The Swiss Fintech Association (SFTA) has submitted its response to the consultation on the proposed Swiss fintech and crypto regulatory framework. Its aim is to ensure that the perspectives of innovators are taken into account. In its response, the SFTA highlighted that stablecoins should be issuable with blacklisting only. The proposed whitelisting requirement, it argued, does not align with technological use cases or international trends. The Association also stressed that new license types need to be commercially viable. Providers should be able to offer a broad range of services. Regulatory requirements should remain proportionate, particularly for startups, and licensing processes…

Global fintech firm Broadridge has reached an agreement to acquire CQG, a provider of futures and options trading, execution management, and market connectivity solutions. The acquisition will integrate CQG’s execution management, algorithmic trading, and analytics capabilities with Broadridge’s order management and client connectivity solutions. “The acquisition of CQG will accelerate Broadridge’s mission to deliver advanced, highly connected trading solutions on a global scale,” said Frank Troise, President of Broadridge’s Trading and Connectivity Solutions business. “Integrating CQG’s execution management, analytics, and connectivity technologies with Broadridge’s order management solutions will create a unified platform in futures and options that simplifies trading complexity,…

Switzerland ranks among the world’s most innovative countries, yet its position as a startup hub is increasingly under pressure, not due to a lack of ideas, but because of slow procedures, regulatory barriers, and non-competitive conditions for talent, capital, and growth. The Swiss Startup Association, together with partner organisations, has outlined 20 policy reform proposals in the Startup Agenda Switzerland to address these structural challenges. Key recommendations include modern employee share schemes, better conditions for venture capital, and the reduction of unnecessary regulatory burdens. Raphael Tobler, President of the Swiss Startup Association, said: “The competition for the best founders and…

Procivis, a technology provider for digital identities, credentials and wallets and a subsidiary of Orell Füssli, has been awarded the contract to deliver the sandbox for the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI) in Lithuania following a public tender process. The state Agency for Digital Solutions (SDSA) will collaborate on implementing the project. Under the agreement, Procivis will build a national test environment. This environment will support Lithuania’s preparations for the EU-wide rollout of the EUDI Wallet. The sandbox will allow testing of digital identity use cases for citizens, relying parties and public institutions. It will use Procivis One, a production-ready…

ClearBank has appointed Neil Drennan as Chief Technology Officer. Drennan will lead the development and enhancement of ClearBank’s cloud-based API and payments infrastructure as the company expands across the UK and Europe. He joins from Visa, where he spent three years as Chief Technology Officer for Visa Cross Border Solutions and Currency Cloud, a global provider of cross-border payments, collections and foreign exchange. He has over 15 years’ experience in media and financial services, including roles at 10x Future Technologies and Amazon. At Visa, Drennan established the Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE) programme to embed cloud-native best practices across the…

In June 2026, Zurich will host the first Swiss Fintech Week, providing a platform for the city’s fintech ecosystem. The Kongresshaus Zurich will serve as the main venue, bringing together startups, established fintechs, financial institutions, investors, and academics to discuss the technological future of the Swiss financial centre. Switzerland is a leading global fintech hub, but unlike other financial centres, it has not had a dedicated fintech week. Swiss Fintech Week aims to address this by combining existing initiatives and new formats into a week-long programme in Zurich with national and international reach. The event will focus on key technological…

Over the past decade, the Baltic region has established itself as a recognised centre for financial innovation within the European Union. Strong digital infrastructure, progressive regulation, and a highly skilled technology workforce have enabled fintech companies from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to scale far beyond their home markets. One such company is Aventus Group – an international fintech-driven lending group founded in 2009 and led by CEO Andrejus Trofimovas. From its Baltic roots, Aventus Group has grown into a global organisation operating across 20 countries on four continents, demonstrating that scale, resilience, and disciplined execution can coexist even in an…

APEXX Global has announced a strategic investment of up to US$10 million led by Finch Capital, a European growth investor focused on payments and financial technology. APEXX operates a payment orchestration platform for enterprise merchants. The platform allows merchants to manage payments through a single API. Transactions are routed across multiple providers to improve acceptance rates and reduce processing costs. This supports more efficient payment operations at scale. The investment follows a period of commercial growth. APEXX secured several enterprise clients in late 2025, including Jet2, Iglu.com and Norse Atlantic. These additions increased platform usage and revenue. The company is…

Thredd has announced that Vault Payment Solutions has selected its issuing and processing platform to support its expansion on Mastercard’s global network. The partnership will support the launch of new prepaid, debit and private-label card programmes in Australia and the UK. Vault is a Mastercard Principal Issuing Partner. The company provides end-to-end programme management and card infrastructure for rewards, gift cards, embedded finance and closed-loop private-label programmes. Under the agreement, Vault will use Thredd’s issuing and processing services. This will support both virtual and physical cards. It also includes tokenisation, fraud monitoring, 3DS, digital wallet integration and transaction controls. Vault…

Y Combinator (YC) has announced that startups participating in its programme can now opt to receive their funding, up to US$500,000, in stablecoins. Startups are increasingly using stablecoins such as USDC to facilitate faster and cheaper financial transactions worldwide. YC said these digital currencies allow broader access to financial services and enable payments with the ease and speed of a text message. Several YC-funded startups, including Aspora and DolarApp, have already integrated stablecoins to support financial services across India and Latin America. YC highlighted that regulatory developments, including the passage of the GENIUS Act, and increasing adoption by financial institutions…

Australia-founded payment platform Airwallex is launching in Germany, the company announced on Tuesday (3 February). “Competition in the German market is high, but at the same time the market is large and not yet fully digitalised,” said Tom Sellin, responsible for Airwallex’s growth in Germany. Airwallex offers a platform for businesses to make and receive international transfers, manage foreign currency accounts, and process online payments. It competes with Wise, Adyen, and Stripe, and claims around 200,000 customers, ranging from start-ups and SMEs to large corporations. Sellin said German companies are strong exporters but “their money often moves at a snail’s…

AllUnity, a joint venture between DWS, Flow Traders and Galaxy, and a regulated e-money institute, has announced plans to launch a Swiss franc–denominated stablecoin called CHFAU. The initiative comes after a year of engagement with institutions and corporates. It reflects growing interest in a regulated digital version of the Swiss franc for payments, settlement, and treasury functions. After initial client discussions, AllUnity progressed the project from concept to launch readiness in around two months. AllUnity expects to launch the stablecoin in February, pending regulatory approval and operational readiness. The company will issue CHFAU according to its stablecoin standards of trust,…

PayPal has appointed Enrique Lores as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 March. Lores, who has served on PayPal’s board for nearly five years and as Board Chair since July 2024, will succeed Alex Chriss. To support the transition, Jamie Miller, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, will serve as Interim CEO until Lores assumes the role. David W. Dorman has been appointed Independent Board Chair with immediate effect. The appointment follows a board review of PayPal’s performance and competitive position. The board said that while the company made progress in several areas over the past two years, execution fell…

Teciem has launched today as an independent company, following the acquisition of Finastra’s Treasury and Capital Markets (TCM) division by the Apax Funds. The investment will support product development and the growth of its 1,300-strong team, including all senior leaders who are moving from Finastra. From its first day, Teciem serves more than 340 financial institutions, including 70 of the world’s top 100 banks. Its software portfolio, including Kondor, Summit, Opics, Sophis, Fusion Risk and Fusion Invest, covers treasury, capital markets, risk management, regulatory compliance, and investment management operations. Headquartered in London, Teciem is led by CEO Wissam Khoury, who…

Bits, a Stockholm-based provider of compliance and onboarding infrastructure for regulated fintech firms and banks, has raised €12 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Alstin Capital, with participation from Cherry Ventures, Unusual Ventures and Alliance Ventures. Haval van Drumpt, chief executive of Tre Sweden, also invested. The company will use the funding to increase automation across financial crime and fraud workflows and to expand coverage of regulatory and data sources across Europe. “Our customers need to scale, convert, and remain compliant at the same time,” said Jonatan Klintberg, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Bits. “By unifying…

Santander UK has announced the appointment of Mahesh Aditya as Chief Executive Officer of Santander UK Group Holdings and Santander UK, effective 1 March. Aditya joins from Banco Santander, where he has served as Group Chief Risk Officer since 2023. Prior to this, he spent six years at Santander in the US, including two years as Chief Risk Officer, Santander US, and four years as CEO of Santander Consumer USA from 2019 to 2023. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial services, having held roles at Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Capital One. The Santander UK Boards appointed…

Ripple has received full approval for its Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). The company had announced preliminary approval last month and has now met all conditions required by the CSSF. “Securing our full EMI license in the EU is a transformative milestone that reinforces Ripple’s presence at the heart of European finance,” said Cassie Craddock, Managing Director, UK & Europe at Ripple. “Europe has always been a strategic priority for us, and this authorisation allows us to scale our mission of providing robust, compliant blockchain infrastructure to clients across the EU.”…

The German financial media company finanzen.net Group, which also operates the neo-broker finanzen.net ZERO, has acquired AI-driven investment platform Vickii. Founded in 2022 as a student project in Münster by 20-year-olds Jai Bheeman, Lukas Söllner, and Alexander Brils, Vickii aims to make investing intuitive, personalised, and accessible for a digital generation, with AI at the core of its platform, according to Startup Rise EU. “We never doubted our vision. This acquisition shows that we were right,” said Alexander Brils, CPO of Vickii. “A (neo)broker had long been the logical exit route. That the right opportunity has emerged now was not…

Revolut’s billionaire co-founder and CEO, Nik Storonsky, has switched his residency back to the UK, months after a Companies House filing erroneously listed his address as the UAE, the Financial Times reports. In October, a filing from Storonsky’s family office changed his address to the UAE, prompting concern from UK regulators. The family office has now corrected the record, restoring his UK residency. Born in Russia, Storonsky is a British citizen. In an interview cited by the FT, Storonsky described reports of his move to the UAE as “fake news,” explaining that he divides his time between the UK, Europe,…

Malta is positioning itself as the go-to-place for innovative fintech companies in Europe. Its strong technology capabilities, a highly educated workforce, and a forward‑looking regulatory environment that emphasizes agility and accessibility, create an attractive ecosystem for fintech entrepreneurs seeking regional scale. Recognizing fintech as a strategic growth sector, the Maltese government has built a pro‑business regulatory and funding framework to nurture its development. Fintech Malta Government support The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) drives much of this effort through its Fintech Strategy, which defines six strategic pillars as the core areas for innovation in financial services, namely regulation, ecosystem, architecture,…