Chime has agreed to acquire nationally chartered Stride Bank for $590 million, marking a major step in the fintech’s evolution from a digital banking platform toward owning a bank outright. The transaction would give Chime greater control over its banking infrastructure and capabilities while expanding its position in the U.S. financial-services market. The deal also highlights a broader trend of fintechs moving deeper into regulated banking rather than relying entirely on partner banks. Investors responded positively, with Chime shares jumping following the announcement. At $590 million, the acquisition is one of the largest and most consequential fintech deals in this batch. It could ultimately reshape how Chime builds and delivers banking products at scale.

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How Financial Services Leaders Approach The Stablecoin Evolution

Key Findings

Stablecoins are not a standalone product but a value-add utility. Leading financial providers view stablecoins less as a crypto product and more as a tool that enables a range of capabilities. This comes as two-thirds of financial decision-makers prioritize alternative money transfer and payment mechanisms in 2026.

AI has gained industry traction, amplifying stablecoin value. AI initiatives are maturing as financial providers scale generative AI (genAI) efforts and launch new agentic capabilities. More than three in four respondents (78%) are prioritizing enhanced decision-making with AI-powered insights and predictions. AI is increasingly used in concert with stablecoins, enabling providers to turbocharge next-gen payments and banking.

Cross-border transactions are the flagship use case, but leading organizations envision more. Two-thirds of organizations say using stablecoin capabilities for cross-border payments offers clear, immediate benefits. A smaller share of financial providers see value in applying stablecoins to use cases like intrabank transactions, cash management, and institutional settlements. Benefits include shorter settlement times, reduced transaction costs, and improved liquidity.

Providers are turning to partners to make the most of the stablecoin opportunity. Three in five respondents place a high priority on using third‑party platforms or marketplaces to integrate their financial services so they can successfully compete. Providers will need scalable infrastructure to enable stablecoin success. They’ll also need help resolving security and regulatory concerns, some of which can only be settled by government agencies.

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Curated News

💳 Payments

Revolut and Visa Execute France’s First AI Agent-Initiated Card Payment Using Passkey Authentication
Revolut and Visa have completed France’s first AI-agent-initiated card payment using passkey authentication, demonstrating how autonomous agents could eventually make purchases securely on behalf of customers.
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Visa Tests Stablecoin Loans to Fund Card Program Growth
Visa is testing stablecoin-based lending as a potential way to provide working capital for card programmes, connecting stablecoin infrastructure with traditional payment operations.
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Mastercard gives merchants a simpler way to build, connect and scale AI-powered shopping experiences
Mastercard is introducing tools intended to make it easier for merchants to integrate AI-powered shopping experiences, as payment networks prepare for the rise of agentic commerce.
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Splitit and Jack Henry Team to Help Banks Compete With BNPL
Splitit and Jack Henry are partnering to help banks offer buy-now-pay-later capabilities, giving traditional financial institutions another way to compete in the rapidly expanding BNPL market.
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BVNK and Marqeta partner to power stablecoin-card infrastructure
BVNK and Marqeta are partnering on infrastructure that connects stablecoins with card payments, helping bring digital assets closer to everyday spending.
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World Bank targets more digital payments in emerging markets
The World Bank is targeting greater adoption of digital payments across emerging markets, emphasizing the role of modern payment infrastructure in financial inclusion and economic development.
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🏦 Banking

Block Applies to Establish Builders Bank, a National Trust Bank
Block has applied to establish Builders Bank, a national trust bank that would expand the fintech’s ability to provide financial services through its own regulated banking infrastructure.
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U.S. Bank launches USBDC stablecoin
U.S. Bank has launched USBDC, its own dollar-denominated stablecoin, adding another major U.S. bank to the growing institutional stablecoin market.
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💼 Fintech

Daloopa Launches Scout, Its Excel-Native AI Assistant for Financial Modeling
Daloopa has launched Scout, an AI assistant built directly around Excel workflows to help financial professionals automate and accelerate financial modelling tasks.
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Paystand launches agentic finance suite
Paystand has launched an agentic finance suite designed to use AI agents across financial workflows, continuing the fintech industry’s push toward automated finance operations.
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HelmGuard raises $7.3m for agentic GRC platform
HelmGuard has raised $7.3 million to develop an agentic governance, risk and compliance platform, targeting automated oversight for financial and other regulated businesses.
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Ant International, Mastercard, Visa develop AI agent framework
Ant International, Mastercard and Visa are collaborating on an AI-agent framework, bringing three major players together around standards and infrastructure for agentic commerce.
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🪙 Crypto

PayPal Debuts Developer Platform Tied to PYUSD Stablecoin
PayPal has introduced a developer platform connected to its PYUSD stablecoin, giving developers new infrastructure for building stablecoin-based financial applications and payments.
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German Finance Ministry Drafts 25% Tax on Crypto Gains From 2027
Germany’s Finance Ministry is reportedly drafting a 25% tax on crypto gains beginning in 2027, potentially creating a significant change in the country’s treatment of digital-asset profits.
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Prediction Markets Abandon Cheap Oil as Brent Passes $100
Prediction markets are adjusting their expectations as Brent crude moves above $100, highlighting how geopolitical and macroeconomic developments are feeding into event-based markets.
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Consensys Is Splitting in Two as MetaMask Goes Its Own Way
Consensys is splitting its operations as MetaMask separates from the company, marking a significant restructuring for one of the better-known organizations in the Ethereum ecosystem.
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📈 WealthTech

Outline Secures $3M to Launch First Agentic Financial Planning Platform for Mid-Market CFOs
Outline has raised $3 million to launch an agentic financial-planning platform aimed at mid-market CFOs, using AI agents to automate corporate finance workflows.
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⚖️ Regulation

Nasdaq, Börse Stuttgart and others urge EU to rethink €100bn DLT cap
Nasdaq, Börse Stuttgart and other market participants are calling on the EU to reconsider its €100 billion cap for DLT-based market infrastructure, arguing that the limit could constrain the development of tokenized financial markets.
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Consumer trust in agentic payments continues to lag
Consumer confidence in agentic payments remains a challenge, highlighting the gap between rapid technological development and customers’ willingness to let AI agents transact on their behalf.
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🌍 Other

Mistral raises €3B as sovereign AI becomes big business
Mistral has raised €3 billion as demand for sovereign AI infrastructure grows, underscoring the enormous investment now flowing into AI technology and national AI capabilities.
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Meta Launches Muse Personal AI Agent
Meta has launched Muse, a personal AI agent designed to provide users with more autonomous AI-powered assistance.
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Payments Wrap Up

Chime to buy nationally chartered Stride Bank…