At Global Fintech Fest 2026, Cruise Money previewed a card that doesn’t just spend within a limit – it decides how to spend, executed through a single chat-based consent flow.

MUMBAI, India, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cruise Money has showcased an agentic payments card that turns its AI money companion into a full money manager — one that optimises a user’s investments, plans their purchases, and now executes them, within limits and guardrails the user sets once in a single conversational flow.

The agentic card involves a virtual prepaid card that will be issued by LivQuik Technology (India) Private Limited, and was shown for the first time at Global Fintech Fest 2026 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. While LivQuik is the card issuer, M2P Fintech is the technology partner providing the API infrastructure.

Beyond spend limits: a card that makes the money decision for the user

Most agentic payment products announced globally over the past eighteen months share the same design: a user types a number, and the AI spends up to it. Cruise Money goes further on two fronts. First, the limit itself isn’t guessed — it’s calculated. Cruise’s Safe to Spend figure is derived continuously from a user’s income, committed bills, EMIs, investments, emergency reserves and savings goals. Second, and new to this: once a budget and guardrails are set, the agent doesn’t just spend within them — it decides how. The Cruise agentic card layer is being built to orchestrate each payment across a user’s permitted funding sources, choosing whichever mix produces the best outcome for that person — cash flow preserved or rewards optimised, depending on what matters most to them. At preview, the card runs on a single prepaid funding source, with multi-source orchestration to follow as approvals allow.

“The interesting question was never whether an AI could complete a payment. It was whether it should — and increasingly, how,” said Vinay Bharathwaj, Founder & CEO, Cruise Money. “Most agentic cards are handed a budget by a person who is guessing. Ours works the budget out from what’s actually in the account, what’s already committed and what the person is saving toward — and then thinks the way a good money manager would: how to use credit, how to use debit, when to hold back. Over time, the line between one kind of card and another stops mattering, because the card itself is deciding. That’s the agentic card — spending is the easy part; the decision-making is the product.” 

One conversation, one consent, every purchase. The entire experience runs through a single chat-based flow. A user tells Cruise what they want — set a monthly budget, allocate money toward a goal, book a flight, order groceries — and Cruise proposes a mandate: an amount, a category, a validity period, and an approval threshold. The user approves it once, in that same conversation.

A virtual card is then issued that only that agent can use, only within those boundaries. From there, the agent can act across a growing range of use cases beyond recurring bills and goal-based saving, including:

Flight and hotel bookingsGrocery and everyday essentials orderingRecurring subscriptions and utility payments

Every transaction is bound to a registered agent identity, and the demonstrated flow includes an explicit stop: when a purchase would draw against a user’s savings goal, the agent declines and returns to the user rather than proceeding.

“As the regulated issuer behind this card, our focus is on making sure agent-initiated payments are held to the same standard as any other transaction — the agent is certified, its intent is matched against authentication, and every action leaves an auditable trail. We’re glad to partner with Cruise Money on a product that treats those controls as the foundation, not an afterthought,” Bhargav Padh, Chief Executive Officer, LivQuik Technology (India) Private Limited said. 

“Agentic commerce represents the next major evolution of digital payments. As AI agents become trusted participants in commerce, the industry needs payment infrastructure that combines autonomy with safety, transparency, and control. This preview demonstrates how regulated financial institutions, fintechs, networks, and technology providers can work together to make autonomous commerce a reality,” said Prabhu Rangarajan, Co-founder, M2P.

The demonstration at Global Fintech Fest showed journeys running from a single user-approved mandate — a recurring everyday purchase and a purchase made toward a savings goal — both executed by the user’s agent with consent on the same card, within the same boundary, with the funding decision handled automatically in the background. The agentic card is awaiting regulatory approvals before its public rollout. Access will be extended to waitlist members in phases.

To explore more – www.cruise.money.

About Cruise Money

Cruise Money is an AI-first personal finance platform that aggregates, analyses and interprets an individual’s complete financial picture. Cruise is an AI money companion built for Indian investors who want a smarter relationship with their money — one that gets to know their finances, talks them through in plain language, and now, with their consent, acts on their behalf to optimize how they invest, save and spend.

Cruise Money was founded by Vinay Bharathwaj, with Ganesh KV and Vikrant Mudaliar as Co-founders. Cruise uses the RBI-regulated Account Aggregator framework and read-only access to financial data. Cruise Money is a consumer brand owned and operated by NeuralFin Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

For more details, visit www.cruise.money

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The launch of EQT’s Middle East platform reflects EQT’s commitment to the GCC, with Abu Dhabi serving as a strategic base as the firm builds its presence across GCC markets over timeThe platform will deepen support for EQT’s existing portfolio companies, build on longstanding institutional relationships developed across the region over more than a decade, and pursue new investment opportunities aligned with the GCC’s structural  economic transformationConsistent with EQT’s integrated, One EQT approach, the platform brings together investing  across Private Equity and Infrastructure and is designed to draw on EQT’s broader global capabilities

ABU DHABI, UAE, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ —  EQT, a leading global private markets firm with USD 389 billion in assets under management, today announced the launch of its Middle East platform and the opening of an office in ADGM, the international financial center of Abu Dhabi. 

The opening of the Abu Dhabi office establishes EQT’s active, on-the-ground presence in the GCC and marks the next step in a deepening relationship built over decades. ADGM’s globally connected financial ecosystem, strong regulatory framework and institutional environment made Abu Dhabi a natural location for the office and a strategic base from which EQT can deepen engagement with investors, companies and partners across the GCC. The office is the first location within a broader regional platform that EQT expects to develop over time, reflecting the distinct priorities and market dynamics across the GCC.

GCC economies are playing an increasingly important role in global capital flows and economic growth, supported by ambitious national development agendas focused on healthcare and life sciences, education, digital and technology, industrials, business services, infrastructure and energy transition. These priorities align closely with EQT’s long-standing thematic investment approach, active ownership model and deep global expertise, including in digital and AI infrastructure.

Some of EQT’s portfolio companies have had an established presence in the region for well over a decade, reflecting the depth of the region’s opportunity set and EQT’s familiarity with it well before the launch of a dedicated regional platform. EQT already has experience in the GCC through portfolio companies with an active presence in the region across investment strategies, including Nord Anglia Education, Virtusa, Banking Circle, Nothing and SAUR. Establishing a local platform will enable EQT to work more closely with these businesses and support other portfolio companies seeking to expand into the region.

EQT’s Middle East platform is led by Jimmy Mahtani, who has been appointed Chairman of GCC, alongside his existing role as Chairman of India and Southeast Asia for EQT Private Capital. The Abu Dhabi office is led by Smiyet Belrhiti, Head of Middle East, who has also been appointed Senior Executive Officer. Smiyet brings over two decades of experience across private equity, corporate development and investment in the GCC and broader MENA region, having built deep relationships with the region’s leading institutions, sovereign investors and business communities over the course of his career.

Jean Eric Salata, Chair of EQT  Group, said, “Abu Dhabi is a place where EQT has had the privilege of developing close ties over the past three decades with senior leaders at the largest regional investors. That history is an important part of why this next step matters. We are now deepening our commitment to the GCC by putting dedicated people and resources on the ground, operating as One EQT and bringing together those relationships and our investment experience in the region with the breadth of our global capabilities.”

Per Franzén, CEO and Managing Partner of EQT, said, “The launch of EQT’s Middle East platform reflects our conviction in the scale and momentum of opportunity across the GCC. Jimmy Mahtani, who has led our India and Southeast Asia business for over two decades and is a member of our Asia Investment Committee, is exactly the kind of senior leadership this platform needs from the outset. We see significant opportunities to support the growth of our existing portfolio companies and invest in new businesses across sectors undergoing structural transformation and attracting long-term capital. We believe EQT’s global sector expertise and company-building capabilities can contribute meaningfully to the GCC’s long-term economic development.”

H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of ADGM, said, “Abu Dhabi continues to strengthen its position as a leading global financial centre, attracting the world’s foremost investment institutions and long-term capital to an ecosystem built for sustainable growth. This momentum reflects the strength of our economy and the confidence global investors place in Abu Dhabi as a gateway to opportunities across the region and beyond. We welcome EQT to ADGM and look forward to its contribution to our growing financial community as we continue to advance Abu Dhabi’s position as the Capital of Capital.”

Jimmy and Smiyet are joined by a dedicated local team spanning Private Capital and Infrastructure investment professionals, alongside capital raising and business operations colleagues reflecting EQT’s integrated, One EQT approach from the launch. The Middle East platform is designed to draw on EQT’s broader global capabilities, including Real Estate and Secondaries, as opportunities develop. 

Smiyet Belrhiti, Head of Middle East, added, “Across the Middle East, we are seeing a growing pool of high-quality companies in sectors central to EQT’s long-term strategies. EQT’s presence here reflects our conviction in the region’s potential to produce globally significant companies over the next decade. We are committed to being a long-term partner in that journey, bringing our global platform, operational expertise and ‘future proofing’ capabilities to support businesses across the region.”

With the addition of Abu Dhabi, EQT now has offices in more than 25 countries that together account for more than 80 percent of global GDP.

Contact:
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com 

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MANAMA, Bahrain, Sept. 23, 2026 /CNW/ — Former Chief Business Officer of Google X, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and internationally recognised AI expert Mo Gawdat has joined Fintech Forward 2026’s speaker lineup to share his perspective on the future of artificial intelligence, human judgment, and responsible decision-making. Gawdat’s participation comes at a time when AI is commanding global attention as businesses, regulators, and the public navigate questions around trust, accountability, and the role of human oversight in increasingly intelligent systems. The region’s flagship financial services forum will take place on 7-8 October 2026 at Exhibition World Bahrain, under the theme ‘Finance in the Age of Intelligent Infrastructure’.

Gawdat’s 27-year career spans IBM, NCR, Microsoft, and Google, where he helped launch nearly half of Google’s global operations before becoming Chief Business Officer at Google X, the innovation lab behind moonshot projects including self-driving cars, Project Loon, and Makani. He is also the founder of the One Billion Happy movement, host of Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat, and author of international bestsellers including Solve for Happy, Scary Smart, That Little Voice in Your Head, Unstressable, and Alive. His work on AI, happiness, and human potential has made him one of the world’s most distinctive voices on how advanced technologies can be shaped by human values.

At FF26, Gawdat will take part in a fireside chat titled ‘When Intelligence Is Everywhere: What Should Humans Still Decide?’ The session will explore how AI is being embedded across industries, including financial services, where intelligent systems are increasingly shaping decisions around money, investing, risk, and customer interaction. The discussion will examine what this shift means for judgment, ethics, and accountability, and where human decision-making remains essential as machines become more capable of prediction and action.

Speaking on his participation, Mo Gawdat said: “AI is no longer a distant technology; it is becoming part of the infrastructure behind our choices, our institutions, and our financial systems. The real test is not simply how powerful these systems become, but whether we remain clear about the decisions that require human judgment and values. I look forward to joining Fintech Forward 2026 in Bahrain to explore these topics with some of the key players shaping the financial services industry in the region.”

Financial services remains Bahrain’s largest economic sector, contributing 17.6% to GDP in 2025, underlining the Kingdom’s role as one of the region’s most established financial centres. Building on more than a century of sector expertise, Bahrain continues to strengthen its fintech ecosystem through innovative financial institutions and a future-proofed talent pool.

Hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB) and supported by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), Bahrain Tourism & Exhibition Authority (BTEA), and Bahrain Fintech Bay, Fintech Forward 2026 is programmed by Forbes Middle East. For more details or to register interest in attending FF26, please visit the website.

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