Starling Bank, a UK challenger bank, announced plans to cut 130 jobs as part of a restructuring effort to streamline operations and accelerate AI-driven product development. The move follows a 3% decline in pre-tax profits to £217m and a revenue drop to £887m for the year ending 2025. The bank aims to enhance agility and reduce duplication while expanding its use of AI in banking services.
Mdotm, a London-based fintech firm using AI to manage investment portfolios, secured $27 million in funding led by Expedition Growth Capital. The company serves over 60 financial institutions globally and plans to expand its AI platform Sphere, which supports $100 billion in assets under management.
Youmoney, Poland’s largest loan brokering platform, achieved significant growth without venture capital funding. The company generates 100,000–150,000 monthly leads and aims to expand beyond Poland. Piotr Kaim, co-founder and CEO, discusses the company’s strategy in an interview with MamStartup Podcast.
Ascendex Technology SRL, a Bucharest-based crypto platform, was fined 11,000 EUR by Romania’s Data Protection Authority for violating GDPR rules. The case originated from a French citizen’s complaint about delayed data deletion requests, with the Romanian authority finding the company took up to 37 months to resolve similar requests for other users.
Swedish fintech company Klarna won a $1.97 billion antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging Google’s preferential treatment of its own shopping service harmed PriceRunner, a Klarna subsidiary. The court ruled in favor of Klarna, ordering Google to pay damages.
SumUp, a fintech focused on small business payments, has launched consumer bank accounts offering 5% cashback on purchases at its merchant network. The product aims to create a two-sided incentive system where consumers earn rewards while merchants receive zero transaction fees. The service is initially available in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, with plans to expand to all 38 of SumUp’s markets.
Zinova appoints Mats Persson Bergius as CEO with plans to start lending to Swedish businesses this autumn after receiving 45 million SEK in funding from Tommy Jacobson.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Office (OM) has requested the court to declare Knaken Cryptohandel B.V. and Stichting Knaken Payments bankrupt after the Financial Markets Authority (AFM) raised concerns about the unlicensed provision of cryptocurrency services. The company allowed clients to convert fiat currency to cryptocurrency and vice versa without the required AFM license. The OM is concerned about the improper winding down of the company and potential risks to clients.
Defacto, a fintech company, has applied for a European banking license to expand its SME credit services across the EU.
Prague-based Wultra, a post-quantum digital identity platform for financial institutions, secured €6.8 million in Series A funding led by Seventure Partners. The investment will accelerate international expansion, product development, and alignment with upcoming European digital identity regulations.