Analytics, big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) have become the most prevalent technology category in the Swiss and Liechtenstein fintech industry, surpassing both process digitalization and distributed ledger technology (DLT) for the first time in 2025, according to the latest IFZ Fintech Study released in March 2026. This milestone marks a significant shift in the region’s fintech landscape and reflects the growing importance of advanced analytical capabilities into fintech business models. In 2025, 183 fintech companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein utilized analytics, big data and AI, representing a continuous increase over the past decade from just 37 ventures in 2015. The figure makes it the top technology category in the fintech sector, surpassing DLT with 180 companies, and process digitalization, automation and robotics with 165. These two categories had led the fintech sector for the previous seven consecutive years. This shift showcases the growing importance of data-driven financial solutions and signals a transition towards more advanced, scalable, and analytics-oriented innovation structures. Fintech companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein by technology category, Source: IFZ Fintech Study 2026, Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ, Mar 2026 AI under the spotlight The trend reflects the broader global surge in AI advances and adoption. Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, the technology has become the hottest topic in the business community. In 2025, AI companies raised US$226 billion globally, a new record for the industry, according to CB Insights. This figure represents 48% of total venture funding in 2025, the largest share on record. The six largest funding rounds of the year all went to AI companies, namely OpenAI (US$41 billion), Anthropic (US$32.5 billion), Scale (US$14.8 billion), xAI (US$12.8 billion), Databricks (US$5 billion), and Aligned (US$5 billion). This signals strong investor conviction that AI infrastructure and foundational models represent the most significant growth opportunity of the decade. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, analytics, big data and AI attracted the most number of funding rounds and investment volume in the fintech industry. These companies attracted 16 transactions and a total investment volume of CHF 91 million. The figure gives the category a 49% share of total venture capital (VC) funding in 2025. VC investments in Swiss and Liechtenstein fintech companies in 2025 by product area and technology category, Source: IFZ Fintech Study 2026, Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ, Mar 2026 By contrast, the share of DLT declined to 44%, down from 58% in 2024, while process digitization, automatization and robotics fell sharply from 39% in 2024 to 7% in 2025. Proportion of VC investments in Swiss and Liechtenstein fintech companies by year, and by product area and technology category, Source: IFZ Fintech Study 2026, Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ, Mar 2026 In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, fintech companies in the investment management verticals are showing the most pronounced concentration in analytics, big data and AI, with 84 companies. Notable examples include robo-advisory platform True Wealth, which use data analytics and AI for portfolio construction and data-driven risk profiling, and Unique, an AI-driven platform for agent AI that helps financial institutions streamline middle- and back-office processes. Distribution of Swiss and Liechtenstein fintech companies according to the fintech grid, Source: IFZ Fintech Study 2026, Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ, Mar 2026 Focus remain on B2B activities and international markets In line with the rise of the analytics, big data, and AI category, the Swiss and Liechtenstein fintech industry remained oriented towards business-to-business (B2B) activities in 2025. A total of 319 companies (60%) primarily operated in B2B markets, while a further 176 companies (33%) combined B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) activities. In contrast, consumer-focused business models accounted for a smaller share of the ecosystem, representing only 6% of the ecosystem with 34 companies. A large majority of fintech companies primarily operated beyond domestic markets. 431 companies representing 81% served international customers. Within this internationally active segment, B2B business models dominated, accounting for more than half of all fintech companies at 54%. These findings highlight the export-oriented and infrastructure-focused character of fintech innovation in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Proportion of fintech companies by customer segments, Source: IFZ Fintech Study 2026, Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ, Mar 2026 Parallel to this development, revenue generation has increasingly shifted towards technology-driven models, with software-as-a-service (SaaS) emerging as the dominant monetization approach over time. In 2025, SaaS-based revenue models reached 38%, increasing steadily from 16% in 2015. Since 2020, SaaS has been the most frequently observed revenue model. In contrast, license fee-based revenue models have declined in relevance since 2020, accounting for only 13% of revenue models in the Swiss and Liechtenstein fintech sector in 2025. Meanwhile, commission-based revenue models, which were most prevalent in the earlier years of the observation period, accounting for more than 40% of observed revenue models in 2015, have seen their relative importance decline. In 2025, commission-based revenues accounted for 31% of revenue models, making them the second most frequently observed form of monetization. Swiss and Liechtenstein fintech industry stabilizes Following a phase of strong expansion, the fintech ecosystem in Switzerland and Liechtenstein has entered a phase of maturation, stabilizing at around 500 companies over the past three years. At the end of 2025, that number reached 529 companies, suggesting a structural transition from growth-driven ecosystem formation towards consolidation, specialization, and technological repositioning. Looking at fintech verticals, investment management companies experienced the strongest absolute growth, with the number of investment management companies increasing from 46 in 2015 to 198 in 2025. Banking infrastructure companies rose from 55 to 204 over the same period, recording a year-over-year increase of 19 companies in 2025 and overtaking investment management to become the largest product area by number of companies. In contract, payment and deposit and lending companies grew more moderately. Payment-related fintech companies rose from 35 in 2015 to 77 in 2025, while deposit and lending companies grew from 25 to 50 over the same period. Number of fintech companies by year, and by product area, Source: IFZ Fintech Study 2026, Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ, Mar 2026   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by rawpixel.com via Freepik The post Swiss Fintech Study 2026: Analytics, Big Data and AI Lead Swiss Fintech Ecosystem appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News - FintechNewsCH.

Hong Kong, 23rd March 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2026 is honored to welcome ENI as a Primary Exhibition Sponsor. ENI is an ultra-high-performance, modular L1 blockchain engineered specifically for hyper-scale commercial adoption. Built from the ground up to address the bottlenecks that have long constrained enterprise-grade blockchain deployment, ENI represents a […] The post ENI Announced as Primary Exhibition Sponsor at Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2026 appeared first on TechBullion.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said the company has cut about 12 percent of its workforce as part of an enterprise-wide AI shift. Kris Marszalek Marszalek said, “Companies that do not make this pivot immediately will fail. Companies that move slowly will be left behind. Companies that move immediately and pair the best AI tools with top-performers will achieve a level of scale and precision that was previously impossible.” He added the reduction was targeted at roles that do not adapt to the company’s new direction in an AI-led environment. Affected employees have reportedly been notified and are receiving support as they transition out of the company. The move follows Crypto.com’s 20 percent workforce cut in early 2023. By April 2024, the company said it was hiring again, describing its expansion plans as more measured after the earlier layoffs.     The post Crypto.com Cuts About 12% of Workforce Citing AI Shift appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

This week’s edition of Finovate Global showcases recent fintech news from Canada. Royal Bank of Canada acquires mortgagetech Pinch Financial The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has acquired Toronto-based mortgagetech Pinch Financial. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the move is designed to accelerate the decisioning process for mortgage borrowers throughout the country. “This acquisition helps us deliver on our commitment to bring the best solutions to clients on their path to home ownership,” RBC SVP of Home Equity Financing Janet Boyle said in a statement. “Pinch’s technology will help us accelerate our digital roadmap to deliver a quicker, more streamlined mortgage experience for Canadians.” Founded in 2016, Pinch Financial offers banks, lenders, and other financial services providers a platform that allows them to verify data and automate mortgage applications. The company’s technology verifies identity, income, assets, liabilities, source of the down payment, and creditworthiness to establish whether a borrower meets the requirements—from TDS and FICO to LTV and net worth—for rate and underwriting eligibility. RBC already plays a major role in Canada’s mortgage market. The acquisition of Pinch Financial will help the bank serve customers who prefer to apply for home loans online instead of in-person at a branch. “We started Pinch to make mortgages more relevant and familiar for digital-first consumers—making the qualification process faster, simpler, and more transparent for borrowers,” Pinch Financial CEO Andrew Wells said. “This acquisition gives us the opportunity to bring our technology to more Canadians while being part of a team that shares our vision for innovation in financial services.” Canada’s largest bank by market capitalization and assets—and one of the largest banks in the world—RBC serves more than 19 million clients in Canada, the US, and 27 other countries. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and boasting more than 101,000 employees, RBC reported total assets of $1.9 trillion CAD as of October 31, 2025. Dave McKay is President and CEO. Wealthsimple becomes first Canadian fintech to join SWIFT Canadian fintech Wealthsimple has secured a big “first” and a big “second” this week. The firm became the first Canadian fintech and the second non-bank fintech in the world to become a member of the SWIFT global financial messaging network. The company is currently completing final technical integration and security certification ahead of a full launch with clients expected later this spring. “Many Canadians rely on international wire transfers, and yet to date, the experience has been clunky and expensive. We want to fix that,” Wealthsimple VP of Payment Strategy Hanna Zaidi said. “Our SWIFT membership is going to unlock faster, simpler, and more transparent international money transfers for the more than three million Canadians who trust Wealthsimple.” SWIFT’s international messaging network serves 11,000 financial institutions around the world, facilitating trillions of dollars in payment volume. SWIFT makes the sending and receiving of international money transfers more seamless and efficient, while also providing end-to-end tracking visibility with real-time status updates. Wealthsimple’s SWIFT membership is part of the company’s overall strategy to lower costs and boost efficiency for money movement in Canada. Wealthsimple also announced that it will be an early adopter of the country’s pending Real-Time Rail (RTR) payment system, making its clients among the first to benefit from instant money movement between institutions. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Wealthsimple offers a wide range of financial products and services, including managed investing, do-it-yourself trading, cryptocurrency, tax filing, spending, and saving. The company serves more than three million Canadians and has more than $100 billion in assets under administration. Co-founder Michael Katchen is CEO. KPMG: Canada fintech investment “moderated” in 2025 The bad news is that investment in Canadian fintech slowed in 2025. The good news is that this moderating pace comes on the heels of record highs notched in 2024. KPMG International recently unveiled its Pulse of Fintech H2’25 and FY25 report. The document depicts a fintech investment landscape in Canada that has returned to more historic levels, with “sustained interest in later-stage companies, platform acquisitions, and strategically important fintech subsectors such as artificial intelligence and digital assets.” Specifically, the comparison is $2.4 billion across 113 deals in 2025 versus $9.9 billion across 161 deals in 2024. The report notes that much of the deal value in 2024 came from two sizable transactions: Nuvei’s $6.3 billion public-to-private buyout and Plusgrade’s $1 billion private equity deal. In 2025, the two largest investments in Canadian fintech were the $898 million private equity buyout of Converge Technology Solutions and Wealthsimple’s $536 million equity raise. The report notes that investment activity in the sector picked up in the second half of 2025, especially with regard to gains in average deal value. Dubie Cunningham, a partner in KPMG Canada’s Banking and Capital Markets Practice specializing in fintech, indicated that she believed the strength in the second half of 2025 augured well for strength in 2026. “The investment appetite for Canadian fintechs will continue to grow in 2026, as investors prioritize quality, scale, and strategic fit, signaling a market that is maturing and aligning more closely with long-term value creation,” Cunningham said. Read the full KPMG report for much more. Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world. Central and Southern Asia Pakistan-based digital banking platform Zindigi unveiled what it is billing as the country’s first “fintech credit card.” Indian fintech Cred secured approval from the country’s central bank to operate as a payment aggregator. IBS Intelligence looked at how fintech innovation in India is evolving from transaction rails to financial data rails. Latin America and the Caribbean Argentine fintech Ualá secured $195 million in a round led by Allianz X. Brazilian insurtech Azos raised R$125 million ($23.8 million) in new funding Blockchain-based enterprise solutions provider Ripple announced a major expansion in Brazil. Asia-Pacific Cross-border payments platform Neema forged a partnership with China’s Alipay. NCR Voyix agreed to sell its bank technology business in Japan to NTT Data. An analysis of the Australian fintech sector by Deloitte Access Economics and FinTech Australia reported that the sector could grow to $71 billion in value by 2035. Sub-Saharan Africa Kenya and Rwanda inked an agreement that could enable digital payments companies licensed in one country to operate in the other. South African fintech PayInc and First Capital Bank Botswana teamed up to launch instant cross-border payments. The Fintech Times analyzed the fintech ecosystem of West African country, Burkina Faso. Central and Eastern Europe Part of Estonia’s Iute Group, IuteBank has begun operating as a regulated bank in Ukraine. Lithuanian fintech PAYSTRAX announced an major expansion to its team, adding up to 150 new specialists. Czech fintech Flowpay acquired Berlin, Germany-based SME financing firm Tapline. Middle East and Northern Africa Israel-based fintech Datarails launched a new solution to help companies reduce contract and subscription waste. Kaspersky and UAE fintech Codebase teamed up to enhance digital banking security. Moroccan fintech WafR secured $4 million in seed funding in a round co-led by LoftyInc Capital. Photo by Guillaume Jaillet on Unsplash The post Finovate Global Canada: Mortgagetech, Real-Time Payments, and Top Investment Trends appeared first on Finovate.       

AI model giants should pay a content levy for selling their services in Europe with the money funnelled into Europe’s cultural sector, according to the boss of Europe’s leading AI model startup.   Arthur Mensch, the CEO and co-founder of Mistral, says such a levy would be a win-win for both the AI model providers, giving them legal certainty, and also creators, whose data the AI models are trained on, which would benefit from the levy.   AI model companies, which train their models on vast amounts of text, audio and video data, have been hit by complaints and legal challenges from creators and copyright owners.   In an op-ed in the Financial Times, Mensch writes that European AI model developers were at a disadvantage, operating under a “fragmented legal environment”, compared to AI developers in the US and China, who were “developing their models under permissive or non-existent copyright rules”. He says that the current copyright rules for European creators were also not working. Mensch says a “new approach” is needed, with his solution being a revenue-based levy, which would be levied on AI model companies which operate in Europe, "reflecting their use of content publicly available online". “Proceeds would flow into a central European fund dedicated to investing in new content creation and supporting Europe’s cultural sectors”, he says. According to one report, Mensch is calling for a contribution between one and five per cent of the revenues of AI model providers in Europe. This was not confirmed by Mistral.   Mensch writes: "At Mistral, we are proposing a revenue-based levy that would be applied to all commercial providers placing AI models on the market or putting them into service in Europe, reflecting their use of content publicly available online.   "Crucially, this levy would apply equally to providers based abroad, creating a level playing field within the European market and ensuring that foreign AI companies also contribute when they operate here.    "The proceeds would flow into a central European fund dedicated to investing in new content creation, and supporting Europe’s cultural sectors.  In return, AI developers would gain what they urgently need: legal certainty.  "The mechanism would shield AI providers from liability for training on materials accessible online. Importantly, it would not replace licensing agreements or the freedom to contract.    "On the contrary, licensing opportunities should continue to develop and expand for usage beyond training. The fund would complement, not crowd out, direct relationships between creators and AI companies.”   Under the EU’s current rules, AI companies can use copyrighted materials for text and data mining, including AI training, unless a creator has “reserved their rights". The EU is looking into a permanent solution to protect copyright from use by AI.

New initiative aims to enhance oversight of junior employee hours worked. Highlights: JPMorgan tests software to monitor working hours of junior bankers. The initiative is part of productivity enhancement efforts. Focus on managing long hours and potential burnout. JPMorgan Chase is launching a pilot program using software to monitor the working hours of its junior bankers. This initiative aims to address concerns about long hours and the associated risk of burnout among staff. By tracking working hours, the bank hopes to improve productivity while ensuring employee well-being. The move reflects a growing trend in the financial sector to pay more attention to work-life balance.

A set of agreements between Major League Baseball (MLB), Polymarket and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) highlights a shift already underway: prediction markets are starting to operate more like regulated financial products. MLB has licensed its official data to Polymarket, giving the platform access to structured, verified inputs for event-based contracts. In parallel, the league signed a memorandum of understanding with the CFTC, creating a direct channel for sharing information related to market integrity. Polymarket has also agreed to limit certain types of contracts that could be seen as easier to manipulate. These changes bring prediction markets closer to how traditional exchanges operate — with licensed data, defined product scope and regulatory oversight. We’re honored to announce MLB has named Polymarket as their Exclusive Prediction Market Exchange Partner.Polymarket ? MLB pic.twitter.com/o192gdhpZm— Polymarket (@Polymarket) March 19, 2026 What It Means for Brokers With official data feeds and clearer rules around contract design, event-based products can be packaged in a way that resembles other derivatives. Instead of relying on loosely defined external sources, contracts can be built on licensed data — similar to how sports betting and financial derivatives use approved benchmarks. New CFTC-compatible setups allow third parties to launch event-based products using existing exchange infrastructure rather than building their own. That includes execution, liquidity and compliance layers already handled by the underlying venue. Technology providers are also moving in. Platforms from firms like NinjaTrader and Devexperts now allow brokers and fintechs to add event contracts to their existing systems or launch standalone products without rebuilding the stack. In practice, prediction markets are becoming something brokers can connect to, rather than something they have to build.Adoption Still Limited, but the Direction Is Clear Large brokers have not yet widely integrated prediction markets into their core platforms. But the key elements are now in place: licensed data, clearer product structures and infrastructure that third parties can access. For brokers, the question is becoming more practical — whether to connect to this layer and how to manage the associated risks — rather than whether the product category itself will persist. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

MLB is only the latest in a string of recently announced partnerships involving the prediction market.

Jensen Huang is building a new moat with open-source AI — not out of generosity, but necessity, our tech columnist writes.