Royal Bank of Canada has applied for banking licences in the Middle East as part of a broader international expansion, positioning itself to operate more directly in key Gulf financial centres.

Bank of Montreal will transition the AIR MILES loyalty program to Blue Rewards in summer 2026, replacing the existing structure with a single points-based system supported by a redesigned digital platform.

Fiserv is taking Clover into Japan through a partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, marking Clover’s first planned entry into the market. Targeted for launch in late 2026, the rollout will focus on localisation, partnership-led distribution, and operational features tailored to Japanese small and mid-sized merchants - signaling a strategic shift in Clover’s international expansion toward Asia.

Capital One entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Brex,  a US-based corporate card and spend management platform, through a combination of stock and cash valued at $5.15B, subject to customary regulatory and closing conditions, with completion expected by mid-2026.

Block has now extended over $200B in credit across Cash App, Afterpay, and Square - showing how behavioral data is reshaping lending at scale.

Google introduces UCP, an open standard designed to connect AI-driven shopping, checkout, and payments across platforms.

This week, BVNK featured in two closely linked developments spanning European payment rails and global money movement infrastructure, highlighting how stablecoins are being integrated into both instant fiat settlement and large-scale payout networks.

Checkout.com wins approval for a Georgia bank charter, moving closer to direct U.S. acquiring and deeper control over card payments.

Apple and JPMorganChase have entered an agreement for JPMorganChase to become the new issuer of Apple Card, with the transition expected to take place over approximately 24 months. Apple Card users can continue using the card normally during the transition, Mastercard will remain the payment network, and the portfolio transfer remains subject to regulatory approvals.

PayPal integrates with Copilot Checkout, enabling in-AI discovery, checkout, and payments across a growing network of merchants.

bunq, Europe’s second largest neobank becomes the first FinTech in 2026 to file a de novo banking license application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), advancing plans to establish regulated banking operations in the United States.

Historically, lending has been built around applications, documents, and waiting. With technology, this began to change. Automated lending introduced real-time evaluation engines - pulling data from multiple sources, applying rules and models instantly, and accelerating credit decisions.

Fiserv expanded its partnership with Mastercard to support agentic commerce by integrating Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework into its merchant acceptance infrastructure.

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited has implemented a blockchain-based tokenised deposits solution under the Supervisory Incubator for Distributed Ledger Technology and Project Ensemble led by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Mercury has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national bank charter and separately filed for federal deposit insurance with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Monzo secured a full banking licence from the European Central Bank and the Central Bank of Ireland, enabling the UK-based digital bank to operate as a fully regulated lender within the European Union.

Coinbase announced a partner model that lets companies issue custom-branded stablecoins backed by assets like USDC, while Coinbase manages issuance and operations. Early partners including Flipcash, Solflare, and R2 are evaluating launches, highlighting stablecoins’ shift toward embedded financial infrastructure.

PayPal has submitted applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to establish a Utah-chartered industrial loan company, proposed as PayPal Bank.

With last month’s Canadian federal budget announcing amendments to the Consumer-Driven Banking Act to enable effective and regulated open banking, and introducing “write access” targeted for 2027, open banking in Canada is entering its next phase.

J.P. Morgan Chase is preparing to introduce its first tokenized money market fund, extending its use of blockchain infrastructure into regulated fund products. The private fund, titled ‘My OnChain Net Yield Fund (MONY)’, is being deployed on the Ethereum blockchain and will be seeded with USD 100 million of internal capital before being opened to external investors.