Executive Summary
This week’s news spans AI innovations, crypto policy shifts, regtech battles, insurtech advancements, payments evolution, massive funding rounds, and alarming cybersecurity threats.
📩 Stay ahead of these fintech trends! Read our full report for expert insights and deeper analysis on the latest industry developments.
Trends in Fintech Verticals
Top Data Breaches
Malicious PyPI Packages Stole Cloud Tokens Before Removal: Cybersecurity researchers have warned of a malicious campaign targeting users of the Python Package Index (PyPI) repository with bogus libraries masquerading as “time” related utilities, but harboring hidden functionality to steal sensitive data such as cloud access tokens.
Software supply chain security firm ReversingLabs said it discovered two sets of packages totaling 20 of them. The packages have been cumulatively downloaded over 14,100 times –
Elon Musk says X was knocked offline by ‘massive cyberattack’ that originated in ‘Ukraine area’: Billionaire entrepreneur and DOGE chief Elon Musk claimed Monday that X went dark as the result of a “massive cyberattack” that originated in the “Ukraine area.”
“We’re not sure exactly what happened,” Musk told Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow about the apparent operation targeting his social media platform.
“But there was a massive cyberattack to try to bring down the X system, with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area,” the world’s richest man added.
More than 300,000 US healthcare patients impacted in suspected Rhysida cyber attacks: Two US healthcare organizations have warned threat actors were able to breach their internal systems, exposing more than 300,000 individuals.
On 7 March 2025, Kansas-based healthcare provider Sunflower Medical Group published an alert stating that over 220,000 patients had their personally identifiable information (PII) accessed in a data breach.
An advisory published by the firm revealed it discovered suspicious activity within its network on 7 January 2025 and engaged a leading security firm to conduct an investigation.
The subsequent investigation found an unknown third party had accessed Sunflower’s systems around 15 December 2024 and was able to copy files from the firm’s internal systems while doing so.
Latest Funding News
Digital wallet firm Curve secures £37m to accelerate growth and launch Curve Pay: Curve, a digital wallet provider known for its innovative approach to payment management, has raised £37m in a funding round led by Hanaco Ventures.
Existing investors, including Fuel Ventures, IDC, Outward VC, and Lord Stanley Fink, also participated in the round.
The fresh capital injection is set to support Curve’s strategic growth, with a strong emphasis on achieving profitability and launching new products in 2025. Among its key developments, the company is preparing to introduce Curve Pay, a digital wallet alternative for both Android and iOS users. The investment will also bolster Curve’s market expansion, infrastructure improvements, and customer experience enhancements.
Trust & Will Completes $25M+ Series C Round: Trust & Will, the nation’s leading digital estate planning platform, today announced the successful close of its $25M+ Series C funding round.
The investment was led by Moderne Ventures, with participation from Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, UBS, Erie Strategic Ventures, and other strategic investors. FT Partners acted as the company’s financial and strategic advisor.
The company provides an online platform for creating legally valid estate planning documents, including wills and trusts. It is designed to make estate planning more accessible, affordable, and efficient for families and financial professionals.
The fresh funding will be used to expand the company’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, equipping financial advisors, attorneys, and other professionals with enhanced tools for multi-generational estate planning. Additionally, Trust & Will plans to strengthen its data infrastructure by leveraging insights from its user base to drive further innovation and create tailored financial solutions.
WealthTech platform FINNY secures backing from Josh Brown: FINNY AI Inc., the AI-powered prospecting and marketing platform built specifically for financial advisors, today announced that “Downtown” Josh Brown, chief executive officer (CEO) of Ritholtz Wealth Management, has personally invested in the company and joined its advisory board. In this capacity, Brown will provide insights that help steer FINNY’s product roadmap, supporting continuous improvements to meet the evolving prospecting and marketing needs of financial advisors.
“FINNY is solving the biggest challenge advisors face today: finding and connecting with the right clients,” said Brown. “Advisors are great at building relationships, but they don’t have the time—or the right tools—to consistently find new prospects. They don’t want to sit around cold-calling or sifting through generic databases and spreadsheets. FINNY changes that. It’s smart, automated and actually built for how advisors work today. I’m pumped to help Eden and the team take this to the next level.”
Binance gains $2bn boost from MGX in record-breaking investment:Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange, has secured a historic $2bn investment from Abu Dhabi-based AI and advanced technology investor MGX.
This deal represents the first institutional investment in Binance, the largest single investment ever made into a digital asset company, and the biggest transaction settled in digital asset (stablecoin).
The investment grants MGX a minority stake in Binance, marking its first foray into the digital asset and blockchain sectors. MGX aims to support blockchain’s transformative impact by partnering with Binance, a leader in the digital asset industry. The firm sees this as an opportunity to foster innovation at the intersection of AI, blockchain, and finance.
Regulatory AI firm Norm Ai raises $48m to enhance compliance automation:Norm Ai, a leading company in regulatory AI solutions, has raised $48m in a funding round backed by Coatue, Craft Ventures, Vanguard, Blackstone Innovations Investments, Bain Capital, New York Life Ventures, Citi Ventures, TIAA Ventures, and Marc Benioff.
This latest investment brings the company’s total funding to $87m over the past 18 months.
The company specialises in legal and compliance automation, helping enterprises seamlessly integrate regulatory checks into their business operations. Norm Ai’s approach, described as “compliant by design,” ensures that compliance is proactively embedded in AI-generated content, internal communications, agreements, marketing materials, and sales processes. By treating compliance as a core business function rather than a separate process, Norm Ai aims to streamline regulatory adherence across entire enterprises.
Banking and Payments
FCA seeks feedback on scrapping £100 contactless limit: In a move first trailed in January, the FCA says it is looking into whether removing the limit could benefit consumers, merchants and economic growth in the UK by giving people and businesses greater choice, flexibility and smoother purchases.
“Making regulation less prescriptive would also give firms greater control and could promote innovative payment methods or fraud prevention solutions,” claims the watchdog.
One option under consideration is allowing firms who use technology to reinforce strong fraud controls to set their own limits, as happens in the United States.
Visa says new anti-scam unit thwarted $350 million in attempted fraud: Visa says that its newly-formed scam disruption practice prevented more than $350 million in attempted fraud in 2024.
The new department, which sits under Visa Payment Ecosystem Risk and Control (Perc), brings together a cross-disciplinary team, including engineers and artificial intelligence developers working alongside former law enforcement, military professionals and data visualization experts.
“Visa has invested over $12 billion dollars in technology over the last five years, including to reduce fraud and enhance network security,” says Paul Fabara, chief risk and client services officer at Visa. “At the same time, we have made a significant investment in our best weapon against scammers: our people. By combining our proprietary technology with the unique experiences and perspective our talent brings, we can more effectively identify and defeat even the savviest scammers.”
Klarna Grabs Big Affirm Customer Ahead Of IPO: Swedish fintech firm Klarna will be the exclusive provider of buy now, pay later loans for Walmart, taking a coveted partnership away from rival Affirm, CNBC has learned.
Klarna, which just disclosed its intention to go public in the U.S., will provide loans to Walmart customers in stores and online through the retailer’s majority-owned fintech startup OnePay, according to people with knowledge of the situation who declined to be identified speaking about the partnership.
The Swedish firm has also formally applied with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘KLAR‘.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint book-running managers; BofA Securities, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, Societe generale and UBS Investment Bank will act as bookrunners; and BNP Paribas, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company, Nordea Bank Abp, Rothschild & Co, Wedbush Securities and Wolfe | Nomura Alliance will act as co-managers for the proposed offering.
Key figures from the prospectus include:
* $105B in GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume)
* $2.8B in annual revenue
* $21M in net profit – first profitable year
* 93M active consumers globally
* 675K merchants on the platform
Wealthtech
Devexa launches secure trading community feature within broker platforms: Devexa, the AI-powered trading assistant developed by Devexperts, has unveiled a new community feature designed to enhance trader engagement within broker ecosystems.
The feature provides a secure environment where traders can exchange insights, discuss market movements, and collaborate on investment strategies—all without leaving their broker’s platform.
Unlike third-party communication platforms such as Discord and Telegram, Devexa’s new community feature offers a controlled and secure space. It eliminates the risks posed by scammers, competitors, and unverified users, ensuring a safer environment for traders to interact. By hosting these discussions within their own ecosystems, brokers can enhance trust and security while fostering a collaborative trading experience.
Insurance Technology (Insurtech)
Sixfold Launches Groundbreaking AI Accuracy Validator for Insurance Underwriting: Sixfold, a pioneer in generative AI solutions for insurance risk analysis, has unveiled a revolutionary AI Accuracy Validator, designed to bolster underwriter confidence in AI-driven risk assessments.
The first-of-its-kind technology addresses the critical need for transparency and consistency in AI applications within the insurance underwriting sector.
The new Accuracy Validator enables Sixfold to continuously refine its AI output, ensuring underwriters receive factually accurate, reliable, and actionable insights for every risk assessment. This development signifies Sixfold’s commitment to delivering trustworthy and dependable risk evaluations, a crucial factor in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI in insurance.
Marsh Launches Cyber Echo Encore, Expanding Cyber Insurance Capacity to US$45 Million: Marsh, a global leader in insurance broking and risk advisory, and a subsidiary of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), has announced the launch of Cyber Echo Encore, an enhanced version of its flagship Cyber Echo insurance facility.
The new offering provides Marsh clients with the option to access up to $45 million in additional cyber insurance capacity.
Cyber Echo Encore, underwritten by London market insurers outside of Lloyd’s, aims to provide Marsh clients worldwide with greater choice in capital and coverage, while maintaining the streamlined access and placement that Cyber Echo is known for.
Regulatory Technology (Regtech)
Senate votes to scrap CFPB oversight of Big Tech payment apps: The US Senate has voted to overturn a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that would give the watchdog oversight of tech giants, such as Apple, Google and X, that offer digital payment apps and wallets.
Voting along party lines, the Senate backed a Congressional Review Act resolution introduced by Republicans Pete Ricketts and Mike Flood. It still needs to pass in the House of Representatives.
Finalised late last year, the CFPB rule is designed to ensure that the big nonbank players follow federal law just like large banks, credit unions, and others already under its supervision.
In addition to the likes of Google, Apple and PayPal, it would likely impact X, which has outlined plans to add payment services this year.
BUX slapped with €1.6m fine by Dutch regulators over referral incentives: BUX, the European neobroker owned by ABN Amro, has been fined €1.6 million by Dutch regulators for paying finfluencers, existing customers and comparison websites for introducing new customers.
The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) levied the fine after ruling that BUX violated the inducements ban.
BUX says it stopped paying referral fees in April 2023, months before banking giant ABN Amro agreed to buy the platform. The bank was aware of the AFM probe at the time.
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency
COCA partners with Ramp Network for US foray: COCA has teamed up with crypto firm Ramp Network, enabling Americans to buy and store cryptocurrency using Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology. This move marks its foray into the US market.
This collaboration integrates Ramp Network’s fiat-to-crypto on-ramp directly into the COCA Wallet, allowing users to buy digital assets with payment methods like Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and bank transfers.
The aim is to overcome hurdles in cryptocurrency adoption by offering a non-custodial and secure environment for the transaction of digital assets.
The integration of Ramp’s on-ramp solution enables COCA to purchases of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies within the COCA Wallet.
The collaboration also facilitates user engagement with DeFi, NFTs, and other blockchain-based applications, offering Web3 Access.
North Korean hackers cash out $300 million from ByBit heist: Experts say the infamous Lazarus hacking team is working nearly 24 hours a day to launder the cash.
Within two hours of the theft, the stolen funds were sent to 50 different wallets, each holding approximately 10,000 ETH. These wallets were then emptied one by one over the next nine days.
Elliptic says North Korea is the most sophisticated and well-resourced launderer of cryptoassets in existence, continually adapting its techniques to evade identification and seizure of stolen assets.
North Korea-linked actors have stolen over $6 billion in cryptoassets since 2017, with the proceeds reportedly spent on the country’s ballistic missile program.
The ByBit hack is by the far the largest crypto heist of all time, dwarfing the $611 million stolen from Poly Network in 2021. The vast majority of these funds were eventually returned by the hacker.
Trump’s Stablecoin Embrace Pushes European Union to Accelerate Digital Euro Plans: As the European Central Bank aims to complete the testing phase for a digital euro by October, a top EU official says the project is becoming more urgent in the face of America’s embrace of stablecoins under the Trump administration.
The ECB has been working on a digital euro for several years, with the preparation phase getting underway in late 2023 and a final decision from lawmakers on whether to roll out a CBDC set to come by the end of the year.
Speaking this week, ECB president Christine Largarde made clear a decision will need be made soon, saying: “I think it is critically important, and for the agnostics or the sceptics, it now seems more relevant and more imperative than ever before, both on the wholesale and on the retail level.”
Artificial intelligence
Capco Collaborates With OpenAI to Enhance Innovation, Drive Efficiencies and Deliver Lasting Benefits to Financial Services Clients: Capco, the global management and technology consultancy, today announced a collaboration with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT and frontier AI models such as GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, OpenAI o1 and o3 mini, to accelerate AI’s transformative impact at the world’s top financial institutions.
This collaboration combines OpenAI’s cutting-edge innovations with Capco’s financial services domain and GenAI expertise to deliver powerful solutions that help clients achieve transformative results.
As part of its GenAI Infused strategy, Capco is leading by example in the adoption and application of GenAI tools and solutions across the financial services industry. Through this collaboration with OpenAI, Capco is further scaling the adoption of ChatGPT across its workforce and pioneering these GenAI tools to accelerate client delivery and execution at scale in real world use cases that are making a difference for our clients.
Sesame releases its base AI model: Sesame, the startup behind the viral virtual assistant Maya has released its base AI model. The model, which is 1 billion parameters in size (“parameters” referring to the components of the model), is under an Apache 2.0 license, meaning it can be used commercially with few restrictions. Called CSM-1B, the model generates “RVQ audio codes” from text and audio inputs, according to Sesame’s description on the AI dev platform Hugging Face.
RVQ refers to “residual vector quantization,” a technique for encoding audio into discrete tokens called codes. RVQ is used in a number of recent AI audio technologies, including Google’s SoundStream and Meta’s Encodec.
CSM-1B uses a model from Meta’s Llama family as its backbone paired with an audio “decoder” component. A fine-tuned variant of CSM powers Maya, Sesame says.
“The model open-sourced here is a base generation model,” Sesame writes in CSM-1B’s Hugging Face and GitHub repositories. “It is capable of producing a variety of voices, but it has not been fine-tuned on any specific voice […] The model has some capacity for non-English languages due to data contamination in the training data, but it likely won’t do well.”
Cursor in talks to raise at a $10B valuation as AI coding sector booms: Anysphere, the developer of AI-powered coding assistant Cursor, is in talks with venture capitalists to raise capital at a valuation of nearly $10 billion.
The round, if it transpires, would come about three months after Anysphere completed its previous fundraise of $100 million at a pre-money valuation of $2.5 billion, as TechCrunch was first to report. The new round is expected to be led by returning investor Thrive Capital.
FCA seeks regulatory clarity over lacklustre AI adoption by UK banks: The FCA is to host a roundtable with banking industry leaders over concerns that onerous compliance requirements are stifling investment in artificial intelligence.
The banking watchdog says that respondents to a recent FCA and Bank of England survey identified data protection and the Consumer Duty to be in the top three regulatory constraints to AI deployment within financial services.
States the FCA: “These survey results appear to demonstrate a lack of confidence amongst some firms to develop and adopt AI technology, as well as potential uncertainty around the interactions between our regulatory regimes.”
Singapore authorities warn of rise in deepfake corporate video calls: Singapore authorities are warning businesses of a rise in scam video calls which use deepfake AI to impersonate business bosses with the aim of duping employees into transferring funds to criminal accounts.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) says victims would receive unsolicited WhatsApp messages from scammers claiming to be executives from the company that the victims work for, inviting the employee to join a live-streamed Zoom video call.
“It is believed that digital manipulation had been used to alter the appearances of the scammers to impersonate these high-ranking executives,” state the authorities. “In some cases, the video calls would also involve scammers impersonating MAS officials and/or potential ‘investors’.”
Upcoming Events
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Date: March 18th – 20th
Location: Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach
More Details Here - Instant Payments & Fraud Management Summit
The Instant Payments Summit (IPS) is now The World’s #1 Instant Payments Conference – Bigger, Stronger, Broader. With the integration of the Real-Time Payments Summit into our global series, IPS has solidified its position as the longest-running, most reputed, and dominant platform for instant payments innovation.
As the leading catalyst for innovation and collaboration, IPS drives meaningful discussions, fosters strategic partnerships, and shapes the future of instant payments. It is the ultimate platform for thought leadership, networking, and transformative growth in the payments landscape.
Date: March 24th
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More Details Here - NEW YORK FINTECH WEEK 2025
New York Fintech Week was designed to be an inclusive collaboration of the entire startup ecosystem. It’s a series of events highlighting different fintech initiatives and range from conferences and invitation-only roundtables to events free to the community.
Date: April 21st – 25th
More Details Here
🎙️ Tech Behind Fintech Podcast Highlights
Coming Up This Week
📅 Join us on Friday, March 21st, 2025, at 12 PM EST for a must-watch episode of Tech Behind FinTech featuring Laura Gibson-Lamothe, Executive Director of the Georgia Fintech Academy. FinTech is evolving at lightning speed, but are universities and traditional education models keeping pace? As financial technology disrupts traditional banking, payments, and lending, the demand for skilled talent has never been higher. But are we preparing the workforce of tomorrow, or are students graduating with outdated skills?
💡 Laura Gibson-Lamothe has spent her career building a talent pipeline for the future of financial services. At the Georgia Fintech Academy, she connects students with industry leaders, ensuring they graduate ready to innovate, not just participate. In this episode, we’ll explore how academia is adapting to the needs of a rapidly shifting industry—and where gaps still remain.
🔍 What You’ll Learn:
✅ The FinTech Skills Gap – What industry leaders demand versus what universities are teaching.
✅ The Role of Hands-On Learning – Why internships, mentorships, and real-world experience are the key to success.
✅ How FinTech Leaders Are Shaping the Next Generation – The critical role of partnerships between academia and the private sector.
✅ The Future of FinTech Education – What universities must do right now to keep pace with industry disruption.
Live Show Links
Website: https://techbehindfintech.com/featured/the-fintech-education-boom-can-academia-keep-up-with-industry-disruption
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU-lPJ1Lgc8
📌 In case you missed it – Latest Episode Highlights
Navigating AI Adoption in Banking: Strategies for Success
In this special re-run of Tech Behind FinTech, Hossein Rahnama, Founder & CEO of Flybits, shares insights on the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in banking. As AI reshapes the financial services industry, Hossein dives into effective strategies for its integration within banking institutions while maintaining key factors like security, compliance, and customer trust.
Key Takeaways:
Future of AI in Finance
As the industry evolves, banks must stay ahead of the curve by adopting AI strategically to unlock long-term growth and maintain a competitive edge.
The Power of AI in Banking
AI is driving innovations in customer engagement and operational efficiency, offering personalized banking experiences and automating complex tasks.
Challenges in AI Integration
Banks face significant hurdles in AI adoption, from regulatory compliance to data security. Hossein discusses practical solutions for mitigating these risks and ensuring smooth implementation.
📩 Stay informed on the latest fintech security trends! Watch the full episode for expert insights using the links below.
🔗 Watch now: https://techbehindfintech.com/featured/navigating-ai-adoption-in-banking-strategies-for-success-3
Or stream it on your favorite podcast platform! 🚀
📩 Stay Connected
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