Blockchain analytics company Elliptic has secured US$120 million in a Series D funding round to scale its compliance platform as traditional financial institutions increase their exposure to digital assets. Growth equity firm One Peak led the round, with participation from Nasdaq Ventures, Deutsche Bank, and the British Business Bank. The investment brings the company’s valuation to $670 million. Elliptic will use the new capital to expand its enterprise-grade analytics tools for banks, government agencies, and cryptocurrency platforms. The funding arrives as regulated institutions begin transacting more frequently on digital asset networks, deepening their integration with tokenised assets. Stablecoins processed US$33…

Apollo announced that Apollo Funds is acquiring Emerald Holding and Questex in separate transactions and plans to combine them into a scaled North American B2B events and media platform valued at approximately US$1.5 billion for Emerald. The acquisition will see Emerald stockholders receive US$5.03 per share in cash. This offer represents a 42.1% premium to the unaffected share price of the company. Emerald is currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Onex holds over 90% of Emerald’s outstanding shares and has agreed to vote in favour of the buyout. The transaction will take Emerald private upon its expected completion in…

Swiss neobank neon and Hypothekarbank Lenzburg have extended their banking as a service (BaaS) partnership to develop new digital platform features. The renewed agreement will pave the way for the introduction of instant payments for neon customers in the coming weeks. The partnership dates back to 2018. Under the arrangement, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg and its IT subsidiary Finstar provide the underlying banking, technological, and regulatory infrastructure that allows neon to operate in Switzerland. The collaboration currently supports around 250,000 neon customers. At the end of 2025, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg managed 1.4 billion Swiss francs in deposits from the neobank’s users. Custody account…

Ripple has secured a US$200 million debt facility from Neuberger Specialty Finance to expand the lending capacity of its institutional prime brokerage platform, Ripple Prime, as demand for margin financing across traditional and digital asset markets continues to grow. The facility will support Ripple Prime’s ability to extend credit to institutional clients trading equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, and digital assets, with the firm able to draw up to the full US$200 million based on client demand. Since Ripple acquired the platform in 2025, Ripple Prime has recorded a threefold increase in revenue year over year, driven by rising institutional…

Corpay is partnering with digital asset platform BVNK to provide its global customer base with a stablecoin wallet and settlement capabilities. The integration allows Corpay’s clients to view digital asset balances alongside traditional fiat accounts. Customers can use an embedded stablecoin wallet to send, receive, store, and convert stablecoins directly within the platform. This setup gives corporate users access to payment networks that operate outside standard banking hours. Corpay will also use stablecoin rails for its own treasury operations to reduce reliance on pre-funded accounts and improve capital efficiency across its global network. Corpay processes more than US$12 billion in…

Paymentology has raised US$175 million in a new funding round co-led by Apis Partners and pan-European private equity firm Aspirity Partners. The company will use the capital to support global expansion and product development. Paymentology plans to move beyond core issuer processing into adjacent areas, including credit, stablecoins, tokenisation, and AI services. Much of the global payments issuing layer remains constrained by legacy infrastructure, which can limit the speed and flexibility of launching new products. Paymentology addresses this through a configurable platform that allows issuers to manage card and digital payment experiences across multiple markets. “By combining global capability with…

Money20/20 is coming back to Europe for its regional edition from June 02 to 04, 2026 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, promising three days of high-impact content, industry-shaping debates, and interactive sessions aimed at advancing financial services. This year’s event is expected to bring together more than 7,400 attendees with one in three holding C-suite roles, representing over 2,300 companies, from more than 100 countries represented. The 2026 Money20/20 Europe edition will feature over 450 speakers, six stages, and four powerful themes that capture the forces redefining global finance. These themes are: AI and the Agentic Age, where autonomous…

Three Swiss startups tackling regulatory compliance, agricultural lending and settlement infrastructure have been named as business and finance finalists for the >>venture>> 2026 competition. The companies were selected from a record 451 applications in this year’s edition of the Swiss startup programme. The business and finance category highlights a shift toward deep business-to-business infrastructure and novel financing models. The 3 Business and Finance Finalists The finalists will present their pitches to the competition’s advisory board on June 15. The winner of the business and finance vertical will receive 50,000 Swiss francs and a consulting package from…

CB Insights has released its annual selection of the world’s most promising artificial intelligence (AI) startups, spotlighting the top emerging private AI companies based on market traction, investor quality, and talent. This year’s 100 ventures emphasize the AI industry’s emphasis on early growth and market validation. An analysis of the landscape reveals that Series A ventures are the most prominent group on the list, totaling 60 companies. These companies have moved beyond the prototype phase, and have proven that their products solve real problems. They are now focused on scaling customer acquisition, turning early traction into repeatable business models, and…

Home to world-class fintech hubs in London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin, Europe offers a unique convergence of specialization and proximity. This dense network makes it an ideal meeting ground for global stakeholders. Among the events scheduled for the remainder of 2026, the following 20 are standing as the most significant gatherings. These event are expected to bring together top decision-makers and innovators to shape the future of the sector and accelerate digital transformation globally. Banking 4.0 and Banking Innovation Conference 2026 May 12-13, 2026 Hotel Berlin Potsdamer Platz by Leonardo Hotels, Berlin, Germany The Banking 4.0 and Banking Innovation Conference…

This year, global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) dealmakers have powered through geopolitical tensions and trade policy uncertainty. In Q1 2026, total deal value reached an estimated US$1.6 trillion, setting a new quarterly record and marking a 50.6% year-over-year (YoY) increase, according to new data released by capital markets research platform PitchBook. The number of transactions also climbed 18% YoY to an 13,877,  landing at the same record levels observed in Q4 2025 and underscoring the strength of the M&A market. Energy leads M&A growth In Q1 2026, investors’ priorities shifted towards the energy sector, which led M&A growth with value…

AMINA Bank has become the first bank to support Canton Coin (CC), the native token of the Canton Network, by offering custody and trading services to its clients. Canton Network is a public blockchain that focuses on privacy for capital markets. It has recently attracted participation from traditional finance and decentralised finance organisations, including DTCC, Visa and BitGo, which are developing settlement, tokenisation, custody and collateral applications on the network. The network is also building an on-chain capital markets ecosystem covering repo, lending and wrapped asset flows designed for regulated market participants. Through its offering, AMINA will provide institutional clients,…

Signicat, a European provider of digital identity solutions, has appointed Emma Bauer as Global Chief Product Officer. She will join the leadership team to support the scaling of the company’s Software-as-a-Service platform, as Europe prepares for regulatory changes including eIDAS 2.0 and the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR). The company noted that the European digital identity market remains uneven, with high adoption of electronic identities in Nordic countries compared with more fragmented approaches in parts of Southern Europe. Signicat has expanded its offering through eight acquisitions, building a product portfolio aimed at supporting cross-border identity and authentication needs for regulated…

In the financial services industry, artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved into a mainstream standard, with machine learning (ML), and generative AI (genAI) emerging as the most widely adopted technologies in the category, according to a new study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. However, the realization of profitability gains and operational improvements depend heavily on an organization’s AI maturity, sophistication, and investment levels, the research found. Released in April 2026, the study was conducted between October 2025 and January 2026, and captured insights from 628 financial institutions, AI vendors, and…

Financial technology vendor FIS has partnered with AI company Anthropic to introduce new automation tools for banks. The collaboration centres on deploying FIS Anthropic agentic AI technology to accelerate anti-money laundering investigations and reduce compliance costs. The first product from the partnership, the Financial Crimes AI Agent, cuts the time required to review suspicious activity. The system automatically gathers evidence across a bank’s core platforms, checks account activity against known money laundering patterns, and flags high-risk cases for human review. North American lenders BMO and Amalgamated Bank will be the first financial institutions to deploy the technology. Broader availability for…

SIX has received approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to merge its digital central securities depository, SIX Digital Exchange, into SIX SIS. The consolidation brings digital and traditional asset services under a single legal entity, forming the basis for integrated post-trade services across both asset classes. Separately, SIX has also obtained FINMA approval to offer crypto custody services through its licensed central securities depository. The development allows financial institutions to access crypto custody within the same regulated infrastructure used for traditional securities. According to SIX, the arrangement will operate under a combined model that links traditional and…

Santander has agreed to participate in funding rounds totalling approximately £550 million for Ebury, its cross-border payments and international trade platform. Centerbridge Partners is leading the investment alongside existing backers Santander, Vitruvian Partners and 83North. Santander will invest £50 million and retain a 55% majority stake. The parties will execute the transactions in two stages, subject to regulatory approval. Ebury operates in 30 regulated markets and serves over 27,000 businesses. Its platform enables payments in more than 140 currencies across 160 countries. It also allows clients to manage foreign exchange risk, transfer funds between subsidiaries in real time, and integrate…

The global fintech industry has entered a new era defined not by speculative exuberance but by a balanced focus on scalability, profitability, and operational and regulatory maturity. A new report by McKinsey & Company, in partnership with QED Investors, offers an overview of this landscape, outlining four trends shaping this “new age” of fintech. The report highlights artificial intelligence (AI) and digital assets as pivotal technologies driving efficiency and unlocking new business opportunities. It also notes a strategic shift among established firms towards securing banking licenses to fully integrated financial institutions that control the entire value chain. Finally, the report…

Zühlke has announced the acquisition of nxt digital, a boutique advisory firm focused on digital transformation in financial services. nxt digital will continue to operate as a separate entity under the name nxt, part of Zühlke Group. The acquisition combines Zühlke’s engineering and delivery capabilities with nxt digital’s banking sector expertise and executive advisory services. The firms said the combined offering is intended to provide end-to-end support for financial services clients, from strategy and advisory through to implementation. “This acquisition brings together best-in-class capabilities in financial services transformation. By combining strategic advisory with our strong engineering and execution expertise, we…

This year, global fintech funding is flowing towards scaled banking startups competing directly with traditional banks, as well as digital asset companies despite overall funding volumes continuing to contract, according to new data released by CB Insights. In Q1 2026, late-stage deal share in banking reached 35%, more than twice the quarterly average of 2024-2025. At the same time, total banking fell to a multi-year low of 34, and total funding dropped to US$934 million, roughly half of US$1.8 billion raised during the same period last year. Of the capital still entering the banking vertical this year, funding is concentrated…