launches Cash Yield Program in Europe. Strengthening Crypto.com’s offering, App users can transfer funds from their EUR account into a new Cash Yield account to earn yield with no minimum balance requirements, no caps on total earnings, and no lockup period.
🇪🇺 Czech FinTech Confirmo cleared by central bank to expand EU stablecoin payments. The approval means that Confirmo is now fully compliant with Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the EU’s first unified regulatory regime for crypto assets. The license will allow Confirmo to process cryptocurrency stablecoin transactions and payments across Europe.
PARTNERSHIPS
🇧🇷 FinTech Lina Open X and Mastercard seal strategic alliance to accelerate Open Finance in Brazil. With this alliance, Mastercard brings its global scale and decades of experience in data intelligence, cybersecurity, and Open Finance operations in mature markets such as the United States, Europe, and Australia.
🇬🇧 Noah partners with Hyperbeat to power the on-chain banking layer for $300B in monthly DeFi volume. As part of the partnership, Noah is now the default EUR, USD, and major currency settlement provider for Hyperbeat’s Liquid Banking experience. With Noah integrated, Liquid Banking users can connect their on-chain and traditional accounts in one place.
🇸🇬 FinTech player Aspire taps JPMorgan to help companies with forex conversions. This partnership will allow Aspire’s customers, which consist of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to instantaneously convert currencies within their accounts.
🇨🇭 Visa and Coinbase team with Nevermined on AI agent commerce. Nevermined said the launch allows users and businesses to enroll their own Visa cards, delegate spending authority to AI agents, and apply controls including total budget limits, purchase caps, merchant restrictions, and time-based rules.
🇲🇦 Visa and Zazu launch Morocco’s first fully digital business account. This partnership strengthens Zazu’s offering and will support the progressive rollout of Visa Business cards, which will enhance the experience for entrepreneurs in the coming weeks.
🇨🇭 Crypto Finance, AMINA, and Incore Bank complete second-phase payment infrastructure pilot on Google Cloud Universal Ledger for instant account-to-account transfers. The pilot runs fully within existing anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks, keeping commercial bank money secure throughout the process .
🇭🇷 CoinW partners with Luka Modrić as Global Brand Ambassador. Together, CoinW and Modrić are joining hands to bridge the worlds of elite sports and digital finance, bringing the transformative potential of cryptocurrency closer to passionate football fans worldwide.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 Pipe raises $16 million in new funding round led by Fin Capital and MaC Venture Capital. The new funding will be used to drive strategic growth as Pipe continues to scale its capital product for small businesses and drive towards profitability.
M&A
🇬🇧 StanChart weighs partial takeover of crypto custodian Zodia. The lender plans to integrate Zodia’s crypto custody business into the division of its corporate and investment bank that provides similar services. Continue reading
🇦🇺 Australian Payments Plus offloads consumer payments app Beem. The strategy aims to expand beyond peer-to-peer payments into a unified platform for accounts, multi-currency services, and investing. Read more
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇮🇳 Stripe names Manish M as Head of Revenue and Growth in India. At Stripe, Manish M will concentrate on supporting businesses building for global markets, particularly a new wave of AI companies that are expanding internationally from the outset.
🇺🇸 Luke Flinders joins PayPal Bank as Founding Compliance Chief. Flinders joins directly from Santander Consumer USA, where he has worked across compliance advisory and lending leadership for the past three years. His career also features experiences at JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, American Express, Zions Bank, and WebBank.
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