FinTech's Next Battleground Is AI
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Payments companies spent the past decade building the infrastructure for moving money.
The next race may be about building the infrastructure for AI.
Stripe is reportedly in talks to acquire OpenRouter, an AI model marketplace that helps businesses route requests across hundreds of AI models. If the deal goes through at the reported valuation, it would be another signal that FinTech leaders aren't just adopting AI—they're investing in the platforms that could become essential infrastructure for the next generation of software.
Another trend that's becoming hard to ignore is how aggressively FinTech companies are investing in sports. We've already seen Stripe partner with Formula 1, and this week Albert became the new jersey patch sponsor of the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal reportedly worth more than $30 million per year.
Quick question...
What do you think the Lakers' jersey patch is worth per year?
A) $10M
B) $20M
C) $30M
D) $50M
Think you know the answer? Click through to my new FinTech in the Arena platform to see if you were right, and read the full breakdown of one of the biggest FinTech sponsorship deals in sports.
You'll also find my roundup of how some of the biggest FinTech companies performed over the past week, including standout results from SoFi and Nubank. While SoFi continued to strengthen profitability and deposits, Nubank surpassed 135 million customers and $5 billion in revenue, showing two very different, but equally effective, paths to growth.
Now, let's dive into today's biggest FinTech stories. 👇
Cheers,
#FINTECHREPORT
📊 SoFi 🆚 Nubank in Q1 2026
FINTECH NEWS
🇱🇹 iDenfy has launched a Bank Card Verification platform that lets businesses manage card verification separately from its identity verification flow. Partners can create verification requests, generate links, review results, and integrate through dedicated APIs, configurations, permissions, and billing.
🇨🇴 Banco Caja Social has enabled businesses to generate QR codes linked to their Bre-B keys through its online business portal. Companies can register, manage, and update their Bre-B keys while creating QR codes instantly, allowing them to receive secure real-time payments at any time.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇺🇸 Mastercard has partnered with Manifest Financial to launch a business debit card for creators. The card combines a business account with tools to manage income, expenses, invoices, taxes, payments, and cash flow, helping creators handle multiple revenue streams and faster payouts.
🇮🇳 Indian payments firms oppose one-click UPI checkout proposal, citing competition risks. Several Indian digital payments firms have opposed the proposal, which would allow merchants to store customers’ preferred UPI option for one-click checkouts. They argue the change could strengthen the dominance of larger payment apps by making it harder for smaller providers to compete.
🌎 Druo processed nearly $160 million in payments during the first half of 2026, up 61.7% year over year. The FinTech plans to expand into Chile and Brazil by year-end after tripling transaction volumes and surpassing one million transactions in June. Continue reading
🇬🇳 Guinea has launched NimbaPay, its national instant payment system, enabling secure and interoperable real-time payments between banks, electronic money institutions, and microfinance institutions. The platform aims to expand financial inclusion and modernize the country’s payment infrastructure.
🌎 Capi becomes the first FinTech to secure a cross-border payments license in the UEMOA region. The authorization allows businesses to move money internationally up to five times faster than traditional banks through a regulated banking intermediary framework across eight countries.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇲🇽 Nu México will begin operating as a commercial bank on August 6 after completing its regulatory transition and technology migration. The process starts on August 5 with a planned app migration, while debit and credit cards will continue operating normally throughout the transition.
🇺🇸 Wise’s application for a US national trust bank licence was denied by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, delaying its US expansion plans. The FinTech said the decision will not affect its existing operations and plans to submit a new application after strengthening its compliance controls.
🇵🇹 Domestic payments accounted for 57% of Revolut’s transactions in Portugal during 2025, one year after launching its local branch. According to the digital bank, its user base in the country, including retail and business customers, increased 49% in 2025 year over year. The growth lifted its market penetration to 20%, making Revolut Portugal’s third-largest bank by customer numbers, according to the company.
🇺🇸 Upstart has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Upstart Bank, N.A. The charter would allow Upstart to reduce operational, regulatory, and financial complexity for itself as well as for its third-party capital partners, and enable the AI lending platform to offer its full range of products across all 50 U.S. states.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇺🇸 Coinbase Business users can now accept payments from AI agents through the x402 protocol, enabling businesses to receive USDC with no additional setup. The update also introduces new tools for agentic trading and an x402 SDK that lets developers integrate AI payments into APIs and web services.
🌎 BitMEX is facing a class action lawsuit alleging the crypto exchange engineered customer liquidations to seize Bitcoin collateral. The case, seeking the return of 622.66 BTC and damages, was filed the same day BitMEX announced it will shut down in September.
🇵🇭 OKX’s main exchange app has been removed from the Google Play Store in the Philippines following regulatory action against unlicensed crypto platforms. The move comes after similar app removals affecting Binance and Bybit as authorities tighten oversight of the sector.
PARTNERSHIPS
🌎 Unlimit and Xiaomi GetApps have expanded their partnership to help game studios scale globally by combining app distribution and cross-border payment infrastructure. Developers using Unlimit can access opportunities on GetApps, while GetApps partners can use Unlimit’s accounts and payment solutions to manage international operations.
🇺🇸 Mastercard is powering instant deposits for DoorDash Crimson through Mastercard Send and Astra’s Payments Cloud. The integration enables eligible gig workers to receive earnings in real time, expanding Mastercard’s role in digital payout infrastructure beyond traditional card payments.
🌎 Airwallex has launched Additional Payments for Shopify Checkout, enabling merchants to offer 80+ local payment methods directly within checkout without redirects. The solution supports options such as WeChat Pay, KakaoPay, GrabPay, PayNow, Bancontact, TWINT, and BLIK to simplify cross-border payments.
🇸🇬 Ant International has expanded the Alipay+ network with new banking partners, enabling more banks to offer cross-border mobile payments through a single integration. The platform is accepted in over 220 markets and supports QR code payments across more than 55 countries and regions.
🇺🇸 Quontic Bank is using Alkami’s integrated digital banking platform and MANTL technology to streamline the customer journey from account opening to digital engagement. The bank increased account opening-to-digital banking registration from 53% to the mid-70% range within three months of implementation.
🇨🇳 Visa and Lianlian completed the first live B2B agentic transaction in Greater China using LoopXPay, an AI agent that sourced products, compared suppliers, placed an order, and executed payment in one workflow. The collaboration aims to help SMBs streamline purchasing through trusted AI-driven commerce.
🇸🇬 China has completed its first cross-border payment to Singapore using the digital yuan through the Digital Currency Express platform. The transaction involved around 10 million yuan in import shipping fees and highlights China’s efforts to expand digital yuan use in international trade payments.
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan’s Central Bank held discussions with Visa on expanding the country’s digital payments infrastructure. The talks focused on optimizing payment acceptance costs, strengthening fraud prevention, improving risk management, and developing initiatives to enhance the security and efficiency of digital payments.
HOW FINTECH PERFORMED LAST WEEK
📈 A snapshot of last week’s stock moves across public FinTechs:
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 Neon Commerce has raised $13 million in Series A funding to expand its direct-to-consumer commerce and loyalty infrastructure for game publishers. Backed by KRAFTON, a16z, and Renegade Partners, the FinTech aims to help publishers manage payments, fraud, and player data while maintaining control of their ecosystems.
🇸🇻 Salvadoran FinTech Ábaco has raised $53 million through equity and institutional debt to expand SME financing across Latin America. The funds will support its growth, allowing the company to increase credit access, expand operations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, and originate over $350 million in credit in the next 24 months.
🇨🇭 Mbanq has received its first institutional investment from a Swiss private bank through its newly launched funding program. The investment supports the expansion of its lending and Earned Wage Access platform, with the program structured through loan participation notes listed on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange and a capacity of up to $100 million.
🇮🇳 ServiceNow has invested $40M in Indian banking software company BusinessNext, valuing the firm at $700 million. The investment will strengthen their AI-focused financial services partnership, combining ServiceNow’s global sales network with BusinessNext’s banking workflow technology used by more than 70 banks worldwide.
🇨🇴 Colombian FinTech Addi has secured more than $630M in new financing from global banks and investors, including J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BBVA Spark, and Victory Park. The funding combines debt facilities and an $85 million Series D round to expand its digital credit platform for consumers and merchants.
🇺🇸 World Foundation has raised $52.5 million through a token sale led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto and other investors. The funding will support the expansion of World ID infrastructure as AI adoption grows, helping organizations, consumers, and AI agents verify human interactions online.
M&A
🇺🇸 Stripe is reportedly in talks to acquire OpenRouter, an AI marketplace that helps developers access and compare hundreds of AI models. The startup, valued at $1.3 billion in May, could fetch around $10 billion in a deal. The acquisition would expand Stripe’s push into AI infrastructure.
🇮🇳 IIRIS Consulting has acquired listed FinTech firm Dion Global Solutions following approval from India’s National Company Law Tribunal. The deal will help IIRIS expand its AI-powered risk and compliance solutions across Dion’s network of 250+ financial institutions while integrating trading, distribution, and market data platforms.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇨🇭 SCRYPT has appointed Stefan Schwitter as Head of Investments to lead its Asset Management department. With over 25 years of experience across asset management, private banking, trading, and digital assets, Schwitter will oversee strategy and investment solutions for institutional clients.
🇺🇸 Ally Financial announced leadership transitions, appointing Sean Leary and Dan Ignacio to new leadership roles. Leary will serve as Head of Consumer Servicing Operations for the Auto Finance business after previously leading financial planning and investor relations, while Ignacio will take over as Executive Director of Investor Relations & Corporate FP&A.
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