Mesh, a San Francisco-based crypto payments network, has secured a US$82 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to over US$120 million. The round was led by Paradigm, with participation from Consensys (parent company of MetaMask), QuantumLight Capital (founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky), Yolo Investments, and others. Mesh has previously received investment from PayPal Ventures, Galaxy Ventures, and MoneyForward. In a significant development for venture funding and stablecoins, most of the US$82 million investment was settled using PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin. The use of PYUSD enabled instant and secure fund transfers via Mesh’s technology. The key advantages…

Plata, a Mexican digital bank that received its banking license in December 2024, has successfully completed its Series A equity round, achieving a valuation of US$1.5 billion less than two years after its launch and after acquiring over one million active credit card users. The Series A round raised US$160 million and was led by Kora, an investment firm focusing on emerging digital economies, pending regulatory approvals. Other contributors included Moore Strategic Ventures and various investors from the US and Europe. Since its inception, Plata has accumulated US$750 million in debt and equity investment to deploy within Mexico. This investment…

Rocket Companies, a Detroit-based fintech platform encompassing mortgage, real estate, and personal finance businesses, has announced an agreement to acquire Redfin, a digital real estate brokerage, in an all-stock transaction valued at US$12.50 per Redfin share, or approximately US$1.75 billion in equity. Founded in 2004, Redfin operates a home search platform featuring over one million for-sale and rental listings and employs more than 2,200 estate agents. “Rocket and Redfin have a unified vision of a better way to buy and sell homes,” said Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Companies. “Together, we will improve the experience by connecting traditionally disparate steps…

Finovifi, an Alabama-based provider of AI-powered fintech solutions for community banks, has acquired Modern Banking Systems (MBS), a core processing company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The acquisition also includes Modern Banking Systems of Alabama (MBSAL), a long-time distributor of MBS solutions in the Southeastern US, headquartered in Alabama. The acquisition will integrate Finovifi’s AI-driven banking operations, cloud-native solutions, and API connectivity with MBS’s platform, aiming to enhance compliance, real-time payments, and overall banking capabilities. “I am incredibly proud of what we’ve built at Modern Banking Systems over the years, serving community banks with technology that empowers them to thrive,” said…

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has clarified that various cryptocurrency activities remain permissible within the US federal banking system. In Interpretive Letter 1183, the OCC reaffirmed that national banks and federal savings associations in the US can engage in crypto-asset custody, certain stablecoin activities, and participation in independent node verification networks, such as distributed ledger technology. The letter also removes the requirement for OCC-supervised institutions to obtain supervisory non-objection and demonstrate adequate controls before undertaking these cryptocurrency-related activities. “The OCC expects banks to have the same strong risk management controls in place to support novel bank…

Papaya Global, a US-based workforce payroll and payments platform, has partnered with Sumsub, a UK-based provider of verification and compliance solutions. Sumsub will provide AI-powered automated tools to enhance Papaya Global’s verification processes and fraud prevention while ensuring regulatory compliance. “When you enable global workforce payments, as we do at Papaya, thorough compliance and security is a top priority,” said Amit Levi, SVP Product at Papaya Global. “With Sumsub, we can take our compliance engine to the next level and deliver at scale, supporting our clients and their employees.” Andrew Sever, CEO and Co-Founder of Sumsub, said, “Partnering with Papaya…

Commvault, a US-based provider of cyber resilience and data protection solutions for hybrid cloud environments, has appointed Ha Hoang as its new Chief Information Officer (CIO). Hoang brings over 25 years of experience in enterprise technology transformation for Fortune 500 companies, with expertise in cloud strategy, SaaS optimisation, and global infrastructure operations. As CIO, Hoang will oversee cloud, security, and AI technology initiatives, working closely with Commvault’s engineering and product teams to drive innovation. She will also engage with customers to demonstrate how the company’s technology supports cyber resilience and business operations. Before joining Commvault, Hoang was Group Vice President…

Forbes has released its 2025 Fintech 50 list, recognizing the top 50 private fintech startups that are driving financial innovation in the USA. These companies were selected for their growth, product innovation, and leadership diversity, and represent verticals including banking, payments, investing, insurance, real estate, as well as blockchain and cryptocurrency. Marking the 10th edition of Fintech 50, this year’s list saw payments, business-to-business (B2B) banking, as well as Wall Street and enterprise solutions dominate the ranking, accounting for 31 of the 50 picks and 13 of the 18 first-time honorees. Real estate and insurance had lower representation this year,…

Kraken announced in a blog post that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had agreed to dismiss the commission’s lawsuit against the company. According to the blog post, the SEC dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. Kraken made no admission of wrongdoing, paid no penalties, and did not make any changes to its business. The lawsuit, originally filed in November 2023, accused Kraken of operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency. The SEC alleged that Kraken’s actions deprived investors of “significant protections.” In its blog post, Kraken attributed the case’s dismissal to…

Nuvei Corporation, a Canadian fintech company, has announced a partnership with Temu, a global online marketplace, to improve payment accessibility for customers through local payment methods. Temu customers worldwide can now make secure card payments and use local payment options. The integration supports direct card acquiring and regional payment methods, including Konbini, Aupay, and Payeasy in Japan; Mbway, Blik, and P24 in Poland; Bancontact in Belgium; iDeal in the Netherlands; and MBWAY and Multibanco in Portugal. In 2025, the service will expand to new markets, including Colombia, Chile, and Canada. Philip Fayer, Nuvei Chair and CEO, stated: “As online shopping…

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued last week new guidance confirming that meme coins do not fall under the definition of securities as outlined in federal securities laws. According to the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, transactions involving meme coins do not require registration with the Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 and do not qualify for exemptions from registration. Consequently, purchasers and holders of meme coins will not be afforded the protections of federal securities laws. The SEC defines meme coins as crypto assets inspired by internet memes, characters, current events, or trends, with value…

Matthew Podolsky, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, announced that Aux Cayes Fintech, doing business as “OKEx” and “OKX,” has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. OKX, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, has agreed to pay over US$504 million in penalties. US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla presided over the plea and sentencing. “For over seven years, OKX knowingly violated anti-money laundering laws, allowing over five billion US$ in suspicious transactions. Today’s plea and penalties highlight the consequences…

US President Donald Trump has revealed the five digital assets he intends to include in a new US crypto strategic reserve, causing their market values to spike between 8% and 62% on March 2, 2025. Trump initially announced on social media that his January executive order on digital assets would establish a stockpile of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. However, he had not previously specified which assets would be part of it. CNN reported that the move is seen as a significant shift in US crypto policy, following stricter regulations under his predecessor, Joe Biden. “The order directed the Presidential Working Group…

Taktile, a New York-based decision automation platform for financial services, has raised US$54 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Balderton Capital, with participation from existing investors Index Ventures, Tiger Global, Y Combinator, Prosus Ventures, Visionaries Club, and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. This brings Taktile’s total funding to US$79 million. Since its Series A in 2022, Taktile has expanded its customer base to 24 markets, working with fintech companies such as Mercury, Kueski, and Zilch, as well as major financial institutions, including Allianz and Rakuten Bank. Taktile’s platform enables financial institutions to build…

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence arm of Alibaba Group, has officially launched its first cloud region in Mexico. This marks a significant step in its efforts to support Mexico’s digital transformation and strengthen its presence in Latin America. The new infrastructure aims to provide businesses, startups, developers, and organisations with secure, scalable cloud services, enhancing growth and innovation opportunities in the region. With this launch, Alibaba Cloud now operates 87 availability zones across 29 regions. “The launch of our Mexico Region underscores our long-term commitment to serving this vibrant market,” said Selina Yuan, President of International Business, Alibaba…

Betterment, a US-based digital investment advisor, has acquired the automated investing business of Ellevest, a financial services firm focused on women. The transaction does not include Ellevest’s other accounts, technology, employees, or operations. Betterment, headquartered in New York, serves over 900,000 customers across the US and manages more than US$55 billion in assets. This follows its previous acquisitions of Wealthsimple’s US advisory accounts in 2021 and Goldman Sachs’ Marcus Invest accounts in 2024. “This acquisition further cements our leadership in the digital investing space,” said Sarah Levy, Betterment CEO. “We look forward to welcoming Ellevest’s clients to Betterment and to…

Dock, a Brazil-based banking and digital payments company, and Credibanco, a Colombian electronic payments firm, have partnered to support Bre-B, a new instant payments system launched by Colombia’s Banco de la República. The initiative aims to enhance the country’s payment infrastructure by enabling secure, real-time transactions for businesses and individuals, operating 24/7. Scheduled to launch in September 2025, Bre-B is designed to lower transaction costs, eliminate waiting times, and improve cash flow management. The system will utilise keys and QR codes to facilitate access for unbanked individuals and businesses while maintaining stringent security standards to minimise fraud and promote financial…

Snowflake, an US based cloud-based data platform specialising in data storage, processing, and analytics, has announced an expanded partnership with Microsoft to integrate OpenAI’s models into Snowflake Cortex AI, its fully managed AI service. This integration, enabled through Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service in Azure AI Foundry, will allow enterprises to build AI-powered applications and data agents using OpenAI’s models within Snowflake on Microsoft Azure regions. Christian Kleinerman, EVP of Product at Snowflake, stated, “We’re expanding our long-standing partnership with Microsoft to deliver the best of OpenAI’s innovations directly to our customers, further advancing our promise to bring easy, efficient, and…

Salesforce, a cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, has announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Google, aiming to provide businesses with greater flexibility in developing AI-powered agents. This collaboration will allow Salesforce customers to build Agentforce agents using Google’s Gemini models and deploy Salesforce on Google Cloud. The initiative builds on their existing partnership, which facilitates seamless data sharing between Google BigQuery and Salesforce through zero-copy technology. Srini Tallapragada, Salesforce President & Chief Engineering and Customer Success Officer, stated, “Through our expanded partnership with Google Cloud and deep integrations at the platform, application, and infrastructure layer, we’re…

N5, a multinational technology company headquartered in the US and focused on the financial sector, has secured a US$20 million investment to advance its AI solutions and expand its global presence. The funding will support the development of its AIfred, Pep, and Singular platforms, aimed at optimising financial and insurance operations. The investment round includes new backers Alexia Ventures, a software and AI-focused fund in Latin America, and Scale-Up Ventures, Endeavor’s venture capital fund. Existing investors include Illuminate Financial, Exor Ventures, Madrone Capital Partners, LTS Investments, Arpex Capital, and Overboost. N5, which operates in 18 countries with clients such as…