Mercury Technologies, a prominent fintech neobank catering to startups and businesses, has severed its partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust following a series of operational and regulatory challenges at the bank. This decision, announced in March 2025, reflects Mercury’s effort to prioritize compliance and customer security amid evolving risks in the fintech-banking partnership landscape126.
Key Factors Behind the Split
- Evolve’s Operational Instability: The bank faced public scrutiny over its partnership with Synapse Financial Technologies, a middleware provider that mismanaged $96 million in customer funds and filed for bankruptcy in 2024. This collapse exposed governance gaps and led to frozen accounts for fintech clients312.
- Cybersecurity Breach: In July 2024, Evolve suffered a data breach that leaked customer information such as names, addresses, and transaction details. While Mercury confirmed sensitive data like Social Security numbers were not exposed, the incident strained trust4.
- Regulatory Pressures: Evolve’s compliance practices came under fire, with reports of Mercury allegedly bypassing anti-money laundering controls for high-risk jurisdictions. This contributed to regulatory consent orders against Evolve and other partner banks, limiting Mercury’s operational flexibility1112.
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