Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the last week.
This week, India has blocked Alipay+ from integrating its most popular payment method, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), due to various data, privacy and money laundering concerns.
Also this week, SoFi’s stablecoin gets additional exposure via Kraken, Swift settled its first treasury payment on its blockchain ledger, OpenPayd continues its US expansion, and Mambu has found a solution that combines AI, banking and payments under one roof.
Data at the centre of India’s block of Alipay+
Alipay+ integrating India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been blocked due to transaction data laws.
According to sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters, the Indian government has raised concerns regarding the China-based Alipay+ and its ability to obtain Indian citizens’ data. UPI is the most popular payment method in the country.
There is reportedly no clear path for this to be resolved according to Reuters’ sources. The Indian foreign ministry confirmed Alipay+ was blocked on “political grounds”, while law enforcement agencies are concerned over money laundering, cyber fraud and the mishandling of consumer data if Alipay+ were to handle UPI cross-border transactions in India.
In January 2026, Alipay+ launched a proposal to integrate UPI as part of its digital payment network that encompasses 150 million merchants across Asia. Alipay+ supports over 50 digital wallet and payment providers, allowing traveling consumers to make payments in countries such as South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia.
India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) enforces data localisation rules which mandates all payment operators to store their payment data for transactions settled in the country exclusively with the Reserve Bank of India, a barrier which has stalled Apple Pay’s India launch.
Kraken to expand the reach of SoFi’s stablecoin
SoFi’s stablecoin, SoFiUSD, will be listed on Payward’s platforms, including Kraken Prime, enabling SoFi clients to clear and settle US dollar transactions 24/7.
Payward will leverage SoFi’s Big Business Banking capabilities and join the SoFi Exchange Network (SEN). Payward’s prime brokerage solution, Kraken Prime, will serve as an additional source of digital asset liquidity.
One of the primary objectives of the partnership is to extend settlement beyond traditional banking hours and enhance the money movement process. This would allow clients to move money and manage liquidity on an ‘always-on’ schedule.
Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, said: “SoFi is building the trusted financial infrastructure for an always-on economy, combining the strength of a nationally chartered bank with technology that allows money to move seamlessly and efficiently.”
Payward will also list SoFiUSD on the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, expanding access to SoFi’s stablecoin for millions of retail, professional and institutional clients.
Swift settles first treasury payment on blockchain ledger
BNP Paribas and HSBC have settled the first live corporate treasury payment using Swift’s blockchain-based ledger with Siemens.
The transaction moved funds from Siemens’ euro account held with BNP Paribas in France to its sterling account held with HSBC in the UK. No new accounts, wallets or changes to operating procedures were required.
Swift’s ledger coordinated the interbank commitments in the background as the pilot tested whether a shared ledger could add reach across banking systems, while preserving the commercial bank money and instruction methods that corporates already use.
Raphael Marek, Head of France and Benelux at Swift, said: “We’re delighted that our community is now able to extend these benefits to their corporate customers, to give them greater flexibility in their business.
“Enabling 24/7 payments was just the first use case for the ledger, and we’re excited to be working with the community to ensure the ledger meets their needs and can be a foundation for future innovation.”
OpenPayd secures 43 state licences to continue US expansion
OpenPayd has made a significant expansion in the US after acquiring 43 state money transmitter licences, increasing the reach of its API-backed financial infrastructure services.
A US state money transmitter licence enables OpenPayd to offer regulated payment services in each state it has a licence in. Licence holders are required to maintain adequate capital reserves and enforce AML and KYC controls to report suspicious transactions to state regulators.
Dr. Ozan Ozerk, Founder of OpenPayd, said: “The U.S. is at the forefront of this evolution, and with regulated foundations now spanning the U.S., U.K. and Europe – across both fiat and digital assets – OpenPayd has something few providers can claim: regulated infrastructure spanning both fiat and digital assets, on both sides of the Atlantic.”
OpenPayd’s regulatory expansion comes after generating $96m in Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) and annualised transaction volume surpassing $300bn.
In June 2026, OpenPayd announced it will launch an IPO as part of a business combination agreement with Titan Acquisition Corporation, which values the combined company as $1.145bn, to be listed on Nasdaq.
Mambu consolidates AI, banking and payments into one service
Mambu announced the launch of Intelligent Core, an all-in-one service to bridge banking, payments and agentic AI into one platform.
Mambu Agentic is the native intelligence layer of AI connectivity, using specialised agents, and autonomous workflows. Mambu Core and Mambu Payments uses a unified service built to accelerate the execution of lowering operational overhead, as well as providing hyper-personalised workflows.
Mambu’s Intelligent Core brings together the intelligence and the ledger in one open architecture, helping financial institutions launch faster, automate high-volume operational work and deliver instant, personalised services at scale.
Fernando Zandona, CEO of Mambu, said: “For 15 years, Mambu has freed hundreds of global financial institutions from the constraints of monolithic legacy cores through composable banking.
“That composable foundation now evolves to become intelligent. Intelligent Core is our vision for the future of financial services: core, payments, and agentic AI working as one. Mambu Agentic brings this to life with AIagents that connect directly into the ledger, reason against strict guardrails, act where authorised, and explain every decision. Fully configurable, auditable, and scalable.”
Have a story that the industry needs to know to be featured on Fintech Unwrapped? Contact: [email protected]
If you would like to read more from Payment Expert this week, sign up to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, ‘This Week In Payments’, featuring the biggest news stories and in-depth features from within fintech, payments, crypto and more.
