Hello Fintech Friends,

Welcome to the 3,000+ (!) new readers who’ve joined us since last week. You’re joining 223,000+ other subscribers. Today's newsletter is brought to you by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank.

Stay tuned for a big Stablecon launch on Monday. 🔥

That's all I'll say.

As you can tell by this week's news, stablecoins continue to dominate the fintech landscape, with new launches from Western Union, Citi, Zelle, Coinbase, Revolut, Fireblocks, Utila, and more....

We're beyond excited to support the ecosystem.

Speaking of supporting the ecosystem, a huge shout-out to Money2020 for another great US conference. M2020 is fintech's Coachella + Superbowl and I always appreciate the incredible group and perspectives they bring together.

Thank you for another great year 🙏

Please enjoy another week of fintech and banking news below.

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

SPONSORED

A new report from Silicon Valley Bank explores why AI adoption in fintech is a slow burn, even as AI dominates daily headlines. This lag is reflected in venture capital investment – currently, AI-enabled fintechs receive just 30 cents of every VC dollar invested in the sector. Read the full Future of Fintech report for an in-depth analysis of emerging trends, key challenges and new opportunities within fintech. Download today.

Learn more

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Financial Services & Banking

Product Launches

JPMorgan tokenized a private-equity fund on its proprietary blockchain infrastructure, enabling wealthy private-bank clients to hold digital tokens that represent ownership stakes and paving the way for its broader Kinexys Fund Flow rollout.

BBVA expanded its digital banking services by launching a “Bargeld via App” feature in partnership with Paysafe, allowing customers in Germany to deposit and withdraw cash at retail checkouts using barcodes generated in its app.

Other News

Zelle / Early Warning Services announced plans to support international payments via stablecoins by leveraging its bank-owned payments network.

The European Central Bank signaled intentions to run a pilot of a digital euro in 2027 ahead of a full launch in 2029.

Standard Chartered partnered with Dandelion Payments to offer real‑time cross‑border payout capabilities into both bank accounts and digital wallets across multiple currencies.

Citi tapped Coinbase to explore stablecoin payment solutions for its institutional clients, starting with streamlined fiat on/off ramps.

Custody banks have embraced tokenisation by offering digitized asset services, with 63 % already deploying them and many more planning to adopt.

Friedrich Merz’s pan-European stock exchange proposal sparked discussion as a way to centralize European equity markets and better compete with U.S. and Chinese capital markets.

JPMorgan began accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral, moving beyond treating crypto as a “pet rock.”

Quote of the Week

"I don't understand wealthy people who move somewhere simply to save money on taxes. Isn't the whole point of having money to not have to live in New Jersey?" - Carry CEO Ankur Nagpal

We're now just 20 days out from Fintech Nerdcon! If you weren't planning on attending, here are a few quotes that should change your mind:

• “Amazing line up! The quality is off the charts.”
• "Can’t wait. This one’s going to be killer.”
• “Already FOMO- disappointed about missing it!”
• “This is the premier builders conference.”

👉 It's not too late to grab your ticket at fintechnerdcon.com

PS - I'll be interviewing Nubank co-founder Cristina Junqueira on-stage that Wednesday; what should I ask her?

Fintech

Product Launches

IBM announced the launch of Digital Asset Haven, a platform enabling financial institutions and regulated organizations to manage digital-asset lifecycles across multiple blockchains under governance and compliance constraints.

Revolut launched 1:1 stablecoin conversions (USD ↔ USDC/USDT) with no fees or spreads, allowing users conversions up to €500,000 per 30-day period.

PayPal introduced Agentic Commerce Services, enabling merchants to accept payments via AI surfaces and integrate catalog and order management capabilities across conversational and automated shopping interfaces. The payments firm also integrated its digital wallet into ChatGPT, via the Agentic Commerce Protocol, enabling users to make purchases directly from the AI chat interface.

Western Union joined the crypto arms race by planning a dollar‑backed stablecoin (USDPT) on Solana for 2026 to offer faster, lower‑cost international transfers.

BILL launched new AI agents to automate accounts‑payable, expense reconciliation, onboarding, and other financial workflows for small and midsize businesses.

Klarna introduced new Premium and Max membership tiers that bundled perks (cashback, travel, subscriptions) without requiring high‑cost credit.

Chargebacks911 launched a Disputes‑as‑a‑Service platform, the Unified Dispute Management System (UDMS), to replace manual chargeback handling with unified, automated workflows.

Worldpay unveiled an AI-powered 3D Secure optimization service designed to increase payment approval rates while reducing friction.

dLocal debuted BNPL Fuse, the first Buy Now, Pay Later aggregator tailored for emerging markets, consolidating multiple local providers under one API and contract

Introducing Utila Link: Connecting Stablecoins to Global Banking | Bentzi Rabi posted on the topic | LinkedIn

I am beyond excited to introduce Utila Link - Our institutional network, connecting #stablecoins to global #banking and #liquidity rails. As stablecoins become a real part of global payments, the biggest challenge for institutions is no longer why, but how - how to connect, move, and manage liquidity seamlessly across chains and banks. That’s what we’ve built #UtilaLink for. Utila Link bridges digital assets with traditional banking infrastructure, enabling real-time movement of funds and liquidity between stablecoins and fiat currencies - all through Utila’s institutional-grade wallet infrastructure. This is the next step in our mission to power the global payments layer for the digital asset economy - secure, compliant, and built for scale. We have an exciting lineup of launch partners (with more to come), along with several promising developments on our roadmap. Stay tuned - this is just the beginning! Learn more: https://utila.io/link #connectingthedots | 34 comments on LinkedIn

LinkedInBentzi Rabi

SPONSORED

A new report from Silicon Valley Bank explores why AI adoption in fintech is a slow burn, even as AI dominates daily headlines. This lag is reflected in venture capital investment – currently, AI-enabled fintechs receive just 30 cents of every VC dollar invested in the sector. Read the full Future of Fintech report for an in-depth analysis of emerging trends, key challenges and new opportunities within fintech. Download today.

Learn more

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

Upcoming Events

Polygon Labs is a Web3 software company developing Polygon Proof-of-Stake network, the premiere blockchain for payments and RWAs, and Agglayer, a protocol to connect any blockchain or app for a unified cross-chain experience.

Come join our 10th Stable Salon, cohosted with them and Bridge, next Wednesday!

The Stablecon Salon Vol. 10 · Luma

Join us for the November edition (Vol. 10) of the Stablecon Salon Series, powered by Polygon and Bridge (a Stripe company), as we explore how stablecoins have…

This Week in Fintech

Job of the Week

Design Engineer

New York, New York, United States

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Other News

bunq received U.S. broker‑dealer license approval, marking its first regulatory step toward expanding into the American market.

Coinbase is targeting the $3 trillion stablecoin market through a new credit pact with Apollo to offer tokenized credit solutions.

Anthropic enhanced Claude for Financial Services by adding an Excel add‑in and new connectors to real‑time market data and portfolio analytics.

Partnership Corner

TIS rolled out a multi‑token platform built on Avalanche (via AvaCloud) to support banks and corporations in issuing and settling stablecoins and tokenized assets.

PayPal integrated Mastercard’s Agent Pay into its wallet, enabling merchants to push invoices that users could pay directly from PayPal via stored card credentials.

Conio collaborated with Ferrari to embed its digital wallet into the MyFerrari app, enabling token custody, transfers, and in‑app crypto access for Ferrari clients.

#money2020 | Fireblocks

“For us, this is a critical partnership. Cross River is at the forefront of financial technology and innovation. The ability to offer stablecoin accounts directly from your bank has been a long time coming... and Cross River will be the first bank to deliver it, powered by Fireblocks.” - Michael Shaulov At Fireblocks, we partner with bold innovators who don’t just adapt, they lead. Today at #Money2020, Cross River is bringing stablecoin infrastructure to the core of banking. Powered by Fireblocks, they’re enabling real-time, 24/7 settlement across fiat and crypto. This collaboration marks a major step forward toward the next era of banking, where stablecoin technology drives faster, more efficient payments for institutions and their clients. Together, we’re powering the future of programmable finance.

LinkedInFireblocks

The Bad News

JPMorgan accused Charlie Javice of abusing a legal‑fees indemnity clause to bill over $115 million in personal and legal costs.

Fintrac (Canada’s financial regulator) fined crypto platform Cryptomus C$177 million for failing to file over 1,000 suspicious‑transaction reports and neglecting anti‑money‑laundering compliance.

Fiserv slashed its full‑year outlook after reporting weak third‑quarter results and initiated a leadership reshuffle to reset investor confidence.