Guava raises $12.5 million seed for AI voice agents
Guava, the Los Angeles voice-agent developer, raised $12.5 million in seed funding led by Acrew Capital to take regulated calls from pilot into production.
Rick Steves
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011. He holds a degree in Business Administration and has experience producing real-time news, from both buy-side and sell-side, as well as for retail traders, brokers and service providers. Steves' work has appeared in a variety of online publications including FX Street, NewsBTC, FinanceFeeds, and The Industry Spread. Rick has great interest in the dynamics of the trading industry. The never-ending clash between technology, economics, regulation, and more importantly, the people.
November 2026
Kabilio raises €10 million for accounting automation
Kabilio raised €10 million from Picus Capital and Visionaries to automate Spanish accounting firms. The 2025 filing still showed about €92,000 of revenue.
Enza raises $6 million Seed+ for African bank rails
Enza closed a $6 million Seed+ led by 4DX Ventures, with British International Investment joining, to extend bank payment rails across more African markets.
Casap raises $56 million Series B for dispute agents
Casap raised $56 million in a Series B led by Base10 Partners, funding AI agents for payments fraud and card disputes. The wire leaves valuation unnamed.
Kalepa raises $75 million at a $470 million valuation
Kalepa's $75 million Series B values the New York insurtech at $470 million, with Updata leading after a year of tripled revenue and positive cash flow.
How the Bank and the FCA split systemic sterling issuers
The Bank leads reserves and a £40 billion guardrail for systemic sterling issuers, while the FCA keeps conduct and solo-regulates every other UK issuer.
NPCI Tech Solutions takes AI and blockchain off the UPI core
NPCI Tech Solutions takes AI and blockchain off the UPI core. Vishal Kanvaty will lead the new subsidiary after board and Reserve Bank of India approval.
LSEG depositary clears the sandbox gate for the DIGIT gilt
Gate 2 lets LSEG B3 settle the DIGIT gilt as an investor depositary inside the UK sandbox. Settlement-finality designation and the cash leg remain open.
Finpilot raises $10 million for pension-office paperwork
Finpilot raises $10 million for pension-office paperwork. Lobby Capital leads, Madrona returns, and the Series A bets on agents inside the allocator's record.
Pliant opens its licensed B2B card rails to outside agents
Pliant is opening its licensed B2B card rails to outside agents, and an $80 million Series C led by Seaya Nova and Speedinvest funds wider rail access.
Clip acquires Pulpos to pair payments with shop tools
Clip acquired Pulpos on October 28, pairing Mexican card acceptance with inventory, point of sale and CFDI invoicing. The price stayed off the release.
Yellow Card acquires GoMoney for Brazil Pix collections
Yellow Card's GoMoney acquisition adds Pix collections in reais, while the São Paulo virtual-asset firm's central-bank VASP application stays pending.
Liberis and Qred complete merger after Swedish approval
Liberis and Qred completed their merger after Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority approval, pairing a bank licence with embedded finance in 17 countries.
France's €100,000 line for self-custody crypto reports
Amendment I-2701 would require French taxpayers to declare self-custodied crypto wallets from €100,000. The Assembly voted yes; the bill is still in Parliament.
OppFi withdraws applications to buy BNC National Bank
OppFi withdrew OCC, Fed and FDIC applications to buy BNC National Bank, while its $130.7 million merger agreement with BNCCORP remains fully in effect.
AMINA Bank joins the RTGS.global cross-border network
AMINA Bank has joined the RTGS.global network, opening Swiss franc and euro accounts plus digital wallets for eligible clients. Dollar and sterling follow.
Hong Kong passes CARF crypto-asset tax reporting rules
Hong Kong passed the crypto-asset reporting bill. CARF duties start 1 January 2027, the amended CRS starts 1 January 2028, and exchange is planned for 2028.
Hoxton Wealth takes a $135 million Aspirity commitment
Hoxton Wealth has a $135 million commitment from Aspirity Partners I, with the minority stake still awaiting regulatory approval and the stake size undisclosed.
UMB agrees to buy El Dorado Savings Bank for $506 million
UMB Financial agreed to buy El Dorado Savings Bank for about $506 million, adding 31 California branches and four in Nevada and lifting the network to 227.
PlexPay goes live for Panacea's doctor-owned practices
PlexPay is live for doctor-owned practices, pairing cards, ACH and patient finance with Panacea's Primis deposits. The $7 billion volume still needs a split.
Also filing this week: Karthik Subramanian and Abdelaziz Fathi.