A16Z’s David Haber Is Bullish on Plaid Despite US Open Banking Being Dead & Buried 🇺🇸

We're also covering N26 CEO exit 🇩🇪, Malaysia's new AI bank 🇲🇾, China's stablecoin pivot 🇨🇳, Brex planting flag in Brazil 🇧🇷, Turkish "Robinhood" raising $80M 🇹🇷 & more

Hey Global Fintech Insiders!

I just wanted to let you know that starting today, your favourite weekly fintech newsletter is going freemium.

What it means is that unless you upgrade to the paid version, you will only see 5 of the 15 or so fintech stories we typically present every week.

But upgrading to the paid version will do much more than allow you to keep reading something you were getting for free.

You will also get:

• Over $6,000 in discounts on 27 fintech conferences & newsletters

• Access to a private WhatsApp group of Global Fintech Insiders

• Exclusive stories written by fintech entrepreneur Julien Brault 🇨🇦 and the new addition to the editorial team, senior journalist Danial Dzulkifly 🇲🇾

While we know you will stay for our fintech reporting, the discounts total over $6,000 in potential savings, which should easily cover the annual cost (provided you usually attend fintech conferences)!

Furthermore, as a fintech or finance executive, you probably can expense the newsletter. For those who are not CEO or founders, here’s an email you can send your manager.

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🇺🇸 A16Z’s David Haber Is Bullish on Plaid Despite US Open Banking Being Deal & Buried

Venture Capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) general partner David Haber (pictured above) says he remains confident Plaid’s long-term value. “For the long tail of community regional banks, Plaid plays an even more important role in becoming this sort of data utility and enabling this ecosystem of companies to build interesting applications on top of those products,” Haber told Bloomberg in an interview shared on his LinkedIn.

This vote of confidence coincides with Visa closing its US open banking unit that was competing with Plaid, which allows many fintech applications to access their users’ banking data. This move by Visa follows US banks including JPMorgan and PNC Financial’s push to charge fintech firms for customer data access in response to the rollback of previously adopted open banking regulations.

While banks argue data restrictions are for consumer safety, Haber disagrees, saying infrastructure costs have plummeted and the underlying data account details and transaction history are not technology-intensive.

This comes after over 80 fintech CEOs and leaders signed an open letter urging US President Donald Trump to block new “account access” fees planned by America’s biggest banks.

Source: Global Fintech Insider

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🇩🇪 Pressured by Investors, N26 Co-founder Stalf Cedes Co-CEO Role

Bowing to investor pressure amid fresh regulatory scrutiny, N26 co-founder Valentin Stalf (left) has step down from his Co-CEO position and transitioned to the neobank's Supervisory Board. His co-founder and co-CEO, Maximilian Tayenthal (right) remain in his leadership role, which Stalf confirmed in a LinkedIn post, announcing his move to the new role. While Tayenthal remain at the helm of N26 for now, a source told the Financial Times that “Tayenthal was likely to step down from his operational role at a later stage”. Meanwhile, the neobank’s chair, Marcus Mosen, should be appointed as interim co-CEO according to the paper.

Recently, Germany’s financial regulator BaFin, flagged weaknesses in N26’s internal controls and even proposed new sanctions. Stalf’s shift also comes amid reports that he and Tayenthal may waive special voting rights that grant them veto power over certain decisions. Together, the founders hold about 20% of the company.

Sources: Global Fintech Insider & Financial Times

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🇲🇾 Ryt Bank to Debut With ChatGPT-Like Assistant, Calling It the World’s First AI Bank

Malaysia-based Ryt Bank, which brands itself as the world’s first AI-powered bank, is set to launch on August 26. The bank is backed by Malaysian conglomerate YTL and Singapore’s Sea Limited, the tech giant behind e-commerce platform Shopee and often compared to China’s Alibaba Group. Its key differentiator is Ryt AI, a ChatGPT-style assistant powered by YTL’s proprietary large language model.

Currently in beta, the feature promises to handle fund transfers, bill payments, and commands based on text or screenshots. Early testing by Global Fintech Insider, however, revealed mixed results. While Ryt AI successfully processes DuitNow QR code payments (which is the most common means of digital payments for Malaysians), it only works when scanning with a phone camera. Uploading a QR image or PDF doesn’t work yet as an attempt to transfer RM5 ($1.18) using a PDF QR code failed. The assistant also struggles with e-bills longer than five pages; even after trimming a Maxis phone bill, it still required manual input of details.

Currently, access to Ryt Bank remains invite-only. Kevin Ong, the bank’s Head of Product, posted on LinkedIn to share an invite code and assured users the team is actively improving features. Beyond AI, Ryt Bank offers a 3% base interest rate (up to 4% with Save Pockets account), daily interest crediting, an instant virtual debit card, and a free Visa physical card until September. Domestic ATM fees are waived, and the bank absorbs foreign transaction charges, targeting both local and international users.

Source: Global Fintech Insider & RinggitPlus

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🇹🇷 Midas, aka “Turkish Robinhood”, Secures $80M, Becomes Turkey’s Most-Funded Fintech

Istanbul-based stock trading app Midas has raised $80 million in a Series B funding round led by QED Investors, with participation from IFC, HSG, and QuantumLight, the fund founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky. This marks the largest single funding round by a Turkish fintech. Founded in 2020 and led by CEO Egem Eraslan (pictured above), Midas serves 3.5 million users and plans to strengthen security, expand its product range, and introduce derivatives. Midas currently offers access to Turkish and U.S. stocks, mutual funds, and crypto, with U.S. options set to launch in September.

Source: Daily Sabah

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🇺🇸 Wyoming Becomes First U.S. State to Launch Its Own Stablecoin

Wyoming has launched the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT), becoming the first US state to issue a state-backed stablecoin. FRNT is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and backed by dollars and short-term Treasuries. Developed in partnership with blockchain infrastructure firm LayerZero, the token will be available on major blockchains including Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, and Solana.

Wyoming-based exchange Kraken will be among the first platforms to list FRNT on Solana. Kraken had recently announced it moved its global headquarters to Cheyenne, Wyoming last month. In a blog post, Kraken said the motivated by the state’s “forward-thinking policymakers” when it comes to crypto regulations. Governor Mark Gordon (pictured above), chair of the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, said the token will give citizens and businesses a superior “means of transacting in the digital age”.

Wyoming, still mostly known as the home of the Yellowstone National Park, is trying to diversify its economy away from mining and tourism thanks to its business friendly regulations. With 1.2 million companies incorporated in a state of 600,000 residents, the state is increasingly competing with Delaware for the title of top local domestic tax haven. Like Delaware, Wyoming have no corporate income tax, but it has stronger corporate privacy laws and lower incorporation fees.

Source: Global Fintech Insider & Bloomberg

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