Registry — Vantage Bank Texas (US) added to the registry
Enforcement — Guidance issued against Unknown Sponsor Bank · FCCPC · Jul 20, 2026
Partnership — TD Bank Signs Master Services Agreement with Trust Science for AI Auto Lending · Jul 20, 2026
Product — Always.bank Launches Full Digital Business Banking Suite Across the US · Jul 20, 2026
M&A — Monext Acquires French Payments Firm Alcinéo to Control Value Chain · Jul 19, 2026
Funding — Fina Secures SAR 282M Facility to Scale Embedded Financing for Saudi SMEs · Jul 20, 2026
Deal Feed
Partnerships, funding rounds, product launches, and M&A across the ecosystem.
Investcorp partnered with Bahrain FinTech Bay to build infrastructure supporting fintech API development in the MENA region. The collaboration aims to accelerate fintech innovation and ecosystem growth in Bahrain. This partnership signals growing institutional support for embedded finance infrastructure in the Middle East.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Government of Maharashtra signed a Memorandum of Understanding for closer fintech cooperation. The agreement aims to facilitate cross-border collaboration on fintech innovation, potentially including banking and financial services technology. It reflects growing international regulatory interest in supporting fintech-bank ecosystems.
Genesis Financial, Inc. completed a Capital Stock Exchange Agreement with EPOINT Payment Corp. and a Membership Interest Exchange Agreement with Fintech Holdings LLC. The transaction was structured as a reverse business combination under ASC 805. EPOINT also signed a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement for SmartPay Leasing LLC valued at $48.5 million in cash plus assumed liabilities.
Cardlytics, a data-driven marketing fintech, went public on NASDAQ (CDLX) by issuing 5.4 million shares. The company's Purchase Intelligence platform enables advertising within banking environments. CEO highlighted the IPO as a means to strengthen existing bank partnerships that power its embedded analytics offering.
YapStone, a payments platform for marketplaces, raised $71 million in Series C funding led by Premji Invest with participation from Mastercard. The round supports YapStone's embedded payments infrastructure for marketplace and platform businesses. Mastercard's involvement signals growing card network interest in embedded finance distribution.
Visa and digital banking fintech Revolut partnered on prepaid Visa card issuance in the UK. The deal enabled Revolut to offer Visa-branded prepaid cards to its growing customer base. This partnership represents an embedded finance model where a card network enables a fintech's consumer-facing banking products.
Radius Bank partnered with NYC-based fintech Mantl to launch a new digital account opening platform. The collaboration aimed to modernize the bank's onboarding process for new customers. This represents an early example of a community bank leveraging fintech infrastructure to compete with larger digital-first institutions.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published 'Sound Practices: Implications of Fintech Developments for Banks and Bank Supervisors.' The guidance addresses risks and opportunities from bank-fintech partnerships and technology adoption. It sets expectations for how supervisors should approach fintech-related activities at banks.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1426, the Federal Savings Association Charter Flexibility Act of 2017, allowing federal savings associations to exercise national bank powers without converting charters. This expanded operational flexibility for financial institutions and indirectly benefited the embedded finance ecosystem.
Mastercard expanded its Engage platform to enable technology integrations for issuers, merchants, and IoT device manufacturers. The platform supports capabilities including digital wallets, tokenization, instant payouts, and mobile POS solutions. This expansion strengthens Mastercard's role as an embedded payments infrastructure provider.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency outlined how it would evaluate fintech companies applying for a special purpose national bank charter. This signaled the agency's openness to considering fintech charter applications and established criteria for future applicants. The move was a key step in the U.S. regulatory framework for fintech banking.
ABN AMRO Clearing Bank collaborated with fintech firm Nxchange to develop a blockchain-based alternative to traditional escrow accounts. Nxchange launched the solution in February 2018. The product leveraged distributed ledger technology to provide a more efficient and transparent escrow process.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued revised authorization guidelines for virtual banks in February 2018, establishing principles for licensing digital-only banking operations. This reflected a more open regulatory stance toward challenger banks and set the stage for virtual bank license applications in Hong Kong.
Finastra acquired Olfa Soft SA to provide banks with an end-to-end electronic FX trading platform. The acquisition enhances Finastra's treasury and capital markets offering with digital FX capabilities. This strengthens Finastra's position as a banking technology provider enabling digitized financial services.
Varo Money announced a $45M Series B financing round, publicly disclosed on January 18, 2018. The mobile banking fintech had applied for a national bank charter from the OCC and FDIC in July 2017, aiming to become the first U.S. national bank designed for smartphones. The funding was intended to support its charter application process and product expansion.
Originate, a financial services software company, received an undisclosed investment from Pacific Growth Investors. The funding supports working capital and international expansion. Originate builds software that redesigns legacy banking systems through client partnerships, aligning with BaaS infrastructure needs.
Dutch Finance Lab raised €30 million shortly after its January 2018 launch, led by investor Pieter Schoen and a banking partner. The funds primarily support client credit lines and acquisitions. The company leverages fintech products to offer customized funding and credit insurance solutions.
Indian payment gateway Razorpay raised $20 million in a Series B round led by Tiger Global and Y Combinator Continuity, with participation from Matrix Partners. The funding came amid reported interest from Stripe, PayPal, Amazon, and Adyen for potential partnerships or acquisitions to expand in India.
The UK's Open Banking initiative officially launched on January 13, 2018, requiring major banks to share customer data via APIs with authorized third-party providers. Banks including Barclays, HSBC, and RBS began enabling API access. This regulatory milestone laid the groundwork for embedded finance and BaaS innovation across the UK.
Accenture launched the sixth cohort of its FinTech Innovation Lab London on January 2, 2018, pairing 20 shortlisted fintech startups—including a dedicated RegTech stream—with executives from over 32 major financial institutions. Sponsor banks included Citi, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, Santander, UBS, and others. The program focuses on solutions for PSD2, GDPR, MiFID II compliance, fraud detection, and blockchain security.
Paris-based Spendesk raised €8M in a Series A led by Index Ventures to expand its business spending platform across Europe. The round follows a €2M seed in 2017. Spendesk provides companies with a platform for managing purchases and expenses.
Volante Technologies collaborated with BNY Mellon on payments technology innovation, including real-time payments processing via the VolPay Hub and tokenized payments with Zelle. The partnership demonstrates how infrastructure providers enable banks to offer modern payment rails. This collaboration supports BNY Mellon's ability to provide embedded payment capabilities to its clients.
Indian fintech NiYO Solutions raised $13.2 million for its digital platform enabling employee benefits, claims, and credit access via employer-bank partnerships. The platform facilitates financial advisory services by connecting employers with banking partners. This investment highlights embedded finance growth in India's B2B2C segment.
BankMobile, a fintech-focused digital bank, announced plans to spin off and merge with Flagship Community Bank, a community bank acting as a sponsor bank. The deal was scheduled to close in mid-2018. This merger exemplifies the sponsor bank model where fintechs partner with chartered banks to access banking licenses and deposit insurance.