BNPL Fintech Affirm Beats Revenue Estimates and Lifts Outlook as AFRM Stock Surge in After Hours
Affirm reported revenue that exceeded analyst estimates and raised its financial guidance for the upcoming year. The buy-now-pay-later fintech company also posted a significant increase in reported profit in its latest quarter.
Affirm and Shopify Take Shop Pay Installments to Australia
Shopify's Shop Pay button now offers Affirm-powered installment payments to Australian customers. This capability extends the existing global partnership between Affirm and Shopify that launched Shop Pay Installments exclusively powered by Affirm.
Anthropic Previews Standard for AI Control of Physical Devices
A shared specification called the Model Hardware Standard enables AI agents to operate physical devices like microscopes, liquid handlers, and robotic arms in lab and manufacturing settings. Anthropic opened a research preview of this standard on Thursday, August 27.
Vanguard to Acquire AI focused Wealthech Altruist
Vanguard is acquiring Altruist, an AI-focused wealth technology and custody firm serving independent financial advisors. The definitive agreement was announced on August 26, 2026, to expand advisor tools and access to wealth advice services.
Stripe Acquires Clerky to Offer Legal Infrastructure for Startups
Stripe acquired Clerky, a legal infrastructure company founded in 2011 that helps startups with incorporation and post-incorporation documentation. The deal terms were not disclosed.
Socure hits $5.2bn valuation on investment; buys AI fraud platform Fravity
Socure reached a $5.2 billion valuation through funding from Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Wells Fargo. The company acquired Fravity, an agentic platform that automates fraud, risk, and compliance operations.
Japan Advances Plans for Blockchain enabled Instant Settlement of Stocks and Government Bonds
Japan is developing blockchain-based infrastructure to enable near-instantaneous, 24-hour settlement of stock and government bond transactions. The initiative uses distributed ledger technology to modernize the country's payment and securities settlement systems.
US State Banking Groups Form BankChain Alliance to Advance Regulated Digital Finance
A coalition of 39 state bankers associations created the BankChain Alliance, a shared blockchain network designed to modernize payment and deposit services for banks of all sizes. The initiative, announced on August 25, 2026, aims to provide industry-controlled digital finance capabilities across the banking sector.
Visa Joins Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Supported Initiative to Test Stablecoin Settlement
Visa joined a Monetary Authority of Singapore-supported initiative called BLOOM to test stablecoin settlement alongside conventional financial payment systems. The program aims to expand settlement options for banks and institutions through borderless, liquid, open, online, multi-currency capabilities.
Scalable Capital to Allow AI Agents to Manage Investment Portfolios
Scalable Capital now allows AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok to access client investment accounts for analysis and trade execution through natural-language commands. Clients can link their accounts to these external AI tools to manage their portfolios.
39 State Bankers Groups Join Forces to Build Blockchain Network
Thirty-nine state bankers associations formed the BankChain Alliance to create an industry-owned and governed blockchain network. The organization is selecting a technology partner with a targeted launch date of 2027.
Japan to form study group for blockchain-based settlement of stock and bonds
Japan's Financial Services Agency, finance ministry, and central bank plan to develop blockchain-based settlement infrastructure for stocks and Japanese government bonds. A study group will be formed to examine the technical feasibility and implementation of this national system.
Ex-Lunar founders raise €8.2m to launch AI-native audit firm Repodo
Three former Lunar executives raised €8.2 million in pre-seed funding to establish Repodo, an authorized audit firm designed with AI as its core foundation. The founders previously served as CEO, CFO, and CPO at the Nordic digital bank Lunar.
Revolut rolls out euro stablecoin
Revolut has launched EURR, a euro-backed stablecoin, in a phased rollout to eligible customers in Denmark, Poland, and Portugal. Wider availability across other EEA markets is planned for later this year.
FCA advances package of equity market transparency reforms
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority introduced reforms including a framework for an equity consolidated tape and an interim market activity reporting tool for shares. The package also includes consultation on targeted market structure reforms to enhance transparency in UK equity markets.
FCA simplifies IPO rules to support UK listings
The FCA removed certain IPO requirements to reduce compliance costs and execution risk for UK-listed companies. The reforms allow companies easier access to public markets and enable the UK listings market to compete globally.
Nayax Agrees to Acquire IPS Group
Nayax will acquire IPS Group, a smart parking technology provider founded in 2000 that processes millions of consumer payment transactions annually. The acquisition includes IPS's payment-enabled parking infrastructure combining physical meters with digital systems.
Banks Double Down on nCino AI Agents After Using Initial Credits
Banks exhausted their initial credit allocations for nCino's AI agent solutions and purchased additional credits, according to CEO Sean Desmond during an earnings call. Early adopters demonstrated sufficient demand to return for more credits after depleting their first bundles.
Intuit Says 75% of Enterprise Customers Deploy AI Agents Monthly
Seventy-five percent of Intuit's enterprise customers are deploying AI agents monthly through Intuit Intelligence. The system, introduced in October, unifies business data and provides access to a team of AI agents.
Banks and FinTechs Are Unbundling the Cross-Border Stack to Win Over CFOs
Banks and fintech companies are breaking apart traditional cross-border payment services into separate specialized components. Visa joined Singapore's BLOOM initiative to connect with other global payments firms in this evolving system.
Bluefin Teams with Visa for In-Person Payment Acceptance
A point-to-point encryption solution combining Bluefin's PCI-validated technology with Visa Acceptance Solutions now enables merchants to process in-person card payments with increased security. The unified tool serves merchants, software providers, and enterprises for card-present payment acceptance.
Scalable Capital Enables Agentic Investing, Opening Platform to ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok
Scalable Capital's platform now integrates with OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, and X's Grok for agentic investing. The Munich-based firm enabled these AI assistants to access its digital banking and investment services through the new capability announced this week.
Canada’s BMO and Scotiabank Beat Earnings Targets as Trade War Escalates
Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia reported quarterly profits exceeding estimates despite escalating U.S. tariffs affecting some customers. Both banks may benefit from new opportunities created by the trade situation.
“Amy has the what. I help with the how”: Inside Bank of America’s data and AI partnership
Bank of America manages data from 67 million clients, which motivated Amy Avery to join as Managing Director of Analytics, Modeling and Insights. The bank leverages this client information volume through a data and AI partnership structure dividing responsibilities between those who identify business needs and those who implement technical solutions.
Revolut launches dedicated AI research lab built on its own foundation model
Revolut established an AI research lab centered on its own foundation model called Pragma to develop a unified system for understanding financial behavior in real time. The lab aims to create technology that grasps the nuance of how people manage money through a single integrated approach.
Financial services industry publishes roadmap for equity issuance electronification
The FIX Trading Community and Investment Association published an industry best practice framework to modernize equity capital raising processes. The framework supports progress toward the first fully electronic IPO by establishing standardized electronic procedures for equity issuance.
Amazon Envisions Next-Generation Automated Stations to Process Packages 2.5 Times Faster
Amazon is developing automated delivery stations that process packages 2.5 times faster than current facilities using artificial intelligence and robotics. The initiative, called Project Tetromino internally, aims to automate various warehouse tasks.
Hawaii-Based American Savings Bank Files for IPO
American Savings Bank filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a proposed initial public offering. The Hawaii-based community bank made the filing public on Monday, August 24.
Instacart’s AI Assistant Turns Chitchat Into Cha-Ching
Instacart's advertising revenue exceeded $1 billion in 2025, reaching nearly 100,000 stores across more than 2,200 retail banners. The company operates sponsored content formats designed to direct shoppers toward brands.
General Intuition Aims to Raise Capital at $6 Billion Valuation to Power AI Robotics
General Intuition is raising capital at a $6 billion valuation to develop an AI foundation model for robotics applications. The company's AI model was trained using hundreds of millions of hours of gameplay data.