Fintech Rundown (03/04) - Revolut, Blobk, Mercado Libre

Italy's competition authority said on Thursday it had fined several companies of the Revolut group more than 11 million euros for alleged unfair commercial practices. According to the regulator, the company gave misleading messages about its investment services and used aggressive and deceptive practices in the management of its banking services. However, Revolut said they strongly disagree with the authority's findings and will appeal the decision in the Italian courts.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of fintech Block argues that his company's decision to cut approximately 4,000 of its more than 10,000 employees was not a cost reduction but a permanent restructuring to replace middle managers with AI. Dorsey previously said the restructuring was triggered by a capability shift he observed in December in AI tools, which he said was now capable of operating effectively in large codebases. Block plans to operate with three roles: individual contributors who build the system, directly responsible individuals who own specific outcomes on 90-day cycles, and player-coaches who remain hands-on while developing people.

E-commerce giant Mercado Libre is shutting down its homegrown cryptocurrency, Mercado Coin, nearly four years after introducing it to reward customer engagement. Starting April 17, users will no longer be able to buy, sell or earn cashback in Mercado Coin, but can sell their tokens, spend them as purchase credits or have them converted to local currency.

That’s your fintech rundown. Stay tuned for more updates.