First Pass

66 stories from 8 sources

Fintech moves blockchain settlement toward mainstream rails

Day’s Recap

Supporting Articles

The European Central Bank launched Pontes to connect its payment infrastructure with blockchain-based markets for euro settlements. It also plans to invest part of its EUR 23 billion in own funds in digital securities and is developing a retail digital euro targeted for 2029.

3:54 AMEconomic Times

SoFi Bank and Mastercard have launched blockchain settlement for SoFi’s full card program using the bank’s SoFiUSD stablecoin. The arrangement applies stablecoin infrastructure to card payment settlement across Mastercard’s network.

8:01 PMFinextra

Polymarket has been meeting regulators in the UK and Europe to argue that prediction markets should fall under financial-services rules rather than gambling regulation. The company is seeking a legal classification that would support its expansion in the region.

8:01 PMFinextra

Polymarket is seeking financial-services regulation in Europe for its prediction markets instead of being governed by fragmented national gambling laws.

12:00 AMFinancial Times

Two FTC cases in September underscore the risks processors and acquiring banks assume when approving merchants. The FTC alleged that Nuvei opened or maintained processing accounts for merchants it knew or should have known posed serious payment risks, including chargebacks.

7:27 PMPYMNTS

PayPal is partnering with Meta to let users shop and complete purchases through Muse, Meta's personal AI assistant, across PayPal merchants worldwide.

3:17 PMPYMNTS

Other Developments

A curated list of other prominent stories from this day.

Shopify and Meta are partnering to let Meta’s Muse AI assistant use Shop Pay for agentic checkout across Shopify stores.

4:11 PMPYMNTS

Deutsche Bank Private Bank has deployed an agentic AI system for Source of Wealth checks in its Singapore and Hong Kong booking centres. The bank estimates the system could increase client onboarding by 30% while streamlining KYC work.

8:01 PMFinextra

Canada’s largest banks are exploring a Canadian-dollar tokenised deposit system. The proposed infrastructure would support faster and more programmable payments.

8:01 PMFinextra

The article presents Spruce as a banking app focused on spending, saving, and personal financial organization. It explains what the service is and compares its positioning with other banking apps.

6:59 PMIGN

A new Federal Reserve review of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure shows how the protection of uninsured depositors preserved the $3.3 billion in deposits backing USDC. The episode demonstrates that a stablecoin can remain exposed to conventional banking risk even without a government guarantee of its value.

5:01 PMPYMNTS

Adyen has appointed Klarna CFO Niclas Neglen as its new CFO, effective February 1, 2027, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. He is expected to join Adyen’s statutory management board.

4:49 PMPYMNTS

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