US FinTech Investment Tops $80B in H1 2026
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
US fintech investment has had a pretty serious first half of the year: $80.8 billion across 933 deals, with mega-deals doing much of the heavy lifting.
Payments led the way, with FIS’s $24.3 billion acquisition of Worldpay alone showing how much the market is shifting toward scale and consolidation. At the same time, AI investment hit $21.4 billion across the Americas, with more money moving into fraud, payment automation and agentic commerce.
So the story isn’t simply that fintech funding is booming. Investors are becoming much more selective about where they put bigger checks — backing proven platforms, AI-native businesses and the infrastructure behind the next wave of financial services.
And as fintech platforms scale, compliance becomes part of the infrastructure too. Taxbit breaks down what marketplaces need to know about DAC7, from seller data collection to different reporting requirements across jurisdictions.
Let’s get into today’s FinTech stories. 👇 See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
SPONSORED CONTENT
Where financial services leaders come together to talk about what's NEXT by TRANSPERFECT. Gain practical insights, hear real-world success stories, and connect with peers tackling the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the industry. Register here
INSIGHTS
📰 Taxbit: DAC7 Reporting: What Marketplaces Need to Know. Taxbit breaks down which platforms and activities fall within scope under DAC7 and the OECD's Model Reporting Rules, how requirements diverge by jurisdiction even among countries using the standard XML format, and why marketplaces should build seller data collection into the year rather than scrambling at filing season. Read the full article here
FINTECH NEWS
🇺🇾 dLocal launches dMoRe, a Merchant of Record solution for global businesses entering emerging markets. Starting with Gaming and SaaS, the platform cuts market entry timelines to as few as 8 weeks.
🇺🇸 US FinTech investment tops $80 billion in H1 2026, driven by mega-deals in payments consolidation. KPMG's Pulse of Fintech report recorded 933 deals, with FIS's $24.3B Worldpay acquisition leading a period on pace for a four-year global high.
🇺🇸 Google Cloud launches Gemini Enterprise for Financial Services, a purpose-built agentic AI solution for capital markets and corporate banking. CME Group and Deutsche Bank are early users, with over 50 new skills and a Financial Research agent.
🇳🇬 Moniepoint is phasing out Monieworld, its UK remittance service, as the company refocuses on its core African markets. Monieworld had enabled diaspora transfers to Nigeria since its launch.
🇺🇸 TransUnion launches next-generation consumer credit score to improve lending decisions. The new score incorporates trended data and alternative signals to assess creditworthiness more accurately. Lenders can use it to expand access to credit for thin-file consumers.
🇺🇸 Rocket Money launches Rowan, a proactive AI agent that negotiates bills and cancels subscriptions via text message. The tool marks a step toward agentic personal finance management.
🇭🇰 DogPay expands its Enterprise Global Account platform, letting businesses apply online for US, Hong Kong, and Singapore corporate accounts in one step. The platform connects multi-currency accounts, international collections, corporate payments, card infrastructure, and payment APIs.
🇺🇸 Kalshi asks regulators to delay competing products from Cboe, sending a letter to the SEC requesting a hold on binary options tied to corporate earnings. The dispute flips the script on previous debates over prediction market approvals.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇺🇸 Block's Neighborhoods adds 30,000 more sellers, scaling its local commerce network nearly 10x since June. Top sellers on the platform see 110% more transactions from followers.
🇺🇸 Stripe tips toward staying private, with co-founders citing a growing advantage in navigating AI shifts without public market pressure. The letter came the same day Stripe announced its largest-ever acquisition of OpenRouter.
🇺🇸 Priority Technology Holdings reports a material event via an 8-K filing with the SEC. The Alpharetta-based payments company disclosed the update on August 25. Read more
🇲🇾 Razorpay's Curlec launches DuitNow Pay for Malaysian merchants, enabling real-time account-to-account payments via Malaysia's national QR and online banking rails. The solution lets merchants accept DuitNow payments through a single integration.
🇨🇱 Kushki expands in Chile with a white-label POS launch, offering acquirers and retailers a branded point-of-sale solution. The move extends Kushki's payments infrastructure deeper into the Chilean market.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇬🇧 Monzo partners with StepChange for the "Debt shouldn't be the cost of living" campaign, tackling the financial strain hitting UK households. The initiative connects Monzo customers with StepChange's free debt advice services, offering direct support to consumers facing rising costs.
🇵🇷 FV Bank launches Global Managed Accounts, giving fintechs and payment platforms direct FV Bank accounts across 180+ countries and 40+ currencies. FV Bank manages regulated onboarding, KYC, KYB, and compliance infrastructure behind the partner's own product.
🇺🇸 Tyfone unveils nFinia Reimagined, weaving AI into its digital banking platform for community financial institutions. iTHINK Financial will be the first customer to launch the Fathom AI experience this fall.
🇻🇳 SACOMBANK modernizes core banking with Temenos and IBM, moving to a hybrid cloud environment. The upgrade delivers a 200% improvement in application performance and processes 13 million transactions daily.
🇲🇾 TNG Digital and GXBank launch FlexiCredit CashLoan for Touch 'n Go eWallet users in Malaysia. The product gives eligible users access to personal credit through the eWallet app.
🇿🇦 MTN eyes banking licences as it pushes deeper into lending, according to Reuters. The telecoms operator is pursuing formal banking status to expand financial services across its African markets.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇺🇸 Zerohash resubmits its OCC national trust bank charter application, adopting a phased approach after the initial filing was returned in July. The crypto infrastructure provider supports institutions including BlackRock, Stripe, and Interactive Brokers.
🇰🇿 Halyk Finance becomes the first participant on KASE's digital assets platform. The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange launched the platform in July to support issuance, recording, and trading of digital assets.
🇲🇭 Onchain repo using a sovereign digital bond is called pivotal for future capital markets. Virtu Financial and Tradeweb completed the first fully onchain repo using the Marshall Islands' USDM1 bond, settling atomically on the Canton network.
🇺🇸 U.S. bank groups target a nationwide blockchain network by 2027. The BankChain Alliance unites 39 state banking associations to build a shared chain for tokenized deposits, smart payments, and automated settlement.
🇯🇵 Japan eyes blockchain for instant stock and government bond settlement, according to Nikkei reports. The initiative aims to cut settlement times using distributed ledger technology.
🇺🇸 Caplight facilitates Citi's launch of tokenized depositary receipts on private shares. Citi is the first major bank to apply the depositary receipt model to private company shares, with Caplight's MarketPrice data feed providing independent pricing.
STABLECOINS
🇬🇧 Revolut to launch EURR stablecoin in push to expand crypto payments. Bridge, owned by Stripe, will issue EURR and hold its reserve assets. The token rolls out initially in Denmark, Poland and Portugal, with EEA expansion planned later this year.
🌍 Onafriq integrates Circle's USDC across 40+ African markets, adding regulated stablecoin settlement alongside its existing fiat rails. The integration reduced implementation time from six months to four to six weeks.
🌏 Sign and BNB Chain unveil a sovereign stablecoin framework for national currencies. The initiative lets governments set reserve requirements and redemption rules, with Kyrgyzstan's KGST serving as a live deployment.
🌍 Brydge and Monirates partner on zero-fee stablecoin wallets for African merchants on Brydge's trade platform. Businesses get unlimited wallets with no setup fees and no deposit charges across five blockchain networks, reducing cross-border payment costs for intra-African trade.
🇰🇷 Anytap launches a USDT-loaded Visa card targeting Asia, starting with South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia. The card lets holders spend stablecoin balances at Visa merchants. Read more
PARTNERSHIPS
🇺🇸 Paysafe launches a Merchant of Record solution with FastSpring, combining payment processing and full merchant services for software and digital goods businesses. The partnership gives FastSpring clients access to Paysafe's global payment infrastructure, streamlining tax, compliance, and checkout across markets.
🇨🇭 Taurus enables financial institutions to connect to Swift's blockchain-based shared ledger. The integration bridges traditional finance infrastructure with distributed ledger technology.
🇪🇸 Flanks partners with Perplexity to power AI-driven financial advisory. The integration brings regulated multi-bank wealth data into Perplexity's AI workflows, covering 700+ institutions across Europe.
🇺🇸 Nacha announces Finastra as a Preferred Partner for ACH Experience, ISO 20022, and Risk and Fraud Prevention. Finastra's cloud-native platform supports growing Same Day ACH volumes and modernization.
🇺🇸 Bluefin collaborates with Visa to deliver unified card-present acceptance through Visa Acceptance Solutions. The partnership aims to streamline in-store payment processing for merchants. Read more
🇵🇭 AsiaPay and PGA Insurance forge a partnership to enhance digital payment acceptance for policyholders in the Philippines. The integration connects PGA's booking engine with AsiaPay's PesoPay gateway for cards, e-wallets, and installments.
🇧🇭 FOO and Benefit advance BenefitPay to strengthen Bahrain's digital financial infrastructure. The partnership enhances the BenefitPay platform with new digital payment capabilities. It aims to support Bahrain's cashless economy goals through expanded services.
🇰🇷 Shinhan Financial and Visa sign a strategic MOU to jointly test stablecoin issuance, remittance, and redemption. The partners plan to design a Korea-specific business model using Visa's stablecoin platform.
🇬🇧 Plum selects Upvest as its UK investment infrastructure provider, extending a European partnership dating back to 2023. The move replaces a multi-provider setup with a single cloud-native Investment API across markets.
🇺🇸 Sweetwater goes live with Gr4vy, integrating the payment orchestration platform into its e-commerce operations. Gr4vy's cloud-native infrastructure gives Sweetwater flexible routing and payment management across its checkout stack.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇬🇧 Itoflow raises $2.5M for investment research AI agents. The funding will support development of AI tools designed to automate research workflows for asset managers. Continue reading
M&A
🇮🇱 Nayax enters a definitive agreement to acquire IPS Group for $350M in an all-cash transaction. The deal combines Nayax's payments platform with IPS's smart parking technology spanning more than 250,000 parking spaces.
🇫🇮 Basware signs an agreement to acquire Trustpair, the payment fraud prevention platform. The acquisition strengthens Basware's accounts payable offering with vendor verification capabilities. Read more
🇺🇸 Vanguard strikes deal for FinTech platform Altruist, expanding its access to independent financial advisers. The transaction is valued at roughly $4 billion, with Altruist continuing to operate as a separate business after close.
Trusted reach among senior decision-makers in FinTech, Payments & Banking.
👉 Explore Partnership here
Comments ()