Welcome to Fintech Pulse, your daily op-ed–style briefing on the most impactful developments shaping financial technology. Today’s edition dives into five major stories that illustrate the dynamism — and the growing pains — of our industry: a powerhouse partnership targeting stablecoin accessibility, a Brazilian cashback unicorn’s bold Bitcoin treasury play, a Singapore-based embedded finance innovator’s fresh capital infusion, a playful analogy linking Eurovision to European fintech, and a leadership shake-up at a Canadian cross-border payments startup. We break down each story, offer strategic insights, and tie it all together with the SEO keywords you care about: fintech, stablecoins, embedded finance, series A funding, blockchain, crypto and cross-border payments.

1. Mastercard × MoonPay: Bridging the Stablecoin Gap

Headline: FinTech Partnerships Look to Crack Stablecoin On- and Off-Ramp Challenges
Source: PYMNTS

What Happened?
On May 15, global payments giant Mastercard announced a strategic partnership with crypto payments provider MoonPay to integrate stablecoin rails directly into Mastercard’s network. The collaboration aims to embed fiat-stablecoin on- and off-ramps into everyday fintech.apps and retail banking services, moving beyond centralized exchange gateways .

Why It Matters:
Stablecoins promise lock-step parity with fiat currencies, lightning-fast settlement, and programmable money capabilities that excel at cross-border remittances and DeFi use cases. Yet adoption stalls without ubiquitous access — most users still must visit exchanges like Coinbase or Binance to convert dollars to USDC or Tether. By embedding on-ramps into Mastercard’s network, consumers and merchants could initiate stablecoin transactions from familiar banking and payments interfaces, lowering the barrier to entry for programmable dollars and euros.

Op-Ed Insight:
The partnership signals a crucial inflection point: incumbent networks are no longer sidelining crypto; they’re building rails atop it. But the devil’s in the details. Regulatory fragmentation (especially in the U.S. under the stalled GENIUS Act) and merchant liability concerns could slow merchant acceptance. True scalability will require not only seamless rails but also incentivised merchant adoption programs and robust KYC/AML frameworks from banks stepping in as custodians and liquidity providers. We’re watching a race where technology leadership must align with regulatory clarity to keep moving the needle on stablecoin usability.

2. Méliuz Becomes Brazil’s First Bitcoin Treasury Company

Headline: Brazil fintech gets approval to become a Bitcoin treasury company
Source: TradingView (Cointelegraph)

What Happened?
On May 15, Brazilian cashback fintech Méliuz received shareholder approval to pivot from a “cashback‐only” model to a Bitcoin treasury strategy, designating itself as the country’s first publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company. The firm purchased 274.52 BTC at an average price of USD 103,604, bringing its total holdings to 320.3 BTC (~USD 33 million).

Why It Matters:
Corporate Bitcoin treasuries have become a hallmark of conviction in crypto’s long-term value — think MicroStrategy or Tesla. Méliuz joins Latin America’s leaders in on-chain treasury allocations, underscoring the region’s appetite for inflation hedges amid currency volatility. Brazilians, accustomed to high interest rates and emerging-market FX turbulence, may view BTC as an “alpha asset” to diversify corporate balance sheets.

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Op-Ed Insight:
Méliuz’s move is more than PR — it’s a strategic risk‐management bet. By repositioning its corporate purpose around “maximizing BTC per share,” Méliuz aligns shareholder interests with crypto market cycles. Yet the company must balance treasury volatility against its core cashback business cash flows. Success depends on transparent reporting, disciplined treasury management (e.g., dollar-cost averaging), and clear communication to retail investors who may not be crypto natives. Watch whether this spurs rival Brazilian fintechs or banks to follow suit in allocating portions of their liquidity reservoirs to on-chain assets.

3. CrediLinq Secures USD 8.5 Million Series A

Headline: Global fintech CrediLinq Raises $8.5M Series A to Accelerate the Growth of B2B Embedded Finance
Source: FinSMEs / PR Newswire

What Happened?
Singapore-based CrediLinq, an AI-powered B2B embedded finance platform, closed an USD 8.5 million Series A funding round on May 16. The round was co-led by OM/VC and MS&AD Ventures, with new participation from Citi North America and the Rustem Family Office, alongside returning backers 500 Global, Epic Angels, 1982 VC, and Big Sky Capital.

Why It Matters:
As digital commerce platforms multiply, so does demand for seamless, point-of-sale financing for SMEs. CrediLinq’s API-first embedded finance toolkit lets marketplaces and B2B platforms plug in working-capital lines, receivables financing, and AI-driven credit underwriting directly into seller checkouts. This reduces friction, speeds approval, and uses platform-level data (e.g., transaction history) for richer risk models.

Op-Ed Insight:
The Series A underscores two key trends: (1) investors doubling down on embedded finance as a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity, and (2) the rise of AI-powered credit to mitigate non-performing loans via real-time data. CrediLinq’s roadmap—geographic expansion into the U.S., U.K., and Australia; talent acquisitions; and algorithmic enhancements—mirrors best practices for scaling fintech infrastructure. Watch for CrediLinq partnerships with e-commerce giants like Amazon or TikTok Shop; that level of integration could unlock exponential growth and cement its platform moat.

4. State of Play: Eurovision × Fintech

Headline: State of play: Eurovision x fintech
Source: FinTech Futures

What Happened?
In a whimsical yet illuminating piece published May 16, fintech analyst Philip Benton draws parallels between the Eurovision Song Contest and the European fintech ecosystem, highlighting themes of performance, jury vs. audience dynamics, and cross-border collaboration.

Why It Matters:
Analogies like Benton’s help demystify fintech for broader audiences, showcasing how global expansion requires more than flashy UX (the “gimmicks”); it needs solid fundamentals, compliance infrastructure, and a mix of consumer appeal and regulatory endorsement (the “jury vote”). The article reminds us that fintech success hinges on balancing novelty with viability.

Op-Ed Insight:
Drawing on Eurovision’s dual-voting system, fintechs must navigate both user growth and regulator approval. The most memorable Eurovision acts aren’t always the slickest — sometimes it’s the oddball, risk-taking performances that stick. Similarly, fintech innovation should target underserved niches (e.g., micro-lending in underbanked regions or carbon-credit marketplaces) rather than chasing generic neobank status. Collaborations (APIs as “backing vocals”) between banks, startups, and infrastructure players will define the winning acts in this fintech “contest.” The key takeaway? Stand out, but don’t stray from the core song — your business model and compliance framework.

5. PaySaxas Appoints Dmitrii Barbasura as CEO

Headline: PaySaxas names Salt Edge founder Dmitrii Barbasura as CEO
Source: FinTech Futures

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What Happened?
On May 16, Canadian payments infrastructure startup PaySaxas announced the appointment of Dmitrii Barbasura, founder of open banking pioneer Salt Edge, as its new CEO. Barbasura succeeds co-founder Alex Sulenko and steps in with a mandate to expand payment solutions and solidify regulatory licences, including a new Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from Finland’s FIN-FSA.

Why It Matters:
PaySaxas offers multi-currency IBANs, SEPA/SWIFT transfers, and fiat–crypto conversions. Under Barbasura’s leadership at Salt Edge, which grew to serve 200+ clients in 50+ countries, the startup aims to replicate that traction in cross-border payments infrastructure — a space ripe for regulatory arbitrage and product innovation.

Op-Ed Insight:
Leadership transitions in fintech can catalyse strategic pivots. Barbasura’s track record suggests PaySaxas might strengthen its API packaging, explore embedded FX hedging products, and deepen partnerships with neobanks and remittance platforms. Securing the Finnish EMI licence hints at a Eurozone-centric growth push before eyeing Latin America or Asia. Watch how Barbasura balances product roadmaps with “reg-tech” imperatives — his next moves will reveal whether PaySaxas can outflank incumbents like TransferWise or Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity.

Concluding Analysis

Today’s headlines underscore a few macrothemes:

1. Institutional Embrace of Crypto Rails: From Mastercard embedding stablecoin ramps to Méliuz building a Bitcoin treasury, legacy players and scale-ups alike are staking claims on on-chain liquidity.

2. Embedded Finance as Infrastructure: CrediLinq’s Series A and PaySaxas’s leadership hire both spotlight embedded finance and API-driven cross-border payments as bedrock fintech infrastructure.

3. Regulatory Alignment vs. Product Innovation: Whether it’s the GENIUS Act’s hold-up on U.S. stablecoin policy or PaySaxas’s Finnish EMI licence, regulatory clarity remains the linchpin for fintech scale.

4. Brand and Narrative Matter: Philip Benton’s Eurovision analogy reminds us that storytelling — and positioning — can amplify product differentiation in a crowded market.

As always, Fintech Pulse will continue tracking how these stories evolve. Will Mastercard–MoonPay ignite a stablecoin payments boom? Will Méliuz’s Bitcoin treasury pay off or invite volatility headaches? Can CrediLinq convert its AI promise into enterprise-grade partnerships? Stay tuned.

The post Fintech Pulse: Your Daily Industry Brief – May 16, 2025: Mastercard, MoonPay, Méliuz, CrediLinq, PaySaxas appeared first on News, Events, Advertising Options.

Equity Insider News Commentary

Issued on behalf of Avant Technologies Inc.

VANCOUVER, BC, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Equity Insider News Commentary – AI is no longer just assisting healthcare — it’s beginning to rewire it from the ground up. From streamlining diagnostics and automating clinical documentation to predicting disease and optimizing hospital operations, generative AI is now touching every layer of the care continuum. As policymakers in places like Connecticut debate how to regulate this growing influence, and initiatives like OpenAI’s HealthBench push the frontier of model evaluation, a new class of enterprise-scale innovators is already moving ahead. Among them are several public companies straddling health tech, cloud AI, and data infrastructure — including Avant Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: AVAI), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR), GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GEHC), Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL).

Industry analysts at MarketsandMarkets project that the AI in healthcare market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 38.6%, reaching over $110 billion by 2030. Looking further ahead, Accenture estimates that AI could unlock an additional $461 billion in value by 2035—augmenting a global healthcare sector already expected to exceed $2.26 trillion.

Avant Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: AVAI) is quietly but deliberately advancing its position in AI-powered healthcare through a proposed acquisition of its joint venture partner, Ainnova Tech. The two companies, already aligned under the Ai-nova Acquisition Corp. (AAC) banner, are now moving to unify operations—an intentional step that comes just ahead of their scheduled FDA pre-submission meeting this July. If completed, the merger would remove internal friction, streamline clinical trial planning, and strengthen their regulatory posture ahead of potential U.S. market entry.

“We believe bringing the two companies together will offer tremendous value for shareholders,” said Vinicio Vargas, CEO at Ainnova and a member of the Board of Directors of Ai-nova Acquisition Corp. “It will simplify the process of advancing our technology to market, and it will deliver value to our customers and partners as we promote our technology portfolio globally.”

At the core of this effort is Vision AI, a non-invasive clinical screening platform that combines retinal imaging, vital sign capture, and machine-learning algorithms to detect early signals of chronic illness—including diabetic retinopathy, cardiovascular disease, kidney and liver conditions, and type 2 diabetes. Operating under AAC, the joint venture holds global rights to the platform, which has shown more than 90% sensitivity in early detection, according to NIH-cited research.

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“This milestone reflects our two-tiered strategy, rapid deployment in low-regulation markets where Vision AI operates as a screening tool, and simultaneous progress toward FDA clearance for the U.S. market,” said Vargas. “Entering the U.S. will unlock significant commercial potential, and early engagement with regulators ensures we do so with speed, credibility, and a validated product.”

Unlike many healthcare AI startups still stuck at concept stage, Avant’s technology is already deployed in Latin America—including Chile, Mexico, and Brazil—where it’s being tested in real-world clinical workflows. These field programs are not only helping build a safety and efficacy track record, they’re also providing critical user feedback that shapes the platform’s refinement and usability.

To support broader clinical reach, AAC recently integrated four new diagnostic algorithms into Vision AI. Trained on over 2.3 million clinical cases, these additions enhance the system’s utility across a wider range of chronic conditions. With proven traction abroad and a pending regulatory milestone in the U.S., Avant is moving from potential to presence—and may soon find itself on the radar of a much larger healthcare conversation.

CONTINUED… Read this and more news for Avant Technologies at:

https://equity-insider.com/2025/03/21/unlocking-the-trillion-dollar-ai-market-what-investors-need-to-know/ 

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR) has entered a long-term partnership with The Joint Commission, the leading healthcare accreditation body in the U.S., to apply its AI and data analytics platform to improve patient safety and operational efficiency.

“The Joint Commission is committed to building the accreditation and certification process of the future, today,” says Alex Karp, co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies. “This work will improve global health outcomes by utilizing AI to drive performance improvements around the world.”

The collaboration aims to modernize how hospitals manage quality standards, streamline certification processes, and enhance clinical performance. Palantir’s platform is already delivering results across major healthcare systems, including Tampa General and Cleveland Clinic.

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GEHC) recently unveiled CleaRecon DL, an FDA-cleared, AI-based solution aimed at elevating image quality in cone-beam CT (CBCT) procedures. Powered by deep learning, the tool addresses long-standing image distortion challenges caused by blood flow and contrast variability, especially in interventional settings like liver and neuro procedures. Clinical validation shows a 94% increase in interpretation confidence and a 98% improvement in image clarity compared to traditional CBCT.

“The introduction of CleaRecon DL represents a leap forward in the interventional suite and for the advancement of CBCT,” said Arnaud Marie, General Manager, Interventional Solutions at GE HealthCare. “By improving image quality and reducing artifacts, this technology can empower clinicians to perform procedures with greater precision and confidence. This solution builds on our portfolio of tools aimed at improving the user experience and workflow efficiency, enabling clinicians to deliver more accurate and effective interventions for enhanced patient outcomes.”

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Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is expanding its healthcare footprint with the launch of a global Life Sciences Partner Network and broader deployment of its Agentforce digital labor platform. Designed to unify clinical, commercial, and manufacturing data, the initiative enables pharmaceutical and medtech organizations to transition from legacy systems to AI-enabled, compliant workflows.

“We are in an unprecedented market moment where, with digital labor grounded in rich data, international life sciences organizations have the opportunity to completely reimagine the way they interact with patients and HCPs,” said Frank Defesche, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Salesforce Life Sciences. “Backed by over two decades of industry expertise, Salesforce is uniquely equipped to pioneer this next era with our deeply unified Platform that brings together apps, data, life sciences-specific workflows, and AI – all wrapped in trust and compliance.”

With integrations from partners like athenahealth, Viz.ai, and H1, the platform supports real-time insights, patient engagement, and automated compliance across the healthcare lifecycle. This marks a major step in Salesforce’s push to become the digital backbone of modern life sciences operations.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL), through Google Cloud and Google Public Sector, has partnered with Drive Health and the State of Illinois to launch Healthy Baby, a multi-year AI-powered maternal health pilot targeting underserved communities. The program equips expectant mothers with Google Pixel phones and Fitbit devices, delivering personalized care through Nurse Avery, an AI health assistant.

“The Healthy Baby pilot represents a critical step in maternal healthcare, showing how AI can help deliver personalized, proactive health support directly to underserved mothers,” said Chris Hein, Field Chief Technology Officer, Google Public Sector. “Using the AI agent, Nurse Avery, and delivering it through Google Pixel phones and Fitbit devices, the program provides real-time support – managing appointments, monitoring vitals, and offering health guidance directly, aiming to make essential resources more readily available.”

Backed by Google Cloud’s secure infrastructure, the initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality, improve birth outcomes, and close care gaps across rural populations.

Source: https://equity-insider.com/2025/03/21/unlocking-the-trillion-dollar-ai-market-what-investors- need-to-know/ 

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ASHBURN, Va., May 16, 2025 /CNW/ – DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), a leading Fortune 500 global technology services provider, has been named to the prestigious Forbes World’s Best Management Consulting Firms 2025 list for the third year in a row. Out of 955,000 consulting firms in the U.S., fewer than 0.02% made the ranking, which is based on a rigorous survey of 2,350 clients and peers across 33 categories.

“This recognition highlights DXC’s deep industry expertise and unwavering commitment to driving business transformation through consulting and engineering,” said Howard Boville, President, Consulting & Engineering Services – Powered by AI. “As enterprises accelerate their digital evolution in the era of AI, we continue to deliver intelligent, scalable and secure solutions that help our clients innovate, optimize and gain competitive advantages industries.”

The consulting sector remains one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding areas within professional services. A recent analysis by the Business Research Company projects that the global management consulting market will exceed $1.07 trillion in 2025, growing from $1.02 trillion in 2024. By 2029, the market is expected to reach approximately $1.33 trillion. To help businesses navigate this vast industry and identify top consulting partners, Forbes and Statista have collaborated to create a definitive ranking of the world’s leading management consulting firms.

DXC earned recognitions in the following categories: Automotive, Digital Transformation, IT, Technology, Telecommunications, and IT Strategy & Implementation. With a global team of 50,000+ highly skilled engineers and consultants, DXC is driving innovation across industries like financial services; healthcare and life sciences; public sector; aerospace and defense; automotive and manufacturing, and more. From improving fraud detection in banking to enhancing safety in autonomous driving, we’re helping clients transform their operations and unlock the potential of AI. The complete list of honorees can be viewed on the Forbes website.

For more information on DXC Consulting and Engineering Services – Powered by AI, visit https://dxc.com/us/en/offerings/analytics-and-engineering 

Forward Looking Statements

All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute “forward-looking statements.” These statements represent current expectations and beliefs, and no assurance can be given that any result, goal or plan set forth in any forward-looking statement can or will be achieved. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements, many of which are outside of our control. For a written description of these factors, see the section titled “Risk Factors” in DXC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, and any updating information in subsequent SEC filings. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements which speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake any obligation to update or release any revisions to any forward-looking statement or to report any events or circumstances after the date of this document or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

About DXC Technology

DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) helps global companies run their mission-critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures, and ensuring security and scalability across public, private and hybrid clouds. The world’s largest companies and public sector organizations trust DXC to deploy services to drive new levels of performance, competitiveness, and customer experience across their IT estates. Learn more about how we deliver excellence for our customers and colleagues at DXC.com.

Angelena Abate, Media Relations, [email protected]; Roger Sachs, CFA, Investor Relations, +1-201 259-0801, [email protected]

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