Embedded payments is becoming commoditized, forcing firms to rethink how they capture value. The most promising answers to the question of where else platforms can turn to capture margin may lie in the adjacencies, services that are enabled by, but not limited to, payment rails. Each transaction creates a byproduct of data, trust and liquidity that can be harnessed for new, higher-margin offerings. Meanwhile, payments create liquidity flows that can be optimized. Platforms that manage funds in transit can capture spread by offering features like instant payouts, yield-bearing accounts or even cross-border treasury solutions. Perhaps the least glamorous but most sticky adjacency is data. Platforms that can analyze transaction flows to help merchants optimize pricing, forecast demand or identify churn risk can create defensible revenue streams beyond the margin of payment processing itself. Some platforms are becoming financial supermarkets, bundling a full suite of services from payments to lending to insurance. Others are doubling down on vertical specialization, offering tailored financial workflows for industries like healthcare or construction. A third path is infrastructure ownership, where platforms seek to build or control enough of the financial stack to capture margin that would otherwise leak to partners. The companies that could be most likely to sustain superior economics may be those that successfully layer higher-margin financial services onto their payments base. Industry observers have noted talk centered around “ARPU (average revenue per user) expansion through financial services” rather than “payments attach.” The market is shifting from excitement over gross payment volume to scrutiny of net revenue retention driven by adjacencies.
Paysecure unveils customizable surcharge fees for iGaming in a dynamic cashier; letting operators configure by card, location, currency, method or segment for compliant, on‑brand payments
Paysecure, the payment orchestration platform in iGaming, roll-out customisable surcharge fee solution, built to enhance their dynamic cashier functionality. This powerful new enhancement provides payment orchestration platform users with complete flexibility to configure and apply fees based on a wide range of parameters, creating tailored payment workflows that meet both regulatory requirements and operational needs. With this enhanced functionality at Paysecure, operators can define fees according to card details, location, market, currency, payment method, customer segment and more. This flexibility means fees can be adapted precisely to business needs, whether that’s addressing regional regulations, aligning with commercial goals, or shaping the player payment experience. Operators can choose how fees are surfaced at the point of payment, either via a pass-on fee or by absorption. Pass-On Fee – The surcharge is added to the transaction, with the player clearly seeing the additional cost and what it has been applied for e.g. taxes. Absorption – The fee is deducted from the transaction value amount, creating a seamless experience without changing the displayed price. Both options are designed to maximise transparency and control, allowing you to decide which approach works best for your business model and customer base. Paysecure’s surcharge fee solution available directly in the cashier has multiple use cases, including: Passing on credit card surcharges in markets where they apply; Meeting specific in-market requirements, such as applying fees only to certain payment methods; Creating differentiated strategies across customer segments, ensuring VIP or high-value customers receive a tailored experience. By embedding this functionality directly into the cashier, operators can manage fee surcharges dynamically and without heavy development overhead.
Entrust and Mastercard embed Ekata‑powered identity analytics to move beyond reactive detection toward proactive, personalized fraud defense across account opening.
Entrust has integrated Mastercard Identity insights powered by Ekata into the Entrust Identity Verification Security Platform. This combination delivers intelligent pre-screening that identifies threats early to strengthen fraud prevention and automates remote onboarding for customers to streamline their onboarding experience. During the application process, Mastercard Identity uses machine learning-powered data analytics based on user information to surface inconsistencies and suspicious patterns, which helps organizations detect and block threats. By adapting to each user’s risk profile, Entrust Identity Verification applies additional checks to low-risk individuals only when needed, which helps to reduce drop-off rates. This solution also saves organizations’ resources by minimizing the need for manual reviews. Dennis Gamiello, executive vice president, global head of identity at Mastercard, said that the combination of Mastercard Identity’s insights and the Entrust Identity Platform helps enterprises “move beyond reactive fraud detection. This partnership expansion enables a proactive, personalized approach that strengthens security while keeping the user experience seamless.”
ServiceNow’s agentic platform transforms simple English commands into production-ready enterprise applications, performs comprehensive testing, handles version control and includes built-in audit trails and security controls
ServiceNow is out with its latest platform iteration as part of the company’s Zurich release. The update, available to current ServiceNow customers bundled with certain plans, introduces three major capabilities designed to move enterprises from AI experimentation to production deployment: natural language app building through vibe coding, enterprise-grade AI security consoles and autonomous workflow automation. ServiceNow’s new Build Agent transforms simple English commands into production-ready enterprise applications. Tell it “create an onboarding app that assigns tasks to HR, IT and Facilities” and it builds the entire system in minutes. Build Agent performs comprehensive testing, handles version control and ensures compliance with enterprise standards. Every application includes audit trails, security controls and governance checking built-in. “In a matter of minutes, the Build Agent not only got the requirements, looked through all the aspects of building, found the errors before deploying, debugged it and also pushed the app into production, ” Jithen Basker, global vice president and general manager of creator workflows at ServiceNow. ServiceNow’s Zurich release introduces two entirely new security consoles specifically designed for enterprise AI deployment. The new Machine Identity Console monitors all API connections and automatically flags high-risk integrations. The system automatically flags accounts inactive for over 100 days and identifies weak authentication methods like basic authentication. The company is betting that enterprises will choose integration simplicity over vendor flexibility. The evidence suggests this bet may pay off. Tasks requiring weeks of development work now complete in minutes, according to ServiceNow. More importantly, the platform eliminates the integration complexity that kills many enterprise AI projects before they reach production scale.
Xauras DeFi protocol addresses governance gaps in decentralized lending by allowing token holders to propose and vote on upgrades, risk strategies, and economic parameters
Xauras, a governance-first decentralized finance protocol, has surpassed $90 million in total value locked (TVL) and engaged over 12,000 unique wallets, indicating strong adoption among investors worldwide. Xauras addresses common issues in decentralized lending, such as governance gaps, security risks, and limited scalability. It features non-custodial smart contracts, dynamic interest rates, and automated liquidation mechanisms to protect liquidity providers and maintain system stability. The platform’s governance-driven model allows token holders to propose and vote on upgrades, risk strategies, and economic parameters, enhancing transparency and trust. Xauras is currently live on Ethereum and Arbitrum, but plans to expand to Polygon, Optimism, and Solana to reduce transaction costs. Upcoming features include NFT-backed loans, real-world asset collateralization, cross-chain yield aggregation, and a mobile-native application. Xauras is poised to play a leading role in shaping the next phase of decentralized lending.
Belong’s customer acquisition model ensures venues only pay for real visits by using a multi-verification system that connects QR codes, NFC technology, and geo-location to confirm physical presence and automatically calculates and distributes rewards on purchases by referrals
The cost of acquiring customers has increased by nearly 35% between 2022 and 2025, particularly for venues like restaurants, bars, clubs, and corporate event spaces. Traditional advertising channels often require significant upfront spend but provide little clarity about what truly drives results, leading to an “attribution black box.” Traditional promotional arrangements often rely on self-reported metrics, which can lead to campaigns that never deliver real value. This high-risk environment makes customer acquisition feel like a gamble rather than an investment. Belong, a Web3 community platform, has developed a zero-risk customer acquisition model called CheckIn, which uses a multi-verification system that connects QR codes, NFC technology, and geo-location to confirm physical presence. Once a referred customer makes a purchase, smart contracts automatically calculate and distribute rewards. This model eliminates common pitfalls of traditional affiliate arrangements and ensures venues only pay for actual value. CheckIn’s architecture builds on Belong’s existing geo-rewards layer, which was originally developed for the Chain Atlas project. It now extends this verification expertise to ongoing customer relationships and integrates with Belong’s upcoming LONG token. Customers who pay with LONG receive an automatic 3% discount, while venues benefit from near-instant settlement. With Belong’s established infrastructure and performance-based model, it has the potential to set a new benchmark for customer acquisition in the venue sector.
Xauras DeFi protocol addresses governance gaps in decentralized lending by allowing token holders to propose and vote on upgrades, risk strategies, and economic parameters
Xauras, a governance-first decentralized finance protocol, has surpassed $90 million in total value locked (TVL) and engaged over 12,000 unique wallets, indicating strong adoption among investors worldwide. Xauras addresses common issues in decentralized lending, such as governance gaps, security risks, and limited scalability. It features non-custodial smart contracts, dynamic interest rates, and automated liquidation mechanisms to protect liquidity providers and maintain system stability. The platform’s governance-driven model allows token holders to propose and vote on upgrades, risk strategies, and economic parameters, enhancing transparency and trust. Xauras is currently live on Ethereum and Arbitrum, but plans to expand to Polygon, Optimism, and Solana to reduce transaction costs. Upcoming features include NFT-backed loans, real-world asset collateralization, cross-chain yield aggregation, and a mobile-native application. Xauras is poised to play a leading role in shaping the next phase of decentralized lending.
Farmway Technologies to tokenize Georgia’s agricultural infrastructure, including orchards, irrigation systems, logistics and processing facilities, with each token representing a fractional stake in an asset creating investable, auditable climate assets
Farmway Technologies, a US-based fintech company, has signed a $100 million deal with the Republic of Georgia to put the country’s almond orchards on the blockchain. The deal will invest in farming infrastructure, processing, logistics, and irrigation systems across Georgia, covering 500 hectares. The almond sector is one of Georgia’s fastest-growing, with 6,000 hectares dedicated to almond cultivation in August 2023. Farmway CEO Upmanyu Misra said that locally grown almonds are increasingly replacing imports, which fell 49% in 2024, while exports continued to rise. The company will tokenize agricultural infrastructure, including orchards, irrigation systems, and processing facilities, with each token representing a fractional stake in an asset. The blockchain will record all activity. Farmway CEO Upmanyu Misra said that tokenization changes the dynamic by creating direct, cost-efficient, investor-driven pathways into agriculture, turning vast areas of land into investable, auditable climate assets. The tokenized commodity market, valued at $2.5 billion, is a small but growing portion of the RWA tokenization sector. The market is led by Paxos Gold and Tether Gold, with precious metals and agricultural products emerging as the dominant commodities. Farmway’s competitor Justoken has created tokenized funds for soybean oil, soybean bushels, cotton, and corn, accounting for more than $500 million in market cap.
Binance and Franklin Templeton launch tokenization initiatives, merging securities tokenization with the largest crypto exchange to expand access and speed settlement for institutions and retail
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance and asset manager Franklin Templeton have announced a strategic collaboration to develop digital asset initiatives targeting institutional and retail investors. The partnership will combine Franklin Templeton’s securities tokenization capabilities with Binance’s global trading platform and customer base. The collaboration aims to enhance capital market efficiency through blockchain technology, focusing on improved transparency, accessibility and settlement processes. Franklin Templeton manages $1.6 trillion in assets, while Binance operates as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and user count.
Better Home & Finance’s AI-native end-to-end mortgage origination platform that delivers home-equity line of credit in as little as a day collectively helps customers pay off more than $193 million in debt involving revolving credit (32%), installment loans (27%) and credit lines (26%)
Better Home & Finance Holding Co. announced that its home equity line of credit (HELOC) product has collectively helped customers pay off more than $193 million in debt. Better said that its HELOC product has enabled nearly 50% of borrowers to consolidate debt —primarily high-interest revolving credit, personal loans and installment payments. This has resulted in an average monthly savings of $1,120 for those who achieved positive cash flow. The company said the most commonly paid-off debts included revolving credit (32%), installment loans (27%) and credit lines (26%). “Better has built an AI-native and end-to-end mortgage origination platform to add value to the definition of homeownership by delivering home-equity decisions in as little as a day,” Vishal Garg, CEO and founder of Better.com, said. “Our HELOC borrowers are lowering their required monthly payments by about $1,000 on average; that’s real relief for household budgets. Putting cash back into the hands of homeowners has never been better, faster, and easier than it is with our One Day HELOC.” Better president and chief operating officer Chad Smith said that HELOCs feel like “the right product for the right time.” Better reported $80 million in monthly HELOC and home equity loan originations as of the second quarter of 2025 — a 38% increase from its $60 million monthly run rate announced in February. “If you kind of look at that at $80 million a month, that’s nearly a quarter billion a quarter. We’re approaching a billion-[dollar] run rate. We see consumer demand not waning,” Smith said.