It is clear that the payments industry is entering its next phase. With stablecoins, AI advancements, and real-time payments, the payments scene of 2026 is a vastly different landscape from what it was in 2012. In this new era, success depends on scale, specialization, and settlement infrastructure.
This summer, three major announcements in the payments space have both supported evidence of this new era and hinted at where we can expect it to go next. Here are the top three headlines...
- Expensify has expanded its partnership with Marqeta to launch the Expensify Card in Spain, Ireland, Poland, and the Netherlands.
- The European rollout gives multinational businesses access to spend controls, virtual and physical cards, receipt matching, and no foreign transaction fees.
- The launch reflects growing competition among US spend management providers to expand internationally, while highlighting Marqeta’s role in enabling cross-border card programs.
Business...
- Card issuing platform Marqeta has announced a partnership with digital asset infrastructure provider zerohash.
- The collaboration will integrate zerohash's stablecoin infrastructure into Marqeta's card issuing capabilities to enable companies to offer stablecoin payments to their customers without having to rebuild their core systems.
- A Finovate alum since 2016, Marqeta is headquartered in Oakland, California.
Card issuing platform Marqeta and digital asset infrastructure...
- Transaction monitoring and fraud prevention company INETCO unveiled its fraud investigation tool, BullzAI Investigate.
- A module within INETCO's BullzAI fraud prevention platform, BullzAI Investigate uses agentic AI to scale fraud prevention operations, reduce false positives, and help prioritize high-risk cases.
- INETCO made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015. The Vancouver, Canada-based company was founded in 1984.
Real-time transaction monitoring and payment fraud...
After days (weeks!) of deliberation, the finalists for the 2026 Finovate Awards have been chosen. The shortlist is now on its way to our panel of esteemed industry judges who are tasked with picking this year's winners in more than 30 categories ranging from alternative investing and lending to financial inclusion and payments!
“This year’s field of nominees was excellent, making for an incredibly competitive process,” Finovate VP and Director of Fintech Strategy Greg Palmer said....
