The Top Fintech Companies, Startups; Rise of Innovation in Airline Payments

Innovation

Forbes 2026 Fintech 50 | The Top Fintech Companies & Startups

Our 11th annual Fintech 50 features companies that continue to innovate and grow rapidly even though industry valuations are decidedly sober compared with those of AI-focused startups, which are the newest darlings of the venture capitalist community. Last year, funding for private fintechs increased for the first time in four years to $53 billion, but that total remains well below the $152 billion invested in fintech in 2021, according to CB Insights.

Our team of eight reporters and editors assessed hundreds of fintech companies, evaluating everything from revenue growth and product innovation to leadership-team diversity. We interviewed both CEOs and industry insiders. To be considered, firms need to have their headquarters or substantial operations in the U.S. and can’t be owned by a public company.

AI

To Fight Financial Crime, AI Needs Context

Financial crime remains one of the costliest and most persistent challenges facing banks and financial institutions worldwide.

The UN estimates that criminals launder between US$800bn and US$2tn annually.

At the high end, that is roughly equivalent to the annual GDP of Italy or Canada. Yet despite spending more than US$200bn a year on compliance, financial institutions intercept only a small share of illicit funds, often less than 2%, according to the UN.

Cryptocurrencies

South Korean fintech giant Toss eyes launching native cryptocurrency: report

Toss, a South Korean payment and banking giant, is reportedly planning to develop its own blockchain network and cryptocurrency.

According to a report from local news outlet Blockmedia, Toss is considering launching a native cryptocurrency on a Layer 1 mainnet and potentially launching a Layer 2 network for scalability.

Payments

Flywire: How Tech Powers Frictionless Cross-Border Payments

Thérèse Giambona shares how Flywire balances agility and structure as it scales, solving complex payment challenges across industries around the world

Taking Off: The Rise of Innovation in Airline Payments

Airline payments are the result of cross-border complexity meeting the relentless demand for friction-free travel. As the industry pivots toward a more integrated, digital-first future, the need for a 360-degree perspective for industry leaders has never been more acute.

An expert in airline payments, Thomas Helldorff, VP for Airlines and Travel at Worldpay (now Global Payments) holds experience which spans the evolution of modern fintech – from the early days of smart card innovation in 1999 to the sophisticated global hubs of today – expands on how the airlines industry is fuelling up for a change in payments.

Blockchain

Diamante raises $1.5m to advance quantum-safe blockchain

Diamante Financial Technologies, the developer of what it describes as the world’s first quantum-safe Layer-1 blockchain, has secured a $1.5m strategic investment from Khofiz Shakhidi, founder of Jefferson Capital Ltd and co-founder of Minexx Ltd.

The funding will go towards protocol development, ecosystem growth, and enterprise go-to-market expansion across the US, EU, MENA, and Asia-Pacific regions.

Security

The Key to Catching Crypto Criminals Lies in Bank Statements

Cryptocurrency has gone mainstream, yet it remains a preferred channel for criminals due to its speed, pseudonymity, and borderless nature. The FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report documented over $5.8 billion in losses from cryptocurrency investment fraud alone, often involving pig butchering schemes. Separately, a 2025 investigation by The New York Times and dozens of global news outlets traced at least $28 billion tied to illicit activity (from scams, hacks, extortion, and state-linked cyber operations) flowing through major crypto exchanges over the prior two years.

Research

Argentina’s Fintech Landscape in 2026

In a country shaped in recent memory by economic volatility, inflation cycles, and currency instability, fintech has emerged not simply as innovation, but as necessity.

Jamie Dimon’s Letter To Shareholders: The Most Important Fintech Memo Of 2026

Every April, Jamie Dimon publishes his annual letter to JPMorganChase shareholders, and every April, the financial press spends a week dissecting his views on the economy, geopolitics, and regulatory reform.

Meanwhile the technology section and references—arguably the most consequential parts of the letter for anyone working in banking or fintech—get the least attention. But not from me. Here’s what Dimon said about technology, and why every community banker and fintech executive should be paying close attention:

Digital Banking

Neobanks Didn't Disrupt Banking. They Just Made It Pretty

More than half of U.S. consumers now primarily interact with their bank through digital channels rather than physical locations. Revolut, Chime, and Marcus by Goldman Sachs proved that consumers would adopt digital-first financial products when usability friction was reduced, and the market followed. The global neobank market is forecast to grow from approximately $210B in 2025 to more than $7.6T by 2034. However, with only 15% of neobanks profitable in 2026, the question worth asking is why?

ISX Financial leading the way with the banktech approach

Nikogiannis Karantzis, CEO of ISX Financial, discusses how the EMI model is emerging as an integral pillar of the financial ecosystem, rather than a peripheral alternative to traditional banking.

Coinbase wins conditional approval for US national charter

Coinbase initially submitted its application for a charter in October; however, it will not use the approval to become a commercial bank, confirms Greg Tusar, co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional.

Technology

Lloyds and IBM partner on quantum fraud detection trial

Claimed to be a first-of-a-kind experiment, the pair have "successfully identified a real money mule that had been deliberately embedded in the data" using quantum technology.

Europe

Fintech giant Revolut’s India ambition needs a dose of reality

The UK-based company will have to go above and beyond to survive a fiercely competitive and price-conscious market with strict regulations. Read more at: https://themorningcontext.com/internet/fintech-giant-revoluts-india-ambition-needs-a-dose-of-reality Copyright © The Morning Context