Cecabank Is Building a Crypto Business for Banks
Hey Digital Banking Fanatic!
What if banks don't need to build crypto custody themselves?
That's the model Spanish banking group Cecabank is pursuing as it looks to extend its crypto custody services across Europe.
Cecabank launched its regulated custody service in Spain earlier this year. Now, using its MiCA licence, it has started the passporting process to extend those services to Luxembourg, Ireland and Portugal.
The idea is pretty straightforward: instead of every bank having to build its own crypto custody capabilities, Cecabank can provide the service behind the scenes.
And I think that's an interesting direction for digital banking.
Rather than banks turning themselves into crypto companies, they can add digital assets through services provided by other regulated financial institutions.
If that model takes off, crypto could become another capability banks can plug into without having to build everything from scratch.
More Digital Banking news is below 👇
See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
💡 Incognia: How AI-Powered Fraud Farms Operate. Incognia explores how organized fraud networks are using AI to automate account creation, identity management, and activity across large numbers of devices. The challenge is that individual accounts or devices may look legitimate in isolation, while the connections between them reveal a much larger operation. The key takeaway for fraud teams is clear: detecting AI-powered fraud increasingly requires analysing the relationships between accounts, devices, and physical locations — not just individual transactions. Read the full article here
How AI-Powered Fraud Farms Really Work
NEWS
🇦🇪 Mambu and Mastercard join forces to simplify cross-border payments for banks in the Middle East. Mastercard Move will connect with Mambu's Intelligent Core to give banks a pre-built integration for cross-border payment capabilities within digital banking journeys.
🇺🇸 Grok now connects to users' bank, card, and investment accounts via Plaid integration. xAI's chatbot offers read-only access, letting users ask Grok to help manage spending and investments without sharing bank credentials.
🇳🇴 Vipps expands contactless payments with Klarna cards, allowing users to make contactless payments through Vipps with eligible Klarna cards. The Norwegian payments app is bringing its “blippning” functionality to Klarna cards, expanding contactless payment options for users.
🇬🇧 UK households could save over £370 a year by repairing instead of replacing, according to Klarna. The company launched Care & Repair in the UK and France, making repair options visible on past purchases inside the Klarna app
🇪🇸 Cecabank takes its regulated crypto custody push to Luxembourg via MiCA passporting. The Spanish B2B custodian plans to extend MiCA coverage to Luxembourg, Ireland, and Portugal in 2026 after becoming the first Spanish custodian to secure a MiCA license.
🇪🇺 BBVA and eDreams sign a strategic agreement to connect digital banking and travel in Italy and Germany. The partnership will integrate travel services into BBVA's digital banking experience across both markets.
🇺🇸 Oracle integrates with SWIFT's ledger to help banks connect tokenized deposit infrastructures across institutions. The collaboration enables financial institutions to link tokenized deposit systems through a standardized connection to SWIFT's interoperability layer, reducing friction in cross-institutional digital asset settlement.
🇺🇸 Finastra launches AI-powered Repair Recommendations for modern payments processing, announced at Sibos 2026. The feature helps banks resolve payment exceptions faster by providing scheme-validated correction guidance across Swift, Fedwire, SEPA, and more.
🇬🇧 HSBC rolls out a new digital transaction banking platform announced at Sibos 2026 in Miami. The platform aims to modernize how corporate and institutional clients manage payments and cash flows across markets.
🇺🇸 Bank of America expands payments capabilities with new intelligence and real-time services, announced at Sibos 2026. The bank is rolling out enhanced payment intelligence tools and real-time transaction services aimed at improving speed and transparency for corporate clients.
🇰🇷 KB Kookmin Bank and BNY sign an MOU on cross-border digital-asset payments and remittances. KB Kookmin Bank plans to use BNY's global payments network and Pay to Wallet capabilities to improve overseas remittance services for foreign nationals and international students.
🇬🇧 Brite Payments launches Pay by Bank in the UK, bringing its account-to-account payment solution to British consumers and merchants. The Swedish open banking firm enables instant payments directly from bank accounts without card networks, expanding its footprint beyond the Nordic and European markets where it already operates.
🇿🇦 Absa secures regulatory approval for digital asset custody, becoming the first African bank to offer institutional-grade safekeeping for digital assets. The service targets asset managers, corporates, and non-bank financial institutions within a regulated banking environment.
🇳🇿 Revolut taps ex-Bendigo executive Ryan Brosnahan as its first New Zealand CEO. Brosnahan previously served as chief transformation officer at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. Georgia Grange, who led Revolut NZ from launch, has been promoted to chief operating officer as the company pursues a banking license.
Trusted reach among senior decision-makers in FinTech, Payments & Banking.
👉 Explore Partnership here
