Klarna-fication of Wall Street 💸
Future of Fintech - Edition #157 (18th-24th March, 2025)
This week’s fintech drops are lowkey - until you zoom in. 👀 From shared bills to sandboxed tokens, the stack is evolving from the bottom up. Quiet moves, loud impact.
✔️ Smart systems reduce outage risks
✔️ Payment methods split, sync, and simplify
✔️ Central banks flirt with token tech
Step inside the engine room—there’s a lot firing up. 🔩
Before we dive deeper into the stack...
The crypto world has been in the headlines all year. Especially US crypto: front and centre in debates, reports, and roadmaps.
But the gap between headlines and reality? Still wide open.
Could strategic policy moves transform the US into crypto's global epicentre? Here’s a breakdown of what's needed beyond BTC reserves, and why empowering entrepreneurs to build in America might be the missing piece.
Dive into the complete analysis here.
Pledge your access to fintech analysis and exclusive insights ⚡
What’s on the fintech menu today?
📖 The Week’s Featured Story: Brazil's Business Banking Arena: Key Offerings from Itaú, Nubank, Inter & C6
🌟 Fintech Fiesta: The Week's Hot 10!
🌐 ‘Byte’ Buzz: Fintech highlights, sorted by segment!
🔗 Link Up: Your gateway to resourceful links!
Featured Story of the Week 📰
Brazil's Business Banking Arena: Key Offerings from Itaú, Nubank, Inter & C6
Brazil’s leading banks are taking distinct routes to serve the country’s diverse business segment—from MEIs and SMEs to internationally active firms. While Itaú sticks to its full-suite, fee-based model geared towards larger businesses, digital banks like Nubank, Inter, and C6 Bank are reshaping business banking with zero-fee accounts, simplified onboarding, and embedded global tools. Their strategies aren't identical—each is carving out its own niche across account types, payment infrastructure, and international capabilities:
🔑 Here are 3 standout patterns we uncovered in our deep dive:
One account, or tailor-made options? Banco Inter and C6 Bank offer dedicated MEI, SME, and global accounts, while Nubank chooses a one-size-fits-all PJ account for all business types.
Payments and acquiring solutions define business banking success. Itaú continues to dominate enterprise banking, but C6 Bank and Banco Inter are gaining traction with integrated acquiring solutions, free POS access, and payment automation tools—lowering costs for SMEs that rely on seamless transactions.
The global business game is heating up. Banco Inter and C6 Bank are pushing boundaries with multi-currency accounts, USD & EUR transactions, and international debit cards. Itaú’s international banking services remain strong, but not without the high fees and complex onboarding processes.
How do digital banks compare to incumbents in business banking and payments? What acquiring and payment solutions are becoming table stakes in Brazil's business banking?
We break it all down—features, fees, gaps, and growth plays—in our latest blog:
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This week’s fintech roast—hot, bold, and packed with insights! ☕🔥
The Week's Hot 10!♨️🔟
Focusing on User Convenience
⤷ Nubank launched a shared boleto feature in its app, allowing customers to split payments among multiple users, aiming to simplify bill sharing.
⤷ Monzo developed a backup bank system to cover outages, ensuring customers can continue essential banking activities during service disruptions.
Green Lights from Regulators
⤷ Trustly becomes the first payment provider to support Sweden's central bank instant settlement system, enabling faster and more secure transactions.
⤷ Open banking payment provider Atoa gets approved as an authorised payment institution by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.
Growth Milestones
⤷ Klarna officially released its IPO prospectus and secured Walmart's OnePay business, aiming to expand its services and solidify its presence in the U.S. market.
⤷ Fiserv acquired CCV, a payment solutions provider in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, driving growth in the European market.
Catering Diverse Payment Needs
⤷ Cash App rolled out Afterpay's 'Pay Over Time' offering, allowing customers to split purchases into interest-free installments.
⤷ Jack Henry and Moov collaborated to implement Mastercard Move, aiming to enable fast and seamless domestic payments.
Digital Asset Innovation
⤷ The Swiss National Bank explores the concept of synthetic Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to assess its potential benefits for the financial system.
⤷ Dubai Financial Services Authority launched a tokenization sandbox to foster innovation and regulatory understanding in the realm of digital assets.
Now, for the ‘byte’-sized fintech buzz –
Pay now, pay later, pay anywhere! Embedded finance is stretching deeper into daily life and crossing borders without breaking stride.
DoorDash partnered with Klarna to offer US customers flexible payment options. This move aims to enhance convenience for customers as DoorDash expands into diverse product offerings.
Affirm and Adyen extended their existing partnership to the UK market, enabling merchants to offer flexible payment options to their customers. This collaboration aims to enhance the payment experience for UK consumers.
Open Finance is not just opening doors; it’s locking in traction as more players lean into smarter, automated money flows.
Capital on Tap selected GoCardless for Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) to offer customers more flexibility through open banking payments.
Tink reached a milestone with 10,000 merchants adopting its Pay by Bank solution, highlighting the growing demand for open banking payments across Europe.
Digital Finance is stepping up its global play, moving deeper into emerging markets and banking corridors abroad.
Visa and MISA partnered to expand digital payments in Vietnam, aiming to enhance financial management efficiency and support compliance with upcoming tax regulations, contributing to the country's digital transformation.
OakNorth acquired US-based Community Unity Bank to expand internationally, and strengthen its presence in the US market and serve the needs of its users.
The pipes are getting smarter - Fintech Infrastructure is dialling up the speed and stripping down the friction across payments and credit.
Worldpay and Visa introduced a single-click checkout to the UK, aiming to deliver seamless payment experiences for consumers by simplifying the online purchasing process.
Equifax UK launched a cloud-native intelligence suite for commercial lenders, designed to help clients address key business challenges with increased speed and agility.
DeFi is connecting crypto rails to real-world money moves and getting serious about scale.
Bank of Korea initiated tokenized deposit CBDC trials involving 100,000 participants in April, aiming to evaluate the feasibility and efficiency of digital currency implementation.
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) joined the ERC3643 Association to support the standardization and adoption of real-world asset tokenization.
And that's a wrap 👋
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Fintech Brew!
As a reward for making it this far, enjoy a curated list of awesome fintech resources to keep your curiosity cuppa full to the brim. Cheers to continuous learning!
🔗 Link Up! –
The Payments Power 50 Annual 2025-26 Report - The Power 50 X Payments Card & Mobile
What’s next for core banking? Report - IBM Consulting X Red Hat X Thought Machine
How embedded payment solutions are powering fintech growth and loyalty Blog - Marqeta
The Infrastructure Inversion: How Stablecoins Are Silently Rebuilding Global Finance Blog - EQT Ventures
OakNorth’s Challenger Bank Playbook Report - WhiteSight
How Affirm is Scaling Distribution with Embedded BNPL Blog - WhiteSight
If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog, Fintersections, where our team members analyse the convergence of fintech with the world.
And lastly, to stay updated on everything fintech and web3, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️