The Private Market Is Now the Real Fintech Index; Embedded Investing Reshapes Fintech Competition

Innovation

Fintech’s growth phase is over—now comes the hard part

The conversations at the Fintech Revolution Summit 2026 in Manila highlighted a clear shift: fintech’s next chapter won’t be defined by how fast the industry can innovate but by how well it can build systems people can trust.

The Private Market Is Now The Real Fintech Index

For the first time in fintech's twenty-year history, the top 100 private companies in the sector now generate more revenue than the top 100 public ones founded since 2006. Roughly $174 billion versus $158 billion. The private cohort is valued at 2.9x the public cohort, according to a new report from FT Partners and Blue Dot Investors.

AI

Zip: Powering AI-driven AP From Request to Payment

Zip is unifying purchasing and AP with AI that codes, checks and routes every invoice, catching errors early and syncing approved transactions in real time

Digital Finance

The ‘PayPal Mafia’ built a $1.5 billion fintech pioneer. The company they left behind is on life support

Nineteen years ago, in a Fortune cover story that christened the group, the so-called “PayPal Mafia” gathered in San Francisco for a photo shoot. There were gold chains, tracksuits, Maker’s Mark, Sinatra singing through the Wurlitzer. Peter Thiel had a butler, Fortune’s Jeffrey O’Brien discovered—“holy cannoli”—while Max Levchin wore mismatched freebie shorts.

Cryptocurrencies

Coinbase Lays Off 700 Employees to Become AI-Native Firm

The cryptocurrency exchange is cutting 14% of its workforce to become AI-native, with CEO Brian Armstrong firing staff who failed to adopt the technology

Payments

Mastercard and BMONI Launch New Virtual and Physical Cards for Seamless Global Payments in Nigeria

The collaboration marks one of the first locally issued international card programs in Nigeria, enabled by new card issuance models introduced by Mastercard to accelerate digital payments adoption among fintech companies in the market.

Security

Daon unveils identity tool for remote workforce trust

Daon, the digital identity trust company, has launched a new workforce identity fraud prevention solution aimed at helping organisations build stronger trust across the entire employee lifecycle.

Research

InspereX Enhances Aria Platform with Launch of Insights Hub

The Insights Hub debuts with a content partnership with Structured Retail Products (SRP), part of Derivia Intelligence, the world’s leading global provider of critical data and market intelligence for specialist financial markets, with SRP delivering dedicated structured products data analysis and insights, as well as a weekly fixed income commentary produced in collaboration with FinTech Studios, a market intelligence and regulatory intelligence platform specializing in investment markets content and AI-powered analytics.

Digital Banking

Africa’s FinTech Growth Set to Move Beyond Payments Into Credit and Financial Services

The report highlights that Africa is currently the fastest-growing FinTech market globally, with revenues projected to expand nearly 13-fold by 2030 to around $65 billion.

Why Banks are Making Travel Their Top Loyalty Asset

For decades, loyalty in banking was defined by the simple equation of points earned and points burned – but today, that model is rapidly shifting

Technology

Krafton Expands from Fintech 'Investment' to 'Direct Operations' in India

Krafton has begun taking steps to enter the fintech business directly in India. Beyond merely investing in Indian fintech firms, the company is reportedly assembling a dedicated team to develop its own payment services.

Upvest Q&A: Embedded Investing Reshapes Fintech Competition

Upvest’s Symmie Swil explains how infrastructure is lowering barriers, accelerating product launches and fuelling an industry-wide race for better investin

Acquisition

Fintech startup Freo acquires IndiaLends

Fintech startup Freo has announced the acquisition of digital lending marketplace IndiaLends in a deal that will give it full ownership of the company.

The acquisition brings together Freo’s financial products and regulatory licences with IndiaLends’ lending marketplace and distribution network.

Aventum acquires Post & Co to enter European markets

The deal gives Aventum immediate access to key European markets, accelerating its regional expansion strategy without building operations from scratch. It also reflects a targeted approach to growth, focusing on specialist capabilities rather than scale alone.

OpenAI buys personal finance fintech Hiro

This is OpenAI’s second fintech purchase, following its acquisition of personal finance app Roi in October.

Europe

UK FinTech funding expected to grow by 26% in 2026 due to increase in deals over $100m

UK FinTech investments opened 2026 on a strongest footing, with Q1 2026 recording $1.9bn in total funding across 67 deals.

Compared to Q1 2025, when the sector raised $1.4bn from 58 transactions, funding grew by 32% and deal count rose by 16%, pointing to a meaningful recovery in both capital deployment and deal-making activity.

bne IntelliNews - UK’s Lloyds to purchase Lithuania-licensed fintech firm Curve Europe

Britain’s banking giant Lloyds Banking Group has secured approval to take over Lithuania-based fintech company Curve Europe, Curve announced in a ...