TLDR Fintech 2026-01-08

JPMorgan Chase is stepping in as the new issuer of Apple Card, replacing Goldman Sachs after years of reported losses and operational friction tied to the consumer credit product. The transition hands stewardship of the high-profile card, built with Apple Card, to the largest US bank by assets, signaling confidence that scale and payments infrastructure can make the partnership work.

Airwallex plans to invest around €200 million in the Netherlands over five years, expanding its Amsterdam team and using the country as a hub for European growth as it shifts focus beyond Asia-Pacific. The move follows recent funding rounds that valued the company at $8 billion and comes as Airwallex prepares for a potential IPO while competing with players like Adyen, Mollie, and Bunq.

The US plans to prohibit large institutional buyers from purchasing single-family homes as part of a broader push to improve housing affordability. Donald Trump said the policy would target Wall Street-style landlords that have expanded rapidly in residential real estate, arguing they crowd out individual buyers and first-time homeowners. If implemented, the move could reshape housing supply dynamics, potentially easing competition for entry-level homes while forcing institutional capital to shift toward other real estate assets.

Partnerships between PayPal, OpenAI, and Stripe show how conversational AI is moving beyond support into payments and commerce, turning chat interfaces into full transaction channels and reshaping how financial services reach users at scale.

A KPMG survey of 300 US corporate and private equity dealmakers shows strong optimism for 2026, with roughly two-thirds expecting higher deal volumes and nearly three-quarters anticipating better deal quality. Expansion into new markets, core business growth, and acquiring technology capabilities are the top drivers, while political uncertainty and regulatory enforcement remain the biggest risks.

In this podcast, Money20/20's team outlines four themes shaping fintech's next phase, led by AI dramatically speeding up product development while largely preserving today's market winners, even as small teams gain the power to build at near-enterprise scale. They also point to Asia driving a new model of “community finance orchestrators,” pairing AI infrastructure with local, human agents, alongside tighter global regulation aimed at safer, more interoperable payments across crypto, stablecoins, and tokenization. Finally, they challenge whether ChatGPT will evolve into true Western financial super apps, with questions around consumer trust, regulatory readiness, and whether AI alone can change entrenched financial behaviors.

Crypto.com has teamed up with Stripe to let its users spend their cryptocurrency holdings directly at online merchants without first converting to fiat currency.

Fiserv's Clover point-of-sale business is working with biometrics outfit Wink to integrate face and palm payments technology directly into its platform.

A new installment lending model is set to give borrowers instant access to loan funds through a card-based credential instead of traditional bank transfers. Built on Mastercard's Installments Program and powered by LoanPro's infrastructure, the solution lets consumers and small businesses spend approved funds anywhere cards are accepted while keeping fixed repayment terms. The move highlights how lenders are modernizing disbursement and control as real-time, digital-first borrowing becomes table stakes.

Bank of America says its AI-powered cash-flow forecasting tool helped corporate clients dramatically cut the time spent on manual financial planning tasks last year. The system analyzes transaction data and liquidity patterns to automate forecasts, freeing up finance teams to focus on strategy rather than spreadsheets.

Brazil-based fintech PicPay has filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue an initial public offering on the Nasdaq under the ticker PICS, marking its second attempt at a US listing after withdrawing a 2021 IPO plan. The company reported sharply improved financials, roughly $1.37 billion in revenue, and a net profit for the first nine months of 2025.

Klarna faces a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging it understated consumer credit risks in its IPO filings, leading to investor losses after its stock fell post-listing. The complaint claims Klarna failed to disclose that many customers were under financial stress, though the company says the allegations lack merit and notes its loan delinquency rate remains below 1%.

Crypto investors expect a modest, disciplined recovery in 2026.

PayPal has strengthened its advertising platform with a new programme that provides firms with a unique, cross-merchant view into real shopper behaviour, campaign effectiveness, and data-driven recommendations.

Goldman Sachs upgraded COIN to Buy on confidence in Coinbase's growing non-trading revenue and long-term optionality in areas like custody, prediction markets, and tokenization, while cautioning that intensifying competition, rate sensitivity, and regulatory uncertainty could keep margins under pressure in 2026.