CaixaBank in Spain has successfully completed a real-world payment initiated by an AI agent acting on behalf of a human cardholder. The transaction used the Intelligent Commerce framework and Agentic Ready programme developed by project partner Visa. The bank said the pilot used real card data on standard merchant systems secured by existing tokenisation, ID verification, and fraud monitoring systems from Visa, together proving “the viability of payments initiated by AI agents within the current infrastructure”.

Visa launched its Agentic Ready programme in Europe in March this year to help financial institutions test and validate agent-initiated transactions. Further afield, Visa has already tested agentic commerce with the likes of DBS and Santander.

Meanwhile, competing network Mastercard claims to have completed the first agentic payment transaction in France last week, working in partnership with Crédit Agricole and Worldline.

CaixaBank, which is headquartered in Valencia and serves around 12 million cardholders, is currently investing €5 billion through its 2025 to 2027 Cosmos technology strategy, which focuses on integrating generative AI to automate internal workflows and transaction processing.

Late last year, the banking group also established its Artificial Intelligence Office for project compliance and governance, and has begun rolling out conversational AI agents across digital channels to handle digital customer onboarding for approximately 40 retail products.

Former Monzo CEO Tom Blomfield has joined AI research firm Anthropic as part of co-founder Tom Brown’s compute team, effective immediately. To take up the opportunity, Blomfield has taken a leave of absence from his general partner position at technology start-up accelerator Y Combinator, where he has worked since 2021.

Blomfield is best known for co-founding UK challenger bank Monzo in 2015 alongside Jonas Huckestein, Jason Bates, Paul Rippon, and Gary Dolman. He served as the bank’s first CEO until June 2020, when he transitioned to president as TS Anil took over as chief executive.

Blomfield departed Monzo in 2021, noting that the demands of scaling the company during the global pandemic had affected his mental health. His earlier ventures include co-creating Boso.com, and UK fintech GoCardless, which was acquired by Dutch paytech Mollie last year for $1.1 billion.

Announcing his move to Anthropic, the developer of generative AI assistant Claude, Blomfield writes on X, “Powerful AI has the potential to improve the life of every human on earth and, as we enter the early stages of recursive self-improvement, availability of compute becomes one of the most important issues to solve.”

Brazil-based digital bank Nubank, which serves over 135 million customers worldwide, has promoted Livia Chanes to CEO for Latin America, effective immediately.

In Chanes’ expanded role, country managers Armando Herrera in Mexico and Marcela Torres in Colombia will report directly to her. In addition, Chanes will also continue in her position as CEO of Nubank Brazil, a role she has held since the beginning of 2024.

Having initially joined the challenger as VP of products in 2020 from Itaú Unibanco, Chanes became country manager for the Brazilian division in H2 2022. Under her leadership, Nubank’s Brazilian arm added more than 50 million new customers, reaching 115 million users or over 60% of the country’s adult population. The operation also introduced several new credit products and launched NuCel, its mobile phone service, which now serves more than one million customers.

Commenting on her promotion, Chanes notes: “My commitment is to ensure that Mexico and Colombia benefit from everything we’ve built in Brazil.” She adds: “We’re already the largest private financial institution by number of customers in Brazil, but we know we still have enormous opportunities to grow across our different segments.”

Samsung Electronics has strengthened its financial services footprint in the United States with the introduction of its first credit card, the Samsung Galaxy Card, issued by Barclays and operating on the Visa network. The card enables users to handle the entire journey—from application to account management—directly through Samsung Wallet.

The Samsung Galaxy Card allows users to apply, track expenses, and redeem rewards seamlessly via Samsung Wallet. According to Reuters, the card offers 5% cash back on Samsung purchases, additional rewards for transactions made through Samsung Pay, and various perks across other spending categories.

The launch positions Samsung in more direct competition with Apple Pay within the U.S. digital payments market. Technology firms and financial institutions are tightening the integration between digital wallets and financial products to anchor smartphones at the core of payment and wealth management. Doug Villone, Head of Cards and Partnerships at Barclays US Consumer Bank, noted that the digital card is designed to deliver a streamlined payment experience for consumers managing financial transactions on mobile devices.

Expansion Signals from Samsung

Sih Lee, Head and Vice President of Samsung Electronics North America Fintech Business, highlighted that at least one Samsung device is present in 70% of U.S. households, with approximately 30% of households owning three or more Samsung products. Describing the partnership with Barclays as strategic and long-term, Lee signaled that Samsung may explore expanding its collaboration into additional financial products and services beyond credit cards in the future, provided they offer meaningful value to customers.

Barclays noted that its cooperation with Samsung could evolve into new domains over time. As part of its broader strategy to scale its U.S. credit card portfolio, the bank acquired General Motors’ credit card business in 2024, allowing customers to earn reward points across various GM models, including Buick, Cadillac, and electric vehicles. Villone stated that Barclays is actively seeking new partnership opportunities, emphasizing that alliances can expand into different sectors whenever they provide clear value to consumers.

Revolut has officially rolled out Revolut Bank Australia after securing an unrestricted Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

Representing the fintech giant’s first local banking licence in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, the milestone brings the company significantly closer to its long-term strategic objective of establishing the world’s first truly global bank.

Commenting on the achievement, Revolut Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky highlighted the rigorous nature of the milestone:

“Obtaining this licence in a market as highly regulated and competitive as Australia is a testament to the strength of our business model and the relentless dedication of our teams.”

Storonsky noted that securing the unrestricted ADI licence has been a primary strategic priority for the organization, expressing his gratitude and congratulations to everyone involved in delivering the landmark launch across the Australian market.

Wise reported a 25% increase in first-quarter net income on Friday, fueled by continued strong growth in cross-border transaction volumes and customer assets. The fintech company also reaffirmed its full-year outlook.

For the quarter ending June 30, net income rose to $714 million from $573.3 million. Transaction revenue climbed 27% to reach $540.9 million, while cross-border transaction volume advanced 26% year-over-year (24% on a constant currency basis) to $69.3 billion. Active customer numbers expanded by 21% to hit 11.9 million.

Customer assets saw a 31% surge, reaching $41.2 billion. Meanwhile, the cross-border take rate edged down 2 basis points to 0.50%—a deliberate move by the company to pass on savings from operational leverage to customers through lower pricing. The proportion of instant transfers improved significantly, rising to 77% from 70% a year earlier.

Wise Co-founder and CEO Kristo Kaarmann commented: “This quarter, nearly 12 million people and businesses used Wise, transferring $69.3 billion globally. These customers paid an average fee of just 50 basis points—the lowest level in Wise’s history. With 77% of transactions arriving instantly on the other side of the world, more customers are trusting Wise for their everyday financial needs, driving our customer assets up 31% to $41.2 billion.”

Looking forward, Wise reaffirmed its financial targets for fiscal year 2027 (FY27), anticipating constant-currency net income growth to land in the middle of its 15%–20% medium-term guidance range. This forecast assumes no substantial shifts in central bank rates or interest paid to customers. Additionally, the company aims for a pre-tax profit margin at the upper end of the 20%–25% range.

Expensify, Inc. has announced that the Expensify Card is now available in the United Kingdom and select European markets, with the card officially launching in Spain, Ireland, Poland, and the Netherlands.

Powered by Visa Commercial Card, the offering provides finance teams with real-time transaction visibility, automated receipt matching, and built-in spending controls. Transactions appear instantly on the Expensify platform, eliminating month-end reconciliation delays.

Key features include automated categorization via Concierge AI and spending limits designed to prevent unauthorized purchases. Virtual cards are available for single-use or time-restricted transactions. Businesses can settle balances on a daily or monthly basis and link any GBP, EUR, or US business bank account, with no minimum requirements, security deposits, personal guarantees, or credit checks needed.

The product integrates seamlessly with major accounting platforms such as QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct. To meet UK and EU regulatory requirements, the card includes VAT tracking and advanced statement reporting. Users can utilize the card globally with zero foreign transaction fees.

Meanwhile, Expensify’s financial performance continues to show positive momentum. Shares have climbed 32% over the past six months and recorded a 21% increase year-to-date. The company maintains a robust balance sheet with a current ratio of 3.49 and a cash position that exceeds its debt, providing ample financial flexibility for its international expansion initiatives. According to InvestingPro analysis, the stock is trading below its Fair Value, positioning it among undervalued opportunities within the fintech sector.

Expensify Founder and CEO David Barrett commented: “The Expensify Card works quietly in the background to keep business spending controlled, compliant, and ready for accounting. It serves as a pre-accounting assistant that eliminates the tedious tasks of reconciling transactions, collecting receipts, and reimbursing employees.”