Daily News

FinTech dLocal Takes the Field with the Uruguay National Football Team

Hey Payments Fanatic!

While most of the industry fanatics were looking at Las Vegas’ FinTech Meetup yesterday, a big move happened in Montevideo.

dLocal, Uruguay’s cross-border payments powerhouse, just became an official global sponsor of their national football team.

More than a logo on a jersey; it’s a masterclass in positioning. By aligning their "local to global" mission with the world’s biggest stage, dLocal is turning technical infrastructure into emotional resonance.

This is the kind of news where I see my worlds of FinTech and sports intersect beautifully.

When done right, these partnerships go far beyond visibility, and they create real positioning and long-term value.

On top of bringing you daily news, maps, and insights across the global ecosystem, I advise FinTech companies on high-impact collaborations with professional sports, helping them use sponsorships as a powerful brand and distribution channel.

The payments news keeps coming below 👇 Back tomorrow!

Cheers,

Marcel

INSIGHTS

📊 Stablecoins Surpass Legacy Card Networks in Volume

Noah explores the transition 👇

NEWS

🇺🇾 dLocal marks 10 years by backing Uruguay’s national team, reinforcing its mission to connect global businesses with emerging markets through localised payment solutions. From digital wallets and instant payment networks to mobile money and cash-based rails, dLocal makes it possible for billions of “payers” to participate in the global digital economy on their own terms.

🇭🇰 Checkout.com builds on APAC momentum with 71% TPV growth. Speaking at Thrive Hong Kong, Checkout.com's regional merchant summit, General Manager of APAC, Brian Sze, revealed that net revenue has increased by 50% year-over-year across the region for the third consecutive year.

🇭🇰 Mastercard completes its first live agentic transaction in Hong Kong. The transaction, conducted with HSBC and DBS Hong Kong, demonstrates how AI can help consumers complete everyday tasks securely and seamlessly, from transportation to lifestyle services.

🇸🇱 Orange Money launches Mastercard in Sierra Leone with Zenith Bank and Mastercard partnership. The new solution introduces a virtual Mastercard linked directly to Orange Money wallets, allowing customers to make secure online payments, access international digital services, and carry out global transactions using their mobile accounts.

🇺🇸 FX payments startup OpenFX raises $94 million amid cross-border stablecoin push. The capital raise comes amid growing interest in using stablecoins to modernise cross-border payments and overcome high costs and transfer delays. Read more

🇺🇸 REPAY announces agreement to acquire KUBRA. The transaction strengthens two complementary, vertical-leading businesses combining REPAY’s extensive payment expertise and technology platform with KUBRA’s attractive verticals, partnerships, and go-to-market approach.

🇺🇸 Marqeta delivers AI-driven risk decisioning to enhance real-time fraud prevention. With the new integrated capabilities, Marqeta enables its customers to make smarter, data-driven risk assessments to prevent payment fraud and reduce false declines.

🇸🇬 Thunes joins Swift and Visa as a global cross-border payments leader. By connecting traditional banking rails, mobile wallets, and digital assets through its Direct Global Network, Thunes provides its Members with a single entry point to 12 billion bank accounts, mobile wallets, and stablecoin wallets in 140 countries.

🌍 Krak, the global money app from Kraken, launches up to 2% cashback, its first metal debit card, and an in-app Concierge, redefining global spending and rewards. By aligning rewards with customer balances, Krak delivers a simpler, more transparent, and rewarding experience that grows alongside the customer.

🌍 Veem expands partnership with Visa to launch global virtual accounts for businesses. By leveraging Visa Direct's global money movement network, Veem is launching a new virtual accounts solution that enables businesses to collect, hold, and disburse funds across key geographies, including the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Europe.

🇺🇸 Jack Dorsey’s Square auto-enables bitcoin payments for millions of U.S. businesses. The new rollout converts BTC to dollars by default for small businesses, aiming to embed bitcoin into everyday commerce without added friction. Keep reading

🌍 Hamilton Labs secures investment to expand USD stablecoin in Africa. The company plans to scale USDh through use cases including savings, payments, and cross-border settlement, with a focus on embedding the asset within existing financial platforms.

🇮🇳 slice rolls out UPI-linked credit card to all users. By integrating credit directly into UPI flows, slice is positioning the product to align with the everyday payment behaviour of Indian consumers, characterised by small-ticket, high-frequency transactions.