Financial Services

Reap Launches Managed Fraud Service Sentry for Card Programs

Hong Kong – September 20, 2026 -- Reap has launched Sentry, a managed fraud and risk service that eliminates the need for card-issuing clients to build in-house fraud teams or license separate monitoring tools.

Global card fraud losses hit $33.41 billion in 2024, Nilson Report data shows

Payment card fraud losses worldwide totalled USD 33.41 billion in 2024, tied to global card volume of USD 51.920 trillion, according to The Nilson Report's January 2026 figures. Reap cites the millisecond nature of authorisation decisions as the reason fraud must be intercepted at the point of transaction rather than remediated afterward.

01F Group Invests in Indonesia's DANA to Expand Digital Finance Access

Singapore – September 20, 2026 -- 01F Group has made an investment in DANA, Indonesia's leading digital e-wallet and financial services platform, through its growth-stage fintech private equity arm, 01Fintech. The deal deepens 01F Group's exposure to Southeast Asia's fintech sector as Indonesia's digital payments market is projected to approach USD 1 trillion by 2030.

DANA's platform reaches millions of users across Tier 2 to Tier 4 regions

DANA operates an integrated digital financial ecosystem serving consumers, merchants and financial institutions, with particular penetration among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) outside Indonesia's major metropolitan centers. Founded in 2018, the platform combines digital payments, QRIS transactions, money transfers and AI-powered financial tools.

Des Moines Insurer Ranks Priority Coverage Order for Small Firms

Urbandale, Iowa – September 20, 2026 -- Small businesses in the Des Moines metro should secure general liability insurance first, followed by property coverage and workers' compensation, according to insights from Ben Buenzow, an insurance expert at Buenzow Insurance Group, featured in a HelloNation article.

General liability insurance forms the first line of financial defense for small operators

The coverage protects companies against claims of bodily injury or property damage stemming from business operations, addressing risks from customers, vendors, or visitors. Legal costs and settlements tied to such claims can be significant enough to threaten a small firm's cash flow without this protection in place.

SDK.finance Targets Retailers, Marketplaces to Embed Wallets

Vilnius, Lithuania – September 20, 2026 -- SDK.finance has expanded its core platform strategy to help retailers, marketplaces, and telecom operators build native financial products, betting that established consumer brands rather than fintech startups will drive the next wave of payment innovation.

SDK.finance shifts platform focus toward non-financial consumer brands

The Vilnius-based software provider, which builds ready-made infrastructure for wallets and payments, said companies that already hold customer relationships and transaction data are better positioned to embed financial services than new fintech entrants. "None of these companies set out to be a bank, but all of them are moving money," said Pavlo Sidelov, CEO at SDK.finance.

Cerity Partners to Acquire Iowa's Gilbert & Cook, Adding $2B in AUM

Chicago and Des Moines – September 19, 2026 -- Cerity Partners will merge with Gilbert & Cook effective at the end of September 2026, adding approximately $2 billion in assets under management and marking the firm's first entry into the Iowa market.

Gilbert & Cook brings $2 billion in AUM and 30 years of client relationships to the deal

Founded in 1993 and based in West Des Moines, Iowa, Gilbert & Cook has built a national reputation advising individuals, families and business owners on integrated financial planning and investment management. Following the merger, the firm will operate under the Cerity Partners name, giving its clients access to an expanded suite of services including business owner advisory, multigenerational estate planning, private family office services, divorce financial planning and private markets investing.

Svalner Atlas Wins Three Firm of the Year Titles at ITR Europe Awards

Stockholm – September 19, 2026 -- Svalner Atlas | Advisors secured three Firm of the Year titles at the ITR Europe Tax Awards 2026, held at The Londoner in London on September 17, 2026.

Svalner Atlas sweeps three national categories across two regions

The firm was named Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year in Finland, Tax Advisory Firm of the Year in the Netherlands, and Tax Advisory Firm of the Year in Sweden. The International Tax Review awards assess firms on significant client matters, innovation, complexity, scale and impact, backed by independent market research and client feedback.

Bybit Triples Bitcoin Options Share as Crypto Derivatives Shift to Options

Dubai – September 19, 2026 -- Crypto derivatives trading is undergoing a structural shift toward options, with notional open interest in options rising from roughly 25% to nearly 50% of the crypto-native Bitcoin derivatives market, according to a new report from digital assets data provider Glassnode, produced in partnership with Bybit.

Options gain share across four of five market regimes since 2019

The State of Crypto Derivatives report found options growth was fastest during the prolonged bear market, indicating the trend is not simply a function of rising prices or speculative activity. Dated futures volume has fallen roughly 97% below 2021 levels, while options volume now runs more than three times higher than it did in 2021, as leverage moved into perpetual contracts and risk pricing moved into options.

RateSecure Launches Private-Bank Style Non-QM Loans in 10 Days

Danville, Calif. – September 19, 2026 -- RateSecure Financial is closing complex mortgage loans in under 10 days for Silicon Valley founders, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth borrowers who fall outside traditional agency underwriting standards.

RateSecure splits Non-QM lending into two distinct market segments

The California-licensed lender, holding NMLS #2815879 and CA DFPI License #60DBO-217750, identifies a divide in the expanding Non-QM sector: traditional alternative-credit lending for borrowers with weaker credit, and a private-bank-style model for financially strong borrowers with complex income structures. Gurp Bhandal, Founder and CPO of RateSecure, said the company was built specifically around the second segment.

Envestnet Upgrades Wealth Data Platform With Dynamic Benchmarking

Berwyn – September 19, 2026 -- Envestnet has recorded an 82% year-over-year increase in Wealth Data Platform (WDP) users and a 31% rise in firms using the platform as of August 1, 2026, alongside a 102% jump in WDP page views over the same period. The company unveiled its third technology release of 2026 (R3 2026), replacing static peer-average benchmarking with dynamic, contextual performance comparisons across its Adaptive WealthTech ecosystem.

Dynamic benchmarking replaces one-size-fits-all industry averages

The updated Wealth Data Platform now allows firms to compare performance by business segment, geography, and advisor behavior rather than against a single static benchmark. New dimensions include quartile, median, and risk-bucket performance views, plus benchmarking support extended across both U.S. and Canadian advisor populations. Home office leaders gain dedicated views into top- and bottom-performing advisor segments.

Finch Launches AI Platform to Expose Hidden Costs in Property Claims

Nashville, Tenn. – September 19, 2026 -- Finch Claims Inc. has launched what it calls the property insurance industry's first full-claim intelligence platform, designed to connect scattered claim records and surface costs insurers may have omitted from estimates.

Finch found nearly $6 million in repair costs missing from carrier estimates

Analyzing 315,000 documents across more than 15,000 property claims, Finch identified an average difference of nearly 50% between carrier estimates and those prepared by public adjusters, representing over $6 million in repair costs left out of insurer calculations. Among claims where insurers made no payment in the first six months, final settlements came in 43% higher on average than the insurer's initial estimate.