Аsia
Asia’s banking elite celebrated at Asian Banking & Finance Awards 2026
Asian Banking & Finance, Posted July 3, 2026
Banking leaders were celebrated for their innovation and growth that have transformed the sector across Asia.
The Asian Banking & Finance Awards 2026 marked another year of celebrating the financial institutions setting the pace in a region where the rules of banking are being rewritten in real time.
The awards programmes, presented by Asian Banking & Finance, brought together leading institutions across three programmes—the Retail Banking Awards, Wholesale Banking Awards, and Corporate & Investment Banking Awards—at a ceremony held on 2 July 2026 in Singapore.
Digital Bank Malaysia Savings Interest Rate
Fintech News Malaysia, Posted June 25, 2026
Malaysians are now spoilt for choice when it comes to digital banks, and the digital bank savings rate on offer is becoming a big reason to pick one over another.
GXBank, Boost Bank, AEON Bank, Ryt Bank and KAF Digital Bank are all in the market, giving savers more places to park their money without opening a traditional branch-based account. The sector is no longer just about new app launches either.
Bain & Company’s Ben-Clemens Balzer underscores sharper discipline in Asia’s fintech landscape
Asian Banking & Finance, Posted July 1, 2026
Bain & Company’s Ben Clemens Balzer underscores sharper discipline in Asia’s fintech landscape.
He highlighted how fintech companies are now being measured by profitability, strategic focus, and operational resilience rather than rapid growth alone.
Asia’s fintech sector is entering a more measured phase, navigating a market environment that is shaped by tighter funding conditions, rising expectations around profitability, and increasing pressure to demonstrate operational resilience. With these contributing factors, fintech companies are challenged to prove the strength of their business fundamentals.
India dominates Asian fintech market in Q1 2026
Evotek, Posted June 30, 2026
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is asking banks and other financial institutions that run digital financial marketplaces to maintain at least P1 billion in capital. The BSP said digital financial marketplaces are those that offer services such as loans, insurance, and investments from BSP-supervised financial institutions.
In a statement, the BSP said the P1 billion capital should support technology upgrades and cybersecurity measures. Banks that operate digital financial marketplaces must also comply with standards on risk governance, data governance, consumer protection, and customer due diligence, the BSP said. The BSP circular also said that financial information may be shared only with the customer’s consent through secure channels.
Qashier secures Series A funding, hits profitability milestone
Fintech News Singapore, Posted June 30, 2026
Qashier, a merchant operating system for Southeast Asia, announced a US$6.125 million Series A financing round, which consists of equity and debt. The Qashier Series A+ round was led by Cocoon Capital, IFP Securities and Blacksoil Global, and includes participation from angel investors.
Europe
Qonto and Pennylane: French fintech friends and foes
Tech.eu, Posted July 1, 2026
Qonto and Pennylane are two of France’s most well-known fintech disruptors. The Paris-based fintechs set out to disrupt particular areas of finance: Qonto- SME banking; and Pennylane- accounting software for SMEs.
Qonto, founded in 2016, four years before Pennylane, is the bigger name in France, yet Pennylane is fast-rising. Backed by the likes of Sequoia and Tiger Global, both have hoovered up hundreds of thousands of customers.
Digital euro cleared by EU Committee in payments power shift
Fintech Global, Posted June 24, 2026
The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has approved the digital euro, a central bank-backed digital currency designed to reduce Europe’s dependence on US-controlled payment networks ahead of a projected 2029 launch.
According to European Central Bank (ECB) data, Visa and Mastercard together account for 61% of card payments across the euro area, with the two US giants handling almost all cross-border card transactions in the bloc.
Kazakhstan fintech: Freedom to build a Revolut competitor in Europe?
EU Reporter, Posted June 24, 2026
FinTech leaders from Kazakhstan are leveraging their highly advanced domestic digital banking ecosystems to launch operations in Western Europe, positioning themselves as alternative players to existing neobanks. Analysts suggest that high-speed automated credit scoring is a key competitive advantage.
PayPal adds more BNPL installment options in France
EMARKETER, Posted June 25, 2026
FinTech leaders from Kazakhstan are leveraging their highly advanced domestic digital banking ecosystems to launch operations in Western Europe, positioning themselves as alternative players to existing neobanks. Analysts suggest that high-speed automated credit scoring is a key competitive advantage.
USA
US Banks Easily Pass 2026 DFAST; Increase Capital Payouts
Fitch Ratings, Posted June 29, 2026
Large U.S. banks all cleared the Federal Reserve’s 2026 stress test. The aggregate common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio fell by 1.6 pp, the smallest decline in the past seven years. Fitch Ratings continues to view U.S. banks as solidly capitalized. Based on the Dodd-Frank Act Stress Tests (DFAST) results, banks could absorb nearly $708 billion in projected losses, with the aggregate CET1 ratio falling to 11.2% before recovering to 12.7% at the end of the nine-quarter stress horizon.
The results will have much less of an impact on bank capital than in prior years because the Fed has frozen current stress capital buffers (SCBs) until Oct. 1, 2027, while it reviews the regulatory capital framework. As a result, banks were able to immediately announce their capital actions, with large publicly traded banks increasing dividends and/or share repurchases.
BNPL Pushes Private Credit Deeper Into Consumer Risk
PYMNTS, Posted June 29, 2026
Trovy, a US consumer FinTech replacing high-cost consumer debt with home equity-backed financing, has announced it has closed a $15m Series A, bringing its total capital raised to $25m.
The Series A was led by Left Lane Capital, with existing seed investors Kleiner Perkins, DCM Ventures, and Camber Creek all returning to participate in the round. The proceeds are earmarked to drive Trovy’s nationwide expansion, deepen its product capabilities, and scale the team behind what the company describes as the definitive financial home base for America’s 85 million homeowners.
LatAm
Nubank and Amazon Brazil extend partnership with flexible payments
Crowdfund Insider, Posted July 2, 2026
Nubank (NYSE: NU) and Amazon Brazil have taken their collaboration to the next level by rolling out a complete checkout experience powered by NuPay. The update coincides with Amazon Prime Day, running from July 1 to 7, 2026, and gives eligible customers a wider range of payment choices tailored to their budgets. The move builds on the partnership launched in November 2025, which initially focused on providing Nubank customers with extra credit limits for Amazon purchases.
Now, NuPay has been fully integrated into Amazon’s checkout process, allowing users to select from multiple payment methods without leaving the platform.
This creates a more flexible shopping experience for millions of Brazilians.
Ant International expands into Brazil to drive digital merchant lending
Fintech News Singapore, Posted June 20, 2026
Ant International has officially launched its localized operations in Brazil, focusing on deploying digital lending solutions for small and medium enterprises. The platform utilizes proprietary AI models to assess risk and disburse loans to underserved local merchants.
LatAm fintech investments hit five-quarter high in Q1 2026
Fintech Global, Posted June 29, 2026
Venture capital funding for Latin American fintech companies has surged to its highest level in fifteen months during Q1 2026, driven by investor optimism and macro-stabilization. Financial inclusion platforms and automated B2B lending technologies received the largest shares of capital.
