Fulton Financial Corporation merged its Blue Foundry Bank subsidiary into Fulton Bank, N.A., effective Jul 11, 2026. Former Blue Foundry Bank customers now have access to Fulton Bank's full product suite, services, and financial centers. The announcement was made on Jul 13, 2026.
Entities: Fulton Financial Corporation · Blue Foundry Bank · Fulton Bank
SBI Group plans to launch a lending service for its yen-pegged stablecoin JPYSC in July 2026, offering a 3% annual yield. The move places one of Japan's largest financial groups, with roughly $214 billion in assets, directly into onchain lending. Nikkei first reported the plan on Jul 13, 2026.
Entities: SBI Holdings · Solana Foundation · Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group · SBI VC Trade
JCB and MUFG Bank signed an MOU on Jul 06, 2026, to form a partnership across the ASEAN region focused on affluent customers and digital payments. The alliance pairs JCB's payment network with MUFG's partner banks and digital finance investments. A new premium card launch in Indonesia is planned for fiscal year 2026.
Karandaaz Pakistan and DigiKhata Financial Services signed a partnership to launch an Embedded Finance Facility (EFF). The initiative turns merchant payment data into a pathway to formal credit for Pakistan's small retailers. It targets low digital payment adoption and limited financing access among micro-SMEs.
UnionBank of the Philippines now draws roughly 30% of customer acquisitions through partner channels. Exclusive collaborations with Samsung Finance and other OEMs embed gadget financing in-store and via partner apps. The bank also co-brands credit cards with S&R, a membership warehouse club.
Entities: UnionBank of the Philippines · Samsung · Microsoft · Amazon Web Services
Upay (UCB Fintech Company Limited), a subsidiary of United Commercial Bank PLC, signed a partnership agreement with Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC. The deal covers international remittance delivery to upay wallets, fund transfers between accounts, and Shari'ah-compliant Islamic DPS services.
Entities: UCB Fintech Company Limited (Upay) · United Commercial Bank PLC · Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC
Parafin launched the Spend Card, a fully managed business credit card program for platforms to offer their small business customers. 360 Payments is already live on the product. Parafin's embedded financing suite now powers financial products for over 50,000 small businesses.
A legal and policy analysis published July 9, 2026, documents a surge in fintech applications for bank, industrial bank, and national trust company charters. Payments firms, lenders, and crypto-native businesses are increasingly seeking their own charters rather than relying on bank-partnership BaaS models. The trend represents a potential long-term structural shift in embedded finance.
Entities: Ballard Spahr · Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) · FDIC
ClearScore partnered with Stream to launch an embedded debt-consolidation product aimed at workplace lending. The partnership integrates Stream's lending capabilities into ClearScore's platform, enabling employees to access debt consolidation directly through employer-linked channels. This represents a growing trend of embedded finance solutions targeting payroll and workplace financial wellness.
DBS announced a $1 billion synthetic securitisation deal aimed at freeing up capital for lending expansion across Asia. The transaction is designed to transfer credit risk off DBS's balance sheet, enabling the bank to redeploy capital into new lending activity. This reflects a broader trend of large banks using structured finance to fuel embedded finance and platform-based lending growth.
Sony Bank received conditional approval from the OCC tied to plans for U.S. dollar stablecoin issuance and operations. This marks a significant step for a major brand entering regulated digital asset banking in the U.S. The approval could pave the way for embedded stablecoin services within Sony's broader ecosystem.
Nium acquired Cypher to strengthen its position as a core infrastructure layer for the converging payments ecosystem. The acquisition expands Nium's capabilities across embedded finance and cross-border payments. This deal signals continued consolidation in the BaaS and payments infrastructure space.
Nuvei completed a live agentic-commerce proof of concept with Visa, Arvato Systems, and Kings and Priests. The pilot explored AI-agent-driven commerce and autonomous payment transactions. This partnership signals early-stage exploration of agentic AI in embedded payments infrastructure.
Entities: Nuvei · Visa · Arvato Systems · Kings and Priests
Stripe introduced stablecoin payment settlement for U.S. merchants using the Solana blockchain. This enables merchants to receive settlements in stablecoins, offering faster and potentially cheaper payment processing. The move deepens Stripe's embedded finance capabilities and expands crypto-native payment options for its merchant base.
Grasshopper Bank and Increase launched an instant payments capability using stablecoins, enabling companies to move money globally in near real time. The product sits within Grasshopper's digital banking platform, blending embedded payments with modern banking infrastructure. This signals that US B2B banking platforms are treating stablecoin rails as production-grade for treasury and payments workflows.
Swift activated its blockchain-based ledger infrastructure for tokenised deposit pilot transactions with 17 banks across six continents. The pilot represents a major step in bridging traditional banking infrastructure with tokenised assets. This initiative could reshape how banks participate in the emerging tokenised deposit ecosystem.
The Federal Reserve proposed creating special-purpose payment accounts that would grant eligible nonbank fintechs and novel-charter entities direct access to Fedwire and FedNow, bypassing exclusive reliance on sponsor banks. The comment deadline was set for July 27, 2026, with roughly 20 applications pending. This proposal could significantly reshape sponsor-bank economics and fintech payment-rail access strategies.
Circle received a de novo national trust bank charter from the OCC, forming a holding company called First National Digital. The charter enables Circle to operate regulated stablecoin and digital asset infrastructure under direct OCC oversight. This marks a significant fintech charter milestone, contrasting with the typical sponsor-bank-dependent model.
Lloyds partnered with Stripe to launch Lloyds Accept, a payment toolkit for UK small businesses. Powered by Stripe Connect, the product is integrated into Lloyds and Bank of Scotland Business Accounts. Tools include Tap to Pay on smartphones, payment links and modern terminal devices.
On Apr 29, 2026, bunq announced a partnership with Dutch Bitcoin platform Blockrise as part of its new Banking-as-a-Service offering. Blockrise is the first business to build on bunq's open API. The collaboration lets Blockrise users access Bitcoin services with embedded bank accounts, starting in the Netherlands.
The National Bank of Cambodia and the Global Financial Technology Network signed an MoU on Jun 27, 2026, to promote fintech innovation in Cambodia. The agreement covers knowledge sharing and capacity building across banks, microfinance firms, and technology providers.
Entities: National Bank of Cambodia · Global Financial Technology Network (GFTN)
Stablecore, Circuit and Curql launched an early-access stablecoin and digital asset program for credit unions on Jun 24, 2026. RBFCU, Stanford FCU and La Capitol FCU are among the initial participants, representing $25 billion in aggregate assets.
GrailPay raised $10.5 million in a Series A led by MissionOG on Jun 25, 2026. The round brings total funding to $17.2 million. Capital will expand GrailPay's Payments Identity Network for instant and agentic B2B payment risk decisioning.
Zilch raised over $175 million ($176.7 million) in combined debt and equity funding. The round was led by KKCG, with participation from BNF Capital and other investors, and includes an expansion of its securitization facility led by Deutsche Bank. Funds will go toward marketing, product development, and potential M&A.