Weekly FinTech & Financial News
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February 16-20, 2026
Top FinTech Updates this Week
🌟 BVNK, the global provider of stablecoin infrastructure secured its Crypto-Asset Services Provider (CASP) licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA)
🌟 Canada’s Real-Time Rail advances toward launch with expanded testing, onboarding, and operational readiness in 2026 Q1
🌟 Stripe-owned Bridge received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to organize a federally chartered national trust bank
🚀 Wagepoint, Calgary-based payroll software rolls out two new additions: Timesheets, a time-entry system and My Wagepoint, its new mobile app
🚀 Trinity Underwriting, Toronto-based MGA focusing on specialty lines coverage launched HealthTech, a specialized underwriting product designed for companies operating in the healthcare technology sector
💼 Liferaft, Halifax-based SaaS threat intelligence platform provider acquired by Securitas, Stockholm-based physical security firm
Top Financial Institutions Updates this Week
🌟 The Bank of Canada ordered Toronto-based FinTech company XTM and its affiliated entities to immediately cease retail payment activities after investment regulator halts trading of its stock
🌟 RBC created an AI Group, a newly established team reporting to the Chief Executive Officer that will accelerate the bank's AI ambitions over the next several years
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The Bank of Canada ordered Toronto-based FinTech company XTM and its affiliated entities to immediately cease retail payment activities after investment regulator halts trading of its stock. The Bank of Canada prohibits XTM or its affiliates from conducting any transactions or withdrawals from accounts associated with its payments platform. Clients of Edmonton-based Everyday Payments, a joint subsidiary of Canada-UK firm Everyday People Financial (EPF) and Toronto FinTech XTM alleged that money from the digital wallets that the platform used to store tips or staff wages has disappeared from their accounts. | BetaKit
Wagepoint, Calgary-based payroll software rolls out two new additions: Timesheets, a time-entry system and My Wagepoint, its new mobile app. Timesheets is a time-entry system built into the platform that allows employees, contractors, and administrators to submit billable-hour entries for approval. It also includes a feature that automatically calculates overtime based on provincial or territorial location, as well as automatically tracks billable hours for users. At the same time as it announced Timesheets, Wagepoint also rolled out My Wagepoint, its new mobile app. The app is intended to provide employees with access to time entries, pay stubs, and profile information directly from their cell phones or other mobile devices. | BetaKit
Canada’s Real-Time Rail advances toward launch with expanded testing, onboarding, and operational readiness in 2026 Q1. The program progressed from system integration to user acceptance testing, while onboarding new payment service providers and strengthening performance, security, and 24/7 operational capabilities to support high-volume real-time transactions. | Payments.ca
ACSS rule amendments take effect to support expanded membership and access to critical national infrastructure.The updates align with legislative changes, introduce risk-based membership criteria, clarify return procedures, and retire legacy processes to improve efficiency and strengthen operational resilience within the clearing system. | Payments.ca
Klarna, the global BNPL provider is now available on Google Pay in the UK.Klarna on Google Pay will offer Google Pay’s UK consumers the flexibility of Klarna pay in 3 interest-free installment payment method. Users will be able to manage their purchases seamlessly in the Klarna app, tracking deliveries, handling returns, and managing repayments, all in one place. The integration will make flexible payment options even more accessible for Google Pay users, who can soon shop and pay with Klarna directly from their devices. | Fintech Finance News
Ericsson partnered with Mastercard to enhance global digital money movement and accelerate digital financial inclusion. By integrating the Ericsson Fintech Platform (Mobile Financial Services) with Mastercard Move – Mastercard’s portfolio of money movement solutions – the collaboration will empower telecom service providers, banks, and FinTechs to expand digital wallet capabilities, launch new payment services, and reach unbanked or underbanked communities.| Fintech Finance News
Modern Treasury, a US-based FinTech firm introduced Payments, an integrated payment service provider (PSP) that helps companies build modern money movement experiences.The PSP accelerates startups and product teams that embed fiat and stablecoin payments into their products, leveraging Modern Treasury’s banking, blockchain, and compliance infrastructure to get to market faster and with confidence. | Fintech Finance News
Salt Edge, an Ottawa-based open banking platform and NoCFO, Helsinki-based financial management platform to bring Pay by Bank to entrepreneurs in Finland and Germany.The collaboration integrates Salt Edge’s payment initiation capabilities directly into the NoCFO platform, transforming the user experience by enabling complete financial workflows, including Pay by Bank, without users having to leave the app. | Fintech Finance News
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DBS Bank and Visa expanded their partnership to drive agent-initiated payments via a joint pilot under Visa Intelligent Commerce (VIC). Through this collaboration with Visa, DBS is the first issuer in Asia Pacific to advance real-world agentic commerce use cases. The collaboration validates AI-ready card credentials, authentication and payment signals on Visa Intelligent Commerce, ensuring ecosystem readiness for secure, agent-initiated payments. | PR Newswire
RBC created an AI Group, a newly established team reporting to the Chief Executive Officer that will accelerate the bank's AI ambitions over the next several years. Building on existing capabilities and top AI talent, this group will work closely with business and functional teams to turn high-potential AI use cases into market-ready solutions that bring value to clients. The team will also be responsible for advancing research into emerging use cases across generative and agentic AI, while maintaining expertise in security, responsible AI and regulatory expectations. | RBC
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BVNK, the global provider of stablecoin infrastructure secured its Crypto-Asset Services Provider (CASP) licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). This licence will allow BVNK to offer MiCA-regulated digital-asset services from Malta and passport them across EEA member states. MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation) is the new harmonised European regulatory framework for digital assets. With this licence, BVNK is now offering its customers three critical European capabilities in a single platform: MiCA-regulated digital-asset services via this CASP Licence; Euro payments via its existing EMI Licence; and Direct access to the EU’s Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) scheme, through the Bank of Lithuania’s CENTROlink system. | Fintech Finance News
Stripe-owned Bridge received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to organize a federally chartered national trust bank. Bridge will be authorized to offer businesses custody of digital assets, stablecoin issuance and orchestration and stablecoin reserve management. The approval positions Bridge to help enterprises, FinTechs, crypto businesses, and financial institutions build with digital dollars inside a clear federal framework. | Finextra
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Backbase Amsterdam-based AI-powered banking partnered with Plaid to solve data fragmentation that slows innovation and limits customer experience. The partnership changes that equation. By integrating Plaid’s secure, real-time financial data connectivity with Backbase’s AI-powered Banking Platform, the collaboration allows banks to onboard customers faster, aggregate account data seamlessly, and deliver personalized financial journeys without wrestling with outdated integrations. | Fintech Finance News
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Cohere, Toronto-based enterprise AI platform reportedly hit $240M USD in annual recurring revenue last year, exceeding its targets. The enterprise reached that figure in a February investor memo, significantly overshooting earlier projections of $200M USD in ARR. Cohere saw quarter-over-quarter growth of more than 50% throughout 2025, and averaged 70% gross margins, which expanded by 25 basis points year over year. | BetaKit
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Trinity Underwriting, Toronto-based MGA focusing on specialty lines coverage launched HealthTech, a specialized underwriting product designed for companies operating in the healthcare technology sector. The solution provides integrated coverage for key risk areas including professional liability, medical professional liability, cyber, and general liability, with limits up to $5,000,000. HealthTech also includes access to cyber breach support services, worldwide coverage options, and multi-year policy availability. Optional packaged coverages include D&O, property, legal expense, and additional liability protections. | Insurance-Canada.ca
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Liferaft, Halifax-based SaaS threat intelligence platform provider acquired by Securitas, Stockholm-based physical security firm. Securitas signed a binding agreement to acquire Social Navigator Inc., operating under the brand Liferaft, strengthening its intelligence-led security capabilities. The acquisition is expected to be finalized during the first half year of 2026 and is subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition creates significant opportunities to apply Liferaft’s threat-intelligence capabilities and proprietary IP across Securitas client base. It also contributes to the development of a more scalable Securitas and strengthens the growth of our high-margin recurring monthly revenue business. | Financial Post
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