Today's Banking Pulse
Mortgage refinance demand falls 18% as rates climb to 6.65%
Refinance applications dropped 18% week-over-week, with the average 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.65%, the highest since August 2025. Refinance filings now represent just 38% of total mortgage applications, the lowest share since June 2025, while purchase‑loan volume edged down 0.4% and average loan size hit $473,600.
Bridging the Digital Divide Between B2B and Consumer Payments
Dean M. Leavitt, CEO of Boost Payment Solutions, highlights the widening gap between frictionless consumer payments and the cumbersome, legacy‑driven B2B payment landscape. He argues that B2B transactions suffer from slow settlement, rigid processes, and limited personalization due to high‑value deals and extended DPO terms. Boost proposes a technology‑focused "bridge" that automates and tailors workflows for both accounts receivable and accounts payable, delivering faster cash flow and regulatory compliance. The initiative aims to align B2B payment experiences with the speed and convenience consumers now expect.
Crypto.com Brings Crypto Payments to Tourists Visiting South Korea
Crypto.com has teamed up with KG Inicis, South Korea’s leading payment gateway that controls roughly 40% of the market, to enable crypto‑based payments for inbound tourists. The integration routes crypto transactions through Crypto.com Pay, instantly converting them to Korean won...
USA₮ Turns Times Square Green With St. Patrick’s Day Brand Activation Introducing Digital Dollar Payments
USA₮, a digital dollar stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, launched a high‑visibility brand activation in Times Square on St. Patrick’s Day. The campaign synchronized multiple digital billboards and distributed 25,000 QR‑coded postcards, giving each scanner $10 in USA₮ via the Rumble...
Here's How HELOCs Have Changed — and Why some Homeowners May Not Like the New Rules
Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are losing their hallmark flexibility as non‑bank lenders dominate the market and impose large upfront draw requirements, often 80% or more of the credit line. While the Federal Reserve estimates $34 trillion in homeowner equity,...
Combatants in the Fight to Overturn Illinois’s Interchange Law Gear Up for an Appeals Battle
Three banking‑industry groups and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency filed amicus briefs urging the appellate court to overturn Illinois’s Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) exemption. The IFPA, set to take effect July 1, shields Illinois merchants from interchange...
Kansas Banking Officials Ask Lawmakers to Hold Social Media, Phone Companies Liable for Fraud
Kansas banking officials testified before a joint House‑Senate committee urging lawmakers to pass House Bill 2648, which would make social‑media platforms and telecommunications providers liable for fraud that harms banks and consumers. The bill requires platforms like Meta to verify...
Non-Agency Jumbo Lending Up Nearly Across the Board in 4Q
Non‑agency jumbo mortgage originations surged in the fourth quarter, pushing total nonconforming loans to $401 billion for 2025 and lifting the share of such loans to 20.9% of all originations. The Biden‑era administration’s executive order, signed by President Trump, directs the...
The EBA Issues Revised List of ITS Validation Rules
The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued an updated list of ITS validation rules, highlighting deactivated, reactivated, and severity‑status changes. It reminded EU competent authorities not to validate data against deactivated rules. The EBA also launched a small validation‑rules package containing...
Safaricom, Vodacom Launch Tap-to-Pay M-Pesa in Tanzania
Safaricom and Vodacom have launched a tap‑to‑pay option for M‑Pesa users in Tanzania, allowing Android smartphones to make contactless payments at Visa‑enabled terminals. The service, built on Paymentology’s NFC infrastructure, eliminates the need for Paybill numbers or physical cards. It...
In Profile: Cumbuca CEO Daniel Ruhman
Cumbuca, led by CEO Daniel Ruhman, provides a licensed proxy that lets global fintechs tap Brazil's regulated payments ecosystem without building their own licences. The platform connects clients directly to infrastructure such as Pix and open‑finance while handling compliance, allowing...
Why the Digital Euro Needs Worker Input
The European Central Bank’s digital euro proposal aims to cement Europe’s digital sovereignty and foster fair competition ahead of a potential 2029 launch. Advocates argue that the CBDC must be sovereign, public, and inclusive to win trust from citizens and...
PRA Consults on Modernising the Liquidity Policy Framework
On 17 March 2026 the Prudential Regulation Authority released consultation paper CP5/26 to modernise the UK liquidity policy framework. The PRA proposes that firms must assess liquidity composition and monetisation risk, conduct weekly stress tests, and remove the exemption for...
BMO to Add 145 Branches in California, Arizona
BMO Financial Group announced plans to open 145 new U.S. branches—130 in California and 15 in Arizona—over the next five years, with seven California locations slated for this year. The expansion follows the Bank of the West acquisition and aims...
13 AGs Sue OneMain over Add-On Sales Policy
Thirteen state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit against OneMain Financial, alleging the lender misled subprime borrowers into purchasing costly add‑on products such as credit insurance. The complaint says employees pressured borrowers, financed premiums into loans, and sometimes charged add‑ons...
EWS Pairs with Citi to Offer Paze
Early Warning Services (EWS) has teamed up with Citibank to bring its Paze digital wallet to Citi credit‑card holders, marking the first partnership with a non‑owner bank. The rollout is slated for the coming weeks, expanding Paze’s reach beyond the...
Riksbank Turns up Pressure on Banks over Instant Payments
Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, has warned banks to roll out broader instant domestic payment services within a year or face possible legislation. The regulator set a March 2027 deadline for banks to launch or present credible plans for real‑time...
Executive Interview Series: Petru Metzger, CEO at Payforge
Petru Metzger, CEO of Payforge, emphasized three core convictions shaping his company: deep payments domain expertise, outcome‑driven execution, and AI‑enabled development. He argues that true differentiation comes from unifying strategy, analytics, and engineering rather than siloed modernization projects. The interview...
The EBA Consults on Regulatory Products on Initial Margin Model Authorisation
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched two public consultations on draft Guidelines and draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) for authorising internal initial margin models under EMIR 3. The proposals target firms whose aggregate monthly notional amount of non‑centrally cleared OTC...
On Fire or In Freefall?
Pay.UK’s latest Direct Debit sector data shows a mixed performance across categories. Business‑to‑business collections surged 35% over two years, with business rates jumping 63%, while life insurance subscriptions rose 52% and breakdown cover grew 15% annually. Conversely, charity donations, mobile...
HSBC Launches £5bn AI and Productivity Initiative to Support Business Growth
HSBC UK has unveiled a £5 billion AI and productivity financing initiative aimed at mid‑size companies with turnovers between £15 million and £300 million. Research by CEBR for HSBC estimates AI adoption could generate an additional £105 billion in UK revenue by 2030, with...
Where Are the Biggest Opportunities in the Commercial Prepaid Market?
Commercial prepaid card loads reached $426 billion in 2025, signaling a rapidly expanding B2B market. Javelin Strategy’s 2026 report highlights healthcare benefits, employee incentives, and state‑run government programs as the most promising growth segments over the next five years. Corporate travel...
Mastercard Embeds Stablecoin Layer via $1.8B BVNK Acquisition
🚨 MASSIVE: Mastercard just acquired BVNK for $1.8B. This one hits different. --- BVNK had a rough road. Previous acqusitions that fell through. Competing against massive companies. But they made it. Now they're the stablecoin infrastructure layer inside the world's second-largest card network. 130+ countries....
How the Federal Reserve Affects Home Equity Loan and HELOC Rates
The Federal Reserve does not set home‑equity loan rates directly, but its policy shapes borrowing costs. HELOCs, which are variable‑rate products tied to the prime rate, adjust within 24‑48 hours after a Fed move, while fixed‑rate home‑equity loans react more...
Cihan Duezguen, CEO & Co-Founder of Green Banana | Episode 475
In this episode, Cihan Duezguen, CEO and Co‑Founder of Green Banana, explains how a neutral, agnostic payment orchestration layer can solve the complexities of BNPL across borders by offering a single API that connects multiple providers while remaining invisible to...
Barclays, Sage Partner to Simplify Business Admin
Barclays and accounting software firm Sage announced a strategic partnership aimed at streamlining administrative tasks for small and mid‑sized enterprises. The collaboration combines Barclays' business‑banking expertise with Sage's digital accounting, payroll and HR platforms to cut the time owners spend...
UK Consumer Awareness of ‘Pay by Bank’ Plummets Despite Open Banking Boom
Yaspa’s 2026 Index shows UK open‑banking transactions jumped 53 percent year‑on‑year in 2025, yet consumer familiarity with the term “Pay by Bank” fell to 38 percent, down from 55 percent a year earlier. The survey of 2,157 adults highlights fragmented terminology—merchants use multiple...
Small Business Lending Surged to Near-Record in 2025
Gross SME bank lending rose 9% to £68 billion in 2025, the second‑largest level in 13 years. Challenger and specialist banks now provide 60% of non‑overdraft SME loans, while non‑bank lenders push total alternative financing to 68% of the market. About...
Do Banking Apps Really Need All These Permissions?
Banking apps frequently request broad device permissions such as SMS, contacts, and phone access, raising privacy concerns. The author argues that these demands conflict with the Principle of Least Privilege, which advocates minimal access for security. Zerodha’s Kite trading app...
Beyond Rivalry: How Banks and Alt Lenders Are Swapping Competition for Cooperation
In this episode, Stuart Watson talks with Deutsche Fanbrief Bank MDs Duncan Pearson and Charles Balch about the bank’s “originate and cooperate” strategy, which pairs its balance‑sheet senior lending with flexible capital from alternative lenders to meet complex real‑estate financing...
IKEA’s Bank: Their Reality vs My Vision
Ikano Bank, the financial arm of IKEA, has leveraged robotic process automation to streamline back‑office tasks, reporting over 100,000 staff hours saved in a single year. A flagship project automated 30,000 customer name‑change records, a task that would have required...
Your Deposits Fuel Bank Profits, Not Your Wealth
You deposit $10,000. They pay you $1 a year. Then they lend that same money out at 12%. Then lend it again. And again. One deposit can fuel up to $100,000 in loans through the banking system. All earning interest. None of...
Top Non‑Stripe Payment Solutions for Quick EIN Setup
what are the best non-stripe options to accept payments? trying Square for online payments (can never do PayPal I'd rather use crypto) but any other for quick setup with an EIN?
GH Bank Allays Concerns over Financial Stability Amid War
GH Bank says it can weather economic fallout from the Middle East war, citing robust loan‑loss provisions of 160% – the fourth‑strongest among Thai banks. All its housing loans are fully collateralised, eliminating unsecured risk. Despite a sector‑wide contraction, the...
AI Agents Gain Expense Cards, Breaking Financial Limits
AI agents are getting expense cards. Ramp and Stripe are both building infrastructure that lets autonomous agents buy, spend, and transact end-to-end without a human in the loop. The ceiling on what agents can do has always been money. That...
Data, Not Models, Cause 40% AI Project Failures
40% of AI projects fail. Not the model. The data. Join me and Tim Brophy at @AmerBanker March 19 webinat to talk about what actually separates AI winners from the rest. 📅 4pm GMT/ 12pm ET https://t.co/HqHwsVzCsj
Earn 5% in Rewards on Phones, Devices, and Accessories with the T-Mobile Visa
T‑Mobile’s new co‑branded Visa card from Capital One lets customers earn 5% back in T‑Mobile Rewards on phones, devices and accessories, and 2% on all other purchases. Cardholders also receive a $5 per line monthly discount when they enroll in...
CFOs Treat Vendor Data Risks as Balance Sheet Threats
CFOs now view vendor exposure and data protection alongside balance sheet risk. Requiring: proactive risk management, clear board communication, and disciplined investment to protect operations and trust. https://t.co/RWvAWTo1ee
Stablecoins Threaten Deposits, Payments, and Liquidity for Community Banks
Stablecoins: What Community Banks Need To Know And Do Now Stablecoins won’t disrupt banks overnight, but they will pressure deposit economics, reroute payments value, and introduce new liquidity and operational risks. https://t.co/OZJUTRUWEc
Banks Struggle to Scale AI as Legacy Tech Devours IT Budgets
Banks are finding it difficult to scale artificial‑intelligence initiatives because legacy systems consume a disproportionate share of IT spending. Capgemini’s survey shows only 29% of budgets target transformative tech while 43% fund maintenance of outdated infrastructure. New AI‑driven products are...
Private Credit Defaults Surge to 9.2%, Outpacing 2008
Private credit default rate just hit 9.2%. That's higher than 2008 bank loan peaks. $1.8 trillion in assets, $100B in secondary liquidity. 18:1 mismatch. When exits close, panic starts. https://t.co/PTz3djlLMl
Banks Hoard Liquidity yet Shun Discount Window in Crises
The growing calls for Discount Window reform are being driven, in part, by a paradox in the post-GFC liquidity framework: banks are encouraged to hoard liquidity in normal times but hesitate to use it during stress. Details in my latest...
RBI Fines Cashfree For Flouting Payment Aggregator Norms
India’s central bank has fined fintech payments platform Cashfree Payments ₹3.1 lakh for breaching payment aggregator and gateway regulations. The RBI’s inspection of Cashfree’s activities from April 2024 to June 2025 uncovered an impermissible debit from the company’s escrow account, prompting a show‑cause...
Record US Private Credit Defaults Drive Gold, Silver Rally
Rising U.S. private credit defaults hit record 9.2% in 2025, signaling credit stress & shadow banking risks. This erodes confidence in paper assets, investors flock to hard money with no counterparty risk. Bullish for gold & silver as safe-haven hedges. https://t.co/TcCYRkMkIZ
Direct Lending Defaults to Hit 8% Amid AI, Leverage
Default rates in direct lending will climb to 8% amid AI disruption, high leverage and looming maturity walls within the software sector: Morgan Stanley. https://t.co/9GeL184Hjd
Crypto Tokens Thrive Amid Private Credit Crisis
Private credit is having its worst crisis in a decade. Blue Owl gated a $1.6B fund. Blackstone hit redemption caps. Meanwhile, crypto builders are constructing the parallel infrastructure. In this article, we break down three tokens positioned at the center...
Software Debt Crisis Looms as Rates Surge, AI Disrupts
The software debt wall: * $40B maturing 2028, mostly junk-rated * 53% rated B- or lower * a third of them already trading at 80¢ on the dollar * distressed software loans doubled in jan to a record $25B * banks now restricting lending to...
Fed's Treasury Holdings Surge, Echoing Past Funding Crises
Preparation for liquidity crisis to minimize repo/money market volatility that are threatening credit spreads due to oil spike and growth contraction from Trump trapping US-Israel War on Iran. #HYOAS “The Fed now holds about $358B in Treasury bills. That’s higher than the...
Outdated Credit Models Stifle Consumer Opportunity and Bank Growth
If credit decisions only look backward, how can we support forward progress? In this episode, I discuss why relying on outdated credit models limits opportunity for consumers and growth for banks. Watch the full episode now: https://t.co/m6PArSdD2z https://t.co/BKhnOAD5Lg
Mobile Wallets Boost Security and Credit Card Rewards
Using payment services like Apple Pay and Google Pay can offer extra security and encourage you to maximize your credit cards. https://t.co/VPFoaKTwsB
EU Savings Union Could Launch This Year, Says Harris
EU savings union can be ready this year, Ireland’s Harris says https://t.co/ncveXVZHvW via @jenniduggan @livfletcher_ https://t.co/9gb3pbnbBC