Fintech CEOs Urge Trump to Block Bank Fees on Customer Data Access; Fine Wine is Having Its Fintech Moment

AI

AI: Reimagining human-centric retail banking

Sovan Shatpathy explores the impact of AI on retail banking and sets out the real-world benefits it is already delivering to banks and their customers

Anthropic Launches Claude for Financial Services

Anthropic announced this week that it is bolstering the resume of its LLM Claude. The California-based AI research company launched a solution for financial analysis that helps finance professionals analyze markets, conduct research, and make investment decisions.

Australia's CommBank partners OpenAI to advance GenAI adoption

Through the partnership, CommBank will progressively roll out OpenAI's GenAI tools, including ChatGPT Enterprise, to its 52,000-strong workforce.

Payments

Indian fintech Paytm wins a major regulatory battle days after key investor exit

Indian fintech giant Paytm has received long-awaited approval from the country’s central bank to operate as a payment services provider for online merchants — just days after one of its Chinese investors sold its entire stake — marking a key regulatory breakthrough after months of setbacks and scrutiny.

How Thredd Launched Real-Time B2B Travel Payment Controls

Issuer-processor Thredd becomes first to offer flexible product codes through Mastercard Wholesale Program for online travel agencies

Data

Fintech CEOs Urge Trump to Block Bank Fees on Customer Data Access

Over 80 fintech and crypto CEOs urged President Trump to block U.S. banks from charging fees for customer data access, warning it stifles innovation and harms consumers. Led by the Financial Technology Association, the letter targets moves by banks like JPMorgan. This plea highlights escalating industry tensions.

Fine Wine is Having Its Fintech Moment. And This is Why Data Always Win.

When Christie’s achieved a record-breaking $28.8 million wine auction in June, traditional market participants were stunned. But, sitting on the side of investing not only on sentiment, but also armed with data… Well, I wasn’t completely surprised. The numbers had been pointing to ultra-premium recovery for months.

Welcome to fine wine’s fintech moment.

Visa Opens First African Data Centre in Johannesburg to Strengthen Fintech Infrastructure

This development is a major step in enhancing the continent’s digital payment and financial technology systems. The centre was unveiled during a recent visit to Africa by the President of the United States.

It is Visa’s second international data facility, following its Singapore centre. This addition is expected to significantly reduce transaction delays for users in Africa by improving VisaNet’s performance. It also increases the network’s reliability and supports compliance with regional data regulations.

Digital Banking

How automation is reshaping fintech back-office operations

While the front-end of fintech has been revolutionized by slick apps and seamless user experiences, a quiet but profound transformation is underway in the back office. This article explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and intelligent automation are reshaping the core, non-customer-facing operations of financial institutions.

Acquisition

US fintech MeridianLink to be acquired by Centerbridge in $2bn deal

With the deal, MeridianLink's shareholders are set to receive $20 per share, a 26% premium over the company's 8 August 2025 closing price.

Nedbank to acquire South African fintech firm iKhokha for $94m

Nedbank aims to boost its SME market presence through enhanced digital and inclusive financial services with the acquisition.

Europe

Perella Weinberg eyes European tech push as AI, fintech drives deals

The boutique has bolstered its European technology team and plans further hires