Builders in Fintech — Monday 26 October: m was raises $541M, 5 more rounds
The OCC finalised its GENIUS Act rule for stablecoin issuers, keeping the yield ban but dropping the presumption against third-party rewards ahead of the 18 January 2027 effective date. HSBC put its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in front of 3.3 million PayMe users, and Sezzle applied for a national bank charter. In funding, Cognitive Credit raised $40 million from Summit Partners and OPay set terms for a NYSE listing of up to $336 million.
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The lead
OCC finalises GENIUS Act rule for payment stablecoin issuers, effective 18 January 2027
The OCC has issued the final rule implementing the GENIUS Act for payment stablecoin issuers under its jurisdiction.
The OCC's final rule fixes reserve, redemption and capital standards while leaving stablecoin rewards to case-by-case review, so issuers and the fintechs paying rewards must plan for supervisory judgment, not a safe harbor.
Rounds · last 7 days: 43 · Funding Index (2026-W43): 228
Our news
Image: morningstar.com Mercury launches Payroll inside its banking app for its 450,000 customersMercury has launched Mercury Payroll, bringing payroll into the banking account used by its more than 450,000 customers.
Sezzle applies to the OCC for a national bank charter and to the FDIC for deposit insuranceSezzle (NASDAQ: SEZL) has filed an application with the OCC to charter a national bank, Sezzle Bank, N.A., and applied to the FDIC for deposit insurance.
- Affirm becomes exclusive pay-over-time provider at Sam's Club
Affirm has signed an exclusive, multi-year agreement to be the pay-over-time provider at Sam's Club, announced on 22 October.
- HSBC launches RedCoin, its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, to 3.3M PayMe users
HSBC has launched HSBC RedCoin, its first stablecoin, a Hong Kong dollar token licensed and regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
- OPay sets terms for a NYSE IPO of up to $336M, with a $200M Stanbic placement alongside
OPay has set terms for a US initial public offering of 16 million ADSs at $19 to $21 each, or $304 million to $336 million before the over-allotment option, on…
Image: morningstar.com Cognitive Credit raises $40M growth investment led by Summit Partners to scale AI for credit researchCognitive Credit has completed a $40 million strategic growth investment led by Summit Partners, with ETFS Capital continuing as an investor.
The rounds
| Company | Round | Lead investor | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| m was source | — | — | $541M |
| Erebor Bank source | Preferred stock (strategic investment) | Robinhood Ventures | $30M |
| BOB AI Holdings Corp. source | Seed | Mischief | $5.5M |
| Londons Cognitive Credit source | Series B | — | €35.7M |
| Payward source | — | — | Undisclosed |
| Plum source | — | — | Undisclosed |
Quick hits
Banking
- US Ramp acquired Vesto, a New York treasury platform that connects accounts at more than 12,000 financial institutions, adding cross-account cash views and forecasting to its Banking tab; terms were not disclosed. — Ramp
Regulation
- GB The FCA opened consultation GC26/7 on how its operational resilience and financial crime rules apply to firms using DeFi; it runs from 21 October to 18 November 2026. — FCA
Crypto
- BO Peso, a Bolivian fintech offering USDT accounts, took an undisclosed pre-seed investment led by Tether to expand on- and off-ramps in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. — Cointelegraph
Lending
- US Tala partnered with El Dorado, a USDT wallet, to offer pre-qualified loans disbursed and repaid in USDT on the Tempo blockchain, starting in Bolivia with more Latin American countries to follow. — Tala
Number of the day
228
41 rounds this week · baseline 18
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