Today, Teya, the all-in-one financial services provider supporting local businesses across Europe, now enables its merchants across nine European countries — the UK, Hungary, Iceland, Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, Portugal, Italy and Spain, to seamlessly and securely accept in-person contactless payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone.

New research commissioned by Affirm, the payment network that empowers consumers and merchants with flexible and transparent payment options, reveals that payment flexibility is now one of the most important factors influencing travellers when booking flights and holidays. 

Pleo, one of Europe’s leading spend management platforms, has announced the launch of multicurrency accounts, giving companies the power to hold and spend up to six currencies from a single Pleo card. 

The U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC), a membership organization devoted to advancing safe, easy-to-use faster payments in the United States, and the Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. (X9), the organization accredited by ANSI to develop financial industry standards for the United States, today announced a strategic alliance designed to accelerate the development and adoption of standards for faster payments in the United States.

Index Engines, the leader in cyber resiliency solutions, and Hitachi Vantara, the data storage and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. (TSE:6501), today announced a strategic partnership that positions both companies at the forefront of the rapidly expanding cyber resilience market.

Bud Financial (“Bud”), the AI platform that turns banking data into actionable insights, today announced the release of the Bud MCP server, enabling rapid development of AI agents that benefit from a deep, real-time understanding of users’ finances. Bud’s MCP server lets AI applications integrate seamlessly with Bud’s platform so that banks can rapidly deploy AI internal and customer facing systems while safely leveraging their core customer data. 

Following Brazil's Pix blueprint, Colombia has launched its own instant payment ecosystem called Bre-B with the same core features: interoperability, 24/7 availability, and immediate settlement. Today marks the start of full-scale operations for Bre-B nationwide, following a pilot phase that began on September 23. Through EBANX, a global technology company specializing in cross-border payment services for emerging markets, global merchants can offer Bre-B to Colombian customers from day one.

Agio Ratings, the premier source of risk insights in digital assets, has closed a $6 million funding round led by AlbionVC, bringing the total raised to over $11M. The round, which also saw participation from Portage Ventures and MS&AD, will enable Agio Ratings to expand its research and engineering teams, broadening the scope of its risk ratings and supporting major banks as they enter the digital asset market.

By 2030, the global market for AI in fintech is estimated to reach $79.4bn, driven by the pressure on finance teams to stay ahead amid ongoing economic uncertainty. With the EU facing the hard reality of tariffs on exports to the US, margins are tighter than ever for businesses trading internationally. In this high-stakes environment, faster invoice processing isn’t enough. Businesses need greater intelligence to anticipate risks, adapt to fluctuating currency markets and guide payment decisions with precision.