Lending
News
Spout Finance adds Ondo Stocks as collateral for interest-free USDC loans
Spout Finance will accept Ondo Stocks as collateral on Solana from launch, letting eligible non-U.S. users borrow USDC with no interest charged. Spout redeems tokens for the underlying shares and sells covered calls, using the premiums to pay lenders. Borrowers can draw up to 50% of collateral value and forgo gains above the strike price.
Small-business lending in the US tilts toward fewer but larger loans
Federal CRA figures for 2025 show the count of small-business loans originated dropped 2%, while dollars originated climbed 4.7%. Loans below $100,000 were 94.6% of originations yet just 43.2% of dollars. PYMNTS suggests cash-flow underwriting and embedded lending could make serving small borrowers more profitable.
Experian expands Boost for UK renters and BNPL users
Experian added features to its Boost product so UK renters and buy now, pay later users can see how lenders may view rent, BNPL commitments and household bills. Users get personalized insights and can add rent payments to credit reports, which may raise credit scores and improve access to credit.
Fidelity Bank adds MANTL loan origination through Alkami
Pennsylvania-based Fidelity Bank is extending its relationship with Alkami Technology by launching MANTL loan origination. The bank will use omnichannel origination to modernize its consumer lending, covering personal loans and vehicle loans.
Crediflow AI raises £1.5M to automate commercial loan processing
Manchester-based Crediflow AI has raised £1.5M (€1.8M).
Qupital raises $300M Series C led by M Capital with MUFG ABS financing
Qupital raises $300M in Series C and ABS financing led by M Capital to expand e-commerce trade finance.
Tarabut secures $50M strategic financing from Saudi banks and family groups
Tarabut secures $50M in strategic financing from Saudi banks and family groups to deepen embedded finance in the Kingdom.
Synapse Analytics raises $13M Series A led by Partech
Synapse Analytics raises $13M Series A led by Partech to put AI credit decisioning inside banks' own infrastructure.
Pagaleve receives Central Bank of Brazil authorisation as a payment institution
Pagaleve receives Central Bank of Brazil authorisation to operate as a payment institution, bringing Pix instalments into the regulated perimeter.
Split Pay raises $125M across Series A and B led by Khosla Ventures
Split Pay raises $125M across Series A and B led by Khosla Ventures. Split Pay has raised approximately $125 million in back-to-back Series A and Series B…
Newsletters
Weekly update #157
Builders Fintech Funding Index: 143 (last full week, week of 26 Oct). 30 equity rounds recorded, against a 12week average of 21. Median disclosed USD round: index 173. Our round coverage expanded in September 2026, so the Index overstates activity until midDecember. Full reading
Weekly update #156
Builders Fintech Funding Index: 228 (last full week, week of 19 Oct). 41 equity rounds recorded, against a 12week average of 18. Median disclosed USD round: index 91. Our round coverage expanded in September 2026, so the Index overstates activity until midDecember. Full reading.
Weekly update #155
Builders Fintech Funding Index: 204 (last full week, week of 12 Oct). 33 equity rounds recorded, against a 12week average of 16. Median disclosed USD round: index 40. Our round coverage expanded in September 2026, so the Index overstates activity until midDecember. Full reading
Weekly update #154
Builders Fintech Funding Index: 236 (last full week, week of 5 Oct). 34 equity rounds recorded, against a 12week average of 14. Median disclosed USD round: index 285. Our round coverage expanded in September 2026, so the Index overstates activity until midDecember. Full reading
Weekly update #153
Builders Fintech Funding Index: 237 (last full week, week of 28 Sep). 31 equity rounds recorded, against a 12week average of 13. Median disclosed USD round: index 86. Our round coverage expanded in September 2026, so the Index overstates activity until midDecember. Full reading
Weekly update #152
Before the news of the week, a small announce from my side:
Weekly update #151
airtel Money confirmed a London IPO at an $8–9B valuation, Priority Commerce Technology is going private in a $1.6B founderled buyout, and Bessemer Venture Partners raised $5.75B in a single close. Below: an interview with Ingo Ernst, CEO of Kybix, on why business identity lags consumer KYC and w…
Weekly update #150
Tabby | تابي raises $233M at a $6.5B valuation as it expands beyond BNPL. barq closes a $329.5M Series A at $1.85B, two years after launch. S&P Global agrees to acquire OpenZeppelin , the security standard behind $37T in onchain value. Circle launches the Arc mainnet with BlackRock, DTCC, Masterc…
Weekly update #149
The weekly update on the fintech and VC ecosystems
Weekly update #148
The latest news from the fintech and VC ecosystems
Podcasts
Building trust in fintech with Nicolas Kipp (Episode 52)
In this episode, I sit down with Nicolas Kipp, CEO and founder of Credibur.
Rethinking credit score with Kristy Kim (Episode 50)
In this episode, I sit down with Kristy Kim, CEO and founder of Tomo Credit.
Launching and selling Kriya with Anil Stocker (Episode 37)
In this episode, I sit down with Anil Stocker, CEO and founder of Kriya.
Episode 31 - Tomas Campos
In this episode, I sit down with Tomas Campos, founder of Spinwheel.
Episode 27 - Mark Beeston and Alexander Ross
In this episode, I sit down with Mark Beeston and Alexander Ross, founder and general partner at Illuminate financial.
Episode 16 - Anne-Sybill Pradelles from Formance
In this episode, I sit down with Anne-Sybill Predelles, co-founder of Formance.
Episode 5 - Patrick Stäuble from Teylor
Patrick founded Teylor in 2018 in Zurich as an SME lending platform, providing a web-based loan application process.
Companies
Fintech API provider
2 licensed companies linked to this topic
Products
- Alkami Digital Banking · Alkami · Provided by the company
Digital banking, onboarding and data platform for banks and credit unions
- Alpaca · Alpaca · Provided by the company
API-first brokerage for stocks, options and crypto, plus a Broker API
- Celligence · Celligence · Provided by the company
AI software for financial services, including the AngelAi assistant
- MANTL · Mantl · Provided by the company
Digital account opening and origination software for banks and credit unions
- Qupital · Qupital · Provided by the company
Data-driven working capital for cross-border e-commerce sellers in Asia
- Split Pay · Split Pay · Provided by the company
Splits rent, mortgage and car payments into two smaller payments
- Synapse Analytics · Synapse Analytics · Provided by the company
No-code credit decisioning and document automation for banks and lenders
- Tarabut · Tarabut Gateway · Provided by the company
Open banking platform for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE
Funding rounds
€21M
$3M
TetherLead
$155M
FTV CapitalLead
€1.3M
HFO InvestmentsLead
$87M
Andreessen HorowitzLead, Castle Island Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, Endeavor Catalyst, QED Investors, Swish Ventures
$8M
Gumi Cryptos CapitalLead, Joint Effects, Maven 11, Metalayer, Tribe Capital
$100M
$6M
Lux CapitalLead, Amino Capital, General Advance, GoAhead Ventures, Rebel Fund, Unpopular Ventures, Y Combinator
$12.5M
NorwestLead, 3one4 Capital, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India
£2.3M
Blackfinch VenturesLead, Bethnal Green Ventures, Oxford Capital