Executive Summary
This week, the fintech and AI landscape is buzzing with major breakthroughs, regulatory showdowns, and shocking cybersecurity threats. Crunchbase is reinventing itself with AI-powered predictions, Mastercard is doubling down on fraud prevention, and Apple & Google are under fire in the UK. Meanwhile, the crypto world sees a historic IPO, and a dark web leak exposes one million stolen credit cards.
📩 Stay ahead of these fintech trends! Read our full report for expert insights and deeper analysis on the latest industry developments.
Let’s dive into this week’s top news!
Trends in Fintech Verticals
Top Data Breaches
1 Million Stolen Credit Cards Given Away Free On Dark Web Forum: A post on a dark web forum alleges that a threat actor known as “b1ack” is set to release a massive trove of stolen credit card data. According to the claim, 4 million credit card details will be made available for free to cybercriminals, commonly referred to as “carders,” at 8 AM Eastern Time on February 19.
While the authenticity of the data remains unverified, the post promotes the alleged leak as an opportunity for cybercriminals to access stolen financial information at no cost. The message also includes multiple links, including a Tor address, leading to the stash of compromised credit cards.
Apple pulls iCloud end-to-end encryption feature in the UK: Apple is scrapping its most advanced security encryption feature for cloud data in Britain, the company said on Friday, an unprecedented response to government demands for access to user data.
The move means iCloud backups in Britain will no longer have that level of encryption, allowing Apple to access in certain cases user data that it otherwise could not, such as copies of iMessages, and hand it over to authorities if legally compelled. With end-to-end encryption enabled, even Apple cannot access the data.
Latest Funding News
CredCore secures $16m to boost AI-driven debt investment solutions: NY-based fintech company CredCore, which aims to transform the enterprise debt landscape, secured a $16 million aggregate investment in the Series A funding round led by Avataar Ventures, with participation from Inspired Capital, Fitch Group, BellTower Partners, and senior executives in asset management and financial services.
The startup focuses on providing financial institutions with tools to enhance efficiency, compliance, and strategic decision-making when it comes to modernizing enterprise debt investing and management. For that purpose, CredCore combines a debt-focused artificial intelligence (AI) platform with the expertise of senior credit professionals.
AI-driven cybersecurity firm Nothreat secures funding at £40m valuation: Nothreat, an AI-driven cybersecurity company focused on securing IoT (Internet of Things) environments, has successfully closed its seed funding round, confirming a £40m valuation.
The investment, led by Algara Group, highlights growing confidence in Nothreat’s ability to tackle emerging AI-powered cyber threats. The exact funding amount remains undisclosed.
Nothreat has developed AIoT Defend, a cutting-edge software-based firewall tailored for IoT devices. AIoT Defend is lightweight and designed to integrate directly into edge devices, providing real-time, adaptive protection. The system leverages advanced AI trained on high-quality data to detect and neutralise cyber threats, including zero-day attacks, while simplifying security management.
Shift4 to acquire Global Blue for $2.5 billion: Payments processor Shift4 has agreed to buy travel and retail-focused financial technology platform Global Blue in a deal valued at $2.5 billion, the companies said on Tuesday.
The acquisition will give Shift4 access to Global Blue’s tax-free shopping and payments technology and help it solidify its foothold across Europe, Asia and South America.
Capital on Tap lands £750m in new funding to expand SME credit services:Capital on Tap has secured two major funding facilities worth £750m to support its expansion and further enhance financial services for small businesses across the UK and US.
The company has established a £550m Master Trust facility with BNP Paribas and Citi, making it the first non-bank credit card master trust set up in Europe since 2015. This innovative structure is expected to improve Capital on Tap’s ability to scale its lending operations, enabling better access to funding for small businesses.
Banking and Payments
KONA I Granted Mastercard Letter of Approval for IDEX Pay Biometric Cards: Global smart card and technology platform company KONA I, has obtained the Letter of Approval from Mastercard for biometric plastic (PVC) payment cards built on the IDEX Pay platform, allowing the issuance and deployment of biometric cards globally.
KONA I obtained as the world’s first, Mastercard approval for IDEX Pay biometric metal cards at the end of last year. South Korea based KONA I reports an annual production capacity of more than 60 million smart cards. They are leaders in smart cards, payment solutions and services for the financial, banking and public sectors.
Affirm Extends Exclusive Partnership With Shopify: Affirm and Shopify have announced an expansion of their long-term partnership, extending their collaboration beyond the US market.
Affirm will remain the exclusive provider of pay-over-time services for Shop Pay Instalments in the US and will now assume the same role in Canada. The agreement also includes plans for further international expansion, with the UK being a key market for future growth.
A Shopify representative noted that the extended partnership is a logical step given its track record in the US. They emphasized that Affirm’s technology and transparency align with Shopify’s goals, making it a suitable partner for supporting merchants in additional markets.
Mastercard launches One Credential in a bid to transform digital payments: Mastercard has begun rolling out a digitally connected credential that will allow consumers to pay with their choice of multiple payment options.
The new Mastercard One Credential can let consumers choose debit, installments, prepaid or credit, the company said in a Wednesday (Feb. 18) press release emailed to PYMNTS.
Users can set their payment preferences online or in an app, according to the release.
They can set preferences based on transaction type and time, per the release. For example, users can specify their checking account for expenses under $100, their credit card for expenses over $100, and installments for occasional larger purchases.
JP Morgan’s Chase has overtaken Monzo as Britain’s favorite bank: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the findings of its latest survey of some 23,000 people in Britain and Northern Ireland, carried out by Ipsos.
Among Britons, Chase secured the top spot after first entering the survey for its personal current accounts six months ago.
Some 81% of customers said they would be likely to recommend the account to friends and family, the survey found.
Wealthtech
Arta Finance Launches Tailored Wealth Management Features for Finance Professionals: Arta Finance, a digital wealth platform for accredited investors worldwide, has launched a dedicated offering for finance professionals, including advisors, analysts, portfolio managers, and brokers, who comprise over 10% of its global clientele.
Founded by former Google executives, Arta is an innovation-driven financial technology company that offers a comprehensive suite of investment products, such as private markets, structured products, and quant funds. While some of these products were once reserved for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors, Arta aims to democratize access to sophisticated market offerings with lower minimums and more favorable terms.
Insurance Technology (Insurtech)
Waterdrop Integrates DeepSeek AI to Enhance Insurance Services: Chinese insurtech company Waterdrop has integrated with DeepSeek, aiming to accelerate the company’s business growth by applying large-scale AI models to specialised insurance scenarios.
The integration is expected to result in the development of intelligent solutions that span sales support, quality assurance, risk management and product innovation.
The solution can autonomously manage voice communications and consultations for various insurance products such as accident and medical coverage.
The system is capable of engaging users in sessions lasting up to 50 minutes, the company said.
CyberCube and Feathery Partner to Streamline Cyber Insurance Workflows with AI-Powered Automation: The collaboration aims to enhance efficiency and insight within cyber insurance workflows by integrating Feathery’s advanced automation capabilities into CyberCube’s Broking Manager and Account Manager platforms. Through this partnership, Feathery’s AI-powered automation will extract critical underwriting data from mutual clients and seamlessly input it into CyberCube’s Broking Manager and Account Manager via the CyberConnect API suite. This integration is set to streamline cyber insurance placement, reducing manual processes while ensuring brokers and underwriters have access to accurate and timely data for cyber risk assessments.
Earnix Launches AI-Powered Copilot to Boost Decision-Making in Insurance and Banking: Earnix, a global provider of intelligent decisioning SaaS solutions for regulated industries, has unveiled Earnix Copilot, “Alix,” a generative AI-powered assistant designed to enhance productivity and business performance for insurance and banking organizations.
Alix is integrated within the Earnix platform, enabling users to streamline complex decision-making processes, automate workflows, and optimize pricing and underwriting strategies. The AI-driven assistant provides best-practice guidance on building Generalized Linear Models (GLMs), outlines deployment roles and responsibilities, and even generates Python code to automate data imports, run what-if scenarios, and develop predictive models.
Regulatory Technology (Regtech)
Apple and Google to face UK digital wallet competition scrutiny: he UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) have published joint feedback statement on the state of the country’s digital wallet market. Its findings highlight both the increasing reliance on digital wallets in the UK and concerns over competition, consumer protection, and innovation.
The report follows ongoing scrutiny of Apple and Google’s influence on mobile payments. Last month, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into whether the two companies hold strategic market status in their mobile ecosystems. This inquiry covers operating systems, app stores, browsers, and digital wallets, assessing the impact on market competition and consumer choice.
SEC creates Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the creation of the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU) to focus on combatting cyber-related misconduct and to protect retail investors from bad actors in the emerging technologies space. The CETU, led by Laura D’Allaird, replaces the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and is comprised of approximately 30 fraud specialists and attorneys across multiple SEC offices.
The new unit is smaller than its predecessor and reflects the US Government’s desire to rip off the regulatory straight jacket that has been strangling the cryptocurrency space.
Four banks fined $132 million for sharing UK bond market information: The UK competition regulator has fined four major banks, including Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, RBC, more than £100m after it found traders had been using Bloomberg chatrooms to share sensitive information about government bonds.
The penalties follow a long-running investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that discovered that individual traders at Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Deutsche Bank had messaged rival bankers about the buying and selling of UK government bonds – known as gilts – on specific dates between 2009 and 2013.
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency
Fold goes Public as the First Pureplay Financial Services Company Powered by Bitcoin: On February 21, 2025, Fold Holdings Inc. became the first Bitcoin-native financial services company to go public on the Nasdaq Stock Market, trading under the ticker symbols FLD (common stock) and FLDDW. The move marks a significant milestone, not only for Fold but for the broader crypto financial sector.
Backed by Thesis*, a leading venture studio in Bitcoin-native finance, Fold has evolved from an experimental startup into a mainstream financial services provider. Its business model—allowing users to earn, save, and spend Bitcoin on everyday purchases—has positioned it as a key player in the industry’s transition from speculative investment to practical financial utility.
‘Worst hack in history’ as $1.5bn in cryptocurrency stolen: Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit said Friday that it had suffered what could be the largest cryptocurrency theft in history, with hackers stealing Ethereum worth around $1.5 billion.
Ben Zhou, Bybit’s CEO, said in a livestream that the hack had affected around 401,000 Ethereum and had occurred as the company attempted a routine transfer from a cold wallet — an offline storage system — to a warm wallet used for daily trading.
“Unfortunately, this transaction was manipulated through a sophisticated attack that masked the signing interface, displaying the correct address while altering the underlying smart contract logic,” the company said in a post on X.
Artificial intelligence
Humane has killed its AI Pin less than a year after its release: Humane’s AI Pin is about to become an expensive brick, with the startup set to discontinue service less than a year after the wearable AI gadget began shipping. It seems the fairy tale is over, and they can no longer deny that their golden carriage is actually a rotting pumpkin.
In a post to Humane’s support website, the company announced that all of its AI Pins will stop working in just 10 days. All Ai Pins will stop connecting to Humane’s servers on Feb. 28, and all customer data will be permanently deleted as well, with users instructed to download anything they don’t want to lose before then. Humane has also ceased selling the gadget effective immediately.
Mastercard rolls out AI-based AML solution ‘TRACE’ in Asia Pacific: Mastercard has launched the TRACE (Trace Financial Crime) solution in the Asia Pacific, designed to combat money laundering and financial crime using artificial intelligence.
TRACE leverages payments data from various financial institutions, offering a view beyond individual banks to trace crimes across payment networks.
The company stated that the growth of Real-Time Payments (RTP) in Asia Pacific has been exploited by money launderers, while traditional detection methods such as often semi-manual or in-house AI solutions, lack the “network-level” insight needed.
Mastercard and Feedzai Team to Fight AI-Powered Scams: Mastercard has teamed with financial crime prevention company Feedzai to help financial institutions prevent scams.
“As payments continue to evolve, fraudsters are increasingly using AI to scam consumers,” the companies said in a news release Tuesday (Feb. 18). “This cost more than $1 trillion last year, with more than 50% of consumers saying they had encountered a scam at least once a week.”
To that end, Mastercard will leverage Feedzai’s fraud platform, available in more than 90 countries, to deploy its Consumer Fraud Risk (CFR) solution to customers across many key markets around the world.
Crunchbase relaunches as an AI-Powered Predictions Engine with up to 95% accuracy: Crunchbase provides information and data about private businesses, investors, and industry trends to more than 80 million users.
But now the firm is declaring historical data “dead” and relaunching as an AI-powered, predictive intelligence platform that claims to be able to show what will happen to a company in the future.
Crunchbase is betting on AI’s ability to gather, analyse and extrapolate data to make predictions about market behaviour. It processes billions of signals annually to map outcomes and offer actionable intelligence.
“We’ve tapped into a technology so powerful that it feels more like magic. Our predictions are transformative when it comes to winning in private markets — internal backtesting showed our funding predictions to have up to 95% accuracy and 99% recall,” claims CEO Jager McConnell.
Upcoming Events
- Finnovate Europe
FinovateEurope, one of Europe’s leading FinTech conferences, is set to bring together industry experts, innovators, and decision-makers for two action-packed days in London.
Date: February 25th – 26th
Location: London, United Kingdom
More Details Here - Staying Audit Ready: Simplifying Compliance Through Centralized Data Management
In today’s regulatory environment, maintaining audit readiness and compliance is a complex challenge for organizations dealing with fragmented legacy recording systems and evolving regulatory standards. In this webinar, we explore how centralized data management can transform compliance operations, enabling faster audit responses, robust data integrity, and reduced costs. Learn how adopting a unified approach to interaction data can minimize risks, streamline workflows, and prepare your organization for any compliance audit.
Date: March 4th
Location: Online (Zoom)
More Details Here
🎙️ Tech Behind Fintech Podcast Highlights
Coming Up This Week
Join us on Friday, February 28th, 2025, at 12 PM EST, for an exclusive episode of Tech Behind FinTech featuring Denis Brosnan, Portfolio CEO at CORA GROUP.
With a track record of successfully acquiring and scaling companies across financial services, insurance, and real estate, Denis brings deep insights into what makes a company an attractive acquisition target—and what separates the winners from the rest.
M&A in FinTech and Beyond
In today’s rapidly evolving market, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are reshaping the landscape of financial services. But what truly makes a company worth buying? Is it revenue growth, technology, leadership, or something more? Denis will share insider knowledge on how acquisitions are evaluated, what strategic buyers look for, and how founders can position their companies for long-term success.
🔍 What You’ll Learn:
✅ How M&A Shapes the Future of FinTech – Key trends driving acquisitions in financial services and technology.
✅ What Acquirers Really Look For – The financial, operational, and leadership factors that make a company stand out.
✅ The Growth Playbook After Acquisition – What happens after a company is bought, and how to drive transformation while maintaining stability.
✅ Lessons from a Serial Acquirer – Denis’ biggest takeaways from decades of M&A experience and how companies can future-proof their value.
Live Show Links
Website: https://techbehindfintech.com/featured/secrets-of-a-serial-acquirer-what-makes-a-company-worth-buying
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7298877684338622464
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBlILnlq2a8
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/events/618414374235510
📌 In case you missed it – Latest Episode Highlights
The Billion-Dollar Banking Problem: Can Standardization Ensure Survival?
In the last episode of The Tech Behind Fintech podcast, Hans Teslar, Executive Director of the Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN), dives deep into the massive inefficiencies within the banking sector. With banks spending over $500 billion annually on IT—60% of which goes toward integration rather than innovation—Hans explained how legacy systems and proprietary tech stacks are not only draining resources but also preventing banks from keeping pace with agile FinTech disruptors. Standardization, he argues, is now essential for banks’ survival.
This episode offered actionable strategies to help financial institutions cut costs, boost innovation, and stay competitive in an increasingly tech-driven world.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
⭐ Modular, API-driven solutions offer a pathway out of the integration maze.
⭐ Legacy banking systems cost billions and slow down innovation.
⭐ Standardization and interoperability are the future of banking.
📩 Stay informed on the latest fintech security trends! Watch the full episode for expert insights on the future of fraud prevention.
🔗 Watch now: https://techbehindfintech.com/featured/the-billion-dollar-banking-problem-can-standardization-ensure-survival
Or stream it on your favorite podcast platform! 🚀
📩 Stay Connected
This is Tech Behind Fintech’s Weekly Fintech News Review, where we recap the week’s biggest fintech news. Want this delivered as a newsletter to your inbox every week? Sign up here: https://techbehindfintech.com/subscribe
💡Have a story or insight to share? Send us an email media@techbehindfintech.com — we’d love to feature it!
