Google Cloud outage takes down Revolut and other essential services
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
One story that caught my attention today is Google Cloud’s outage, which disrupted banks, businesses and essential services across the UK, and showed just how much depends on a handful of infrastructure providers.
The incident was traced to a “power event” affecting Google’s London-based data centres. The fallout was widespread: Revolut customers couldn’t access the app, transfers failed, and even physical cards were declined at checkout. Halifax, Lloyds, DPD, the NHS app and courts also reported problems.
Google said services had mostly recovered by the afternoon, although a small number of customers were still affected.
What I find particularly interesting is that this wasn’t just another banking app going down. Revolut’s outage shows how a problem at the cloud infrastructure level can spill over into real-world payments. With more than 80 million personal customers, Revolut is a striking example of how many people can be affected when a critical technology provider has problems.
It raises a bigger question for FinTech: are companies prepared to keep essential services running when the cloud infrastructure they depend on fails? Having a backup plan is one thing. Making sure customers can still pay when it matters is another.
And a big shout-out to Pedro d’Avila and everyone who joined our latest FinTech Run Club in New York! Nearly 70 founders, operators, industry veterans and newcomers came together for a run, great conversations and a fun start to the day.
Want to join us next time? Our next run is on November 18 at 7 AM, come join us for the next one! 🏃
Plenty more happened in FinTech today.
Let’s dive in, and I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow!
Cheers,
🔴 LIVE FROM MONEY20/20 USA
Not in Vegas? I’ve got you covered.
Money20/20 is always a lot to keep up with. New launches, partnerships, deals, and the occasional announcement that makes you raise an eyebrow.
I’m keeping tabs on what’s happening and bringing you the stories that stand out.
Here’s what caught my eye today:
1. 🌎 Hello Clever partners with Infinia to scale across Latin America. The deal opens local payment rails in eight countries, including Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Hello Clever gains virtual accounts and local payouts through one partner.
2. 🇺🇸 Extend introduces Verify, a document fraud detection API. The new API is designed to build trust into document pipelines. Verify targets fraud within the documents those pipelines handle. Read more
3. 🇺🇸 Visa, BILL and Billtrust launch first live pilot for trusted AI agent payments. The pilot lets AI agents complete approved buyer invoice payments through supplier portals. It uses tokenized credentials instead of shared supplier portal logins.
4. 🇮🇪 Evervault launches Browser Tokens to enable secure payments by AI agents. The solution replaces sensitive card details and login credentials with short-lived tokens, allowing AI agents to complete purchases on existing merchant websites without exposing personal data.
5. 🇺🇸 DataVisor launches Vera Code to accelerate financial crime solution deployment with agentic AI. The tool uses AI agents to build, test and update fraud and AML programs, with human oversight. DataVisor claims up to 100 times faster deployment.
And that’s a wrap!
I’ll be back tomorrow with more from Money20/20. Something tells me there’ll be plenty more to talk about 😉
INSIGHTS
💻 Yapily: Spotting Vulnerable Borrowers Before a Missed Payment
Yapily brings together experts from Serene, Finclusion and NatWest to discuss how lenders can spot early signs of financial vulnerability, support customers and meet FCA Consumer Duty expectations. The panel features Jason O’Shaughnessy (Yapily), Savanna Price (Serene), Christopher Bosworth (Finclusion) and Tom Layzell (NatWest). Register for the webinar.
📅 Tuesday, 3 November | 2 pm
FINTECH NEWS
🇺🇸 Incognia explains how behavioral biometrics can strengthen web risk decisions for fraud teams. Signals like mouse movement, keyboard activity, clicks, and clipboard behavior help reveal possible automation. Read the full piece
🇬🇧 Google Cloud says services mostly recovered after an outage hit banks and courts. A power event hit London data centres, disrupting Revolut, Halifax, Lloyds and DPD. Google said the issue was mitigated for most customers by 15:00 BST.
🇦🇺 Vivi Money launches Vivi Shop & Pay, letting AI shop without accessing customer wallets. The assistant completes purchases with customer approval through Visa's payment network, including flight bookings.
🇵🇭 Mynt, owner of Philippine e-wallet GCash, edges higher after its record-breaking IPO. The listing marks the Philippines’ largest-ever initial public offering, drawing investor attention to the country’s digital payments sector.
🇸🇬 Sea Ltd launches Sea Cloud and considers an IPO for its FinTech arm, Monee. The AI-focused cloud platform targets enterprise customers, while a potential Monee listing could support the group’s FinTech expansion.
🇦🇪 Chocolate Finance expands beyond Singapore and Hong Kong with a UAE launch. Residents and international nonresidents can invest in AED, USD or both with no minimums. Customers earn 4.4% per annum on their first AED 100,000 or US$25,000.
🇬🇧 The CMA proposes opening Apple's iPhone NFC technology to rivals on fairer terms. The watchdog expects access charges to fall substantially but set no fixed price. iPhone users could then pay contactless through rival apps instead of Apple Pay.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇺🇸 Mastercard opens Agent Pay for Machines Early Access, giving developers APIs and documentation for testing. Agents can pay providers within approved budgets and permissions in a Cloudflare Connect demo.
🇮🇱 Stripe prepares to launch operations in Israel. The payments company is recruiting a manager to establish and oversee its local operations, marking a step toward entering a market where its payment services are not yet available.
🇺🇿 Google Pay launches in Uzbekistan. Marcin Krasuski of Google Cloud announced the launch during a Digital Technologies panel in Samarkand. The panel ran as part of the C5+1 events with Central Asian countries and the United States. Keep reading
🇧🇪 Nagelmackers integrates Wero into its Mobile Banking app, starting with payment requests. From 20 October, users can create and pay requests via QR code or payment link. Store payments, online purchases and mobile number transfers will follow later.
🇬🇧 Revolut backs CMA move to open Apple NFC access for UK FinTechs. Revolut supports the Competition and Markets Authority decision on digital wallet access. The move would open Apple's NFC technology to UK FinTechs.
🇺🇸 U.S. Bank launches Payment Switch to simplify recurring bill transfers for customers. The digital tool helps customers move recurring payments from another bank account or card to their U.S. Bank account, streamlining the process of switching financial providers.
🌍 Mangopay expands local payout coverage to five new markets across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The expansion helps platforms reach more recipients through local payout infrastructure, simplifying cross-border disbursements. The rollout extends Mangopay’s global payout network
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇺🇸 Ramp applies for an OCC charter to expand into crypto custody services. The FinTech aims to operate under a national trust bank charter, which would allow it to provide digital asset custody services within a federally regulated framework.
🇬🇧 Revolut suffers an app outage, with customers reporting cards declined at the till. The digital bank with 13 million UK customers confirmed a service disruption affecting multiple features. Downdetector logged over 1,500 reports after 8am. Discover more
🇬🇧 Starling founder Anne Boden sells her remaining stake at a £1.7bn valuation. She sold the 2.7% holding as she begins work on a new AI project, per Sky News. The price sits far below the £4bn Starling sought in a secondary share sale last year.
🇺🇸 Mercury crosses $1 billion in annualized revenue, according to CEO Immad Akhund. Revenue is up around 50% YoY, and the company now serves more than 450,000 customers. The company is also launching a payroll service.
🇦🇺 National Australia Bank plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs as it simplifies its operating model. The restructuring will affect around 10% of its workforce as NAB seeks to streamline operations and reduce organisational complexity.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇺🇸 BlackRock files for a Bitcoin ETF offering downside protection in exchange for capped gains. The proposed iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF (PBIT) would use options linked to its existing IBIT fund rather than hold Bitcoin directly. The strategy aims to limit losses while capping potential gains
🇩🇪 Sparkasse savings banks open crypto trading in Germany via DekaBank. Customers can buy and sell five coins including Bitcoin and XRP in their app. Five banks participate so far, while more than 230 have reportedly shown interest.
🇺🇸 Cregis enters the U.S. market, opening a Brooklyn office for enterprise digital asset infrastructure. It serves over 4,000 businesses across 50+ countries, with cumulative volume exceeding $300 billion.
🇨🇭 FINMA approves first Swiss retail Bitcoin ETF, granting an exemption from diversification rules. The regulator cited bitcoin's long trading history and high volume. It requires custody safeguards and clear warnings about volatility and losses.
🇺🇸 BankSocial launches Digital Asset-Backed Loans platform with a multi-billion-dollar US institution. The launch partner originated nearly $1 million in crypto-backed loans in 48 hours. Borrowers apply, borrow and repay inside their existing banking app.
🇰🇷 Bank of Korea expands tokenization cooperation with the Bank of England. Officials discussed Project Agora, which explores tokenized money for cross-border payments, and Project Hangang, South Korea's blockchain-based digital currency pilot. The BOK plans to share its findings internationally.
🇺🇸 SkyAI sells all its SOL holdings and launches a $201M buyback. The former Sharps Technology held about $223.8M in cash as of October 16. Its tender offer covers up to 95% of outstanding shares and warrants.
PARTNERSHIPS
🌐 Western Union selects Noah to power its global stablecoin payments network. Noah's infrastructure will enable stablecoin transfers in over 60 currencies through Receiver Redirect. The service runs on USDPTTM, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank on Solana.
🇬🇧 Samsung Electronics and Checkout.com partner on digital payments and Samsung Pay. Checkout.com will support Galaxy Store and Samsung.com across the EU and North America. Samsung Pay goes live on Flow for Checkout. com merchants on October 31.
🌐 Finsei selects Thredd to power its new Mastercard debit cards offering. The agreement makes Thredd the platform behind the new product. The partnership will bring scalable payment processing, digital wallet capabilities, and fraud controls. Keep reading
🇬🇧 Stripe signs a multiyear global partnership with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. As Official Global Payments Partner, Stripe will support the team's payments capabilities worldwide. Stripe branding debuts on the cars from the first race of 2027.
🇧🇴 Tala brings embedded credit to El Dorado's digital wallet, launching first in Bolivia before expanding across Latin America. Customers go from offer to funds in seconds, with loans settled in USDT on Tempo.
🇺🇸 Webull partners with Kalshi to debut crypto-linked perpetual futures in November. Trading starts with Bitcoin and other crypto assets, listed on KalshiEX. Customers can access the offering through their existing Webull Futures account.
🇨🇩 Rawbank partners with SBS to accelerate digital banking transformation in the DRC. Rawbank adds the SBS Digital Banking Suite to its SBS Core Amplitude core. It will enable instant account opening and enhanced mobile banking for consumers and SMEs.
🇨🇳 Tesla signs Alipay cooperation agreement, introducing smart parking payments to its vehicles in China. Drivers can settle parking fees on the infotainment screen following a forthcoming software update.
🇺🇸 Anchorage Digital and Securitize partner to bring stablecoin issuance directly to bank. Securitize can mint and redeem stablecoins directly through Anchorage Digital Bank, which also handles custody and settlement.
🇶🇦 Qatar Airways and QNB Group announce a strategic global payments partnership. QNB Group will process digital payments for the airline's online transactions. Hamad Al-Khater and Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa signed the agreement.
🇺🇸 Zip adds Column N.A. as a second US banking partner for unsecured installment lending. Column N.A. operates under a US national bank charter. Zip says the deal diversifies its banking relationships and strengthens operational resilience.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 Tether leads $15M Series A for Mural, bringing total funding to $28M. The proceeds will fund global expansion and regulatory and payments infrastructure. Mural has processed $2.1B in payment volume since launching its API in 2025.
🇩🇰 Plinto raises a €2.9M preseed round for AI agents that catch invoice errors. Backers include People Ventures and Emblem. Its agents compare transactions with contracts, budgets and policies and act on any issues.
🇪🇬 MNT-Halan shares rise 6.6% on debut, after Egypt's biggest IPO since 2021. Shares priced at EGP 24.50 closed near EGP 26.12, valuing the Egyptian business at about $770 million. The 320 million shares sold represented 20% of that business.
M&A
🇺🇸 Cross River agrees to acquire Accrue, a FinTech powering loyalty at the payment layer. Accrue's branded wallets and stored value give partners a complete embedded finance stack. Accrue CEO Michael Hershfield will take a leadership role at Cross River.
🇹🇭 Bitget plans to acquire Thailand's GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics, weeks after a hack affecting about $388M. The deal via BTGT Management (Thailand) would bring Bitget's platform to Thai users. Completion is targeted for Oct. 31, pending regulatory approval.
🌎 Butter Payments, which uses machine learning to resolve failed subscription payments, has been sold. Former CEO Charles Rosenblatt confirmed the September transaction but declined to name the acquirer.
🇧🇷 Plus500 enters Brazil with a strategic acquisition of broker-dealer Guru. The acquisition expands Plus500's presence in Latin America and provides an entry point into Brazil's derivatives market, one of the largest globally.
AI DEVELOPMENTS
🌐 Binance AI Pro lets users build trading strategies by chat. The conversational agent is now open to every Binance user with no coding. Strategies run on paper trading first, and live trades need separate user approval.
🇬🇧 Starling Bank unveils an AI agent capable of financial crime investigations in 17 seconds. Built into the bank's core system, the agent uses real-time and historical data to assess fraud risks, automating investigations and reducing reliance on manual reviews.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇺🇸 Spreedly appoints Darren Bounds as CFO to scale enterprise and agentic commerce payments. Bounds was previously CFO of Team Cymru, where he helped more than double revenue. He also spent a decade in investment banking. Read more
🇺🇸 CircleBlack appoints Vikram Chugh as CEO to drive wealthtech innovation. Former Robertson Stephens COO Chugh will lead the platform under Long Arc Capital. He will focus on integrated advisor technology and platform scalability.
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