Аsia
Indonesia’s Artajasa ties up with Ant International on cross-border payments
Asian Banking and Finance, Posted January 27, 2025
PT Artajasa Pembayaran Elektronis, an Indonesia payment system infrastructure provider, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Ant International for cross-border payments and AI-powered transactions.
Under the MOU, Artajasa and Ant International will work together to expand the reach of digital payment services in Indonesia.
Pine Labs announces partnership with Sri Lanka based Pan Asia Banking Corporation
Business Standard, Posted January 28, 2026
To deploy full-stack Credit Card Management System for Pan Asia Bank.
One of Sri Lanka’s largest listed entities, the Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC) and global fintech platform Pine Labs have today announced a partnership that will see the fintech major implementing an end-to-end card management platform for the bank.
Under this partnership, Pine Labs will deploy a full-stack Credit Card Management System for Pan Asia Bank. This platform will support high transaction concurrency and uptime, giving the bank flexible and scalable product configurations. Pine Labs’ Credit+ platform will be used for end-to-end issuance of credit cards for the bank, including card issuance, activation, billing, payment processing, reconciliation, and settlement.
Adyen and Raptor Team Up to Simplify Operations for Singapore’s Service Sector
Adyen, Posted January 27, 2026
Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses today announced its partnership with Raptor, an established point-of-sale (POS) provider serving over 7,000 service and hospitality businesses in Asia Pacific since its inception in 2001.
Powered by Adyen for Platforms, Raptor now offers streamlined payments services to its platform users. Embedded payments is increasingly a priority for small and medium businesses (SMB) – according to a YouGov survey commissioned by Adyen, 75% of Singaporean SMBs surveyed consider payments reconciliation across channels a major pain point.
Europe
Volt partners with ClearBank to power latest generation of merchant account capabilities across UK and Europe
Clear Bank, Posted January 29, 2026
Volt, the real-time, rail-agnostic money movement platform, today announces its new strategic partnership with ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking. The collaboration enables Volt to offer critical enhancements to its account-based cash management capabilities, in the UK and Europe, moving open banking payments a step closer to realising their full operational potential.
Volt now offers ClearBank-powered EUR and GBP payment accounts, virtual IBANs and named accounts to enterprise merchants and PSPs using its real-time, bank-direct payment initiation services. This enables businesses to track every stage of the payment value chain, automate reconciliations, and initiate payouts and refunds.
These capabilities, previously unavailable to global merchants using real-time payments at scale, enhance open banking by adding essential features beyond payment initiation, such as payouts, refunds, user-level fund attribution, and full lifecycle management. In turn, they bring open banking payments a step closer to achieving feature parity with cards.
Lunar raises €46 million to accelerate Nordic growth
Lunar, Posted January 21, 2026
Nordic challenger bank Lunar today announced a €46 million capital increase to scale its fast-growing business banking, develop its lending proposition, and support continued expansion across the Nordics.
The €46 million investment is led by a mix of existing and new shareholders and will accelerate momentum in business banking alongside the build-out of lending and expansion into Norway and Finland. Together, these priorities enable Lunar to pursue growth and profitability in parallel as it continues to scale its role as a Nordic full-service bank.
UK banks commit £11bn SME growth lending package
Fintech Futures, Posted January 29, 2026
Five major banks have committed to a lending package totalling £11 billion to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK.
On 26 January, senior executives from Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC UK, and Santander, which collectively serve half of all British businesses, finalised the agreement with the UK government during a roundtable in Westminster, London.
UK fintech Guavapay enters compulsory liquidation following winding up petition by Mastercard
Fintech Futures, Posted January 28, 2026
Guavapay, a UK-based payment solutions provider, has entered compulsory liquidation, according to a statement from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The FCA, which has authorised Guavapay to issue e-money and provide payment services since 2019, says: “On 21 January 2026, Guavapay Limited entered compulsory liquidation. The Official Receiver, an officer of the Insolvency Service, is its liquidator.”
USA
Mastercard pushes tokenisation as payments go passive
Asian Banking and Finance, Posted January 26, 2026
Mastercard is betting on a future where payments are largely automatic, leveraging tokenisation and artificial intelligence (AI) agents to reduce friction in everyday transactions.
The company envisions a system in which users rarely need to input payment details—similar to how a Grab ride automatically charges an e-wallet or card. Matthew Driver, Mastercard’s executive vice president for Services in Asia-Pacific, said the model relies on both technology and consumer trust.
“For us, it’s making sure that we provide the interoperability across systems and that we’re able to leverage the trust that comes with our brand,” he told Asian Banking & Finance.
January 2026: Top five new launch stories of the month
Fintech Futures, Posted January 29, 2026
January saw several new fintech initiatives announced, including a new securities platform and quantum computing JV. Here, we run through five of the top new launch stories in January, featuring Nymbus, NYSE, Fiserv, Fujitsu, and more.
Apple buys Israeli startup Q.ai as the AI race heats up
Tech Crunch, Posted January 29, 2026
Apple, Meta, and Google are locked in a fierce battle to lead the next wave of AI, and they’ve recently increased their focus on hardware. With its latest acquisition of the AI startup Q.ai, Apple aims to gain an edge, particularly in the audio sector.
As first reported by Reuters, Apple has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup specializing in imaging and machine learning, particularly technologies that enable devices to interpret whispered speech and enhance audio in noisy environments. Apple has been adding new AI features to its AirPods, including the live translation capability introduced last year.
LatAm
Revolut launches full banking operations in Mexico in first expansion outside Europe
Reuters, Posted January 28, 2026
Britain’s Revolut said on Tuesday that it has officially launched full banking operations in Mexico, marking its first bank established outside of Europe as the fintech accelerates its expansion into high-growth markets.
Revolut Bank S.A. IBM has become the first independent digital bank to secure a Mexican banking license through a direct application and has capitalized its operations with over $100 million — more than double the regulatory minimum.
Brazil’s PicPay Reaches $2.5 Billion Valuation in US IPO
PMNTS, Posted January 29, 2026
Brazilian FinTech PicPay has raised $434 million in its U.S. initial public offering.
The company announced Wednesday (Jan. 28) evening that it had sold 22.8 million shares at $19 each, the high end of its target price range. PicPay is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Thursday (Jan. 29) morning.
A report by the Financial Times (FT) notes that the IPO — which valued PicPay at $2.5 billion — is a pivotal move for owners Wesley and Joesley Batista, who have been seeking to list their global meatpacking business JBS on the American market.
The LATAM fintech revolution has arrived in the US
Tech Crunch, Posted January 25, 2026
What do Google, AT&T and The Miami Dolphins have in common? A LATAM FinTech.
It is obvious to say that things have changed dramatically for many businesses and companies since the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumer behavior changed and many industries had to adapt their processes, logistics, strategies and products.
