Israel Grants Payment Licenses to Airwallex, Mesh, Rapyd, and Revolut
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Airwallex, Mesh, Rapyd, and Revolut just got the green light from Israel’s Securities Authority to operate as licensed payment service providers.
This opens the door to a new chapter for Israel's FinTech market. These companies can now expand their services to include transferring funds, offering digital wallets, clearing payments, paying interest on deposits, and more.
But not everyone was on board. The Bank of Israel pushed back. Scroll down to see what’s behind the tension 👇
Cheers,
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BREAKING NEWS
🇮🇱 Israel’s Securities Authority has granted payment service licenses to four global FinTech companies: Revolut, Rapyd, Mesh, and Airwallex. New licenses aimed at boosting competition with local banks and improving consumer financial services. These licenses enable companies to transfer and convert funds, offer digital wallets, process payments, and earn interest on deposits.
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FINTECH NEWS
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🇸🇪 Mynt partners with Nordea to bring a full-feature SME spend management solution to the Nordic market. It aims to launch a business credit card and spend management solution for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, set to go live in 2026.
🇺🇸 Pipe unveils new AI agents to support platform’s rapid growth and scale. Pipe’s new agent-based architecture can provide to its customers and internal teams, shifting from a resource-constrained model to a software-driven platform. This enables Pipe to offer a best-in-class suite of financial solutions tailored to small business needs.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇪🇸 Getnet announced a partnership with Koin. This collaboration strengthens Getnet’s security offering in Latin America by providing merchants with advanced tools, including biometrics, AI, 3DS, and real-time monitoring. Raimundo Sala Albert, Global Head of Growth & Alliances, stated that the alliance delivers a simple, effective, and frictionless solution to help merchants sell more efficiently.
🇵🇱 How do consumers pay in Poland when shopping online?
🇮🇳 PhonePe dominates India’s digital payments market with 47.2% share. It processed over 8.54 billion transactions in June 2025 alone, equivalent to nearly half of all UPI transactions nationwide. These transactions amounted to a total value of ₹11.98 lakh crore, highlighting both the platform’s popularity and trust among users.
🇺🇸 Western Union joins stablecoin race and eyes crypto partnerships. Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan said that the company views stablecoins as an opportunity. He also said it is exploring partnerships with major crypto industry players to offer stablecoin on-ramp and off-ramp services, as well as a digital wallet.
📰 Fulfilling the Promise: Making Real-Time Payments a Reality. This article discusses the growing impact of real-time payment networks, particularly in improving payroll for gig workers through instant payouts. Read the full article here
🇺🇸 Rakuten announced the launch of the Rakuten American Express Card in the U.S. With the Rakuten Card, cardholders will receive an extra 4% Cash Back on top of what they already earn while shopping on Rakuten's platform of more than 3,500 stores, in-person, or online, up to the first $7,000 of credit card spending each calendar year.
REGTECH NEWS
🇨🇦 Nasdaq Verafin unveils agentic AI AML workers. With the ability to independently analyse, document, and decide end-to-end processes, the company claims that its new digital workers enable banks to reallocate resources to more sophisticated investigations and outcomes-focused activities.
🇬🇧 UK upgrades money laundering risk for crypto and FinTech firms. The government said its assessment was based on “weak suspicious activity reporting, inconsistent compliance standards, and high exposure to fraud-related predicate offences,” especially among non-bank PSPs and cryptoasset service providers.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇮🇳 RBI proposes ban on display of 3rd party products on banks' digital channels. Banks cannot display third-party products on their digital platforms; they must monitor transactions for fraud, and also need RBI approval to launch transactional banking. These measures aim to enhance security and customer choice in digital banking.
🇺🇸 Banking giant JPMorgan eyes bitcoin and Ethereum‑backed loans. The effort comes as U.S. rules around crypto are starting to clear up, and client demand grows louder. The bank already lets some wealthy customers borrow against crypto exchange‑traded funds; tapping actual coins could be next.
🇨🇴 Daviplata adds 19 million customers in Colombia. The digital wallet from Davivienda is playing a key role in financial inclusion. The platform recently introduced a redesigned interface and an integrated virtual store, and it plans to launch new features aimed at enhancing commerce and promoting the digitalization of payments and transactions across the country.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇮🇳 CoinDCX unveils India’s crypto recovery bounty after ₹368 crore breach. CoinDCX has informed consumers that their funds are still safe, even though the company lost many funds; hence, the company will cover the loss with money from its treasury reserves.
🇧🇷 Tether expands access to gold-backed stablecoins and continues to assist law enforcement agencies in combating crime. The company has expanded access to its gold-backed stablecoin, Tether Gold, by listing it on Mobee, a regulated digital asset exchange in Indonesia, and has earned recognition for its role in assisting Brazilian authorities during a major anti-money laundering operation.
🇺🇸 Telegram’s crypto wallet goes live to its 87 million U.S. users, allowing users to send and manage crypto directly within the app. The self-custodial wallet supports stablecoin transfers, token swaps, and zero-fee crypto purchases via MoonPay. Keep reading
🇬🇧 Bank of England considers shelving plans for a digital pound. The BOE officials are mulling whether to set aside plans to create a digital pound for households amid growing skepticism over the project’s benefits, the latest sign of dwindling support for state-backed digital currencies globally.
PARTNERSHIPS
🇬🇧 Ecommpay and ekko bring climate action to checkout. With this integration, e-commerce businesses can now offer customers the ability to track and offset their carbon footprint, seamlessly and without disrupting the checkout experience. ekko provides users with clear, real-time visibility into the environmental impact of their purchases.
🇯🇴 Mastercard and Dinarak partner to expand digital payment access in Jordan. The scope of the collaboration involves digital-first multi-currency prepaid cards, premium prepaid cards. Continue reading
🇺🇸 Tastytrade and Zerohash bring instant stablecoin account funding to traders globally. This industry-leading, innovative funding method allows tastytrade’s customers globally to fund their brokerage accounts with stablecoins, 24/7/365, powered by Zerohash, the leading on-chain infrastructure provider.
🇦🇺 PayPal brings buy now, pay later to Ticketek in new deal. Under the agreement, Ticketek users can now select PayPal at checkout when buying tickets for live entertainment events. This integration also enables access to PayPal's buy now, allowing users to pay for tickets in instalments.
🌍 SaaScada and CLOWD9 partner to enable end-to-end cloud technology for African Banks. This collaboration is set to transform the African banking landscape by providing end-to-end cloud technology solutions, enabling financial institutions to offer services at a fraction of the cost of current providers and extend coverage to remote areas.
🇮🇳 SBI Card and PhonePe form strategic partnership and Launch Co-Branded PhonePe SBI Card. This new co-branded credit card aims to provide a rewarding experience on everyday spends, crafted to serve the evolving financial needs of customers across India.
🇬🇧 UBS to adopt LSEG’s full suite of data & analytics solutions across asset classes. By consolidating data infrastructure, improving data cataloguing, and streamlining data governance and access across the bank, the partnership will strengthen UBS’s ability to meet evolving needs and serve clients with greater agility and precision.
🇲🇽 Clip strengthens its leadership in financial inclusion in Mexico with the comprehensive use of Belvo technology. The integration enables automated decisions, better screening of users without a credit history, and scaling operations for small businesses and large enterprises.
🇺🇸 Verifone and PagBrasil launch exclusive international Pix payment solution for Brazilian shoppers in the U.S. New partnership enables U.S. merchants to accept Pix payments in Brazilian Reais, enhancing the in-store experience for 1.9M Brazilian tourists annually.
🇺🇸 Coinbase and PNC to work together as crypto reaches Main Street. The new arrangement will give retail and institutional customers of the seventh-largest US bank a way to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies through their PNC accounts. Read more
🇺🇸 Klarna announces Poshmark partnership with in-app resale integration. Klarna app users in the U.S. can list their previous Klarna purchases on Poshmark; the Poshmark listings on the Klarna app are now streamlined with pre-filled product descriptions and images.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 Alix secures $20M series A to transform state settlement. This additional funding will support the company’s growth strategy, bringing the power of AI-enabled estate settlement to more families in need. Read more
🇦🇪 qlub raises $30mln to take its hit dining payment system global. With the new funding, it plans to expand its presence in existing markets and enter new regions, enhance its product offerings by integrating advanced analytics and insights, and strengthen partnerships with key players in the hospitality and technology sectors.
🇪🇬 Egypt’s Flend secures $3 million seed to expand digital SME financing. The funding will support Flend’s goal to inject EGP 1 billion in SME loans within a year, expand its team and partnerships, and enhance its tech infrastructure to close Egypt’s $50 billion SME financing gap.
🇬🇧 Xelix secures $160M series B to advance agentic AI innovation in accounts payable. This funding will enable Xelix to accelerate platform development and support more organizations in adopting AI for their finance operations. Continue reading
🇬🇧 Monzo and Starling co-founder invests in UK FinTech startup Monet, securing an early-stage funding commitment of £17 million. With the current raise combining equity and debt, the company has also entered discussions to secure an additional £10 million in debt funding to further bolster growth.
M&A
🇺🇸 TLGY Acquisition Corp. announces business combination and approximately $360 million PIPE financing to form stablecoinX. This treasury initiative supports StablecoinX’s objective of generating shareholder value by securing a strategic stake in a protocol at the forefront of the accelerating global demand for digital dollars.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🌍 Former LegacyFX CEO Michael Floros named GM of Crypto.com Cyprus. Floros spent the past eight years as Executive Director and General Manager of CySEC CIF licensed company AN Allnew Investments Ltd, and of its LegacyFX online trading brand.
🇺🇸 Circle adds Adam Selipsky to BoD. Mr. Selipsky brings over 20 years of executive experience in scaling internet platform infrastructure and delivering some of the most important technology to companies and industries globally. Read more
🇦🇪 Mashreq appoints Xi Liang as head of Artificial Intelligence. In her role, Xi will spearhead Mashreq’s AI strategy, driving innovation and embedding advanced AI capabilities to enhance customer experience, operational efficiency, and the bank’s competitive edge.
🇬🇧 Finova appoints Gareth Richardson as new Chief Executive Officer. Gareth brings a wealth of experience in banking and technology, positioning him ideally to lead Finova through its next stage of growth and innovation. Keep reading
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