The line between banks and fintech firms is fading as Capital One moves to buy B2B fintech Brex. Banks are buying companies to secure AI-based financial automation, while fintechs pursue banking licences to provide services directly. In South Korea, embedded finance is spreading as banks integrate services into apps and platforms. Competition among internet-only banks is also heating up ahead of an online loan-refinancing service for sole proprietors.

Toss Place, a subsidiary of Viva Republica\'s Toss that supplies payment terminals and POS solutions, said on Jan. 23 it has added an AI automatic product registration feature to Toss POS. The update is designed to shorten initial product registration, a process seen as cumbersome when opening a new store or replacing POS devices. Users can upload photos of menus, and AI analyzes names, prices, categories and options to register items automatically.