DeepL, the German AI translation startup, is cutting around 250 jobs, about a quarter of its headcount, saying it was moving to smaller teams so it is able to compete amid rapid AI advancements, its CEO said today. Posting on LinkedIn, Jarek Kutylowksi, CEO and founder, said the cuts at DeepL, which employs over 1,000 people globally, were a “deliberate structural choice about how DeepL needs to operate to remain a global AI leader”. He added: "The pace of AI has accelerated far beyond what was possible even just a year ago, changing what it means to operate effectively - including for a company like ours. "We are currently living through a massive structural shift in what work exists, who does it, and how many people it takes to do it well, and that shift is because of AI.” The Cologne-based AI translation startup, founded in 2017 and last valued at $2bn in 2024, is known for its AI text translation and writing tools. Kutylowksi said he and his management team had been reviewing how DeepL could best operate as a global AI firm amid fast improvements in AI. He added: "In practice, this means transforming how DeepL works from the inside out, with AI embedded into every layer of how we operate. "We are moving to smaller high-agency teams where AI handles the routine, so people can focus on what only humans can bring, like using our intuition, coming up with new creative ideas and seeing projects through from start to finish.  "AI systems will allow us to put more energy into the work that actually matters and move at a speed we haven’t seen before, leaving behind recurring roadblocks and day-to-day inefficiencies." The CEO did not say which specific areas of the business would be impacted by the cuts.

Crypto.com has launched Crypto.com Travel, an in-app booking service powered by Bookit that gives eligible users another way to earn crypto rewards. The service is available through the Crypto.com App for Level Up subscribers in eligible jurisdictions, expanding the company’s benefits programme into travel and entertainment bookings. Crypto.com Travel gives users access to more than one million global travel listings, including hotels, flights, cruises, car rentals and experiences, as well as 20 million tickets. Level Up subscribers can earn up to 35% back in Crypto.com’s native CRO token on eligible bookings, depending on their tier, booking type and applicable terms. Basic Tier users can receive up to a 5% rebate. Rewards are issued after booking confirmation, although timing may vary by booking type and policy. Users may also earn up to an additional 6% back in CRO when paying with Crypto.com Pay, the Crypto.com Prepaid Visa Card or the Crypto.com Visa Signature Credit Card, where available and depending on tier. Eric Anziani Eric Anziani, President and Chief Operating Officer at Crypto.com, said, “This new initiative adds to what is already the most comprehensive rewards program in crypto and with additional benefits available through CRO, the cryptocurrency used in the Cronos ecosystem. By partnering with Bookit, we are delivering a seamless booking experience while enabling our users to turn everyday travel into meaningful crypto-based rewards.” Lin Dai Bookit CEO Lin Dai said, “Bookit is dedicated to helping major institutions launch travel and commerce platforms that pair world-class booking infrastructure with rewards designed for a new generation of consumers, as tokenisation reshapes consumer spending. Through our partnership with Crypto.com, we are enabling millions of users to earn CRO through everyday travel and experiences while bringing tokenised rewards and digital assets into mainstream commerce.” Crypto.com Travel also includes flexible booking options, such as refundable and pay-at-stay options, depending on availability. Rewards vary by Level Up tier, booking type and region, and are subject to terms and conditions.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by MD.Laik alom mollik via Magnific, and Crypto.com The post Crypto.com Brings Travel, Entertainment Bookings to Its App appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Congratulations to the winners of FinovateSpring 2026’s Best of Show awards! From solutions that help banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions deliver new, innovative products and services to their customers and members to novel uses of enabling technologies like AI and stablecoins, the companies that won Best of Show at this year’s FinovateSpring reflect many of the most important trends in fintech and financial services today. This week marks the second time that we’ve brought our annual spring fintech conference to sunny San Diego. And given the success we’ve had, we’re looking forward to bringing the show back to the city affectionately known by some as “Silicon Beach” next year. We want to thank our demoing companies, our sponsors and partners, our outstanding AV team, our staff of conference day assistants, and—of course—our wonderful attendees for their enthusiasm and support. Next stop? FinovateFall 2026 in Times Square, New York. And tickets are already on sale! Clockout for its solution that drives member and customer growth, increases direct deposits by 10-25%, generates $16-$50 monthly per-user revenue, and creates competitive differentiation through embedded financial wellness. Cobalt for its technology that automatically maps real system dependencies across complex banking environments, enabling agentic AI, real-time visibility, safer changes, reduced risk, and confident operations. Crebit Pay for its stablecoin-powered FX platform enabling low-cost, near-instant global payments for students, while helping credit unions onboard and serve international members. Finalytics.ai for its technology that enables financial institutions to instantly unleash the power of AI by offering segment-of-one digital experiences for visitors informed by behavioral, transactional, and third-party data. Zengines for its solution that modernizes off mainframes without losing critical logic, satisfying auditors faster, and making legacy systems searchable so transformation and compliance don’t stall. Notes on methodology: 1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote. 2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites. 3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.” 4. The five companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.” 5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2026 conferences are below: FinovateEurope 2015 FinovateSpring 2015 FinovateFall 2015 FinovateEurope 2016 FinovateSpring 2016 FinovateFall 2016 FinovateAsia 2016 FinovateEurope 2017 FinovateSpring 2017 FinovateFall 2017 FinovateAsia 2017 FinovateMiddleEast 2018 FinovateEurope 2018 FinovateSpring 2018 FinovateFall 2018 FinovateAsia 2018 FinovateAfrica 2018 FinovateEurope 2019 FinovateSpring 2019 FinovateFall 2019 FinovateAsia 2019 FinovateMiddleEast 2019 FinovateEurope 2020 FinovateFall 2020 FinovateWest 2020 FinovateEurope 2021 FinovateSpring 2021 FinovateFall 2021 FinovateEurope 2022 FinovateSpring 2022 FinovateFall 2022 FinovateEurope 2023 FinovateSpring 2023 FinovateFall 2023 FinovateEurope 2024 FinovateSpring 2024 FinovateFall 2024 FinovateEurope 2025 FinovateSpring 2025 FinovateFall 2025 FinovateEurope 2026 Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash The post FinovateSpring 2026 Best of Show Winners Announced! appeared first on Finovate.      Related StoriesFinovateSpring 2025 Best of Show Winners AnnouncedFinovateSpring Showcases Credit Unions in Special Spotlight SessionFinovateSpring 2025: Women in Fintech, Financial Inclusion, and the State of Community Banking 

Jim Cramer says the Club still owns Microsoft. "I just don't think that they're going to sit there and let this happen."

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched an investigation into PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard over concerns that digital wallet arrangements may restrict competition. The probe, for instance, focuses on how PayPal’s wallet is funded and used, placing one of the most widely used online payment systems under regulatory review.Join IG, CMC, and Robinhood in London’s leading trading industry event!Probe Targets Wallet AgreementsThe FCA said it is investigating Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998. It is also examining Mastercard and Visa under Chapter II of the same law. The regulator suspects that certain agreements linked to PayPal’s digital wallet could limit competition in the UK.The regulator’s investigation puts a spotlight on the same card and wallet rails that many UK‑facing FX and CFD brokers use for client funding. For now, it does not change how traders deposit, but it signals that regulators are looking more closely at the commercial terms behind these “everyday” rails and whether they could distort choice or pricing for payments into trading accounts.PayPal confirmed the development in its financial report. The company said it received notices of investigation and requests for information from the FCA in March 2026. The requests relate to contractual terms between PayPal and the two card networks.“In March 2026, we received notices of investigations and related requests for information from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) under the Competition Act 1998 regarding certain provisions in PayPal’s contractual agreements with Visa and Mastercard relating to funding and use of the PayPal digital wallet. We are cooperating with the FCA in connection with these investigations.”The FCA has not reached any conclusions and has not found any breach of competition law. The investigation remains ongoing as the regulator gathers evidence.No Findings at Early StageUnder the Competition Act 1998, Chapter I prohibits agreements that prevent, restrict, or distort competition. Chapter II bans the abuse of a dominant market position. The FCA can issue a statement of objections if it finds potential violations. Companies would then have a chance to respond before a final decision.Continue reading: FCA Wants to Prove London’s Markets Are More Liquid Than Many ThinkThe FCA conducts these investigations separately from its broader financial supervision under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Competition and Markets Authority can also bring cases under the same law.The outcome of the probe remains uncertain, but it signals closer scrutiny of digital payment systems and the role of major card networks in shaping market access.Many major FCA‑authorized brokers already sit on this stack: IG, CMC Markets, Pepperstone, Plus500 and others support Visa and Mastercard cards, and in several cases PayPal as a funding option alongside bank transfers.Payment Rails that Fund FX and CFD AccountsPublic funding pages show, for example, that IG offers deposits via Visa or Mastercard and PayPal, CMC Markets accepts Visa or Mastercard and in some regions PayPal. Pepperstone and Plus500 also enable funding through Visa, Mastercard and PayPal in addition to bank transfers.Notably, several regulators have already moved against, or closely scrutinized, the same payments firms, mainly on competition and access‑to‑services grounds. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission recently sent formal warning letters to Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Stripe, telling them not to “debank” or deny services to customers based on political or religious views. It also warned that such conduct could trigger investigations and enforcement under Section 5 of the FTC Act.Last year, Visa and Mastercard agreed to a revised 38-billion-dollar settlement with US merchants in a two‑decade swipe‑fee antitrust case, offering to cut average credit card fees by 0.1 percentage point for five years and cap some consumer rates, even as major retail groups argued the deal still left businesses paying too much to accept card payments. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

In the financial services industry, artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved into a mainstream standard, with machine learning (ML), and generative AI (genAI) emerging as the most widely adopted technologies in the category, according to a new study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. However, the realization of profitability gains and operational improvements depend heavily on an organization’s AI maturity, sophistication, and investment levels, the research found. Released in April 2026, the study was conducted between October 2025 and January 2026, and captured insights from 628 financial institutions, AI vendors, and regulatory authorities operating across 151 jurisdictions. Results highlight the widespread adoption of AI in finance, with 81% of industry players now adopting AI at some level and 40% reporting advanced AI adoption, including “Scaling” or “Transforming”. This underscores the industry’s recognition of AI’s critical role in enhancing efficiency, risk management, and customer personalization. AI adoption maturity: industry versus regulators, Source: 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report: Adoption, Impact and Risks, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Apr 2026 Fintech firms lead in adoption Findings show a clear divide between fintech companies and incumbents, with fintech firms leading in AI adoption and being more than three times more likely as traditional financial institutions to have reached the “Transforming” stage at 19% versus 6% for incumbents. Conversely, incumbents show higher shares of “Exploring” (21%) and “Piloting” (44%), underscoring slower progression through the AI adoption maturity curve. This disparity reflects the fact that fintech firms are digital-first, more agile adopters of new technologies, whereas traditional financial institutions often face organizational inertia, legacy complexity and more demanding integration and security requirements that complicate the path to scaling deployment. AI adoption maturity by type – fintech firms versus traditional financial institutions, Source: 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report: Adoption, Impact and Risks, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Apr 2026 ML and genAI as primary frontiers Looking at specific technologies, the study found that classical ML is the most widely adopted AI technology among the financial services providers, embraced by 75% of respondents. These systems learn statistical patterns from labeled historical data and are commonly applied to fraud scoring, credit underwriting, and anti-money laundering (AML) anomaly detection. However, several newer technologies are rapidly scaling. GenAI, in particular, is recording an adoption rate of 71%. GenAI involves large ML models trained once on a vast corpus of text, code, or other data, and then adapted to many downstream generation tasks. Additionally, agentic AI has emerged as a booming frontier technology, with 52% of industry respondents actively adopting it. This demonstrates rapid uptake in a relatively short period of time. Agentic AI refers to systems that pursue objectives through autonomous, multi-step sequences of actions. Common applications include autonomous trading, dynamic portfolio rebalancing, and real-time risk mitigation. Active AI adoption by AI type and stakeholder group – % active adoption covers Piloting, Scaling or Transforming, Source: 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report: Adoption, Impact and Risks, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Apr 2026 AI deployment in financial services The research also looked at the deployment of AI within financial institutions, and found that AI is mostly used in operational and back-office functions. The most mature and widely adopted use cases globally are process automation, data visualization, and software development, with adoption rates of 79%, 75%, and 75%, respectively. Within the front-office, AI-powered customer support leads at 73%, followed by sales, customer relationship management (CRM) and outreach at 67%, and marketing and personalization at 64%. These applications primarily support client relationship management and enhance customer acquisition strategies. Industry AI adoption maturity across use cases, Source: 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report: Adoption, Impact and Risks, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Apr 2026 The impact of AI Findings from the study also show that AI adoption is increasingly generating measurable improvements across financial services, especially regarding productivity. The strongest gains were observed in technology, data, and product functions, where 79% of respondents reported positive outcomes. Back office and operations followed closely at 75% overall. AI productivity impact by function and firm type, Source: 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report: Adoption, Impact and Risks, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Apr 2026 Crucially, the research found strong correlations between AI maturity, sophistication, and spend. 64% of more mature adopters of AI reported increased profitability compared with 33% of less mature firms. Similarly, 56% of fintech firms recorded productivity gains compared with 34% of financial institutions, a divergence which aligns with the 17% maturity gap in advanced AI adoption between fintech firms and finance incumbents. Investment levels also play a pivotal role, with 61% of firms that invested over US$100,000 in the most recent financial year observing increases in profitability compared to 40% of firms spending less than US$100,000. Furthermore, firms with fully in-house or fine-tuned AI models reported higher profitability gains at 54% compared with those relying on off-the-shelf or vendor-built solutions at 39%. Taken together, these findings indicate that realizing financial value from AI may depend less on adoption alone and more on organizational maturity, technical capability and the level of control over AI development. Reported AI profitability impact across key comparison groups, Source: 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report: Adoption, Impact and Risks, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Apr 2026 Workforce implications of AI and future outlook Regarding the impact of AI on employment in the financial services sector, the results show that the actual effect on headcount has remained very limited for the last three years, with 74% of respondents reporting that no significant job losses or gains have been observed due to AI implementation. Looking ahead to 2030, the industry expects structural transformation rather than simple contraction. 25% of firms expect “Reskilling and Transformation” of the workforce. Combined with the 10% of respondents expecting a net increase, a total of 35% of the industry anticipates a future where job roles are transformed through reskilling or positively impacted by the use of AI. Nevertheless, a quarter of firms predict a net reduction in jobs by 2030, with the payments sector being the most pessimistic, with 21% of respondents projecting a significant decline. Expected job impact of AI by 2030 by sub-sector, Source: 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report: Adoption, Impact and Risks, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Apr 2026 Challenges to AI adoption Despite growing AI adoption, the CCAF study also highlights persistent challenges, especially around data quality, fragmented systems, technology and infrastructure challenges, and limited institutional capabilities. Data availability and quality are the leading pain point hindering AI adoption, cited by 66% of AI vendors, 46% of regulators, 40% of industry participants. Vendors also reported specifically acute data-related challenges when working with their clients, with 72% citing data quality and completeness, 46% legacy systems and siloed environments, and 41% reporting data-sharing restrictions. For surveyed regulators, lack of AI training and capacity building (48%), talent (47%), and technology and infrastructure (45%) are also core constraints for AI adoption in addition to data issues. Top six pain points for AI adoption by stakeholder group, Source: 2026 Global AI in Financial Services Report: Adoption, Impact and Risks, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Apr 2026   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by tamirt via Magnific The post AI Adoption in Finance Tops 81% appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Banks race to adopt **ISO 20022** by 2027. This standard promises fewer payment errors and quicker fixes. Get ready for a smoother payments world. Table of Contents Key Facts Simple Breakdown Why This Matters What's Next Key Facts **ISO 20022** uses richer data in payment messages, unlike old formats. Migration deadlines hit in 2025-2027 for systems like Fedwire, CHIPS, and SWIFT. Cleaner data cuts **exceptions** by up to 30% in processing. Investigations drop from days to hours with better details. Event highlights strategies for US, UK, Europe payments teams. Simple Breakdown **ISO 20022** is like upgrading from a basic text message to a full email with attachments. Old systems used short codes (MT messages). Now, payments carry names, addresses, and reasons in structured fields. **Exceptions** happen when a payment detail is missing or wrong, halting straight-through processing (STP). With ISO 20022, data is complete, so fewer stops. **Investigations** track delayed or failed payments. Richer info speeds queries across borders. Why This Matters Businesses wait less for funds. A small retailer gets paid faster from overseas sales. Banks save on manual checks, cutting costs by millions. Cross-border trade in US-UK-Europe flows better. Fraud teams spot issues quick. Customers see reliable transfers via apps. Fail to adapt, and payments lag competitors by 2027. What's Next Full ISO 20022 rollout ends MT support by late 2027. Banks test hybrid systems now. AI tools will parse data for auto-fixes. Expect standards bodies to push training. Firms like Finextra host more events. ⚡ Key Takeaways ISO 20022 reduces payment exceptions with detailed data. Migration deadlines loom for major US and Europe systems in 2025-2027. Faster investigations mean less time chasing funds. Banks need tools for data mapping and testing. Cross-border payments become more reliable. Start planning now to avoid processing backlogs. Rich data aids compliance and fraud checks. FAQ What is ISO 20022? A messaging standard for payments with structured, detailed info for better processing. When is the ISO 20022 deadline? Key systems migrate by 2025; full switch by end of 2027. How does it fix exceptions? More complete data allows straight-through processing without manual intervention. Who needs to prepare? Banks, payment providers, and corporates handling high-volume transfers. Conclusion ISO 20022 sets payments on a clear path. Act early for gains. Watch for updates from regulators. Sources Finextra (2026-06-11) Payments Dive (2026-04-27) SWIFT (2026-04-26)

A new era is on the way for Apple as Tim Cook plans to step down from his CEO role in September, handing the reins to hardware chief John Ternus.   Ternus may be inheriting one of the most durable businesses in tech, but he’s also stepping into a very different ecosystem than the one Cook spent decades shaping. The App […]

The first spot DOGE ETF just started trading on Nasdaq, and the biggest meme coin in crypto still cannot break $0.10. Every Dogecoin price prediction model this year tops out between $0.13 and $0.22, and that range tells DOGE holders exactly how long they will wait for returns that barely change their position. Pepeto is […] The post Could the Dogecoin Price Prediction Ceiling Explain Why DOGE Holders Are Moving Into Pepeto appeared first on TechBullion.