Hello Fintech Friends,

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by our friends at Alumni Ventures.

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below.

Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm

SPONSORED

This Week in Fintech Exclusive: You Could Be an Investor in High-Potential Startups Like These

This Week in Fintech and Alumni Ventures are teaming up this week only to give readers early access to high-growth startup opportunities, including some of today’s most exciting Blockchain and Fintech companies co-invested alongside top VC firms like A16Z, Lightspeed & Pantera Capital.

You get:

• Curated deal flow of high-potential startups
• No cost, no commitment to join
• Invest only if a company excites you

Don’t miss your chance before access closes.

Join Alumni Ventures Blockchain & Fintech Syndicate Today

Want to sponsor a newsletter? See our sponsorship information here.

News coverage written and provided by Rachel Chang.

Reads of the Week

Klarna, Chime, eToro, Gemini, Bullish, Circle, and other fintech unicorns finally went public in 2025. Read the recap from Lina's Newsletter.

Top FinTech & AI Stories of 2025: A Year of Convergence 🔗⚡

In 2024, we built the pieces. In 2025, they finally connected 🧩

Linas's NewsletterLinas Beliūnas

Exits

IPOs & SPACs

• PicPay filed for a US IPO, as the Brazilian payments platform looks to accelerate growth and deepen investor access to its consumer and merchant payments network.

M&A - Fintech

• Flutterwave acquired Mono, a Nigerian open banking startup, in an all-stock deal valued between $25 million and $40 million, bringing together two of Africa's leading fintech infra companies.
• Revolut is in talks to acquire Fups, a Turkish neobank, as part of its ongoing global expansion.
• Hg agreed to acquire OneStream, a US-based enterprise financial management platform, in a $6.4 billion deal.
• GSTechnologies acquired Finferno, a Polish virtual asset service provider, for an undisclosed amount to expand its digital asset business in Poland and Central Europe.
• Solutions by Text acquired Triple Play Pay to broaden its embedded payments and conversational commerce platform.
• GTreasury acquired Solvexia, an Australian financial automation platform, to integrate automated reconciliation and regulatory reporting services into its flagship treasury management system.
• Bridgepoint opened negotiations to acquire a majority stake in Interpath, a UK-based mid-market investor.
• PROG Holdings acquired Purchasing Power, an Atlanta-based employee benefit program, to enhance its flexible payment solutions portfolio, for $420 million.

M&A - Banks and Financial Institutions

• PNC Financial Services Group acquired FirstBank in a transaction valued at $4.1 billion, expanding its retail and commercial banking footprint in high-growth communities in Colorado and Arizona.
• OceanFirst Financial agreed to acquire Flushing Financial in a $579 million all-stock merger, creating a larger regional bank with a stronger footprint across New Jersey, Long Island, and New York.
• Zilch acquired Fjord Bank, a profitable and fully regulated Lithuanian bank, at $38 million, enabling Zilch to expand financial services across the EU.
• First Financial Bancorp acquired BankFinancial in an all-stock transaction that closed Jan 1, 2026, expanding First Financial's presence in the Chicago market with its first retail consumer-focused locations.
• Euronet Worldwide agreed to acquire CrediaBank's merchant acquiring business for an undisclosed amount to strengthen its payments network in Greece.
• Fidelity Bank sold its mortgage unit to First Federal Bank, enabling Fidelity to refocus on core banking services while First Federal expands its home-loan origination footprint.
• Citi’s board approved plans to sell AO CitiBank to Renaissance Capital, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals for Citi and is expected to close in the first half of 2026. 

SPONSORED

This Week in Fintech Exclusive: You Could Be an Investor in High-Potential Startups Like These

This Week in Fintech and Alumni Ventures are teaming up this week only to give readers early access to high-growth startup opportunities, including some of today’s most exciting Blockchain and Fintech companies co-invested alongside top VC firms like A16Z, Lightspeed & Pantera Capital.

You get:

• Curated deal flow of high-potential startups
• No cost, no commitment to join
• Invest only if a company excites you

Don’t miss your chance before access closes.

Join Alumni Ventures Blockchain & Fintech Syndicate Today

Want to sponsor a newsletter? See our sponsorship information here.