The new month brought in a wave of transitions and deployments. Government interest in innovation continued.
Headlines to take note of:
- Nasdaq wants to rule over zero day options;
- Citadel noted its issues to the SEC per overnight trading activities;
- Stellar ruled the crypto space;
- IBM and EY are bringing AI to tax;
- Plus, Square unveiled SMB-friendly banking solutions (read on to find out);
- And much more!
Of course, it’s your week in digital wealth!
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Wealthtech, Regtech, Regulatory, and Treasury
Nasdaq, Inc.
Premier market platform operator Nasdaq unveiled intentions to extend expiry timelines for 0DTE or zero-day options. According to a May 1 Bloomberg report, Nasdaq filed to include Mondays and Wednesdays for some select stocks.
In addition, subject to regulatory approvals, trading of 0DTE options will (expectedly) start trading in Q1 2026.
Arcons Technology, Inc.
Wealth management-focused Arcons revealed its integration with the FIX protocol. The deployment enables access to key players via the FIX network, leveraging its tradePort offering.
Furthermore, trade rebalancing activities are seamlessly possible via the setup.
Data-focused Fintech Solve announced updates to its predictive pricing offering. Additions include visualization capabilities, enabling improved pre-trade decisions.
Moreover, the enhancements provide a real-time, bird’s eye view of the municipal bond ecosystem.
Citadel Securities, LLC/SEC
In a letter to the SEC, Citadel highlighted several issues. Citadel called for up-to-date rules to mitigate the (reported) risks in overnight trading.
Furthermore, Citadel called for improved infrastructure and updated dating standards in the emerging segment.
Crypto, Blockchain, and Digital Assets
Visa/Bridge Technologies Inc. (Bridge Network)
The Stripe-owned Bridge collaborated with Visa to improve stablecoin payments. Customers can access stablecoin cards via a single API.
In addition, merchants can get paid via the fiat-to-stablecoin onramp.
Stellar Development Foundation (SDF)/MoneyGram/Circle Internet Group, Inc.
Thanks to MoneyGram Ramps, a unified API offering, crypto-fiat transactions continued to rule. The solution enables crypto transactions without bank deployments and other infrastructure within MoneyGram’s network.
Additionally, the deployment integrates with Staticcoin issuer Circle’s infrastructure and the Stellar blockchain.
Messari, Inc./Stellar Development Foundation
Premier digital asset research platform Messari unveiled the Stellar Portal, an exhaustive resource that provides up-to-date information about the Stellar Network. The Portal combines data and information from multiple sources, including blockchain explorers and software development communities.
Moreover, the Portal also offers AI-powered news summaries, enabling improved decisions.
Fintech, Personal Finance, and Apps
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)/EY
IBM partnered with Big Four accounting firm EY on the AI end to introduce an automated tax offering. The move launches EY.ai for tax and leverages IBM’s Watsonx.
Additionally, the setup helps global firms to leverage open-source AI models to solve tax issues.
Modern Treasury Corp.
Similarly, payment-focused Fintech Modern Treasury boosted its product portfolio with Modern Treasury AI. The AI Agent enhances enterprise payments, giving businesses an edge.
Furthermore, the offering offers an intuitive experience for prompt-based queries.
Still, on AI, Mastercard unveiled ‘Mastercard Agent Pay,’ its AI Agent payments platform. In an April 29 post on its website, the payments behemoth revealed that the offering will cooperate with Microsoft to deploy its AI tech, including the Microsoft Copilot Studio and the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, to enable efficient services.
In addition, Mastercard iterated its commitment to ethical AI uses and deployments.
Strategic Audit Solutions, Inc. (SAS)
Boutique Fintech Strategic Audit Solutions introduced the updated version of ‘AuditSUITE360,’ its flagship Accounts Payable (AP) offering. The solution has cutting-edge features, including duplicate payment detection and prevention, efficient vendor storage and registration, and seamless supplier statement reconciliation capacities based on open credit data access.
Moreover, the product has enhanced automation that enables increased revenue retention.
Banking, Payments, and Infrastructure
In an April 29 announcement on its website, Square revealed updated customer banking options. Enhancements include a free checking account, which is immediately available upon sign-up.
In addition, the Square Savings offering now has flexible recommendations powered by cash flow data.
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS)
Boutique Fintech FIS introduced the Money Movement Hub, an offering that optimizes FI payment ecosystems. The solution is platform-independent and seamlessly integrates with FIs, regardless of size.
In related news, FIS launched Treasury and Risk Manager– Quantum Cloud Edition, the latest iteration of its enterprise-focused offering. The product supports increased transaction volumes alongside live, on-the-go cash management.
Powerscout Inc. (ZestyAI)/Temenos
Boutique Fintech ZestyAI’s integrations with the Temenos Loan Origination product boosted credit decision processes. The deployment improves the lending selection process via data optimization.
Moreover, the setup has fraud detection and prevention features, minimizing systemic risks.
Alkami Technology, LLC/NuMark Credit Union
Plainfield, Illinois-based NuMark Credit Union collaborated with Alkami as part of ongoing digitization activities. The cooperation includes marketing and data improvements.
Furthermore, the upgrade includes its retail and business banking segments.
REtech, Insurtech and Investing
Indico Data Solutions, Inc. /Guidewire Software, Inc.
Claims processes got another plus with the availability of Indico Data’s accelerator solution in the Guidewire Marketplace. Users can access the Indico Data’s new Ready for Guidewire accelerator via the Guidewire ClaimCenter.
In addition, the deployment automates the First Notice of Loss (FNOL) reports, eliminating the need for manual data entry.
Niche digital mortgage ecosystem Tomo took transparency to another level with TrueRate, an offering that clarifies actual rates charged by lenders. TrueRate leverages data from multiple actual loans to provide accurate results.
Moreover, the AI-powered tool is free to use.
Bamboo Ide8 Insurance Services, LLC (Bamboo Insurance)/Whisker Labs, Inc.
Boutique Insurtech Bamboo teamed up with innovation-focused tech firm Whisker Labs to introduce Ting, a fire prevention sensor, to policyholders. The device enables automatic detection of electrical fire risks and provides repair options.
Furthermore, for the rest of the year, at least 5,000 policyholders will get three years of free service and up to $1,000 in repair credit.
