Fintech · Industry brief

Visa agreed to acquire behavioral fraud-detection firm BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash, while Mastercard completed its acquisition of stablecoin payments infrastructure provider BVNK for up to $1.8 billion. Additional cross-border fintech deals include OpenFX acquiring Global Ledger to launch multicurrency accounts for fintechs and digital-asset companies, and Mintoak acquiring UAE-based rewards technology provider ICC Loyalty. In the banking sector, the Federal Reserve approved Banco Santander's $12.3 billion acquisition of Webster Financial, American Family Insurance agreed to acquire Bowhead Specialty for $1.2 billion, and Maybank agreed to acquire Ageas's remaining stake in Etiqa for 4.83 billion ringgit ($1.18 billion). On the IPO front, Airtel Money prepared for a London listing at a $10 billion valuation, PalmPay considered a Hong Kong IPO while seeking $200 million in private funding at over $1 billion valuation, and Robinhood Ventures Fund II filed to raise up to $200 million in a U.S. IPO. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority eliminated a seven-day waiting period for publishing connected research and eased information-sharing requirements to reduce the time and cost of U.K. IPOs.

Fintech companies secured over $700 million in financing this week across multiple deal types. Notable equity rounds included Ingenico raising €150 million ($173.7 million) from a PIMCO-led group, AI accounting platform Rillet reaching unicorn status with a $100 million Series C led by ICONIQ, and Indian fintech Navi completing its first institutional round with a $100 million investment from Prosus. Debt financing also contributed significantly, with AI-agent payments startup Natural securing a $100 million credit facility, Brazilian payroll lender Kesh raising R$550 million ($110 million) in equity and debt, and Philippine consumer lender BillEase adding a ₱1 billion facility from Philippine National Bank. Additional funding rounds included Baselayer's $20 million Series A for KYB technology, and Brazil's Pátria Investments closing a R$550 million venture fund focused on Latin American technology companies.