Fintech
Innovation in financial technology — digital payments, neobanks, blockchain, and more.
Safaricom and GulfCap Launched Shariah Fund Through M-Pesa in Kenya
Safaricom and GulfCap Investment Bank launched Ziidi Shari’ah through M-Pesa, letting Kenyan customers start with KSh100 and add as little as KSh10 through My OneApp or USSD.
Colombia’s Bre-B completed its first year with 1.7 billion transactions
Colombia’s interoperable Bre-B network processed more than 1.7 billion transactions worth over COP262 trillion during its first 12 months, while participation expanded to 245 entities.
Airtel Money priced London flotation at £1.96, valuing business at £5.3 billion
Airtel Money set its London initial public offering at £1.96 a share, implying a £5.3 billion valuation, with admission expected on 14 October after a secondary sale of existing shares.
Plaid launched AI credit scores for specialised United States lending markets
Plaid launched LendScore 2, specialised lending models and an AI-based risk score, claiming improved prediction and approval results for lenders using consumer-permissioned cash-flow data in underwriting.
Capitolis raised $220 million as banks backed fintech expansion strategy
Capitolis secured $120 million of equity at a $1.9 billion valuation and $100 million of debt, with major banks funding expansion and its planned eSecLending acquisition.
SAP brought Tereina-powered payment execution directly into its cloud ERP
SAP launched Tereina-powered SAP Pay inside Cloud ERP, spanning 89 payment corridors and more than 40 currencies for supplier, employee and affiliate payments using conventional currencies or stablecoins.
BBVA detailed 2027 expansion plan for governed AI agents across businesses
BBVA said it would expand artificial-intelligence tools across retail, commercial, investment-banking and risk teams in 2027, supported by The Frame and more than 4,000 data specialists.
OKXICE filed to launch round-the-clock US tokenised-stock venue under SEC exemption
The OKX-ICE venture notified the SEC of plans for a round-the-clock venue covering 63 tokenised US stocks, using permissioned blockchain pools under a five-year exemption.
Commonwealth Bank signed Australian media copyright licence for workplace AI use
Commonwealth Bank agreed to pay Australian creators and publishers when more than 50,000 employees use eligible media content through workplace generative-AI tools under a new Copyright Agency licence.
Absa launched Africa’s first bank-run digital-asset custody service in South Africa
Absa launched institutional digital-asset custody for South African clients after securing regulatory approval, putting its Ripple-based platform into service on 21 September for corporates and financial institutions.
Mynt priced $845 million Philippine GCash IPO after strong demand
Mynt priced the GCash parent’s Philippine IPO at PHP6.60 a share, targeting about PHP53 billion in proceeds before the fintech company’s scheduled 20 October market debut.
Citi and Coinbase Expanded Stablecoin Payment Rails for US Businesses
Citi and Coinbase introduced two US-first services linking fiat accounts with stablecoin payments, allowing enterprise merchants to receive fiat settlement without directly managing digital assets.