Fintech Weekly Digest: 01/21- Stablecoin Settlement Scales, Card-Fee Pressure Rises, and Security Shifts to Identity + AI Risk

This week in fintech, the center of gravity keeps moving from “nice-to-have innovation” to real infrastructure decisions. Stablecoin settlement is gaining credibility with major networks, while traditional payments face renewed scrutiny as courts and regulators shape fee economics. At the same time, fintech expansion is increasingly about licenses, local rails, and strategic acquisitions, not just user growth. On the risk side, the story is clear: breaches, infostealers, and ransomware remain constant—but the biggest shift is toward identity abuse and AI-era data leakage, forcing teams to rethink controls beyond classic perimeter security.

Market & Macro Trends in Fintech

1. Visa bets bigger on stablecoin settlement as volumes grow. Visa’s crypto leadership says stablecoins are increasingly being used for real settlement flows, even as merchant adoption remains uneven. Source: Reuters — Visa crypto chief bets on stablecoin settlement, sees volumes growing
2. UK court upholds PSR cap on Mastercard/Visa interchange fees. A court-backed fee cap raises pressure on card economics for online and cross-border transactions, with potential downstream impacts on merchants and issuers. Source: Payment Expert
3. US Senate Banking delays crypto market-structure bill after industry pushback. The pause shows how quickly major stakeholders can stall legislative momentum—keeping regulatory uncertainty high for exchanges and token projects. Source: Reuters — US Senate Banking delays crypto bill after Coinbase CEO opposition
4. Revolut seeks a Peru banking license as LatAm expansion continues. A local license bid signals a shift from “app-first” growth to deeper regulated presence in key emerging markets. Source: Reuters — Revolut seeks Peru banking license to expand Latin America footprint
5. Airwallex acquires Korea’s Paynuri to deepen APAC payments footprint. The deal strengthens Airwallex’s regional distribution and licensing posture in one of Asia’s most competitive payments markets. Source: Reuters — Airwallex buys South Korea’s Paynuri in Asia expansion

Security & Cyber Threats

1. CIRO breach affects ~750,000 Canadian investors. Large-scale identity exposure increases phishing and account-takeover risk across banks, brokers, and fintech apps that share similar login behaviors. Source: BleepingComputer — CIRO breach exposed info on 750,000 Canadian investors
2. Grubhub confirms attackers stole data amid extortion pressure. This reflects the broader “data-theft + ransom” playbook now common across consumer platforms and their fintech-adjacent vendors. Source: BleepingComputer — Grubhub confirms hackers stole data in recent security breach
3. Ingram Micro ransomware disclosure highlights supply-chain blast radius. Attacks on large distributors/IT suppliers can cascade into downstream service disruption and credential abuse across many client environments. Source: TechRadar — Ingram Micro reveals ransomware attack hit 42,000 people
4. StealC infostealer operation disrupted after researchers hijack panels. Taking over malware infrastructure can reduce active infections and telemetry loss, but also tends to trigger rapid attacker adaptation. Source: BleepingComputer — StealC hackers hacked as researchers hijack malware control panels
5. “Reprompt” demonstrates single-click data-exfil via prompt injection against Copilot-style tools. It’s a warning that AI assistants can become a new data-leak channel unless permissions, isolation, and content controls are tightened.
   Source: The Hacker News — Reprompt attack enables single-click data exfil from Microsoft Copilot

Startup, Funding & Product Innovations

1. Brazilian fintech Agibank files for a US IPO. The filing signals renewed appetite for fintech listings—especially from high-growth emerging markets—if pricing windows cooperate. Source: Reuters — Brazilian fintech Agibank files for US IPO
2. Payoneer acquires Dublin startup Boundless to expand HR compliance capabilities. The move pushes Payoneer further into “embedded compliance” for cross-border workforces, not just payouts. Source: Silicon Republic — Payoneer acquires Dublin start-up Boundless
3. Credit Key closes $90M to scale B2B payments + financing. More capital for apparently “unsexy” B2B infrastructure shows investors still back platforms that convert directly into merchant cashflow and retention. Source: Morningstar / PR Newswire — Credit Key closes $90M in growth capital
4. Fiserv + SMBC bring Clover commerce stack to Japan. Exporting a proven SMB POS + payments platform to Japan highlights the next wave of “operating system for merchants” competition. Source: Fiserv — Fiserv and SMBC introduce Clover suite of products
5. Airwallex’s Paynuri deal also strengthens regulatory coverage in Korea. Beyond footprint expansion, this kind of acquisition is increasingly about licenses, local rails, and faster go-to-market. Source: Reuters — Airwallex buys South Korea’s Paynuri in Asia expansion

Final Words

Net-net: 2026 is shaping up as a year where competitive advantage comes from durable rails + disciplined operations—settlement, compliance-ready banking presence, and resilient payment stacks—paired with fast vulnerability response and tight identity governance. If you want a practical read on where your fintech platform is most exposed (customer account takeover, admin tooling, third-party/vendor access, cloud and API attack paths, and AI assistant data-leak risk), ONSECcan help. We’re a boutique penetration testing team with 15+ years of experience and 500+ projects delivered globally, specializing in modern web/API, cloud, and identity-driven threats. Book a quick call: