Ready to Rumble? The Latest on the Battle Over Open Banking
In last week's newsletter, I noted that we would soon be announcing the finalists for this year's Finovate Awards. That moment has arrived. We share the names of the companies that made the short list below. Congratulations to the finalists and to all those who competed in the seventh, annual Finovate Awards!
We're also sharing the names of the women and men who will be some of our headline speakers at FinovateFall next month. This week's edition of the newsletter includes a look at some of the top names in this year's line-up.
Last, the regulatory winds in the US continue to shift as the future of open banking in the country has become increasingly complex, with JPMorgan's determination to charge data aggregators, and a lawsuit against Rule 1033 that up until recently was making its way through the courts. Be sure to take a look at how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is changing in a new thought leadership piece from Finovate Senior Analyst Julie Muhn now on the Finovate blog.
I'm David Penn with this week's edition of the Finovate newsletter!
Weekly News
PayPal unveils PayPal World to facilitate global payments.
Uprise - Embedded Financial Advisory teams up with HoneyBook to bring tax planning to small business owners.
Japan's Zerobank Design Factory to power new digital bank for MUFG.
EarnIn helps employees receive payment in real-time.
Darwinium launches AI tools to identify adversarial fraud.
Meet the Headline Speakers at FinovateFall 2025
FinovateFall 2025 comes to New York, September 7 through 10. This year's event will feature a loaded card of innovative demoing companies and insightful speakers sharing their thoughts and research on some of the most important trends in fintech and financial services today.
This week, Finovate's Julie Muhn took a look at the headline speakers for this year's autumn conference. She noted:
"Financial services continues to evolve rapidly, and this year’s keynote lineup reflects that urgency. From AI and customer experience to stablecoins and lending, these speakers will offer insights into where the industry is headed and how to stay ahead."
Meet the Headliners at FinovateFall 2025
Pause Button: Le Tour Celebrates a Homecoming
The 112th Tour de France ended this weekend. The event was dubbed "the homecoming" because this was the first time since 2020 that the race was held entirely within the borders of France. This year's competition was notable for a number of reasons: in addition to the above, the 2025 Tour de France featured the first Irish cyclist to wear the yellow jersey since 1987 (the yellow jacket is worn by the winner of the previous stage of the race). The Tour also highlighted new cycling talent like Florian Lipowitz who, in coming in third place, was heralded as the Tour's best young rider.
But most important was the performance of Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who took home his fourth Tour de France title (winning previously in 2024, 2021, and 2020). Pogacar also recorded a new all-time record for the fastest ascent of Mont Ventoux during Stage 16 of the 21-stage event. His time of 54 hours, 41 minutes earned him the polka dot jersey as "Best Climber" and was more than a minute faster than the former record time.
To put that in context, Pogacar cycled approximately 13.3 miles with an elevation gain of 5,282 feet. His average speed was 14 miles per hour. For the weekend warrior on a Peloton, this would be equivalent to riding at 400-500 watt average for almost an hour, with an incline of at least 8%, if not closer to 10%.
More reasonably, the average, but fit, hiker could cover the same territory in about 8 or 9 hours.
Tour de France key takeaways: Impact of Pogacar's dominance, the majesty of Ventoux, hopes for 2026 edition (New York Times)
Finovate Awards Finalists for 2025 Announced!
We teased the announcement in last week's newsletter. But today we're delivering the goods! Here are the names of the more than 100 finalists for the 2025 Finovate Awards.
Congratulations to all the 2025 Finalists
Finovate VP and Director of Fintech Strategy for Informa Festivals Greg Palmer observed in an email:
"This is the seventh annual Finovate Awards, and the bar to become a finalist has never been higher. We saw a huge number of high-quality nominations, and that’s reflected in the quality of the finalists."
Finalists will be invited to be a part of FinovateFall—our flagship event—at a significant discount. Winners will be announced during the event on September 9th.