Аsia
OpenAI deepens India push with Pine Labs fintech partnership
Tech Crunch, Posted February 18, 2026
As India pitches itself as a global hub for applied artificial intelligence, OpenAI has partnered with Pine Labs to integrate AI-driven reasoning into the fintech firm’s payments stack, automating settlement and invoicing workflows in a move the companies say could help accelerate AI-led commerce in India.
The partnership will see Pine Labs embed OpenAI’s application programming interfaces — software tools that let companies plug AI into their existing systems — within its payments and commerce infrastructure, the companies said on Thursday, all with the aim of enabling AI-assisted settlement, reconciliation, and invoicing workflows.
Asia-Pacific fintech to hit $348.1b by 2031
Asian Banking and Finance, Posted February 20, 2026
Asia-Pacific’s financial technology (fintech) market is forecasted to garner $348.1b by 2031, pencilling a compound annual growth rate of 15.8% from 2026.
The fintech sector is likely to bag $167.74b this year, up 15.8% from the estimated $144.9b value for 2025, according to Mordor Intelligence.
The market’s growth will be driven by widespread mobile-first adoption, government-backed real-time payment infrastructure, and a more flexible licensing environment for digital-native banks.
DBS First APAC Bank to Pilot AI-Powered Agent Payments with Visa
Fintech News, Posted February 16, 2026
DBS has become the first bank in Asia Pacific to pilot Visa Intelligent Commerce, testing AI agents that can complete payments on behalf of customers.
The pilot, conducted with Visa, examines how agent-initiated transactions can run on existing card networks through secure, issuer-controlled processes.
Visa Intelligent Commerce combines integrated APIs and partner tools on Visa’s infrastructure to support consent-based payments initiated by artificial intelligence.
Europe
Britain’s biggest banks to create alternative to Mastercard and Visa
Independent, Posted February 17, 2026
The UK’s largest banks are set to meet this week to discuss the development of a national payments system, aimed at reducing the reliance on US networks.
Up to 95 per cent of card transactions made in the UK use systems owned by Mastercard or Visa, a report from the UK Payment Systems Regulator showed last year.
The plans have been under discussion for years, but the recent deterioration in the transatlantic relationship after Donald Trump’s threat to take over Greenland has accelerated concerns about the UK’s over-reliance on US companies that could impact the UK economy.
ConnectPay moves to in-house core banking system Mars
Fintech Futures, Posted February 17, 2026
Embedded finance company ConnectPay has migrated to a new in-house core banking system called Mars, amid “growing resilience and regulatory demands” across the industry, according to a statement.
ConnectPay says that ending its reliance on the release cycles of third-party providers will allow for better regulatory agility, stronger security processes, and product improvements “in weeks rather than months”.
As an electronic money institution (EMI) supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, the company provides business IBAN accounts, euro payments via SEPA and SEPA Instant, cross border transfers via Swift, foreign exchange, corporate cards, and payment acquiring.
Goldenpay partners with Fimple to launch digital lending
IBS Intelligence, Posted February 17, 2026
Goldenpay has partnered with a Fimple, to launch fully digital lending services, as part of its expansion beyond payments and into credit under its electronic money institution licence. The collaboration is aimed at meeting rising demand for technology-enabled financial services and strengthening Goldenpay’s position in the country’s rapidly evolving FinTech landscape.
USA
eBay partners with TrueLayer to offer Pay by Bank at checkout
Truelayer, Posted February 19, 2026
TrueLayer, one of Europe’s leading Pay by Bank networks, today announced that it has partnered with eBay, a global commerce leader, to introduce Pay by Bank at checkout, bringing instant, secure bank payments to millions of UK buyers.
With Pay by Bank, eBay’s UK buyers can pay directly from their bank accounts, authorising the transaction through their own bank app in seconds. The experience is fast, secure, and frictionless, no cards or manual entry of account details required.
Pay by Bank uses bank-grade technology to authenticate the payment. This means that buyers’ bank login information is not shared with or stored by eBay. TrueLayer securely connects the buyer’s bank to process the payment.
Payabli and Huntington Bank Join Forces to Bring Seamless Payments to the Digital Banking Experience
PR Web, Posted February 17, 2026
Payabli, the leading embedded payments and fintech infrastructure company, announced today that it is enabling The Huntington National Bank to bring fully integrated embedded payment and banking capabilities into its online banking portal. This integration empowers businesses to accept, issue and manage transactions entirely within Huntington’s digital ecosystem. This will deliver a unified, end-to-end financial experience powered by Payabli’s infrastructure.
Voltage Launches First Payment-Volume Line of Credit: Bitcoin Finality, USD Settlement
Business Insider, Posted February 19, 2026
Voltage Launches Industry’s First Programmatic Revolving Line of Credit: Bitcoin Finality with USD Settlement.
Voltage, a leader in Bitcoin infrastructure, today announced the launch of Voltage Credit, the first revolving line of credit that delivers instant payment finality and the capability to settle entirely in USD. The product lets businesses send payments that clear in seconds, not days, while paying back their credit line in dollars from a standard bank account, or in Bitcoin.
LatAm
LATAM crypto news: Argentina fintech faces setback
CryptoBank, Posted February 15, 2026
The most noteworthy cryptocurrency developments in the region this week came from Argentina, Brazil, and El Salvador.
El Salvador is planning a $100 million tokenised investment program for local SMEs, Brazil is considering a bill to eliminate crypto taxes and establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and Argentina’s fintech industry suffered a blow when lawmakers revoked a proposal that would have permitted salaries to be paid into digital wallets.
Together, these tales demonstrate how governments and businesses in Latin America are experimenting with new models for reserves, investments, and daily financial access, making the region a crucial arena for crypto policy and innovation.
Venture in LatAm Enters 2026
Latamlist, Posted February 16, 2026
By 2026, it is clear that Latin America’s startup ecosystem has moved past the post-2021 correction. Capital is back – but it is now priced around execution and governance, not narrative, and follow-on capital has become conditional rather than assumed. Early-stage capital remains active across the region, but the market has structurally changed: sharper filters, clearer expectations, and a broader mix of investors now reward companies that demonstrate operational discipline, capital efficiency, and credible paths to scale. For founders, understanding this landscape and how to set their sails is fundamental to navigate these waters.
Zippi raises $42M for its FIDC
Latamlist, Posted February 3, 2026
Brazilian fintech Zippi raised $42M for its Credit Rights Investment Fund (FIDC), marking its third investment round for the vehicle. Credit Saison joined Itaú Asset, Tesouraria do Itaú BBA, Bradesco BBI, and Valora Investimentos in the round.
Zippi is a credit platform for micro and small businesses. Zippi integrates with PIX to provide access to credit, enabling SMEs to pay suppliers, order stock, and grow their businesses.
BTG Pactual acquires Brazilian fintech meutudo
Latamlist, Posted February 13, 2026
BTG Pactual acquired up to a 48% stake in Brazilian digital credit platform meutudo, currently valued at around $200M.
Meutudo offers FGTS-backed (Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço) and CLT payroll-deducted (Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho) loans to Brazilian workers. FGTS loans allow formally employed workers to use their severance fund balance as collateral, which reduces interest rates.
Meutudo also provides credit scoring tools, loan calculators, insurance products, and digital bank accounts through its app.
