Bolt’s $27M Comeback Bet
Hey Payments Fanatic!
How badly do you believe in a payments comeback?
Bolt is about to find out.
Ryan Breslow is trying to raise up to $27 million to keep the payments company going, including $5 million of his own money. The catch? Investors who don’t participate could see their stakes significantly diluted.
That makes this more than just another bridge round. Bolt has fallen from an $11 billion valuation in 2022 to around $300 million, and Breslow is now betting that a leaner, more AI-driven payments company can turn things around.
The big question: will investors keep backing the comeback with their wallets?
Let’s get into today’s Payments stories. 👇 See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
💡 Stablecoin Insider & Pomelo: The 2026 LATAM Stablecoin Map. Latin America is emerging as a major testing ground for stablecoins, with dozens of companies building across neobanks, card issuance, B2B payments, remittances, infrastructure, yield, and compliance. High inflation, volatile currencies, remittance flows, and limited dollar access are accelerating adoption, turning stablecoins from a crypto use case into everyday financial infrastructure. Read the full story here
NEWS
🇺🇸 Mastercard Start Path welcomes 22 new companies into its inaugural Agentic Commerce & Services program, spanning payments, AI infrastructure, and merchant tools. The cohort includes Merge, Skyfire, Simetrik, and Crossmint, all building products that connect AI agents to payment rails.
🇳🇿 BetterCo announces a new partnership with Airwallex, helping businesses simplify global payments and multi-currency spend. The collaboration brings cards, expenses, and international growth tools together in one place.
🇺🇸 Ryan Breslow is raising up to $27M in bridge funding to save Bolt. The convertible note includes a pay-to-play provision, meaning backers who skip the round will lose a large portion of their equity.
🇳🇱 Mollie and GoCardless combine to create Europe's leading payments and financial services partner. The completed acquisition unites card, direct debit, and Pay by Bank capabilities, serving over 350,000 businesses across 30+ markets. Mollie CEO Koen Köppen leads the group while GoCardless operates under co-founder Hiroki Takeuchi.
🇦🇺 Australian regulator launches Western Union probe over high-risk payment transfers. AUSTRAC alleges the company failed to identify and disrupt potentially criminal transactions processed through its Australian operations.
🇰🇪 Kenya Airways, Visa and Absa launch Kenya's first co-branded travel credit card. The Asante Global Card lets holders earn reward points on purchases, redeemable across the Kenya Airways network.
🇺🇸 OwlTing Group reports OwlPay Harbor August payment volume nearly tripled MoM. Annualized volume reached roughly $255M, up from $93M in July, marking the seventh consecutive monthly increase. Contracted enterprise clients grew to 84, with 23 completing payments on the platform during August.
🇸🇧 ANZ welcomes the launch of instant payments in Solomon Islands, the third Pacific nation to introduce near real-time domestic transfers after Fiji and Samoa. The Central Bank of Solomon Islands enabled Instant Funds Transfers between participating banks on 23 August 2026, with a transaction limit of SBD3,000 per payment.
🌏 MoonPay's PayBox launches in Grok, bringing crypto payments to xAI's AI assistant. Users can buy, send, and receive crypto directly inside Grok without leaving the platform.
🇻🇳 OrbitX deploys stablecoin QR payments in Vietnam and the Philippines, targeting Southeast Asian retail commerce. Users can load stablecoins and execute instant QR payments in local fiat currencies.
🌏 Ethena Labs launches Ethena Pay beta, a self-custodial money app built on Avalanche, now live across 48 countries. The app lets users hold USDe as a dollar balance, earn up to 6% APY, and receive cashback of up to 10% at selected brands.
🌍 Ericsson and FIS partner on wallet-led digital financial services, combining telecom reach with payments infrastructure. The collaboration targets markets where mobile wallets can expand access to financial services.
🇵🇭 PPMI and Alipay+ expand QR Ph for cross-border commerce, connecting Filipino businesses with global consumers. The partnership lets international Alipay+ users pay at Filipino merchants via QR Ph, bridging local payment rails with global wallets.
🇬🇧 Startups.co.uk partners with Paydough to launch a free toolkit for UK businesses, enabling faster payments and simplified invoicing. The tool sends branded invoices with built-in payment links in about 60 seconds.
🇳🇬 Paystack absorbs card-issuing FinTech Allawee in a quiet deal. The acquisition strengthens Paystack's product suite by adding card issuance capabilities. Continue reading
🇬🇧 Paymend appoints Javier Vallaure de la Paz as COO. He previously co-founded allpago and served as COO and CPO at PPRO, scaling payments infrastructure used by JP Morgan, PayPal and Stripe.
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