Checkout.com, a leading digital payments provider, today announced that the State of Georgia Department of Banking and Finance has officially accepted its application for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter. This reinforces the company’s commitment to deliver a powerful payments platform specifically designed for US enterprise merchants.

Iliad Solutions has added two experienced specialists to its team as the business continues to expand its market-leading offering in payment testing and certification. They join Iliad Solutions at a time of significant growth, following major customer wins in 2025, driving demand for additional talent within the company.

Advancing the preparation of a digital euro, the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced the conclusion of the framework agreements for each of the five digital euro negotiated procurement procedures (also see the notice view in the Official Journal of the EU). A cooperation between Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) partnering with Nexi and Capgemini has now been selected as the first ranked tenderer in the framework agreement to provide an end-to-end solution to make digital euro payments offline available to users and merchants across Europe. The ability to pay offline, with no third-party involvement, is a key feature of the digital euro, which would ensure privacy and resilience as only cash does today.

YFM Equity Partners (YFM), the UK’s leading growth-focused investor, has appointed Neil Inskip as Head of New Investments, North across their Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham offices, strengthening its regional leadership team and supporting the firm’s continued expansion in backing entrepreneurial businesses.

The crypto industry is facing a fresh reckoning over security following a series of high-profile breaches. Some of the largest breaches included hackers stealing $1.5bn from Bybit, Phemex losing out on $69m in a crypto heist, and WazirX losing £230m. Despite the rapid mainstreaming of digital assets, vulnerabilities in exchange infrastructure continue to leave billions of pounds at risk.

G2 Risk Solutions (G2RS) today announced the completion of its transaction with EverC, expanding G2RS’ global reach and adding proven AI-powered risk solutions to its product suite.

Tap Global Group plc (AIM: TAP), an innovative digital finance hub that brings money payments and crypto settlement services together in a single user-friendly app, is pleased to announce a landmark strategic partnership with Moorwand, a UK FCA regulated Electronic Money Institution (EMI). Through this partnership, Tap will integrate Moorwand's comprehensive Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform to provide customers with dedicated GBP accounts, complete with Sort Codes and Account Numbers, and EUR accounts with individual IBANs.

Global Fintech leader, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR), today announced that it has delivered full ISO 20022 cash processing capabilities for its global bank and broker/dealer clients. This positions clients well ahead of the November 2025 Swift Standard Release.

Eltropy, the leading AI-powered digital conversations platform for community financial institutions, announced today that First City Credit Union has selected its Unified Platform to improve how it communicates with members across all departments and channels. The partnership is a key step in the credit union's progress towards becoming a digital-first organization.

Bud Financial (“Bud”), the AI platform that turns banking data into actionable insights, today announced the release of the Bud MCP server, enabling rapid development of AI agents that benefit from a deep, real-time understanding of users’ finances. Bud’s MCP server lets AI applications integrate seamlessly with Bud’s platform so that banks can rapidly deploy AI internal and customer facing systems while safely leveraging their core customer data.

Workday has today announced Pay Transparency Analyzer powered by Kainos. This new solution will help organisations confidently navigate global pay equity regulations, including the EU Pay Transparency Directive, and foster fair and transparent pay practices.

dtcpay, a licensed Major Payment Institution (MPI), today announced a strategic partnership with WalletConnect , the connectivity layer for the financial internet. The collaboration will accelerate the adoption of secure, frictionless onchain payments and reinforce dtcpay’s role in shaping the next generation of onchain finance.

Allianz UK has named Glyn Hughes as managing director of Allianz Personal Broker, a move that strengthens its senior leadership team within the personal lines business. Hughes will assume the role in February 2026, subject to regulatory approval, and will report to Serge Raffard, managing director of Allianz Personal Lines.

Zurich North America has partnered with Nearmap to integrate AI-powered property intelligence and high-resolution aerial imagery directly into its U.S. Middle Market underwriting systems. The collaboration is designed to help Zurich underwriters assess risk more efficiently and tailor coverage with greater precision.

PEAK:AIO, the data infrastructure pioneer redefining AI-first data acceleration, today announced that the company has raised over $6.8M in Seed Round funding led by Pembroke VCT with a $5 million investment, with participation from Praetura Ventures, and also joined by a Silicon Valley investor. PEAK:AIO will use this funding to continue investing in AI to grow its groundbreaking solution for the data storage sector and further expand its global presence.