Artificial intelligence is steadily moving from being an assistant to becoming an active participant in business operations. For fintech startups, that shift creates an opportunity to rethink products that have traditionally focused on reporting rather than execution.

Copenhagen-based Franklin is betting that finance should be one of the first areas to make that transition. The company has now secured €1.6 million (DKK 12 million) in a seed funding round led by True Collective, with participation from several angel investors. The fresh capital will support further development of its AI capabilities while helping the company expand both its engineering and commercial teams.

Building finance tools that do more than track spending

Franklin focuses on e-commerce businesses, offering payment cards designed for merchants with significant advertising budgets. The platform combines spending infrastructure with software that automatically collects, matches and categorizes receipts and transactions from platforms including Meta, Google and TikTok.

The goal is to reduce one of the more repetitive parts of running an online business. Instead of manually gathering receipts and reconciling transactions, merchants can automate much of the bookkeeping process directly within the platform.

According to CEO and co-founder Nikolaj Bomann Mertz, Franklin sees AI becoming the foundation of its product rather than simply another feature. The company’s long-term vision is to move beyond dashboards and reporting toward AI agents capable of carrying out finance tasks on behalf of customers.

Early traction supports broader European ambitions

Franklin says more than 250 Danish companies already use its platform, primarily e-commerce businesses. The startup has also begun expanding into the Netherlands, giving it an early foothold outside its home market.

Investor True Collective believes automation will play an increasingly important role in financial operations for online merchants. Franklin aims to position itself at the centre of that shift by building a platform where AI can reconcile, categorize and manage routine financial workflows while businesses retain oversight.

The new funding represents another milestone in Franklin’s journey. While the vision of fully agentic finance is still developing across the industry, the company is investing early in the technology it believes will define the next generation of financial software for European e-commerce businesses.

Key takeaways

• Franklin has raised €1.6 million in a seed funding round led by True Collective.
  
  
• The company builds payment cards and AI-powered finance tools for e-commerce businesses.
  
  
• Its platform automates receipt collection, transaction matching and bookkeeping tasks.
  
  
• More than 250 Danish businesses already use Franklin, with expansion underway in the Netherlands.
  
  
• The new funding will accelerate AI development and support hiring across engineering and commercial teams.

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Zurich’s Swiss Fintech Awards 2026 made one thing very visible. Across every finalist, AI is no longer a separate capability. It sits directly inside banking operations, ERP systems, and compliance-heavy workflows.

The shift is not about experimentation anymore. It is about implementation at scale inside regulated environments.

AI inside real financial infrastructure

Every finalist at this year’s awards used AI in a core part of their product. Fraud prevention, automation, governance, and operational workflows all relied on AI systems in some form.

What matters here is the placement. AI is not being added as a layer on top of existing fintech products. It is being embedded into the processes those products are built to run.

That changes how fintech companies design, deploy, and maintain systems, especially in regulated markets like Switzerland.

Porters and BLP show two execution paths

In the Early Stage category, Porters was awarded for its work on agentic AI in banking operations. The company focuses on automating back-office banking processes through structured AI-driven workflows. The direction is clear: reduce manual operational load and standardise execution for financial institutions.

In the Growth Stage category, BLP was recognised for ERP automation using AI agents and digital twins of existing enterprise systems. Their approach avoids replacing core infrastructure. Instead, it layers automation on top of systems companies already run, enabling end-to-end process handling without full system overhauls.

Both winners point to the same underlying pattern. AI is being used to reduce complexity in operations rather than introduce entirely new operating environments.

Open Banking as long-term infrastructure work

The Fintech Influencers of the Year award went to Sven Siat and Mike Hofmann for their long-term contribution to Open Banking in Switzerland.

Their work around bLink and the development of a standardised Open Banking ecosystem reflects a different type of fintech progress. Less visible product execution, more foundational infrastructure building across the financial sector.

The recognition highlights how ecosystem-level work is now part of what the industry values alongside startup growth.

Key takeaways for fintech startups

A few clear signals from this year’s winners:

• AI is now a baseline requirement in fintech product design
  
  
• The strongest use cases are tied to operational and enterprise workflows
  
  
• Integration with existing banking and ERP systems is more important than replacement
  
  
• Agent-based automation is becoming a practical model, not a concept stage idea
  
  
• Infrastructure work, especially in Open Banking, is gaining long-term recognition

Closing thought

This year’s awards point to a fintech sector focused on execution inside existing systems rather than rebuilding them from scratch. AI is now part of how those systems function day to day.

If you are working on a fintech story and want to shape how it is positioned in this shift, reach out to Your Fintech Story.

fomo has announced a $75 million Series B round led by Index Ventures, with participation from Union Square Ventures and existing investor Benchmark. The funding comes just one year after launch and gives the company more resources to pursue a bold goal: making on-chain trading accessible to everyday consumers.

The pitch is straightforward. Blockchain technology has created new ways to own, trade, and discover financial assets, but the experience remains too complex for most people. Wallets, bridges, gas fees, and multiple networks still create barriers that keep many potential users on the sidelines.

Making Crypto Feel Less Like Crypto

fomo’s approach is to hide that complexity. Users can sign up with an email address or Apple ID and access assets across different blockchain networks without dealing directly with the infrastructure underneath.

That focus on simplicity appears to be resonating. According to the company, more than 625,000 people have joined the platform since launch. During that period, users generated over $4 billion in trading volume and more than 110 million social interactions.

One statistic stands out in particular. Over 68,000 users purchased crypto for the first time through fomo using Apple Pay, representing roughly $25 million in purchases. For a sector that often struggles to move beyond crypto-native audiences, attracting first-time participants matters.

Trading Meets Social Networking

Beyond simplifying access, fomo is betting that finance can become a more social experience. The platform allows users to see what others are buying and holding in real time, build a financial identity, and grow an audience.

The idea reflects a broader shift happening across digital finance. Users increasingly expect products to combine utility, community, and discovery in a single experience rather than treating them as separate activities.

Whether this becomes the dominant model remains to be seen, but investors clearly believe the opportunity is significant.

Key takeaways for fintech startups

For founders watching this raise, several lessons stand out:

• Complex technology often wins more users when the complexity becomes invisible.
  
  
• First-time customer adoption can be as important as transaction volume.
  
  
• Social features continue to find their way into financial products.
  
  
• Investors remain interested in companies that make emerging financial infrastructure easier to use.
  
  
• Distribution and user experience can be as important as the underlying technology.

If you’re building a fintech startup and looking for help with strategy, positioning, fundraising preparation, or growth, reach out to Your Fintech Story. We’re always happy to help ambitious founders turn good ideas into scalable businesses.

Artificial intelligence continues to reshape financial services, and lending is emerging as one of the most practical areas for adoption. Lama AI, an AI-native loan origination platform designed for community and regional banks, has announced a Series A funding round led by EJF Ventures. The investment brings the company’s total funding to more than $20 million and comes as Lama AI reports strong growth and increasing adoption across the banking sector.

The company states that its platform is already being used by dozens of community and regional banks, including SouthState Bank, Colony Bank, Capital Community Bank, First Bank, Gate City Bank, and Luminate Bank. Since launch, the platform has supported the processing of billions of dollars in loan volume.

Addressing Long-Standing Lending Challenges

For many community and regional banks, growth is often constrained by the operational complexity of lending. Small business and government-guaranteed loans can be particularly challenging because the effort required to underwrite a smaller loan is often similar to that of a much larger one.

Traditional loan origination systems were largely designed before the emergence of modern AI technologies. As a result, banks often face rigid workflows, extensive manual processes, and limited flexibility when dealing with the many variations that exist across borrowers, documentation requirements, and lending policies.

Lama AI aims to address these challenges through automation across the lending lifecycle. The platform supports processes ranging from borrower intake and document collection to underwriting, decisioning, closing, and portfolio monitoring. Importantly, the company emphasizes that the technology operates within a bank’s existing credit policies, approval structures, and compliance requirements, supporting rather than replacing human decision-making.

Expanding AI Adoption Across Commercial Lending

While many institutions initially adopted Lama AI to improve small business and SBA lending workflows, the platform has expanded to support a broader range of commercial lending products. These include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate, construction lending, and other specialized financing segments.

The company’s modular deployment model may also appeal to banks that want to introduce AI-driven automation without replacing their existing technology infrastructure. This approach allows institutions to target specific operational bottlenecks while maintaining continuity across their lending operations.

Growing Demand Drives Next Phase of Expansion

The new funding will support the expansion of Lama AI’s go-to-market and customer success teams while enabling continued investment in AI capabilities built specifically for regulated financial institutions.

The announcement highlights a broader trend across banking: institutions are increasingly looking for ways to improve lending efficiency, enhance borrower experiences, and scale operations without significantly increasing headcount. As AI adoption continues to mature, platforms focused on practical, workflow-driven outcomes may play an increasingly important role in helping banks achieve those goals.

Key takeaways for fintech startups

• AI adoption is increasingly focused on solving measurable operational challenges rather than purely digital transformation goals.
  
  
• Lending remains one of the most impactful areas for automation due to its complexity and high manual workload.
  
  
• Community and regional banks continue to seek technology that improves efficiency without disrupting existing processes.
  
  
• Modular deployment models can reduce adoption barriers for regulated financial institutions.
  
  
• Strong customer traction and proven production use cases remain critical drivers of investor confidence.

At Your Fintech Story, we help fintech startups turn complex industry developments into actionable growth strategies. Whether you are refining your business model, preparing for fundraising, or building your market positioning, reach out – our consulting and coaching services can help accelerate your journey.

Fasset has raised $51 million in a Series B funding round, reinforcing investor confidence in its infrastructure-first approach to financial access in emerging markets. The company operates a stablecoin-powered financial platform that provides USD accounts, cross-border payments, and Shariah-compliant investment products across more than 125 countries.

The raise signals continued momentum in building regulated financial rails that aim to reduce friction in cross-border money movement, particularly in regions where access to stable currencies and traditional banking infrastructure remains uneven.

Building an AI-enabled financial network layer

A key focus of the new capital is the development of Fasset’s Own Network, an AI-enabled infrastructure layer designed to connect fragmented financial ecosystems. The network targets interoperability between banks, payment companies, telecommunications providers, and on- and off-ramp services.

Rather than operating as a standalone application layer, the company is positioning itself as connective infrastructure. The goal is to enable more seamless integration of financial services across jurisdictions, especially in markets where legacy systems and regulatory fragmentation slow down adoption.

Investor backing and strategic direction

The Series B round included participation from SBI Group, Investcorp, and Arz Portföy, alongside additional strategic partners. The composition of investors reflects a continued institutional interest in infrastructure-focused fintech models that combine regulated access with blockchain-based settlement mechanisms.

For Fasset, this backing supports both geographic expansion and deeper investment into its core infrastructure layer, which is increasingly centered around automation and AI-driven orchestration of financial flows.

Positioning within emerging market finance

Fasset operates as a regulated platform combining stablecoin infrastructure with traditional financial services such as Visa card issuance and global payment rails. Its positioning is anchored in bridging gaps between digital assets and conventional banking systems, particularly for entrepreneurs and individuals in emerging economies.

The company’s model reflects a broader shift in fintech toward infrastructure consolidation, where platforms are no longer only distribution layers but also orchestration layers for cross-border liquidity and compliance.

Key takeaways for fintech startups

• Infrastructure-first fintech models are attracting continued institutional capital, especially in emerging markets
  
  
• AI-enabled orchestration is becoming a core layer in financial infrastructure, not just a product feature
  
  
• Interoperability between banks, telcos, and payment providers remains a key scaling challenge
  
  
• Stablecoin-based systems are increasingly positioned as settlement layers for cross-border payments
  
  
• Regulatory alignment and multi-jurisdiction coverage are critical for scaling financial platforms globally

Fasset’s latest raise reinforces a clear direction in fintech infrastructure: convergence between AI, stablecoin settlement, and regulated financial access in fragmented markets.

If you are building in fintech infrastructure or scaling across emerging markets, Your Fintech Story helps translate complex financial products into clear strategy, messaging, and growth narratives. Reach out.

Meta Platforms has announced a $900 million investment in Indian fintech company CRED, valuing the business at $4.5 billion. At the same time, CRED founder Kunal Shah will take over as the global head of WhatsApp, marking a significant leadership change within Meta’s messaging business.

The announcement highlights the increasing importance of India within Meta’s global strategy and reflects a broader trend of technology platforms seeking deeper involvement in financial services ecosystems.

Why the Deal Matters

The investment represents one of the largest recent transactions in India’s fintech sector. CRED’s valuation has increased from its previous funding round in 2025, although it remains below the company’s peak valuation reached in 2022.

According to the companies, Meta will receive a minority stake in Bengaluru-based CRED. The arrangement does not provide Meta with access to CRED customer data, an important consideration as regulatory scrutiny around data privacy continues to grow globally.

For Meta, the investment strengthens its connection to one of India’s most prominent fintech companies. India remains WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than 500 million users, and the platform has been expanding its role in payments and business services alongside its core messaging capabilities.

CRED’s Position in the Indian Fintech Market

Founded in 2018, CRED operates a members-only platform focused on consumers with strong credit profiles. Over time, the company has expanded beyond credit card bill payments into lending, insurance, wealth management, and lifestyle services.

The company states that it serves 17 million members each month and processes more than 40% of India’s credit card bill payments. It also manages more than 240 billion rupees of lending assets on behalf of partner financial institutions.

The new capital is expected to support further expansion across product categories while strengthening leadership and operational capabilities.

Leadership Changes at WhatsApp

The appointment of Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp globally is equally significant. Will Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp for seven years, will transition into a new role within Meta.

Shah’s move places a fintech entrepreneur at the helm of one of the world’s largest communication platforms. The decision suggests that Meta sees increasing strategic value in combining messaging, payments, and business services into a more integrated user experience.

As digital platforms continue to evolve, leadership with experience in financial ecosystems may become increasingly relevant to future growth strategies.

Key takeaways for fintech startups

The announcement offers several lessons for fintech founders and executives:

• Strategic partnerships between fintech companies and large technology platforms continue to attract significant investment.
  
  
• Scale, customer engagement, and ecosystem positioning remain critical drivers of valuation.
  
  
• Payments infrastructure can serve as a foundation for broader financial services expansion.
  
  
• Leadership talent from fintech is increasingly influencing global technology companies.
  
  
• India continues to strengthen its position as a key market for fintech innovation and digital financial services.

Growing a fintech company requires more than a strong product. It requires clear positioning, scalable growth strategies, and the ability to build trust across customers, partners, and investors.

Your Fintech Story helps fintech startups refine their strategy, strengthen market positioning, and accelerate sustainable growth. Contact us to discuss how we can support your next stage of expansion.

Cross-border payments remain one of the most complex areas of financial services, particularly when money moves between developed and emerging markets. Regulatory requirements, fragmented banking systems, foreign exchange settlement, and local compliance obligations continue to create operational challenges for global businesses.

Against this backdrop, Trace Finance has announced a $32 million Series A funding round led by CoinFund, with participation from investors including Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Valor Capital, Jump Capital, Paxos, and HOF Capital.

The funding will support the company’s efforts to expand its financial infrastructure platform across the United States, Latin America, APAC, and other regulated markets.

Building Infrastructure for Complex Payment Corridors

Trace Finance focuses on providing infrastructure for cross-border banking, payments, foreign exchange, and settlement. The company was founded with a focus on connecting the United States and Latin America, a region often characterized by high fees, operational friction, and fragmented payment systems.

According to the company, this corridor became the foundation for a broader strategy aimed at helping large technology companies, payment providers, exchanges, and financial institutions connect global liquidity with local financial systems.

Trace states that it has processed more than $10 billion in cross-border transaction volume and has become the primary provider for the four largest global payments companies operating in Latin America.

Regulatory Expertise Becomes a Competitive Advantage

The international payments landscape continues to evolve as regulators place greater emphasis on compliance, licensing, and trusted financial infrastructure.

Trace’s strategy centers on operating through regulated structures while providing banking connectivity, settlement capabilities, and compliance infrastructure across multiple jurisdictions. The company currently operates across more than five regulated markets, including the United States, Brazil, broader Latin America, and APAC regions.

As institutional payment flows grow in scale and complexity, providers that can combine technology with regulatory expertise are increasingly becoming critical infrastructure partners.

Supporting the Next Phase of Global Money Movement

The new capital will be used to increase transaction capacity, expand into additional regulated corridors, and strengthen products focused on FX, compliance, banking connectivity, and international settlement.

Trace also revealed that it is developing new settlement products designed to further connect local financial systems with global payment liquidity, including solutions that leverage stablecoin technology.

The announcement highlights a broader trend across financial services: the growing demand for regulated infrastructure capable of supporting real-time global money movement while remaining connected to local financial systems.

Key takeaways

• Trace Finance raised a $32 million Series A led by CoinFund.
  
  
• The company has processed more than $10 billion in cross-border transaction volume.
  
  
• Trace serves the four largest global payments companies operating in Latin America.
  
  
• The funding will support expansion across regulated markets including the U.S., LatAm, and APAC.
  
  
• Regulatory compliance, settlement infrastructure, and banking connectivity remain key growth areas in global payments.
  
  
• Trace is developing new settlement products that include stablecoin-enabled capabilities.

Your Fintech Story helps fintech startups turn industry developments into content that builds credibility, attracts customers, and supports growth. Reach out, we’re here to help.

Flutterwave has announced a strategic investment as part of its Series E funding round, marking another significant step in the company’s long-term vision for digital payments across Africa. The announcement also includes a deeper partnership focused on integrating RLUSD, Ripple’s USD-denominated stablecoin, alongside Ripple’s payments infrastructure and the XRP Ledger into Flutterwave’s payment ecosystem.

The move reflects a broader trend across global fintech: stablecoins are increasingly being viewed not as experimental technology, but as practical infrastructure for moving money faster and more efficiently across borders.

Building a Stablecoin-First Payments Infrastructure

For Flutterwave, this announcement is less about launching a new product and more about advancing a roadmap that has been developing over several years. The company has gradually expanded its capabilities in cross-border settlements, remittances, and digital asset infrastructure.

By integrating RLUSD into its payment rails and remittance products, Flutterwave aims to create a more streamlined settlement process for businesses operating across multiple markets. The partnership also plans to leverage the XRP Ledger for transaction clearing and connect Flutterwave’s network with Ripple Payments through a unified API layer.

The objective is straightforward: reduce friction in cross-border transactions while improving settlement speed, liquidity, and predictability.

Why This Matters for African Businesses

Cross-border payments remain one of the most persistent challenges for businesses operating across Africa. Settlement delays, foreign exchange costs, and fragmented payment systems can create operational complexity for companies trying to serve customers in multiple markets.

Flutterwave believes stablecoin-enabled infrastructure can help address some of these challenges by providing faster settlement and more consistent access to liquidity.

If successful, the partnership could strengthen the payment infrastructure available to African businesses while creating new opportunities for companies engaging in international trade and commerce.

A Signal of Market Maturity

The investment also highlights growing institutional confidence in digital asset infrastructure when paired with established payment networks. Rather than positioning stablecoins as an alternative to traditional finance, the partnership focuses on integrating digital assets into existing payment flows.

With more than $500 million raised to date and over $50 billion in transaction value processed, Flutterwave is continuing to invest in infrastructure designed to support the next phase of digital commerce across Africa.

Key Takeaways

• Flutterwave received a strategic investment as part of its Series E funding round.
  
  
• The company plans to integrate RLUSD, Ripple Payments, and the XRP Ledger into its payment infrastructure.
  
  
• The partnership is focused on improving cross-border settlement speed, liquidity, and efficiency.
  
  
• Stablecoins are becoming an increasingly important part of enterprise payment strategies.
  
  
• The initiative reinforces Africa’s growing role in the evolution of global digital payments.

As payment infrastructure evolves, fintech companies face new strategic decisions around digital assets, cross-border payments, partnerships, and regulatory readiness. We can help with that. Reach out.

Monument Technology, the technology subsidiary of Monument Bank, has secured more than £18 million in seed funding, significantly exceeding its original £10 million target. The raise marks another milestone for the company as it expands its Banking-Platform-as-a-Service (BPaaS) offering and prepares for its next phase of growth.

The company was spun out from Monument Bank in 2023 with a clear objective: make the bank’s technology infrastructure available to other financial institutions. Rather than building and operating their own banking technology stacks, firms can use Monument Technology’s white-label platform to launch and manage banking products more efficiently.

Turning Banking Infrastructure into a Product

Monument Technology’s platform enables financial institutions to offer products such as deposits, savings accounts, lending, and mortgages through a single integrated solution. The platform also connects with third-party providers including Mambu and Salesforce, bringing together core banking capabilities, payments, and customer-facing channels.

This approach reflects a broader trend across financial services. As customer expectations rise and digital transformation remains a priority, many institutions are looking for ways to modernise without undertaking large-scale technology rebuilds. Infrastructure providers are increasingly stepping in to fill that gap.

For Monument Technology, the opportunity lies not only in providing technology but also in helping financial institutions reduce implementation complexity and accelerate time to market.

Growth Plans Already Underway

The newly raised capital will be used to support domestic and international expansion, further platform development, and faster implementation timelines for clients. The company has also indicated that new payments and current account capabilities are in development.

Alongside the funding announcement, Monument Technology highlighted recent commercial progress. During the fundraising process, it completed the migration of its first client, Ecology Building Society. Castle Trust Bank has also signed with the provider, with implementation expected to be completed by early 2027.

Perhaps most notably, the company has already started its Series A fundraising process and says commitments have been secured at a higher share price and valuation.

For a business that only became an independent technology company three years ago, the latest funding round suggests investors see continued potential in banking infrastructure as a service.

Key Takeaways

• Monument Technology raised more than £18 million in seed funding, surpassing its £10 million target.
  
  
• The company was spun out of Monument Bank in 2023 to commercialise its banking technology platform.
  
  
• Its BPaaS platform supports deposits, savings, lending, and mortgage products.
  
  
• The new funding will support expansion, platform development, and faster client implementations.
  
  
• Monument Technology has already begun its Series A fundraising process.

Building great financial technology is only part of the challenge. Communicating your value proposition, attracting partners, and scaling efficiently are equally important. Reach out if you need help.

Capsa has raised $18M in Series A funding, co-led by TX Ventures and Pivot Investment Partners, with participation from Bek Ventures. Existing investors Outward VC, Antler, and Cornerstone VC also joined the round, alongside angel investors including Paul Forster, co-founder of Indeed.

The funding will be used to scale adoption across larger private capital firms, expand the company’s engineering and product teams in London and New York, and further develop its agentic capabilities within investment workflows.

Building infrastructure for institutional intelligence

Capsa is positioning itself as an AI operating system for private capital firms, designed to consolidate and structure institutional knowledge across the entire investment lifecycle.

The platform indexes internal firm data, including memos, conversations, and investment decisions, and makes it accessible in context during live deal workflows. The intention is to move beyond static knowledge storage and create a system where prior decisions and insights can be retrieved and applied directly in ongoing analysis.

Rather than functioning as a traditional data repository, the system is designed to evolve with usage. Each new deal, memo, and outcome contributes to a growing layer of structured institutional intelligence.

A broader shift in private capital technology

Private capital has historically lagged in building infrastructure for knowledge management, despite being highly data-driven. Most firms still rely on fragmented tooling that does not fully capture how decisions are made or how insights evolve over time.

Platforms like Capsa reflect a broader shift toward systems that treat institutional knowledge as a structured and reusable asset. The focus is moving from document storage toward operational intelligence embedded directly into deal execution.

Key takeaways for fintech startups

• Private capital firms continue to struggle with fragmented institutional knowledge across systems and teams
  
  
• Capsa is building an AI layer that structures internal firm data into reusable investment intelligence
  
  
• The platform is designed to integrate directly into live deal workflows rather than act as a passive repository
  
  
• Venture interest reflects growing demand for AI infrastructure in high-density financial decision environments
  
  
• The market trend is shifting toward systems that capture and operationalise institutional memory

Your Fintech Story helps fintech companies translate complex products and funding milestones into clear, credible narratives that resonate with investors and customers. Reach out.