The Fintech Times

🚨 Last Call for Entries: Fintech Awards London 2026 Seeks the Capital’s Top Innovators Before April 3rd Deadline 🚨 The countdown is firmly on for the Fintech Awards London 2026, with the initial deadline for applications closing this Friday, 3rd April. ⏳ Designed to recognise the specialised talent and pioneering enterprises driving the UK's digital financial revolution, the awards will culminate in a highly anticipated ceremony at The Underglobe on 18th June. 🌍 Ahead of the deadline, organisers have issued a final call for entries across several highly competitive verticals. If you are a scaling enterprise in PayTech, RegTech, InsurTech, WealthTech, or AI, it is time to throw your hat in the ring. 🥊 The awards are also seeking the capital's top Accelerators, standout Marketing Campaigns, and the ultimate Best Place to Work. 👉 Read more & Apply Here:https://lnkd.in/gs4zzqTt #FintechAwardsLondon #UKFintech #TheFintechTimes #FintechNews #LondonTech

London Fintech Ecosystem Solidifies Through Rigorous Recognition Framework As the April deadline nears, Fintech Awards London 2026 seeks the capital’s top innovators. Join a rigorous evaluation process that defines UK financial excellence. Read More: https://lnkd.in/dBNwsp4w

🌎 View From My Market: How Latin America Is Turning Payments into Inclusion Latin America’s fintech landscape is evolving beyond digitisation, focusing on real-world financial inclusion and user experience. In insights shared by Alejandro del Rio Nicolau, Regional Director for Latin America at Paymentology, the region is entering a phase where payments are becoming a driver of value, trust, and everyday utility. Stablecoins are reshaping remittances by improving speed, cost, and transparency, while regulatory frameworks and open finance initiatives are pushing institutions to innovate responsibly. At the same time, technologies such as tokenisation, AI, and “agentic commerce” are enabling smarter, more adaptive financial experiences—supported by infrastructure designed for flexibility across markets. From Click to Pay solutions to evolving premium card ecosystems, the focus is shifting toward seamless, connected financial journeys that bridge physical and digital channels. 🔎 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dqFSdXTB #Fintech #Payments #LatinAmerica #FinancialInclusion #AI #Stablecoins #OpenFinance #DigitalTransformation

🔗 Banks Must Control On-Chain Infrastructure to Scale Tokenised Deposits Parfin is highlighting the need for banks to take control of their settlement rails as the industry moves toward tokenised deposits. Marcos Viriato, co-founder and CEO of Parfin, notes that legacy systems built in silos remain a key barrier to scaling on-chain. To address this, Parfin has developed Rayls, a permissioned blockchain designed to embed privacy and compliance at the protocol level. Viriato also emphasised that tokenised deposits and stablecoins serve complementary roles, with future value dependent on interoperability between the two. 💱 Beyond efficiency gains, programmable infrastructure could unlock new revenue streams, including on-chain FX, lending, and custody services. Looking globally, Viriato pointed to initiatives like PIX and Drex in Brazil as examples of how regulatory clarity can accelerate adoption and support the transition from pilot to production. 🌍 🔎 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/deXdCAcJ #Fintech #DigitalAssets #Blockchain #Tokenisation #Payments #Banking #Innovation

🌐 Northern Ireland’s rise as a global fintech and RegTech hub As financial institutions continue to prioritise governance, risk and compliance (GRC), regions that combine talent, innovation and strong collaboration are becoming critical to the future of financial services. In this interview, Mark Walker speaks with Peta Conn, Director for GB and Europe at Invest Northern Ireland, about how the region has positioned itself as a centre for RegTech, AI and financial technology innovation. With a strong graduate pipeline, close collaboration between industry and academia, and the presence of global firms such as Citi, PwC, Allstate, FinTrU, FS.com and Neueda Technologies, Northern Ireland continues to strengthen its role in the global fintech ecosystem. Coupled with proximity to the EU and a new three-year innovation strategy, the region is well placed for continued growth. 🔎 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eKhVSihs 🎥 Watch the full interview: https://lnkd.in/dAaZa8GN #Fintech #RegTech #NorthernIreland #Innovation #AI #STEM #FinancialServices #GRC #TechEcosystem #InvestNI #GlobalFintech #EmergingTech #DigitalTransformation

🏛️ FCA Streamlines Oversight to Modernise UK Payments The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has replaced multiple portfolio letters with a single annual Regulatory Priorities report to provide clearer guidance for payments firms. Matthew Long, Director of Payments and Digital Assets at the FCA, says the move supports innovation in open banking, digital payments, VRPs, and emerging areas like agentic AI payments. 📊 The FCA is also strengthening customer fund protection with its Safeguarding Supplementary Regime (May 2026) and consolidating Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) functions for a more streamlined framework. 🔎 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dHqqq7p4 #Fintech #Payments #UKFintech #FCA #OpenBanking #FinancialServices #Innovation

🌍 UAE Wealth Ecosystem Sees Surge in New Entrants and Digital Asset Focus In this episode, Mark Walker speaks with Oscar Orellana-Hyder🪢, co-founder of Cordell Partners 🪢, on the evolving fintech, investment, and family office landscape in the UAE. The region is seeing a notable influx of international investment managers and family offices, with around 150–170 new firms establishing in @Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). Orellana-Hyder highlights growing interest in private credit, hedge funds, and virtual assets, alongside a generational shift in family offices toward more diversified and institutionalised investment strategies. He also points to increasing regulatory oversight from bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority [VARA], as well as ongoing challenges around sourcing specialised talent. 🔎 Read and watch the full discussion: https://lnkd.in/dG2D7PHc #Fintech #UAE #WealthManagement #DigitalAssets #FamilyOffices #Investment #VARA #DIFC #ADGM

🤖 Meta Acquisition of Moltbook Signals Shift to Agentic Commerce Infrastructure Meta’s acquisition of Moltbook signals a move toward agent-driven commerce, according to Riskified. With Moltbook integrated into Meta Superintelligence Labs, the shift points to more structured infrastructure for programmatic transactions. As AI agents begin to initiate payments, traditional human-based verification methods may become less effective. Coby Montoya, Director of Market Intelligence at Riskified, highlighted the growing need for “agentic telemetry” — validating an agent’s authority and intent — alongside stronger safeguards to address emerging fraud and risk challenges. The development also raises broader questions around regulation and liability as autonomous transactions scale. 🔎 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dcgkmUy5 #Fintech #AI #DigitalCommerce #Payments #Cybersecurity #Innovation #AgenticAI

🔗 Lean Technologies Secures Saudi Arabia’s First Open Banking License From SAMA Lean Technologies has been granted the first Major Payment Institution license for Open Banking by the Saudi Central Bank – SAMA, marking a key milestone in the Kingdom’s financial infrastructure as Open Banking moves from sandbox to full commercial deployment. Led by CEO and co-founder Hisham Al-Falih, Lean Technologies has connected over one million bank accounts and analysed more than one billion transactions, supporting a growing ecosystem of financial services. The infrastructure is already being utilised by companies including Tabby | تابي, Tamara, Abdul Latif Jameel United Finance, Sukuk Capital | صكوك المالية, and Tasheel Finance, enabling enhanced KYC, improved risk assessment, and data-driven lending models. Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, CEO and co-founder of Tamara, highlighted how access to verified financial data is expanding credit access and improving underwriting outcomes. As part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions, this development reflects SAMA’s approach to scaling financial innovation while maintaining strong regulatory oversight. 🔎 Read more: https://lnkd.in/ddR7NvHz #OpenBanking #Fintech #SaudiArabia #SAMA #Vision2030 #FinancialInclusion #DigitalFinance #Payments #Innovation

🚀 Stability in a Volatile World: How Mastercard is Taking Stablecoins Mainstream For over a decade, blockchain promised a revolution in payments, but volatility often stood in the way of daily utility. That is now changing. We recently sat down with Mete Güney Guney, the executive leading Mastercard’s partnerships with non-financial institutions, to discuss how stablecoins are evolving from speculative assets into vital tools for the global economy. In our conversation, Mete highlighted a major shift: while 90% of stablecoin volume has historically been linked to crypto trading, the focus is rapidly moving toward solving real-world pain points—specifically in cross-border remittances. By offering instant settlement, transparency, and lower costs, stablecoins are addressing the inefficiencies that have long plagued international money transfers. Key takeaways from our discussion: 🔷The Trust Factor: Why regulation and compliance are the "most important currency" for adoption. 🔷 Infrastructure: How Mastercard is bridging the gap between Web3 and traditional finance through partnerships with industry leaders like Circle and Paxos. 🔷 The UAE Advantage: The pivotal role of forward-thinking regulators like Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority [VARA] and the Central Bank of The UAE in fostering innovation . Mastercard is building the highway for digital assets, ensuring they are interoperable, safe, and accessible to millions of merchants worldwide. 📄 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/d8RT6VwJ 🎧 Watch the full interview: https://lnkd.in/dQvmXHkE #Fintech #Stablecoins #Mastercard #Crypto #Payments #Remittances #DigitalAssets #Web3 #TheFintechTimes