Weekly Harvest

Fintech Garden
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Fintech Garden’s short-format news series delivers sharp, insightful takes on the biggest fintech stories of the week. Whether you're into digital banking, crypto payments, or startup trends, this is your go-to source for what’s growing in fintech. New episode every Friday!

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    Ravical Raises $17M, Agentic Commerce Council Launches & EBA, FCA Probe Google Cloud Outage | WH

    This week on Weekly Harvest, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea pick three stories from a busy week: AI in accounting, new rules for agentic payments, and the regulatory fallout from a Google Cloud outage. 🌱 Ravical, the AI platform for accounting and tax firms, raised a $17 million seed round led by MMC Ventures, with Lakestar, Pitchdrive and new investor Shapers. More than 100 accounting firms across Europe already build on it, and the funding will go towards the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, a wider European rollout and a US launch. 🌱 PPRO, BLIK, Bancontact, EPI (the initiative behind Wero) and DIAS have launched the Local Payments Council for Agentic Commerce, aiming to build an industry standard for how local payment systems work with AI agents. Its focus areas include keeping humans in control of payment authorisation, how agents prove they are legitimate, and who is liable for disputes and refunds. 🌱 The EBA and FCA have opened inquiries into a Google Cloud outage that left millions of bank customers, including those of Revolut, Lloyds and HSBC, unable to access services for several hours. UK Parliament’s Treasury Committee has also stepped in. 📰 Read the full stories: Ravical raises $17M: https://ravical.com/blog/ravical-secures-17m-to-help-accounting-firms-break-the-link-between-growth-and-headcount Local Payments Council for Agentic Commerce: https://www.fintechfutures.com/ai-in-fintech/local-payments-council-for-agentic-commerce-launches EBA and FCA inquiries into the Google Cloud outage: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-10-22-eba-and-fca-launch-regulatory-inquiries-into-google-cloud-outage-as-parliaments-/ Timestamps: 00:30 – Ravical raises $17M to help accounting firms scale without headcount 01:31 – Why accounting lags on AI, and how DORA and the EU AI Act constrain it 03:15 – European payment players launch the Local Payments Council for Agentic Commerce 04:36 – Why rules and guardrails come first for agentic payments 05:35 – EBA and FCA open inquiries into the Google Cloud outage 07:18 – Who is responsible: banks, Google and the lessons of DORA Book your discovery call with Fintech Core team today: https://dashdevs.com/fintech-core/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=fg_podcast Want to become a guest? Need a consultation from DashDevs or Novafin? Please fill in the form here: https://fintech.garden/about-us/ Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/ Connect with our hosts Igor Tomych https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortomych/ Dumitru Condrea https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcondrea/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://fintech.garden

  2. Oct 23

    Blockchain Syndicated Loan by BBVA & Santander, T+1 Settlement Countdown, Starling’s Nvidia AI Model

    This week on Weekly Harvest, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea cover blockchain in syndicated lending, the one-year countdown to T+1 settlement in Europe, and a UK bank building its own AI model on sovereign cloud. 🌱 Iberdrola, BBVA and Santander completed what they describe as the world’s first syndicated loan administered end to end on a blockchain platform, a €150 million facility. The platform, built by Spanish fintech ioBuilders, replaces the separate databases each lender normally keeps with a single synchronised, immutable record covering everything from disbursement to maturity. . 🌱 The one-year countdown to mandatory T+1 settlement has begun for Europe, the UK and Switzerland, with the deadline set for 11 October 2027. Industry figures warn that readiness is uneven, and that firms still in the planning stage risk being caught short, especially smaller ones with manual processes. 🌱 Starling Bank is developing a Transactional Foundation Model with Nvidia, trained and hosted on infrastructure from UK-owned cloud provider Civo. Starling says it is the first financial institution to do this in a UK sovereign cloud, using more than 15 billion anonymised transactions to understand customer behaviour. 📰 Read the full stories: Iberdrola, BBVA and Santander blockchain loan: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-10-15-iberdrola-bbva-and-santander-complete-worlds-first-fully-blockchain-managed-synd/ T+1 one-year countdown: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-10-09-t1-one-year-countdown-arrives-as-eu-and-uk-market-participants-warned-to-move-be/ Starling, Nvidia and Civo: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-10-14-starling-bank-taps-nvidia-and-uk-sovereign-cloud-provider-civo-to-build-propriet/ Chapters: 00:25 – Iberdrola, BBVA and Santander complete a €150M blockchain-managed syndicated loan 03:41 – One year to mandatory T+1 settlement in Europe, the UK and Switzerland 06:40 – Starling Bank builds a transactional AI model with Nvidia and Civo (estimated) 07:43 – Why sovereign tech keeps coming up, and wrap-up Book your discovery call with Fintech Core team today: https://dashdevs.com/fintech-core/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=fg_podcast Want to become a guest? Need a consultation from DashDevs or Novafin? Please fill in the form here: https://fintech.garden/about-us/ Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/ Connect with our hosts Igor Tomych https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortomych/ Dumitru Condrea https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcondrea/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://fintech.garden 🎙 Podcast Credits Manager: Olha Koistryk / https://www.linkedin.com/in/olha-koistryk/ Video Editing: Arsen Harin, Olha Koistryk Sound Editing: Arsen Harin Thumbnail Design: Maryna Manoilo / https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-manoylo/ Marketing / Social Media: DashDevs Marketing Team

  3. Oct 16

    Visa Wins PBOC Approval in China, Crédit Agricole Launches German Digital Bank, Wise Tax Error | WH

    This week on Weekly Harvest, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea cover a long-awaited approval in China, a new digital bank in Germany, and a software error at Wise. 🌱 Visa has received approval from the People’s Bank of China to begin preparing a domestic bank card clearing institution, its first major step into the world’s largest payments market after more than five years of waiting. 🌱 Crédit Agricole is launching Crédit Agricole Deutschland, a digital-first universal bank built on its German consumer finance arm Creditplus, with 600 employees and 20 branches. It opens to the public at the end of October 2026, with German IBAN current accounts and a Visa debit card with access to 49,000 ATMs. 🌱 Wise told about 4,000 UK customers that they received incorrect tax statements on their investments between 2021 and 2025, caused by an error in software from a third-party provider. Wise is negotiating a settlement with HMRC and plans to refund customers who overpaid. 📰 Read the full stories: Visa and China clearing: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-10-14-visa-wins-pboc-approval-for-domestic-card-clearing-operation-in-china-after-five/ Crédit Agricole in Germany: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-10-13-credit-agricole-enters-german-retail-banking-with-digital-first-universal-bank-e/ Wise tax statement error: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-10-08-wise-pledges-hmrc-settlement-and-customer-refunds-after-software-error-sends-inc/ Timestamps: 00:18 – Visa wins PBOC approval for China card clearing after five years 02:43 – Crédit Agricole launches a digital-first bank in Germany 05:50 – Wise's incorrect tax statements for 4,000 UK customers (estimated) Book your discovery call with Fintech Core team today: https://dashdevs.com/fintech-core/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=fg_podcast Want to become a guest? Need a consultation from DashDevs or Novafin? Please fill in the form here: https://fintech.garden/about-us/ Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/ Connect with our hosts Igor Tomych https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortomych/ Dumitru Condrea https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcondrea/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://fintech.garden 🎙 Podcast Credits Manager: Olha Koistryk / https://www.linkedin.com/in/olha-koistryk/ Video Editing: Arsen Harin / Nazar Gecha, Olha Koistryk Sound Editing: Arsen Harin / Nazar Gecha Thumbnail Design: Maryna Manoilo / https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-manoylo/ Marketing / Social Media: DashDevs Marketing Team

  4. Oct 9

    European Payment Network Takes On Visa & Mastercard, TrueLayer Raises $27M, HSBC AI Cuts | WH

    This week on Weekly Harvest, Igor Tomych and Dumitru Condrea, back from Fintech Meetup Europe, cover Europe’s push to build its own payment infrastructure and how HSBC and Barclays are handling AI. 🌱 TrueLayer announced a $27 million investment led by Italy’s CDP Venture Capital, with existing and new investors taking part. The London-based open banking company says it operates in 22 countries and serves more than 30 million European consumers, with Ryanair and Just Eat among its customers. An Italian state-backed investor funding a UK fintech is one of the clearer examples of European sovereignty showing up as money rather than talk. 🌱 Five European payment networks formed the European Network for Payments, a joint venture headquartered in Madrid, on 30 September 2026: Italy’s Bancomat, Spain’s Bizum, EPI (the operator of Wero), Portugal’s SIBS and Norway’s Vipps MobilePay. Together they serve around 130 million registered users across 13 countries and aim to build local rails to challenge Visa and Mastercard, which process close to two thirds of EU card payments. 🌱 HSBC is reportedly planning to cut up to 70% of financial adviser roles in its UK wealth management division as an AI push reverses a two-year hiring drive, with departures expected by the end of October. Igor argues AI should increase capacity rather than simply cut payroll, and points to Barclays expanding its partnership with Anthropic, including Claude Code for half of its developers by the end of 2026. Money20/20 Middle East 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR3dI2GRdSJM&si=DlmvpjpYFn-5_DsZ Timestamps: 00:19 – TrueLayer raises $27M led by Italy's CDP Venture Capital 03:40 – Five European payment players launch a Madrid joint venture against Visa and Mastercard (estimated) 05:30 – HSBC to cut UK wealth advisory roles as AI reverses hiring plan (estimated) 08:35 – Barclays rolls out 16,000 Claude licences (estimated) Book your discovery call with Fintech Core team today: https://dashdevs.com/fintech-core/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=fg_podcast Want to become a guest? Need a consultation from DashDevs or Novafin? Please fill in the form here: https://fintech.garden/about-us/ Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/ Connect with our hosts Igor Tomych https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortomych/ Dumitru Condrea https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcondrea/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://fintech.garden

  5. Oct 2

    Visa Buys BioCatch for $2.4B, Jeeves Raises $110M & Revolut Wins US Banking Licence | Weekly Harvest

    This week on Weekly Harvest, Dumitru Condrea and Igor Tomych cover three major moves in fraud prevention, stablecoins, and US banking expansion: 🌱 Visa agrees to acquire BioCatch for $2.4 billion, deepening its investment in behavioral biometrics and fraud prevention technology. 🌱 Jeeves raises $110 million to scale its stablecoin banking platform, with backing from Coinbase Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, after going from near-zero to a reported $1.5 billion annualized run rate in eight months. 🌱 Revolut wins conditional approval from the US OCC for a national bank charter — a major milestone on the road to a full US banking license, with sign-off from the FDIC and Federal Reserve still to come. Plus: a quick word on the Nubank-Monzo takeover rumor that came and went this week. 📰 Read the full stories: Visa acquires BioCatch: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-08-03-visa-agrees-to-acquire-biocatch-for-24-billion/ Jeeves raises $110m: https://fintech.global/2026/09/30/jeeves-bags-110m-to-scale-stablecoin-banking-platform/ Revolut's US banking licence: https://www.ft.com/content/d6c24b34-1520-4dc4-8996-83eab8e81941 Nubank/Monzo talks: https://www.cityam.com/nubank-denies-active-monzo-takeover-talks-after-shares-plunge/ Why behavioral science is the missing layer in fintech, with Anna Nyvelt & Noemi Molnar | FG Pod 153: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o8ZoZKo4js Timestamps : 00:25 – Visa agrees to acquire BioCatch for $2.4B 02:10 – Jeeves raises $110M to scale stablecoin banking platform 04:00 – Revolut wins conditional US banking charter from the OCC 05:30 – Nubank-Monzo takeover rumor surfaces and fades Book your discovery call with Fintech Core team today: https://dashdevs.com/fintech-core/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=fg_podcast Want to become a guest? Need a consultation from DashDevs or Novafin? Please fill in the form here: https://fintech.garden/about-us/ Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/ Connect with our hosts Igor Tomych https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortomych/ Dumitru Condrea https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcondrea/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://fintech.garden 🎙 Podcast Credits Manager: Olha Koistryk / https://www.linkedin.com/in/olha-koistryk/ Video Editing: Arsen Harin, Olha Koistryk Sound Editing: Arsen Harin Thumbnail Design: Maryna Manoilo / https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-manoylo/ Marketing / Social Media: DashDevs Marketing Team

  6. Sep 25

    Binance x Circle, UK Tokenised Deposits & Amazon Blocks Meta's Muse | Weekly Harvest

    🌱 Binance has invested $100 million in Circle, buying Class A shares at a 5% discount with a lock-up of up to two years, and renewed its USDC partnership for another five years. Binance will promote USDC across its platform, especially in emerging markets, while Circle provides the infrastructure behind it. 🌱 Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Nationwide and Santander have completed the first live interbank transactions using tokenised sterling deposits under the Great British Tokenised Deposit (GBTD) project, and Monzo has now joined too. The pilots covered remortgage completions and marketplace payments on Quant's infrastructure. They show that regulated bank money can move on programmable rails with the same protections as a regular account. 🌱 Amazon has blocked Meta's new personal AI agent Muse from shopping on Amazon.com, less than two weeks after launch, saying the agent accessed its store without authorisation. It's one of the first open clashes in agentic commerce, and a clear sign that platforms want a say in which agents can act on their customers' behalf. Read the full stories: Binance x Circle $100M investment https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/22/circl... UK banks' first tokenised deposit transactions https://fintech.garden/news/2026-09-2... Amazon blocks Meta's Muse AI agent https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazon-... Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/

  7. Sep 18

    Barq Raises $330M, Tabby Hits $6.5B Valuation & Saudi Fintech Grows to 371 Companies |Weekly Harvest

    Live from Money20/20 Middle East in Saudi Arabia, Dumitru Condrea and Igor Tomych bring you three stories shaping fintech in the region: 🌱 Barq, a Saudi digital bank, raises $330 million, pushing its valuation toward $1.85 billion — a striking number for a company founded just three years ago. 🌱 Tabby secures new funding at a $6.5 billion valuation, led by Blue Pool Capital, cementing its place as one of the biggest fintech players in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 🌱 Saudi Arabia's fintech sector grows to 371 registered companies, with cashless transactions reportedly climbing from 75% in 2024 to 85% in 2025 — a sign of how fast digital payments are scaling in the region. 🌱 Plus: Vision Bank partners with Publicis Sapient on an AI-focused Innovation Hub covering design and payments innovation. Read the full stories Barq's $330M raise: https://www.wamda.com/index.php/en/2026/09/saudi-fintech-barq-closes-329-5-million-series-a Tabby's $6.5B valuation: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gulf-fintech-tabby-clinches-65-billion-valuation-after-latest-funding-round-2026-09-14/ Saudi fintech sector hits 371 companies: https://www.arabnews.com/business/saudi-fintech-sector-grows-to-371-companies-as-digital-payments-expand-3001781 Vision Bank x Publicis Sapient partnership: https://www.publicissapient.com/company/news/vision-bank-innovation-hub-partnership Book your discovery call with Fintech Core team today: https://dashdevs.com/fintech-core/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=fg_podcast Want to become a guest? Need a consultation from DashDevs or Novafin? Please fill in the form here: https://fintech.garden/about-us/ Timestamps: 01:07 – Barq raises $330M, valuation nears $1.85B 03:21 – Tabby hits $6.5B valuation, BNPL regulation catching up 04:00 – Saudi fintech sector grows to 371 companies; cashless adoption climbs 05:54 – Vision Bank x Publicis Sapient AI Innovation Hub partnership Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/ Connect with our hosts Igor Tomych https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortomych/ Dumitru Condrea https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcondrea/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://fintech.garden

  8. Sep 11

    Nationwide's Cloud Migration, OpenPayd's Nasdaq Plans & Visa-Revolut Agentic Payments in France | WH

    This week on Weekly Harvest, Dumitru Condrea and Igor Tomych delve into three major shifts across fintech infrastructure and payments: 🌱 Nationwide has completed a three-year migration, moving 15 million customers off legacy systems and onto Microsoft Azure and Databricks, consolidating 19 separate data stores into one. Virgin Money's 5 million accounts are next in line for integration, and Microsoft has quietly rolled out over 1,000 Copilot licences across Nationwide's engineering teams as part of the build. 🌱 OpenPayd and MSB USA are merging ahead of a planned Nasdaq listing, in a deal reportedly valued above $1.5 billion. The move brings the two companies' operations under one roof as they prepare for a future public offering. 🌱 Visa and Revolut have carried out one of the first agentic payment transactions, using passkey-based authentication to let an AI agent complete a checkout in France. It's an early test, but a strong signal of how payments infrastructure may need to evolve as more transactions get handled by agents rather than people. Read the full stories: Nationwide's Azure migration https://fintech.garden/news/2026-09-10-nationwide-retires-45-year-old-core-system-and-moves-15-million-accounts-to-clou/ OpenPayd x MSB USA Nasdaq merger https://www.openpayd.com/announcements/openpayd-strengthens-position-in-the-us-market-through-the-acquisition-of-43-state-licences/ Visa x Revolut agentic payments https://fintech.garden/news/2026-09-09-revolut-and-visa-execute-frances-first-ai-agent-initiated-card-payment-using-pas/ Book your discovery call with Fintech Core team today: https://dashdevs.com/fintech-core/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=fg_podcast Want to become a guest? Need a consultation from DashDevs or Novafin? Please fill in the form here: https://fintech.garden/about-us/ Timestamps: 00:33 – Nationwide's Azure/Databricks migration overview 02:50 – OpenPayd and MSB USA merge ahead of Nasdaq listing (estimated — falls mid-paragraph) 05:41 – Visa & Revolut complete first agentic payment transaction in France Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/ Connect with our hosts Igor Tomych https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortomych/ Dumitru Condrea https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcondrea/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://fintech.garden

  9. Sep 8

    Mollie & GoCardless Merge, Allica Bank Enters Sweden & Advent-Stripe Drop $53B PayPal Bid | WH

    This week on Weekly Harvest, Dumitru Condrea and Igor Tomych delve into three significant fintech developments: 🌱 Mollie and GoCardless have merged in a deal reportedly valued at €1 billion. This merger brings together approximately 350,000 users across 30 markets. Koen Köppen will lead the combined entity, while Hiroki Takeuchi will continue to manage GoCardless under its own brand. 🌱 Allica Bank has applied for a Swedish banking licence, supported by a $155 million Series D round. This move follows the UK SME-focused challenger bank’s plans to expand into Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Ireland. 🌱 Advent and Stripe have withdrawn their $53 billion bid for PayPal, resulting in a significant drop in PayPal shares. This withdrawal raises questions about PayPal’s market position and the future of the payments landscape in the coming year. 📷And we’ll be at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Money20/20 Middle East 2026 in a couple of weeks. Stop by the Media Lounge and say hello. 📰 Read the full stories: Mollie x GoCardless: https://www.mollie.com/news/mollie-and-gocardless Allica Bank Swedish licence: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-08-31-allica-bank-files-for-swedish-licence-in-debut-european-push-with-netherlands-an/ Advent/Stripe drop PayPal bid: https://fintech.garden/news/2026-08-28-advent-and-stripe-abandon-53-billion-paypal-bid-shares-fall-16/ Want to become a guest? Need a consultation from DashDevs or Novafin? Please fill in the form here: https://fintech.garden/about-us/ 00:11 Mollie and GoCardless announce a merger. 03:59 Allica Bank applies for a Swedish banking licence. 06:10 Advent and Stripe abandon their $53 billion PayPal acquisition bid. 08:38 Come say hi at Money20/20 Middle East Follow us: https://fintech.garden Check out DashDevs: https://dashdevs.com Check out Novafin: https://www.novafin.co/ Connect with our hosts Igor Tomych https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortomych/ Dumitru Condrea https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcondrea/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://fintech.garden

  • 9 Episodes

About

Fintech Garden’s short-format news series delivers sharp, insightful takes on the biggest fintech stories of the week. Whether you're into digital banking, crypto payments, or startup trends, this is your go-to source for what’s growing in fintech. New episode every Friday!

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  • Creator
    Fintech Garden
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Fintech Garden
  • Show Website
    Weekly Harvest