Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, today published its 2026 Retail Report, revealing a growing appetite for AI among UK shoppers. AI is quickly moving to a mainstream shopping tool, with its adoption among UK consumers more than doubling over the past year, rising from 12% to nearly 28%. Gen Z shoppers continue to lead the charge in adoption (43%), followed closely by Millennials (42%).

Fourthline, the leading European provider of AI-powered identity verification and compliance solutions, is pleased to announce the promotion of Fleur de Roos to Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately.  

De Roos brings deep expertise and institutional knowledge to this new role, having been instrumental in Fourthline's legal and operational evolution since joining as General Counsel in 2022. 

The era of purely reactive security operations is over. AiStrike, a cybersecurity company pioneering AI-native, preemptive cyber defense, today announced it has raised $7 million in Seed funding to scale its agentic AI platform for security operations. The round was led by Blumberg Capital, with participation from Runtime Ventures, Oregon Venture Fund, and strategic angel investors.

Barclays today announced a multiyear arrangement with FactSet, a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, as a further step in realizing Barclays’ long-term market data strategy. This collaboration harnesses FactSet’s advanced analytics and innovative technology, empowering Barclays to deliver enhanced, data-driven solutions for its global client base.

Global digital transformation company GFT Technologies today announced the appointment of Kaushal Sheth as its CTO, USA. The 30-year technology veteran co-founded and served as Executive Director of Sophos Solutions, before the company was acquired by GFT. Now, as GFT’s USA CTO, Sheth is expanding GFT’s AI capabilities, with a focus on AI solutions and agents guided by experiential intelligence.

Gatehouse Bank has today released further details of its strategic partnership with London-based, Shariah-compliant financial technology firm, Algbra, which was announced last year.

Tinaba with Banca Profilo announces the launch of digital payments in the Chinese mainland through the extension of its strategic partnership with Alipay+, Ant International’s global wallet gateway solution, bringing a simple, cashless and local payment experience to Italian travellers in the world’s largest digital market.

ebankIT, a global provider of digital banking and omnichannel financial services platforms, today announced the appointment of Jerry Reese as Senior Solutions Engineer for North America, strengthening the company’s technical leadership as it accelerates its expansion across U.S. and Canada.

Affirm Holdings, Inc. today announced that it has submitted applications to the Nevada Financial Institutions Division and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) to establish Affirm Bank, a proposed Nevada-chartered industrial loan company.