by Ekrem Duman | Jul 19, 2026 | Chinese Fintech & Payments, Startup
⚡ TL;DRPlatform credit products embedded in payment apps gave hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers access to revolving credit, often for the first time. This expanded consumption and served borrowers banks ignored, while also raising concerns about household debt...
by Ekrem Duman | Jul 19, 2026 | Chinese Fintech & Payments, Startup
⚡ TL;DRAnt Group grew from Alipay, the escrow service that made Chinese e-commerce trustworthy, into a financial platform offering payments, credit, wealth management and insurance to roughly a billion users. Its 2020 IPO would have been the largest in history before...
by Ekrem Duman | Jul 15, 2026 | Fintech & Transfers, Neobanking & BaaS
⚡ TL;DRKlarna filed for a US bank charter on July 6, 2026, joining Revolut, Mercury, Erebor and Nubank in the fastest wave of fintech bank-charter applications in over a decade. The draw is cheaper deposit funding and direct regulatory access; the risk is a widening...
by Ekrem Duman | Jul 11, 2026 | Startup, Trade Attaches & Incentives
⚡ TL;DRLithuania is a fast, low-cost EU base with founder-friendly taxes (~16% standard, ~6% for small firms, 0% in the first year), Free Economic Zones, an up-to-20-year 0% rate for large investors, the EU’s largest fintech-licensing ecosystem and a Startup...
by Olivia Bennett | Jul 5, 2026 | Finance
Executive Q&A Summary: The Evolution of Prediction Markets Q: Why are prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket currently exploding in volume? A: These platforms leverage “skin-in-the-game” mechanics, providing a real-time, high-fidelity signal...
