Registry — Vantage Bank Texas (US) added to the registry
Enforcement — Termination of Enforcement Action issued against Deutsche Bank AG, DB USA Corporation, and Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch · Federal Reserve · Aug 25, 2026
Partnership — Revolut Japan Partners with Minna no Ginko via BaaS Banking Agency Agreement · Aug 25, 2026
Product — Absa Develops Embedded Payment Tool for Township Small Businesses · Aug 22, 2026
M&A — I-Remit Approves P20 Million Capital Infusion Into Surepay Technologies · Aug 22, 2026
T-Mobile launched T-Mobile Money, a no-fee mobile checking account, powered by BankMobile's Banking-as-a-Service white-label platform from Customers Bank. The product embeds full banking services into T-Mobile's mobile ecosystem. This represents one of the earliest high-profile BaaS-enabled embedded banking programs from a major non-financial brand.
Klarna launched an open banking platform providing a single API that connects fintechs and banks across 14 European markets. The platform enables third parties to build integrated financial services by accessing infrastructure linked to 4,300 banks. This initiative laid critical groundwork for embedded finance in Europe.
Airwallex, a cross-border payments infrastructure provider, raised $100 million in Series C funding led by DST Global, valuing the company at over $1 billion. The round made Airwallex a unicorn and supported its mission to provide embedded payments and FX infrastructure for businesses globally.
India's Reserve Bank of India progressed its Account Aggregator framework, granting in-principle approvals for API-based financial data sharing platforms. The framework enables consent-based data aggregation across banks and financial institutions, expected to launch in 2019-20. This regulatory initiative underpins open banking and embedded finance in India.
Consumer fintech Stash raised $65M from Union Square Ventures, Breyer Capital, and others. The platform partners with Green Dot's banking subsidiary for FDIC-insured accounts and launched a stock-back debit card rewards feature. With over 2 million users, the funding supports Stash's embedded banking and micro-investment product suite.
Entities: Stash · Green Dot Bank · Union Square Ventures · Breyer Capital
Omidyar Network released Flourish, a fintech venture fund with $200 million in portfolio companies focused on digital-first financial services for underserved populations. The fund targets low- and middle-income households globally. This investment vehicle aimed to accelerate embedded and accessible financial services innovation.
Chime, a US mobile banking challenger that relies on bank partners to offer FDIC-insured checking and savings accounts, raised $200 million in Series D funding led by DST Global. The round valued the neobank at $1.5 billion. The raise underscores growing investor appetite for fintechs built on top of chartered bank infrastructure.
Entities: Chime · DST Global · The Bancorp Bank · Stride Bank
Hong Kong-based SME trade financing platform Qupital secured $15M in Series A funding led by CreditEase FinTech Investment Fund, with participation from Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund and MindWorks Ventures. The round brought total funding to $17M, supporting Qupital's online financing infrastructure for small businesses.
Entities: Qupital · CreditEase FinTech Investment Fund · Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund · MindWorks Ventures
TechCrunch profiled Cross River Bank as a pivotal partner bank enabling fintech companies to offer banking services. The FDIC-chartered bank built a model fostering bank-fintech harmony, becoming a critical infrastructure provider amid a post-2008 drought in new bank charter approvals.
UK personal finance app Emma partnered with Salt Edge to expand its bank connectivity using Salt Edge's financial data aggregation APIs and open banking infrastructure. The integration enabled Emma to access over 3,100 banks across 61 countries. This highlights Salt Edge's role as a white-label banking and data infrastructure provider for fintechs.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the OCC continued litigation over the OCC's authority to issue special purpose national bank (SPNB) charters to fintech companies. The OCC argued no charter was imminent enough for judicial review, while CSBS challenged the legality of the program. No fintech SPNB charter was granted in March 2019, with approvals described as 'several stages away.'
Entities: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) · Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS)
PayPal expanded its Instant Transfer feature enabling users to move PayPal balances to U.S. bank accounts or debit cards within 30 minutes, leveraging JPMorgan Chase and The Clearing House's Real Time Payments network. The service charges a 1% fee capped at $10. This embedded finance initiative aimed to provide faster liquidity for consumers and merchants competing with Square and Stripe payout offerings.
Entities: PayPal · JPMorgan Chase · The Clearing House
Standard Chartered's innovation unit SC Ventures launched Fintech Bridge, a platform connecting fintechs with the bank's business challenges across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The program funds proofs-of-concept and offers market exposure. It represents a major bank embracing embedded fintech partnerships at scale.
TeamApt raised a $5.5 million Series A round led by Quantum Capital Partners to expand its white-label digital finance products for banks. The company provides solutions like Moneytor and Monnify to major Nigerian banks including Zenith, UBA, ALAT, and Sterling Bank. The funding will also support a consumer-facing app launch and international expansion into Europe and Canada.
Entities: TeamApt · Quantum Capital Partners · Zenith Bank · UBA · ALAT · Sterling Bank Nigeria
In a court brief filed February 26, 2019, the OCC confirmed that no fintech company had filed an application for a special purpose national bank charter. The OCC argued that CSBS lawsuits challenging its 2018 fintech charter policy were premature. This regulatory uncertainty continued to shape the BaaS and embedded finance landscape by deterring fintechs from pursuing direct bank charters.
Entities: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) · Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS)
HSBC US Commercial Banking partnered with fintech lending platform Neptune Financial (NepFin) to provide commercial banking services and global network access to NepFin's middle-market business clients. The collaboration targets US firms with $10–100 million in revenue, combining HSBC's multinational banking capabilities with NepFin's machine learning-driven lending platform. The deal aligns with HSBC's broader launch of a Digital Partner Platform for corporate and fintech clients.
Discovery, a South African financial services company, announced its digital bank Discovery Bank would go live publicly in March 2019 after successful testing. Branded as the 'world's first behavioural bank,' it applies Discovery's rewards-based model to banking. The project received its banking license in 2016 and required approximately ZAR 6 billion ($432.7 million) in investment.
TymeBank went live on February 22, 2019, as South Africa's first fully digital bank, offering embedded banking via kiosks in Pick n Pay and Boxer retail stores. The cloud-based open banking platform provides transactional accounts, savings tools, money transfers, and a financial coaching app. The launch represents a significant embedded finance play, leveraging retail partnerships to drive financial inclusion without legacy banking infrastructure.
Entities: TymeBank · African Rainbow Capital · Pick n Pay · Boxer
Mambu, a SaaS cloud banking engine used by banks and fintechs to launch financial products, closed a €30 million Series C round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Acton Capital and CommerzVentures also participated. The funding supports Mambu's growth as a core banking infrastructure provider powering BaaS and embedded finance use cases.
Bud, a UK-based fintech platform that connects banks to fintechs and financial service providers, raised $20 million in a Series A round. Investors included HSBC, Goldman Sachs, ANZ, Investec's INVC fund, InnoCells (Banco Sabadell's venture arm), Lord Fink, and 9Yards Capital. The funding supports Bud's pivot from a consumer app to an open banking platform helping banks comply with PSD2 regulations.
Credorax, a licensed European fintech bank, deployed Temenos' T24 Transact core banking platform on the cloud to expand beyond merchant acquiring into cross-border payments and banking services. The deployment enhances Credorax's scalability and enables it to serve enterprises and small businesses with broader banking capabilities. This positions Credorax to offer embedded banking infrastructure for cross-border commerce.
Lighter Capital and Silicon Valley Bank announced a partnership to provide pre-venture funded tech startups with access to debt capital and banking services. Lighter Capital offers revenue-based loans, term loans, and lines of credit from $50K to $3M, while SVB provides its StartUp Banking Solution. The deal combines fintech lending with traditional bank accounts and cards.
Stripe raised $100 million in a Series E extension led by Tiger Global Management, reaching a $22.5 billion valuation. This made Stripe the world's most valuable private fintech, ahead of Square and Coinbase. The funding supported Stripe's expansion into embedded finance-like services including POS terminals and cash advances.
Zafin, a SaaS banking platform provider, raised $17.2 million in Series B funding led by Vistara Capital Partners, Beedie Capital, and Accenture Ventures. The platform modernizes legacy bank IT systems via APIs, supporting open banking, core transformation, and AI capabilities. Funds will go toward sales, marketing expansion, and product innovation.
Entities: Zafin · Vistara Capital Partners · Beedie Capital · Accenture Ventures