In a move to redefine digital commerce in Brazil, Juspay, a global leader in payment infrastructure, has announced a strategic partnership with Visa for the large-scale implementation of Click to Pay. This collaboration focuses on solving two of the biggest challenges in e-commerce in the country: high cart abandonment rates due to checkout complexity, and the need for robust transaction security.

Ottu, a leading regional fintech, has signed a strategic agreement with Mastercard to drive digital commerce across the GCC. The partnership brings together Mastercard Merchant Cloud with Ottu’s regional expertise to simplify and scale local payment methods for businesses.

Thread Bancorp, Inc., the parent company of Thread Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary, today announced it has closed a $30.5 million funding round, consisting of a $27.6 million initial raise and a $2.9 million extension. Portage Ventures led the round, with additional participation from Rockmont Partners and other strategic investors.

Mastercard has partnered with Fuelin, an Egypt-based fleet-tech innovator, to digitize how businesses across MENA manage payments for fuel. The collaboration integrates Fuelin’s real-time controls and analytics with Mastercard’s secure, globally accepted network, driving the mobility sector’s transition from cash-based processes to seamless, data-driven digital transactions.

Through this initiative, Fuelin will enable virtual and physical commercial cards that operate across Mastercard’s open-loop ecosystem.

Akamai Technologies, Inc., the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online, today announced a strategic collaboration with Visa to bring stronger identity, user recognition, and security controls to the emerging world of agentic commerce.

Unlimit, a leading global fintech company providing the world’s largest portfolio of financial technology services, today announced that it has received final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate with a Payment Aggregator - Cross Border licence (PA-CB).

As another year closes, many will be thinking about how to improve their financial well-being in the year ahead, from saving more and reducing debt, to improving their credit scores.

UK shoppers are putting security first when buying online - with new research conducted by Pay with Bank Transfer, powered by American Express, finding that over three quarters (76%) of consumers have security front of mind for every purchase they make. 

Canada’s Consumer-Driven Banking framework has entered its next phase and 2026 will be a defining year.

Following the Federal government’s commitment in Budget 2025 to complete the Consumer-Driven Banking Act and move oversight to the Bank of Canada, Open Banking Expo Canada is where the ecosystem will gather to discuss implementation, oversight, and opportunity.

Open Banking Expo has announced the first set of trailblazers joining the speaker line-up at Open Banking Expo Canada on March 5, 2026, and confirmed that Symcor will return as headline partner for the second consecutive year.