Mollie and GoCardless Join Forces to Build a European Financial Home
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Mollie and GoCardless are officially joining forces, creating a payments and financial services group serving more than 350,000 businesses across 30+ markets.
What I find interesting is the logic behind the deal: businesses still have cards with one provider, bank payments with another, banking somewhere else, and financing somewhere else again. Mollie is now trying to bring those pieces together under one roof.
The combination adds GoCardless’s Pay by Bank and Direct Debit network to Mollie’s cards and local payment methods, while giving GoCardless customers access to Mollie’s broader European infrastructure.
It’s another sign that payments companies are moving beyond simply helping businesses get paid — they want to become the financial layer businesses run on.
And that same fragmentation is exactly what Limited is tackling from a global perspective, bringing local accounts, payout rails, cards and blockchain-based transfers into one platform.
Let’s get into today’s FinTech stories. 👇 See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
💡 Limited: One Programmable Dollar Layer for Global Businesses. Global banks may operate across dozens of countries, but businesses still face separate onboarding, accounts, portals, and fees in each market. Limited takes a different approach: local accounts across multiple markets, 300+ payout rails in 140+ countries, corporate cards, and blockchain-based intercompany transfers through one platform — reducing the fragmentation and costs of managing global money movement. Read the full article here
FINTECH NEWS
🇺🇸 T:0 launches to provide startups with real-time accounting and financial intelligence. The Airwallex subsidiary automates bookkeeping and revenue recognition for US startups, keeping financials current as complexity grows. Keep reading
🇺🇸 Mastercard Start Path welcomes 22 new companies into its inaugural Agentic Commerce & Services program, spanning payments, AI infrastructure, and merchant tools. The cohort includes Merge, Skyfire, Simetrik, and Crossmint, all building products that connect AI agents to payment rails.
🇰🇷 Meritz Securities launches MOUM, an AI investment platform combining analysis with global investor communities. The platform integrates discussion boards from Stocktwits and Webull, with automatic translation of English posts into Korean.
🇺🇸 Digital Onboarding launches DOBI, an AI-native business intelligence agent for banks and credit unions. DOBI retrieves insights from transaction data, builds audiences, drafts content, and replaces what previously required multiple agencies and point solutions.
🇨🇦 Canadian FinTech investment down by 40% over H1, according to new data on the country's funding landscape. The decline signals a continued pullback in venture activity despite broader market recovery elsewhere.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇦🇺 Australian regulator launches Western Union probe over high-risk payment transfers. AUSTRAC alleges the company failed to identify and disrupt potentially criminal transactions processed through its Australian operations.
🇰🇪 Kenya Airways, Visa and Absa launch Kenya's first co-branded travel credit card. The Asante Global Card lets holders earn reward points on purchases, redeemable across the Kenya Airways network.
🇺🇸 OwlTing Group reports OwlPay Harbor August payment volume nearly tripled MoM. Annualized volume reached roughly $255M, up from $93M in July, marking the seventh consecutive monthly increase. Contracted enterprise clients grew to 84, with 23 completing payments on the platform during August.
🇸🇧 ANZ welcomes the launch of instant payments in Solomon Islands, the third Pacific nation to introduce near real-time domestic transfers after Fiji and Samoa. The Central Bank of Solomon Islands enabled Instant Funds Transfers between participating banks on 23 August 2026, with a transaction limit of SBD3,000 per payment.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇰🇷 Woori Bank launches budget mobile plans linked to financial transactions. Customers meeting requirements like payroll transfers can receive up to 20,000 won back monthly, reducing phone bills through banking activity.
🇩🇪 Scalable Capital launches fixed-term accounts at 2.75% p.a. and raises its overnight rate to 2.60% p.a. on unlimited balances. Both products are fully digital and integrated into the app.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🌏 MoonPay's PayBox launches in Grok, bringing crypto payments to xAI's AI assistant. Users can buy, send, and receive crypto directly inside Grok without leaving the platform.
🇬🇧 London Stock Exchange plans UK tokenised equity structures and partners with Payward to explore tokenised public equity markets. The initiative will assess how LSEG's Digital Securities Depository could support settlement and asset servicing.
🇧🇲 24X completes its first spot cryptocurrency trade in BTC, with Standard Chartered and Cumberland DRW as counterparties. The milestone makes 24X one of few venues offering crypto spot and FX on a single platform.
🇰🇷 IT Eyes scales up with a GG56 stake, targeting integration of 500 crypto exchanges worldwide. The companies plan to build GxB, a platform linking digital banking and virtual assets.
STABLECOINS NEWS
🇸🇬 MAS consults on legislative amendments to implement its stablecoin regulatory framework. The proposed changes to the Payment Services Act would set out how issuers qualify as MAS-regulated and must meet safeguards for value stability and user protection.
🇻🇳 OrbitX deploys stablecoin QR payments in Vietnam and the Philippines, targeting Southeast Asian retail commerce. Users can load stablecoins and execute instant QR payments in local fiat currencies.
🌎 Stablecoin-powered KAST launches a 24/7 business platform for global companies. The platform lets businesses send and receive stablecoin payments around the clock, bypassing traditional banking hours entirely.
🌍 Utila launches Licensed Partner Network, an industry-first program for FinTechs without their own money transmission or crypto asset service provider licenses. Fipto, CoinGate, Balance, and Surus are early participants, extending licensed stablecoin coverage across the EU, US, and Canada.
🌏 Ethena Labs launches Ethena Pay beta, a self-custodial money app built on Avalanche, now live across 48 countries. The app lets users hold USDe as a dollar balance, earn up to 6% APY, and receive cashback of up to 10% at selected brands.
PARTNERSHIPS
🇳🇿 BetterCo announces a new partnership with Airwallex, helping businesses simplify global payments and multi-currency spend. The collaboration brings cards, expenses, and international growth tools together in one place.
🇳🇱 Douglas expands Klarna partnership to the Netherlands, adding BNPL checkout options for Dutch beauty shoppers. The retailer already offers Klarna in other European markets and is now extending the payment method to its Dutch online store.
🌍 Ericsson and FIS partner on wallet-led digital financial services, combining telecom reach with payments infrastructure. The collaboration targets markets where mobile wallets can expand access to financial services.
🇵🇭 PPMI and Alipay+ expand QR Ph for cross-border commerce, connecting Filipino businesses with global consumers. The partnership lets international Alipay+ users pay at Filipino merchants via QR Ph, bridging local payment rails with global wallets.
🇬🇧 Startups.co.uk partners with Paydough to launch a free toolkit for UK businesses, enabling faster payments and simplified invoicing. The tool sends branded invoices with built-in payment links in about 60 seconds.
🇨🇦 Coinbase and Webull expand partnership, bringing crypto trading and custody to Canada. Coinbase will provide the trading and custody infrastructure for Webull's Canadian crypto offering.
🇺🇸 Alpaca partners with Kalshi to expand prediction market access through its global brokerage infrastructure. Alpaca will offer CFTC-regulated event contracts via the same platform partners already use for stocks, options, and crypto.
🇹🇭 TMBThanachart Bank and DBS Bank forge a strategic partnership to help Thai retail investors build and grow their wealth. DBS will transfer Thai baht portfolios to ttb wealth securities while expanding advisory and investment solutions.
🌏 Ripple and SettleMint partner to provide digital asset custody and tokenization for financial institutions in Asia Pacific. The integration connects Ripple Custody with SettleMint's DALP to manage tokenized assets across their full lifecycle.
🇺🇸 Kalshi secures exclusive US Open prediction market partnership with the USTA as the tournament's main draw begins. The deal restricts rival platforms from advertising at the venue and across TV coverage.
🇺🇸 Intuit and Perplexity partner to bring financial intelligence into Perplexity Computer. The integration uses MCP connectors to let users execute QuickBooks and Mailchimp tasks inside AI workflows.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 Polymarket reportedly raises $300 million from Donald Trump Jr.'s investment fund, as part of a round totaling around $1 billion. 1789 Capital, where Trump Jr. is a partner, previously invested $200 million in the prediction site.
🇺🇸 Felix Pago raises $200 million to expand into financial services, targeting lending and savings for Latin American immigrants in the US. The Series B includes $87M equity led by Andreessen Horowitz and a $113M credit line from General Catalyst, with the company having processed over $8B in transfers via WhatsApp.
🇺🇸 Ryan Breslow is raising up to $27M in bridge funding to save Bolt. The convertible note includes a pay-to-play provision, meaning backers who skip the round will lose a large portion of their equity.
🇪🇸 ID Finance secures a €21 million debt facility from German asset manager nordIX. The financing will support new loan originations on its platform, which serves over 3.7 million registered users in Spain.
🌏 Firelight raises $8 million, led by Gumi Cryptos Capital, to build an onchain protection layer for DeFi. The protocol aims to settle eligible exploit losses in under 10 days, with Maven 11, Metalayer, Joint Effects, and Tribe Capital also participating.
M&A
🇳🇱 Mollie and GoCardless combine to create Europe's leading payments and financial services partner. The completed acquisition unites card, direct debit, and Pay by Bank capabilities, serving over 350,000 businesses across 30+ markets. Mollie CEO Koen Köppen leads the group while GoCardless operates under co-founder Hiroki Takeuchi.
🇺🇸 Ark Invest buys $37.4M in Block Inc. and $3.4M in Circle stocks. On the same day Block fell 1.85% to $82.02, while Circle surged 9.65% to $95.55.
🇧🇷 Celcoin acquires Vert and expands its presence in the capital markets, acquiring the securitization firm to expand beyond financial infrastructure. The deal integrates origination, funding, and payment capabilities into a single FinTech ecosystem.
🇺🇸 Tyfone creates one unified platform for digital acquisition, lending, and banking through its acquisition of ATTUNE. The deal adds consumer and business account opening, deposit funding, and loan origination, letting community financial institutions manage the entire digital relationship on a single platform.
🇳🇬 Paystack absorbs card-issuing FinTech Allawee in a quiet deal. The acquisition strengthens Paystack's product suite by adding card issuance capabilities. Continue reading
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇬🇧 Paymend appoints Javier Vallaure de la Paz as COO. He previously co-founded allpago and served as COO and CPO at PPRO, scaling payments infrastructure used by JP Morgan, PayPal and Stripe.
🇨🇦 Scotiabank names veteran European banking executive Ralph Hamers to board. Hamers served as group CEO of UBS from 2020 to 2023 and as CEO of ING from 2013 to 2020, and currently chairs Banking Circle Group. Continue reading
Trusted reach among senior decision-makers in FinTech, Payments & Banking.
👉 Explore Partnership here
Comments ()