THE LEDGER · A FINTECHLY NEWSLETTER
The six-minute Monday brief for the people who build, fund and regulate fintech
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THE DEAL SHEET
Every notable round, acquisition and debt facility from the week.
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THE REGULATORY TRACKER
What the FCA, the EU, the US, MAS, VARA and the rest actually did this week.
One line each. Nobody else aggregates this for fintech.
ONE CHART
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LOOK INSIDE THE LEDGER
THE LEDGER · ISSUE No. 142
/ fintechly
MON 28 APR 2026 · 07:00 GMT · 6 MIN READ
THE LEAD
The five fintechs the rest of the industry is quietly copying.
Every cycle produces a handful of companies whose product decisions ripple outward. This week we name five — from a Brazilian acquiring stack to a Singaporean identity layer — and explain exactly which features their competitors are now replicating, and why.
Why it matters: product roadmaps in this industry converge earlier every cycle. Knowing who sets the pattern tells you where the next twelve months of features come from.
EARLY ACCESS · FULL STORY PUBLISHES TUESDAY
THE FIVE
Visa's AI-agent pricing memo leaked - merchants face a new 12bp surcharge on autonomous payments.
PAYMENTS · 4 MIN
Monzo files its S-1: $1.6B revenue, 12% take-rate on premium, and a path to profitability by Q4.
CAPITAL MARKETS · 5 MIN
Stripe opens Bridge stablecoin rails to its top 200 platforms - USDC settlement now live.
INFRASTRUCTURE · 4 MIN
FCA finalises permanent open-banking framework: VRPs go mainstream in Q3.
POLICY · 3 MIN
Index Ventures closes $2.3B fund, half earmarked for European fintech infrastructure.
VENTURE CAPITAL · 3 MIN
THE DEAL SHEET EXCLUSIVE
| Company | Round | Amount | Lead | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramp | Series F | $200M | Thrive Capital | Spend mgmt |
| Rain | Series B | $58M | Khosla Ventures | Card issuing |
| Gr4vy | Series C | $24M | Nyca Partners | Orchestration |
| Aeropay | Series A | $12M | Undisclosed | Open banking |
+ 11 MORE ROUNDS IN THE FULL ISSUE
THE REGULATORY TRACKER EXCLUSIVE
Permanent open-banking framework finalised (CP24/13 response). Variable recurring payments move from pilot to general availability in Q3.
Opens a consultation on harmonised outsourcing registers for payment institutions across the euro area.
Comment window closes on the personal financial data rights rule; final text expected before year end.
Grants two new major payment institution licences and keeps the stablecoin issuer application window open.
Updates its custody rulebook; enhanced proof-of-reserves reporting takes effect next quarter.
Extends the deadline for cross-border payment aggregator authorisations by six months.
ONE CHART EXCLUSIVE
STABLECOIN SETTLEMENT VOLUME (TRAILING 12 MONTHS)
MAY 2025
APR 2026
Stablecoin settlement hit $27.6T in the trailing twelve months — surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined for the first time. The April spike corresponds to MiCA-compliant EURC flows going live across three major European acquirers.
THE TAPE
-
Conduit opens a Dubai office as its first Gulf settlement corridors come online.
-
Rampa hires a chief risk officer ahead of its acquiring expansion into France and Italy.
-
Spektral ships multi-bank sweep automation for corporate treasury teams, its first paid add-on.
-
Halo Markets names its first head of fixed income as the Gulf capital-markets build-out accelerates.
-
Orbital founder Kenji Mori will host a market-infrastructure summit in Tokyo this autumn.
WHAT WE’RE REPORTING NEXT
We’re digging into the quiet secondary market forming around late-stage fintech employee shares, and the unregulated brokers pitching it. If you’ve been offered an allocation, reach us at [email protected].
Also in progress: how stablecoin settlement is repricing merchant acquiring across southern Europe, and what it means for the incumbents.
/ fintechly
EST. 2022 · LONDON · UAE
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Sample issue: a condensed preview of Issue No. 142. The real edition is longer, includes the full Deal Sheet table, and links to every story on site.
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FROM THE FINTECHLY NEWSROOM
The Ledger is written by Fintechly, an independent fintech title covering the companies building the rails of modern finance, from London and the UAE. We report the deals, the regulation and the data, for the people inside the industry rather than the people selling to it.
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