June 22, 2026 @ 10:11 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Ravelin’s Global Fraud Trends 2026 report outlines evolving fraud trends. While there is stability and even decline in some metrics, new concerns have arisen with issues like AI. Ravelin surveyed 1,504 professionals across 10 countries. Fraud still hits companies hard. At least 30% of companies… Read More

June 22, 2026 @ 8:19 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Bitcoin and stablecoins dominated digital asset discussions this past week. Bitcoin “Trump just handed the markets the biggest disinflationary event of 2026, and Bitcoin shot up on the news. But I’d be cautious about assuming this is the end of Bitcoin’s woes. There’s more weighing… Read More

June 22, 2026 @ 7:00 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Select Fintech investments and acquisitions this past week, beginning with a whopper from Deluxe. Deluxe acquires Celero for $625 million deal. Celero offers merchant solutions for small to mid-sized businesses and strategic partners, including an all-in-one suite of omnichannel payment solutions. Learn more here. Chronograph… Read More

June 20, 2026 @ 7:33 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

A new study of American debt by Spinwheel shows Americans are carrying record levels. The danger increases as they add multiple debt types. Spinwheel analyzed $2.9 billion in consumer debt from more than 20,000 borrowers between November, 2025 and this May. Simply adding one debt… Read More

June 19, 2026 @ 8:46 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Select fintech product releases and partnerships announced this week, beginning with Alchemy. Alchemy’s AgentCard integrates with Visa Intelligent Commerce The union promises a complete identity and payment stack so AI agents from any provider can make online purchases. Agents can transact using Visa-issued tokens. AgentCard… Read More

June 18, 2026 @ 6:26 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Bluwhale cofounders Han Jin and Adam Rowell quickly recognized that if consumers are going to trust AI agents to manage their financial security, they’ll need a better system than simply giving those agents blind access to banking and investment accounts. Their creation is an AI-native… Read More

June 16, 2026 @ 7:22 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Digital Assets insiders shared their thoughts on the CLARITY Act, Bitcoin, and Zcash this week. CLARITY Act and stablecoins “Stablecoins have been around for a long time. Using stablecoins for payments is increasingly important not only for the digital asset community but also for the… Read More

June 14, 2026 @ 6:26 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

New developments with MiCA and Nacha provide us with an acronym-heavy bonus digital assets Thoughts of the Week. MiCA Growing pains “Regulations are quite new, both for regulators and for the entities that are in the market. We are learning how to be fully compliant, and… Read More

June 14, 2026 @ 5:55 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The checkbooks were opened this week as several fintechs announced impressive raises. Canton Creator Digital Asset Raises $355M Andreesen Horowitz’s crypto fund, a16z crypto, led a $355 million funding round for Digital Asset, the creator of Canton, this week. Additional participants included 7RIDGE, ABN Amro,… Read More

June 9, 2026 @ 3:44 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

In the wake of Michael Saylor’s 32-BTC sale recently, the digital asset sector’s thoughts were on BTC and ETH. “Momentum is not on Bitcoin’s side this week. With $2.8 billion in cumulative outflows from Bitcoin ETFs and Michael Saylor selling 32 BTC last week, there… Read More

June 9, 2026 @ 8:17 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

An integration between Experian and Snapchat’s AI Sponsored Snaps ad offering, currently in alpha, is the latest example of companies using social media to improve financial literacy. Debbie Hsu, executive vice president of product for Experian Consumer Services, said the initiative allows a trusted brand… Read More

June 8, 2026 @ 2:10 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

A new marketing report commissioned by Fintel Connect finds that system limitations hinder financial institutions’ abilities to measure the effectiveness of their marketing spending. The Marketing ROI Gap in Banking: How Financial Institutions Spend, Measure, and (Struggle to) Prove Marketing’s Value was completed by Cornerstone… Read More

June 7, 2026 @ 11:34 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Marqeta’s 2026 State of Credit Report details a shift towards multi-product behavior by consumers and SMBs, yet many financial institutions still operate under the singular credit card mindset Consumers and SMB owners use various cards, BNPL and credit-building products for different jobs and in different… Read More

June 6, 2026 @ 2:41 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A recent National Consumer Law Center report suggests steps states can take to protect consumers in the wake of relaxed federal rules on overdraft and NSF fees. Those two charges cost Americans an estimated $12 billion in 2025. Select report overdraft, NSF data Roughly 25%… Read More

June 4, 2026 @ 9:34 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Rain COO Frederic Choquette makes a compelling case for why AI agents will play a crucial role in improving Americans’ financial literacy and health. The timing couldn’t be better, as 70% of Americans have less than $500 in savings – the definition of living paycheck… Read More

June 3, 2026 @ 11:44 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Fintech industry participants weighed in on Robinhood’s (NASDAQ: HOOD) use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents this past week. “There’s a huge opportunity for Robinhood to reshape trading behavior again through AI agents. As these systems become more deeply embedded in investing platforms, users will increasingly stop viewing… Read More

June 2, 2026 @ 8:28 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Matrix partner Matt Brown said agentic payments are coming faster and more broadly than almost any other fintech development he’s seen. For nearly 50 years, the early-stage venture capital firm has worked with startups from seed through Series A, shepherding some of the biggest concepts to fruition. As… Read More

May 31, 2026 @ 4:19 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

BTCS CSO Wojciech Kaszycki said Poland’s investigation of Zondacrypto highlights why the country must have proper cryptocurrency regulation. Without it, Poland risks falling behind in the modern economy. Polish prosecutors allege there may be 350 million złoty (€82.5 million) in possible losses through misleading clients. Zondacrypto… Read More

May 31, 2026 @ 4:06 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The frequency of AI-generated identity fraud has surpassed physical document forgery for the first time, marking another milestone in the digital fraud era, a new report from AU10TIX reveals. That is part of a strategy that sees criminals building reusable identity assets that are deployed… Read More

May 30, 2026 @ 5:47 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

BOLTS Technologies founder Yoon Auh discusses IBM’s reported quantum investment. With “quantum” appearing in more headlines, it is useful to ask a more precise question: what part of the quantum stack is actually moving? I generally organize quantum developments into six buckets: Hardware — the… Read More