Hello Fintech Friends,

Welcome to the 1,414+ new readers who’ve joined us since last week. You’re joining 158,000+ other curious fintech subscribers. Today's newsletter is brought to you by our friends at Fintech Meetup.

This week, Julie and Jillian launched our new AI x Fintech podcast series!

🎧 The Fintech and AI Series: All Things Fraud

Hi everyone! Jillian and I are thrilled to be kicking off our podcast series on all things AI. In our premier episode, we’re joined by Naftali Harris, CEO and Founder of Sentilink, a company that stops fraud for over 300 banks and financial institutions, including 10 of the 15 largest

This Week in FintechJulie VerHage-Greenberg

Also this week, the US Senate proposed American stablecoin legislation, which we covered in The Weekly Stable:

The Weekly Stable (Vol 3)

Hi stable subscribers, Sometimes when you ask, the internet delivers. I was curious whether anyone had put together a killer guide for businesses to implement a stablecoin strategy, and the Nilos founder sent me this primer on everything from business case development to provider selection to pilot and launch. I

This Week in FintechNik Milanović

And our friends at Intercom just published their 2025 Customer Transformation Report: Check it out here.

The 2025 Fintech Customer Service Transformation Report

The 2025 Fintech Customer Service Transformation Report details strategies to scale support during peak demand, stay compliant with evolving regulations, and deliver VIP experiences that drive retention.

Lee BurkhillProject Executive

Please enjoy another week of fintech and banking news below.

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

Ticket prices go up at MIDNIGHT! ⏰

Don't miss out on your last chance to get tickets at $500 off the full rate, and make sure that you secure your spot to register for meetings at Fintech Meetup 2025! The process begins on Monday, so time is running out to take part in the biggest and most valuable meetings program in fintech!

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

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🚀 Product Launches

Apollo unveiled plans to create a marketplace for trading high-grade private assets, aiming to promote more liquidity in private credit markets. The news sparked discussions about potentially diluting the advantages of private credit, such as lower volatility and customized contracts.

CME Group announced the launch of options on Bitcoin futures, providing investors with additional tools to manage exposure to Bitcoin price volatility.

📰 Other News

President Trump announced plans for a US sovereign wealth fund, directing the commerce and treasury secretaries to come up with a plan for such a fund within 90 days, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent telling reporters that the fund will be up and running within the next 12 months. The one issue is that SWFs – which invest excess government balances in value and growth assets to maximize the return on those balances – are typically maintained by governments with budget surpluses, which the US hasn't had since 2001. Will this also bring the US' first balanced budget in two decades and end to Modern Monetary Theory?

Santander Bank announced that its Openbank digital platform surpassed $2 billion in total deposits since its U.S. launch in late 2024.

Payments Canada reported substantial progress on its Real-Time Rail payments system after engaging new technology partners, moving beyond the halfway point in the technical build.

Black Rock wants to tokenize stocks and the FDIC plans to issue new guidance to allow banks to custody crypto.

Most of the world's public equity trading – 51.8% – now doesn't happen on public exchanges, but rather happens in dark pools that obscure prices and large trading blocks.

PNC Bank faces a lawsuit alleging that it improperly increased interest rates on certain loans, leading to higher payments for borrowers.

President Trump dismissed Rohit Chopra, the director of the CFPB, who had implemented initiatives to make the financial system fairer for consumers, drawing both praise and criticism. A federal judge also temporarily blocked President Trump's plan to offer financial incentives for federal employees to resign.

Elon Musk gained access to the Treasury's federal payment system through his Department of Government Efficiency, raising concerns about potential misuse of sensitive information and leading to legal challenges. Democrats called for an investigation into potential security breaches related to his takeover of certain federal agencies, expressing concerns over unauthorized access to classified information and personal data.

💬 Quote of the Week

💻 Fintech

🚀 Product Launches

Kraken launched a crypto payments service, enabling merchants to accept cryptocurrencies seamlessly.

Brava, a London-based fintech startup, introduced a stablecoin management system to facilitate efficient handling of stablecoin assets for businesses.

Bud Financial unveiled 'Intelligent Search', aiming to enhance customer AI experiences by providing more personalized financial insights.

Okoora launched embedded finance services in the U.S. market, offering businesses integrated financial tools to manage currency risk and payments.

Small business-focused neobank Mercury launched automatic receipt matching.

Ticket prices go up at MIDNIGHT! ⏰

Don't miss out on your last chance to get tickets at $500 off the full rate, and make sure that you secure your spot to register for meetings at Fintech Meetup 2025! The process begins on Monday, so time is running out to take part in the biggest and most valuable meetings program in fintech!

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

🍻 Upcoming Events

Stablecon

Stablecon

💼 Job of the Week

Bridge Jobs

Bridge Jobs

Share your job with 2,000+ fintech people in our Slack #hiring-and-jobs channel.

📰 Other News

Wise expanded its international money transfers into Mexico.

Bouncebit announced plans to integrate Hashnotes' USYC for the RWA credit market.

Robinhood enhanced its platform to help UK investors gain easier access to US markets, reducing obstacles and offering features like 24/5 trading.

Virgin Money's chatbot is mad at customers for typing 'virgin.'

🤝 Partnership Corner

Jack Henry partnered with Moov to implement Visa Direct, enabling fast and seamless payments for their clients. Moov also announced that it will power payments for President Trump's Truth Social platform and Truth+ video streaming service.

Fold expanded its relationship with Visa to accelerate Bitcoin rewards card programs, aiming to make Bitcoin the preferred consumer reward.

👎 The Bad News

Banking-as-a-service provider Solid is shutting down as its sole bank partner Lewis & Clark looks to move out of BaaS.

Cushion, a fintech company known for helping Americans negotiate bank and credit card fees, shut down after failing to reach sustainable scale.