January 23, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Whisperer Weekly Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Payments And Money Movement, Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Open Banking Open Finance And Data Sharing, Risk Compliance And Regtech

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This live weekly NCFA intelligence page tracks financial technology developments that significantly affect how fintechs build, sell, raise capital, and operate under scrutiny. Coverage prioritizes Canada and includes global events that directly influence competitive conditions, market access, and execution realities across fintech sectors.  This page will be updated throughout the week with market movers in a live format and then each week we'll close the prior week's contents in prep for the upcoming week, and continue on a rolling basis.  (Missed prior week's Fintech Whisperer?  (December 6-12, 2025, December 13-19, 2025, January 1-9, 2026, January 10-16, 2026)

Weekly Fintech Market Intelligence Jan 17-23, 2026

AI In Finance

UK Parliament Treasury Committee Publishes AI In Financial Services Report

• 75% of UK financial services firms use AI, with the highest take up among insurers and international banks operating in the UK.
• The report calls for practical FCA guidance by the end of 2026 on how existing consumer protection rules apply to AI, and how senior managers stay accountable when AI harms consumers.
• Calls for AI focused stress testing by the Bank of England and the FCA, and it presses HM Treasury to designate major AI and cloud providers as critical third parties by the end of 2026.  Download the 22 page PDF report, 'AI in Financial Services'

This lands in the middle of a problem every operator knows. AI stops being a feature once it touches credit, pricing, advice, fraud decisions, or customer outcomes. Buyers and supervisors ask one thing first. Can you prove how it behaves, who owns the decision, and what happens when it fails. Founders who build strong logs, clear accountability, and testable controls keep momentum when scrutiny rises. Investors should back teams that can ship AI inside regulated environments without betting on fuzzy governance.

Payments And Money Movement

SUNRATE Announces New Alliance With Juniper Travel Technology

• Juniper integrates SUNRATE cross border payments and commercial card issuing into its travel technology ecosystem for travel companies.
• The announcement lists card issuing and settlement in more than 15 currencies, plus controls like smart spending limits and customizable security settings.
• The announcement lists collections in more than 30 currencies and positions the rollout as progressive with further product expansions planned through 2026 and beyond.

Travel payments stay messy because suppliers, currencies, fraud controls, and reconciliation collide in one workflow. When a travel platform embeds issuing plus FX plus collections, it turns payments into a default layer that buyers adopt without a separate vendor decision. Fintechs that sell cards, FX, or payables into travel win faster when they integrate into the platforms that already control inventory and supplier routing, and when they ship audit ready controls that finance teams can trust at scale.

Digital Assets, Blockchain And Tokenization

UBS Prepares Crypto Investing For Select Private Banking Clients

• UBS prepares to offer cryptocurrency investing options to select private banking clients in Switzerland.
• The report says UBS is selecting partners for a crypto offering and discussions have been underway for several months.
• UBS could start with bitcoin and ether trading for some clients, with potential expansion to Asia Pacific and the United States.

Private bank adoption changes buyer expectations fast. Once a top tier wealth manager treats crypto as an investable asset inside the core private bank, every crypto vendor selling into wealth has to meet private bank standards on suitability, controls, reporting, and operational discipline. Founders that sell custody, execution, portfolio reporting, or risk tooling should expect tougher diligence and longer lists of required evidence. Investors should watch for picks and shovels that fit inside existing wealth compliance rather than products that need new rules to work.

India Central Bank Proposes Linking BRICS Digital Currencies

• India’s central bank proposes linkages between BRICS central bank digital currencies to support cross border trade and tourism payments.
• The proposal could be introduced at the 2026 BRICS summit that India hosts.
• India’s e-rupee launched in December 2022 and has attracted seven million retail users.

Cross border CBDC linkage puts sovereign governed interoperability back on the table as an operating roadmap. Fintechs that sell wallets, settlement tooling, compliance rails, and treasury workflows should plan for rule dense governance, shared operating standards, and audit grade traceability that can survive multi jurisdiction scrutiny.

Market Infrastructure

Revolut Scraps US Bank Acquisition Plan And Pursues Standalone US Banking Licence

• A report says Revolut drops plans to buy a US lender and pivots toward applying for its own US banking licence.
• Revolut holds discussions with US officials about a national bank licensing route through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
• A standalone licence path puts Revolut on a track to offer deeper, locally supervised banking products instead of staying limited to partner led distribution.

A serious push for a US banking licence tells the market Revolut wants durable US distribution, not a light footprint. Once a global fintech commits to supervised rails in the United States, competitors face a tighter clock on product depth, compliance maturity, and funding strategy. Founders that sell infrastructure into banks and fintechs should expect more demand for audit ready controls, clean reporting, and resilient operations that hold up under US supervision.

BitGo Prices IPO And Begins Trading On NYSE

• BitGo prices its initial public offering and begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange under its stated ticker.
• The offering includes an underwriter option for additional shares, as described in the release.
• The company frames the raise around scaling custody and related infrastructure for institutional digital asset activity.

Public markets put custody under a harsher light than private capital. Reporting cadence, risk controls, and operational proof start becoming the product. Founders selling into custody, compliance, and settlement stacks should expect tighter vendor scrutiny and cleaner evidence demands. Investors can treat this as a live benchmark for how the market values regulated digital asset infrastructure once it sits in plain view.

Capital One Agrees To Acquire Brex

• Capital One enters a definitive agreement to acquire Brex in a $5.15B cash and stock transaction.
• Brex provides corporate cards, spend management, and payments software used by growth stage and technology companies.
• The transaction is expected to close in mid 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

This deal pulls a modern fintech spend platform directly inside a large US bank instead of leaving it at the partnership layer. Once a bank owns the full card, payments, and spend stack, pricing pressure increases and distribution advantages compound fast. Founders building expense management, treasury, or commercial card tooling should expect tougher competition from vertically integrated banks. Investors should treat this as another signal that late stage fintech exits increasingly come through acquisition by incumbents that want product control, not just vendor relationships.

NYSE Develops Tokenized Securities Platform

• The NYSE announces development of a platform for trading and on chain settlement of tokenized securities, and it will seek regulatory approvals.
• The platform design includes 24-7 operations, instant settlement, orders sized in dollar amounts, and stablecoin based funding.
• The design pairs the NYSE Pillar matching engine with blockchain based post trade systems, with support for multiple chains for settlement and custody.

Tokenization stops looking like a side experiment once a core exchange puts its matching engine and brand behind it. The winners don't come from who talks loudest about crypto. The winners come from who can run clean market structure under supervision, with settlement, custody, funding, and controls that broker dealers and clearing members can defend. Founders building post trade, custody, reconciliation, collateral, and stablecoin treasury tooling should treat this as a buyer signal. Regulated infrastructure buyers want fewer moving parts, stronger audit trails, and reliable operating hours that match global capital flows.

OSFI Sets Two Near Term Touchpoints For Data Collection Modernization

• OSFI schedules an Industry Day on Feb 12, 2026 to walk filers through the technology and data work tied to Data Collection Modernization.
• OSFI schedules a Technology Open Door Forum on Feb 23, 2026 to cover practical details for institutions preparing for the new platform.
• OSFI positions these sessions inside its multi year Data Collection Modernization program that runs with the Bank of Canada and CDIC, with a new platform expected to go live in 2026.

Data modernization rarely feels exciting until it hits production. When a supervisor modernizes filing rails, every regulated team ends up rewriting workflows, data mapping, controls, and audit evidence. Fintechs that sell reporting, data, regtech, or infrastructure should treat this as a near term buying trigger. Institutions will pick vendors that reduce change risk and make compliance proof simple, not vendors that add another layer of complexity.

Revolut Applies For Full Banking License In Peru

• Revolut applies for a full banking license in Peru as it expands further in Latin America.
• Revolut targets 100 million customers by 2027 and has more than 70 million retail customers globally.
• A full banking license would expand Revolut’s ability to offer local products inside Peru under local supervision.

Charter expansion at scale. When a global fintech pursues full licenses market by market, it raises the competitive bar on compliance execution, local product depth, and funding strategy. Competitors feel pressure through faster distribution, tighter pricing room, and regulators expecting stronger controls across the category.

Closing Outlook

The firms that win are the ones that control where money moves and can prove they run a tight and compliant shop. Payments and treasury are getting built into the software people already live in, not sold as a separate product. Big fintechs keep chasing full licenses so they can offer more, price tighter, and rely less on partners. Governments keep pushing cross border settlement ideas that bring more rules, more reporting, and more scrutiny.

Founders should treat three things as product work. First, build evidence into the workflow so every action leaves a trace you can explain. Second, design for partner and regulator questions before they show up, not after. Third, sell into distribution points that already own the customer and the switching moment, because that's where adoption actually happens. Investors can use the same filter. Back teams that reduce operating risk while keeping shipping speed. Avoid models that need regulatory fog, fragile partners, or perfect market timing. The upside concentrates in infrastructure and platforms that buyers can trust at scale.

NCFA offers various curated resources to help founders and investors stay current on developments that impact fintech markets, subscribe to NCFA’s weekly newsletter, view a rundown of current fintech news and insights, or dive into the latest fintech industry research.

The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

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