Financial Services

New York – September 22, 2026 -- YELL, a payments platform serving consumers and small businesses, has appointed Raphael Blunschi as Chief Executive Officer as the company surpasses 27,000 customers as of September 2026.

Blunschi brings three decades of Swiss banking and asset management experience to YELL's leadership

Blunschi spent more than 30 years across Swiss banking, institutional asset management, and digital assets. He was a founding member of UBS's prime brokerage business and, at RMF/Man Group, built a multi-billion-dollar global managed account platform designed to make hedge fund exposures transparent and institutionally scalable. He then spent 13 years at K2 Advisors, a Franklin Templeton investment company, serving as Chief Administrative Officer, Executive Committee member, and fund board director for eight private funds.

Dallas – September 22, 2026 -- Integrity, LLC, a Dallas-based distributor of life and health insurance and wealth management solutions, has partnered with Mint Health Insurance Agency, a Southern California independent marketing organization led by Miriam and Albert Vega. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mint gains access to Integrity's AI-powered IntegrityCONNECT platform

The partnership gives Mint's agents access to IntegrityCONNECT, which provides on-demand leads, instant quoting, application and enrollment tools, and ongoing plan management. Integrity also offers its voice-activated digital assistant, Ask Integrity, which delivers real-time coverage recommendations and policy lifecycle reminders.

New York – September 22, 2026 -- OM-eTrading, LLC ("OMeT") has signed a strategic licensing agreement with SwapData AI Solutions, LLC to build out OMeT-i, its newly formed market data intelligence division for over-the-counter interest rate swaps.

Kirby moves from SwapData AI founder to Senior Managing Director of OMeT-i

Michael Kirby, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SwapData AI, has been appointed Senior Managing Director of OMeT-i, where he will oversee product architecture, commercial licensing operations, and market expansion for the division.

SwapData AI grants OMeT-i a perpetual enterprise license to its core platform

SwapData AI has granted OMeT-i a perpetual enterprise license to its proprietary SwapData.ai software architecture. The platform will be fully migrated into OMeT's core environment to aggregate, normalize, and process public Swap Data Repository (SDR) feeds across multiple asset classes and execution venues.

Denver and Los Angeles – September 22, 2026 -- Luxury Asset Capital, which has financed over $1 billion in loans backed by luxury assets, has struck a strategic partnership with Timepiece Grading Specialists (TGS) to link watch collectors directly to non-bank financing within 24 hours.

TGS-graded watches now unlock direct loan access across four lending brands

The alliance connects TGS's collector community to Luxury Asset Capital's full brand suite, including Borro, Beverly Loan Company, New York Loan Company, and Palm Beach Loan Company. Collectors who have already used TGS to grade and evaluate their timepieces can leverage those authenticated watches as collateral for short-term capital.

State College, Pa. – September 22, 2026 -- Giv Local, LLC, a Pennsylvania-based payment processor, is donating 20% of its processing revenue to nonprofits chosen by its merchant clients, a model that undercut a national competitor's rates for one Ohio retailer while funding local causes at no extra cost to businesses or customers.

Rate hike at national processor pushed Ohio retailer to switch

Roads Rivers and Trails (RRT), an independent outdoor retailer in Milford, Ohio, left its national payment processor after the provider raised rates without warning. Owners Bryan Wolf and Emily White evaluated multiple replacement processors before selecting Giv Local, found through the B Corp certification directory.

Los Angeles – September 22, 2026 -- Composition Wealth, a registered investment advisor managing more than $12 billion in assets, has appointed Gabrielle Glemann as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer and Joe Salcido as Head of Advisors, adding two executives with a combined 40 years of industry experience to its 125-employee national platform.

Cambridge, Massachusetts – September 22, 2026 -- Cypherpunk Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: CYPH) has appointed digital asset mining executive Amanda Fabiano to its Board of Directors, days after its newly launched Zcash mining fleet generated 3,023.13 ZEC in its first two weeks of operation.

Fabiano brings public-company mining governance from Nakamoto, TeraWulf, Galaxy and Fidelity

Fabiano currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Nakamoto Inc., a publicly listed bitcoin-focused company, and as an independent director of TeraWulf Inc., a public bitcoin miner that has expanded into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. She previously held senior mining and investment roles at Galaxy and Fidelity, where she helped build early institutional digital asset mining programs.

Detroit – September 22, 2026 -- Benzinga has integrated its real-time news feed directly into the home screen of Markets App: Stocks & Crypto, the trading platform operated by Kinetiq, letting users read market news and execute trades without switching tools.

Benzinga News now surfaces alongside trade commentary in the app's feed

The integration places Benzinga News next to the trade theses and commentary that Markets App users already post and read, allowing a user to see a news article about a held stock, place a trade, and share their reasoning without leaving the app.

Seoul, South Korea – September 21, 2026 -- Kakao Pay and Kakao Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding with Fireblocks to build secure onchain infrastructure for Korea's emerging digital asset market, with stablecoins as an initial focus area.

Three parties will test stablecoin distribution frameworks through proof-of-concept trials

Under the agreement, Kakao Pay, Kakao Bank and Fireblocks will jointly explore business opportunities based on Korea's market conditions and infrastructure demand. The companies plan to design digital asset distribution frameworks tailored to Korea's regulatory, security, and service requirements, then run proof-of-concept tests to validate their applicability.

Toronto – September 21, 2026 -- Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) will redeem all $500 million principal amount of its outstanding Series 2021-1 Subordinated Unsecured 2.46% Fixed/Floating Debentures on November 18, 2026, funding the buyback entirely from existing cash and liquid assets.

Sun Life exercises its call option on 2.46% debentures ahead of rate reset

The Debentures become redeemable at Sun Life's option on or after November 18, 2026, at a price equal to the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest through the redemption date. The insurer confirmed it intends to exercise this option on that exact date, with formal notice to be delivered to Debenture holders under the terms of the governing trust indenture.