Why Did Lendbuzz Walk Away From Nasdaq?
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Here's one you don't see every day — a US FinTech choosing Tel Aviv over Nasdaq for its IPO.
Lendbuzz, the auto-lending platform, had already filed its Nasdaq prospectus and completed a full investor roadshow before changing course. It's now preparing a Hebrew prospectus and targeting the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange instead.
The reason? Wall Street has become a tougher destination for companies outside the AI elite, and shifting investor priorities are sending founders elsewhere in search of a warmer reception.
There's plenty more below.
You'll also find why SoFi and Chime are taking two very different paths despite posting strong Q1 results, plus a great conversation with Aleex Sjarki, founder of Ecommpay, on acceptance rates, AI, global expansion, and what merchants should really expect from the next generation of payments.
Scroll down for more FinTech news. 👇
I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow!
Cheers,
PODCAST RECOMMENDATION
🎤 Ecommpay launched Making Payments Make Sense, a new podcast series exploring the future of payments. In the first episode, founder Aleex Sjarki joins Julia Streets to discuss acceptance rates, AI, global expansion, and financial inclusion, highlighting how payments can become simpler and more valuable for merchants.
Making Payments Make Sense Podcast
FINTECH NEWS
🇫🇷 Polymarket is officially illegal and completely blocked in France. The country’s gambling regulator has blocked the crypto prediction platform nationwide. Regulators say the site breaks gambling laws and could expose users to market manipulation and insider trading.
🇮🇱 Lendbuzz eyes Tel Aviv after Nasdaq ambitions lose momentum. The U.S. auto-financing FinTech is still targeting a valuation of around $1.5 billion, although Israeli investors may seek a significant discount as the company prepares an updated Hebrew-language prospectus.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🌏 HSBC joins Asia AI payments group on liability rules. The initiative brings together banks, payment networks and FinTechs to address authentication, fraud prevention and accountability as agentic commerce moves into commercial deployment.
🇬🇧 Teya expands business account with bill payments and employee cards with cashback. The enhanced platform also introduces redesigned user permissions and a unified app that gives business owners a single view of payments, expenses and cash flow.
#FINTECHREPORT
📊SoFi 🆚 Chime
Here's how Q1 2026 played out👇
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇧🇷 Nubank will spend R$ 40 million on a new headquarters for 1,000 employees. The unit will operate in the Vista Mauá Building, located in the central region of the city. The project is part of the financial institution's expansion plans in Brazil.
🇬🇷 Snappi Pay Later is now available on Public. With Snappi Pay Later, consumers can split their purchases into 4 interest-free installments right at checkout, and it’s fully integrated into the Snappi app. No additional accounts, other apps, or unnecessary steps required.
🇺🇸 Chime announced the launch of Chime Invest™, bringing investing to the Chime app where members already get paid, spend, and save. With the addition of Chime Invest, members now have access to wealth-building tools in one place, with commission-free investing, Managed Portfolios with no account minimums, and high-yield savings earning up to 3.75% APY.5.
🌏 Grab's digital bank narrows loss on corporate lending push. The digital bank grew its total loan book to SG$1.03 billion, more than doubled income to SG$69.6 million, and slightly narrowed its annual net loss as it accelerated lending to businesses and consumers.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇫🇷 Ledger launches Ledger Agent Stack for AI payment approvals. The toolkit lets AI agents read information and propose payment operations without controlling private keys. Any sensitive action must still be approved by a human through a Ledger signer before execution.
🌍 USDGO surpasses US$1 billion, ranking among the top six regulated stablecoins globally. The milestone strengthens USDGO's position as institutional payment infrastructure for cross-border payments, treasury management and trade finance across emerging markets.
🇺🇸 Exodus to cut 25% of global workforce in payments shift. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company said in a filing the layoffs are part of a broader effort to lower costs while supporting its strategy of building a full-stack payments platform. Read more
PARTNERSHIPS
🇧🇷 Brazilian payment platform Pay4Fun integrates with BetConstruct AI. The collaboration gives BetConstruct AI clients in Brazil access to Pix payments, account verification, fraud prevention, and compliance tools designed for the country's regulated betting market.
🇺🇸 Alpaca and Broadridge announce governance solution. The partnership brings shareholder governance capabilities including proxy voting, investor communications, voting entitlement reconciliation, and regulatory disclosures across traditional and tokenized equities, helping investors retain the rights, transparency, and protections they expect in traditional capital markets.
🌍 India and Spain agree to advance talks on UPI-Bizum digital payments. India and Spain have agreed to advance technical discussions on interoperability between India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Spain's Bizum digital payments platform, according to a statement issued by the Commerce Ministry.
🇺🇸 Nuvion and Turnkey partner to build secure embedded wallet infrastructure for global businesses. The partnership combines Turnkey's secure wallet infrastructure with Nuvion's regulated financial rails, enabling businesses to seamlessly launch and manage stablecoin-powered financial products without building or maintaining wallet infrastructure themselves.
🇺🇸 OnePay and Upgrade team on personal loan program. With this partnership, OnePay customers can apply for loans of $1,000 to $50,000 and receive/accept offers within the OnePay app, with approval and amount subject to eligibility. Keep reading
🇮🇹 Salt Edge and Domopay introduce Pay by Bank for rent collections in Italy. With Salt Edge Pay by Bank added to Domopay, landlords and property owners using the app will be able to receive instant account-to-account rent transfers, lowering the likelihood of payment disruptions.
🌍 Al Ansari Financial Services scales GCC presence via Western Union expansion in Bahrain and Kuwait. The integration focuses on omnichannel financial services, allowing customers to choose between physical branch interactions and enhanced digital capabilities.
🇳🇬 Busha Business partners with Tether. The collaboration enables businesses to access globally connected stablecoin liquidity for faster cross-border payments, more efficient treasury management, and quicker settlement of international transactions, reducing many of the delays and costs associated with traditional banking channels.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
💰Over the last week, there were six FinTech deals in Europe, totaling €88.6m in disclosed funding, including three transactions in the UK, one in Germany, one in the Netherlands, and one in Sweden.
🇮🇳 Scapia has launched an employee stock buyback programme, allowing eligible staff to sell up to 10% of their vested stock options. The liquidity event follows the company's $63 million Series C funding round as Scapia expands beyond credit cards into a broader travel and financial services platform.
🇬🇧 Leeds-based Xentra secures €3.18 million to scale cybersecurity services for SMEs. This investment will enable the business to strengthen its senior leadership team, accelerate customer acquisition, and increase revenue from its existing customer base.
M&A
🇮🇱 Isracard walks away from planned acquisition of Nir Zuk's Esh Bank. After months of talks, Isracard announced that the memorandum of understanding between the two sides had expired without being extended. As a result, no binding agreement was signed, and the deal will not proceed.
🇺🇸 Payments company ACI Worldwide explores sale of billing unit. The company is working with investment bankers on the divestment and has begun preliminary conversations with potential buyers, including private equity firms. Continue reading
🇺🇸 PayPal board rejects $53B Stripe-Advent offer, arguing the bid undervalues the company while raising financing and regulatory concerns. The decision is widely seen as the start of negotiations, with analysts expecting PayPal to seek a higher valuation as competition intensifies around stablecoin-based payment infrastructure.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇰🇪 Safaricom Chief Financial Services Officer Esther Waititu quits. Esther Waititu will leave the company on July 31 after nearly three years in the role to pursue other opportunities. During her tenure, she led Safaricom's financial services business.
🇬🇧 Euroclear Appoints Usman Ahmad as Head of Digital Assets. In this newly created role, Ahmad will steer the group’s digital assets strategy as the post-trade services provider explores opportunities in tokenisation and digital settlement. Continue reading
🇺🇸 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo joins the OKX Board of Directors. The appointment comes as the crypto exchange expands its U.S. presence, following its joint venture with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the launch of OKX AI, and continued investment in regulated digital asset infrastructure.
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