Today's Banking Pulse
Mortgage refinance demand plunges 18% as rates climb to 6.65%
Refinance applications fell 18% week‑over‑week, dropping to 38% of total mortgage filings—the lowest share since June 2025. The average 30‑year fixed rate rose to 6.65%, while purchase‑loan volume edged down 0.4% and the average loan size hit $473,600.
Also developing:
By the numbers: OakNorth acquires Monite to boost business banking
Mutual Funds Take a Shine to Bank Stocks
Mutual funds have markedly increased their stakes in Indian banks, lifting holdings by more than one percentage point in fifteen institutions between December 2024 and December 2025. The Nifty Bank Index climbed 24 percent over the past year, reflecting low NPAs, robust credit growth and improving asset quality. Funds are shifting capital from IT to banking, participating in QIPs and backing small‑finance banks that are expanding their licenses. Foreign investors such as Warburg Pincus, ADIA and Blackstone also deepened positions, underscoring confidence in the sector’s earnings outlook.
Paysafe Touts a New Wallet And Agentic Commerce As It Navigates 2026
Paysafe reported mixed Q4 2025 results, posting a $25.2 million net loss despite 4% revenue growth to $438.4 million and a 10% rise in transaction volume to $43.9 billion. The company highlighted its new Paysafe Wallet, now available in 18 countries with 500,000 users...
Don't Default to Lower L
When your DSCR doesn't hit the bank’s threshold (usually a ~1.25x DSCR), most people think banks don't give you any option but to lower the LTV But in reality, if you negotiate, you have 3 options: Option 1: Lower LTV Option 2: Schedule...
Apple, Google Wallets Get Personal
Digital‑wallet platforms from Apple and Google are evolving beyond simple payments, with startups like Badge turning them into interactive commerce channels. Badge’s infrastructure lets brands push real‑time, location‑aware offers and loyalty updates directly to a consumer’s wallet. The San‑Francisco‑based company...
Payment Friction Wins in Africa
African ecommerce still wrestles with deep‑rooted trust gaps, turning checkout into a conversational process often mediated through WhatsApp. Local platforms like Paystack, Flutterwave, and Egypt’s Fawry have succeeded by offering instant bank transfers, mobile‑money protocols such as STK Push, and cash‑at‑kiosk...
EuroCrowd: Germany’s Investment Crowdfunding Market Remains Partially Realized at Best, Undermines Goal of ECSPR
EuroCrowd warns that Germany’s investment crowdfunding market is only partially aligned with the European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regulation (ECSPR). The country continues to rely on the Vermögensanlagengesetz (VermAnlG) and subordinated‑loan structures, creating a parallel regulatory channel that sidesteps ECSPR. As...
EU: End of Temporary Transition Period for Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) and Electronic Money Tokens (EMTs)
The European Banking Authority’s temporary relief from full PSD2 compliance for Crypto‑Asset Service Providers (CASPs) ended on March 2, 2026, forcing firms to secure payment‑institution authorisation or cease payment services. Providers already approved under PSD2 can continue, while those with pending applications...
SoFi and Mastercard Join Forces to Integrate SoFiUSD for Global Settlement
SoFi and Mastercard announced a partnership to embed the neobank’s USD‑backed stablecoin, SoFiUSD, into Mastercard’s global payments network. The integration will allow SoFiUSD to be used for settlement across the network and on Mastercard’s Multi‑Token Network, a digital‑asset platform. Launched...
PayPay (PAYP) IPO Deck
PayPay announced its initial public offering, filing a prospectus under the ticker PAYP. The Japanese mobile‑payments leader plans to list on a U.S. exchange, seeking to raise significant capital for growth. Backed by SoftBank and Yahoo Japan, PayPay aims to...
Unlocking the Benefits of Account Switching
The Current Account Switch Service (CASS) recorded a record 350,114 account switches in Q4 2025, bringing its 2025 total to 1.05 million and 12.4 million since launch. Speed remains a hallmark, with 99.2% of moves completed within the guaranteed seven‑day window. Customer sentiment...
Global Fintech Leaders: Key Players by Region in 202
The article maps the world’s fintech powerhouses, highlighting the United States’ infrastructure giants like Stripe and Plaid, Europe’s regulation‑driven champions such as Revolut and Adyen, Latin America’s Nubank dominance, Africa’s mobile‑money foundation with M‑Pesa, and Asia’s massive transaction ecosystems led...
TransferGo Enters New Stage of Growth as Bank of Lithuania Expands EMI Licence
The Bank of Lithuania has broadened TransferGo's electronic money institution licence, allowing the fintech to keep its core cross‑border money‑transfer and payment‑account services while adding new consumer products. The company plans to roll out TransferGo payment cards across the European...
BitGo Offers Crypto as a Service in Europe
BitGo Europe GmbH will launch Crypto as a Service (CaaS) across the European Economic Area after securing a MiCA licence from Germany’s BaFin. The company, founded in 2013, already serves over 2,000 institutional clients in 90 countries and went public...
Deloitte Signs Off on Anchorage Reserve Report for Tether’s USAT Stablecoin
Deloitte & Touche issued an independent attestation confirming that Anchorage’s USAT reserve report complies with the AICPA 2025 criteria for asset‑backed, fiat‑pegged tokens. The report, covering reserves as of Jan. 31, 2026, shows $17.6 million in assets backing 17.5 million USAT tokens, leaving a...
Senate Advances Housing Bill With Temporary CBDC Ban
The U.S. Senate advanced the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with an 84‑to‑6 vote. The 303‑page legislation includes a provision that prohibits the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC) until Dec. 31, 2030. The bill carves...
Buy This Payments Stock After Its Latest Round of Layoffs, Says HSBC
HSBC upgraded Block (SQ) to a Buy, lifting its price target to $77, implying about 19% upside. The upgrade follows Block’s announcement of cutting more than 4,000 jobs, reducing its headcount to roughly 6,000 employees. HSBC’s analyst Saul Martinez highlighted...
SymphonyAI Helps Spanish Bank Transform Sanctions Screening
A top‑ten Spanish bank overhauled its sanctions screening by deploying SymphonyAI’s SensaAI for Sanctions, slashing false positives by 91.8% across transaction and customer checks. The AI overlay processes unstructured text with generative models and refines match accuracy using predictive analytics,...
Lenders Rethink Outreach as Trigger Leads Face Limits
Mortgage originators are split on the value of trigger leads as the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act takes effect on March 5, forcing a shift to permission‑based marketing. Proponents argue trigger leads provide quick consumer access, but critics cite reliability issues and...
Napier AI AML Index 2025: The Nations Leading the Charge
The Napier AI/AML Index 2025‑2026 estimates that AI‑driven anti‑money‑laundering (AML) solutions could shave $183 billion off global compliance costs, up from $138 billion last year, and generate $3.3 trillion in economic benefits. The United States tops potential AI savings at $26.18 billion, followed by...
South Africa Leads African Valuations, Nigeria Trails Closely
South Africa Dominates Africa 🇿🇦 🇳🇬 Nigeria also dominates the list, a close second when it comes to valuations.
The ZiG Barrier: How Bank Account Requirements Could Derail Gold Deliveries
Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank introduced a 90:10 ZiG payment split for artisanal gold miners, requiring bank accounts to receive the 10% government share. Miners can prove identity with a national ID, but banks demand proof of residence, company registration and impose...
France’s Economy Stands Strong, ECB Should Stay Hands‑Off
France has low exposure to Middle East shock, low inflation and resilient growth. ECB should not react to energy swings. Risk: energy volatility. Trade: overweight French banks. — Viktor Kopylov, PhD, CFA. More insights: t.me/si14Kopylov
Piero Cipollone: The Digital Euro - Enhancing Payments in the Euro Area
In a February 2026 speech to Italy’s Parliamentary Committee, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone outlined the digital euro initiative, stressing its role in modernising payments and reinforcing trust through democratic legitimacy. He framed the project as a strategic response...
What Does Programmable Money Mean for Treasury Operations?
Programmable money embeds conditional logic into cash movements, turning treasury processes from batch‑based to event‑driven. It leverages a mix of digital instruments—CBDCs, stablecoins, and tokenised deposits—to meet varied operational needs. AI‑guided payment libraries add automation while preserving governance, and quantum‑resistant...
Blog 107a. Hackers Make ATMs Spit Cash — FBI Sounds Alarm on Ploutus Malware!
The FBI issued a FLASH advisory on February 19, 2026 warning that ATM jackpotting attacks are accelerating across the United States. Since 2020, roughly 1,900 incidents have been recorded, with 700 occurring in 2025 alone, and total losses topping $20 million....
European Wealth Management Must Master Five Execution Priorities
European #WealthManagement has a execution problem: The wealth industry has moved past the era of pilots and proof-of-concepts. Five execution priorities now define who wins and who falls behind: 1) Cloud resilience; 2) Asset #tokenization; 3) Direct indexing; 4) Advisor-ready wealth aggregation; 5) #AI at scale. 🆕#WealthTech...
Governance Is the Real Differentiator in AI-Led Lending: Markandey Upadhyay, Piramal Finance
AI governance is emerging as the key differentiator for Indian NBFCs, according to Piramal Finance’s Chief Data & Analytics Officer Markandey Upadhyay. Piramal has built an AI‑native operating model that embeds unified data, agentic decision systems, and risk‑specific scorecards across...
Bank Sector Yields Surge Above 5%, Top Three Near 6%
Bank stocks annual div yield (as at 2 March) post-4Q2025 earnings. All except Alliance, AM will pay interim div in March 2026. Top 3 highest (2026 estimates): •Bank Islam: 6.22% •*CIMB: 5.92% •RHB: 5.91% =Average Sector DY: 5.10% (10 banks) [*incl Special Div 7sen]
Eight of Top Ten US Banks Now Embrace Bitcoin
8 out of top 10 US banks have flipped their stance on Bitcoin in the last 6 months, and you're still bearish? 😂 https://t.co/lOTFbe1ZgX
Oxford Square Capital Corp (OXSQ) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp reported adjusted net investment income of $36.1 million ($0.41 per share) for the quarter, a modest rise from the prior period. New funded investments surged 42% to $314 million, expanding the fair‑value portfolio to $2.95 billion with a weighted‑average...
AI Doom Loop Triggers 4,000 Layoffs, 24% Stock Plunge
New piece from me The AI Doom Loop has started Block fired 4,000 people. Stock ripped 24%, Was AI the Excuse or Reason or Both? https://t.co/cgZ6m2HSv7
Innovate Payments or Fade: Big Tech Leads Experience
Real-time payments are table stakes. Big Tech is owning the experience while banks process transactions in the background. If you do not innovate payments, you become invisible. Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/BQNDlxuwMR https://t.co/YiBUQo0kvm
Issue With Product Changed Citi Strata Elite Splurge Credits
Citi’s Strata Elite card offers up to $200 in Splurge credits across select merchants, but cardholders who product‑changed to the card are not receiving the credits automatically. Citi has instructed affected users to wait one to two billing cycles, yet...
UAE Banks Replace SMS OTPs with Biometrics, AI Security
UAE banks ditch SMS OTPs: biometrics, in-app approvals, and tighter AI governance become the new security baseline UAE banks must stop using SMS and email OTPs by end-March 2026 More UAE banks now tighten security with biometrics logins, AI fraud checks -...
Counting Down to MPE2026: Join Us in Berlin
14 sleeps until #MPE2026 with my @chyppings hat on! Join me in Berlin: https://t.co/9CufQZHi6S Move payments forward, #MPE2026 is your place. @mpecosystem #Payments #Fintech #MPEBerlin #ILoveMPE https://t.co/RUvU7kFcyZ
Quavo Enhances Fraud Dispute Operations for Apple FCU
Quavo Fraud & Disputes has partnered with Apple Federal Credit Union to deploy its AI‑driven QFD platform, automating the entire fraud dispute lifecycle. The solution, trained on more than 20 million real‑world cases, promises faster claim resolutions, reduced manual workload, and...
ISDA/ASIFMA Request Clarifications on RBI IRD Master Directions
On February 11, 2026 ISDA and the Association of Securities and Intermediaries in Financial Markets (ASIFMA) sent a joint letter to the Reserve Bank of India requesting clarification on the RBI’s 2025 Master Direction for Rupee Interest Rate Derivatives. The...
Simply Unaffordable! FHA Lower Credit Score Borrowers (0-619) Suffer Escalating Mortgage Delinquency Rates
FHA loans held by borrowers with credit scores between 0 and 619 are experiencing a sharp rise in 90‑day delinquency rates, the steepest since the program’s inception. The surge follows a post‑COVID fiscal stimulus that drove home prices to record...
NFC-Based IDV with Liveness Delivers Zero Fraud, Fewer Support Calls for BankID Norway
BankID Norway, serving 4.7 million users, processed nearly 901 million transactions in 2025. Since mid‑2024 it has layered NFC‑based biometric ID verification with iProov’s liveness check, completing one million activations that now represent about half of all new enrollments. The combined approach has...
Cake Wallet Launches Self-Custodial Lightning
Cake Wallet introduced self‑custodial Lightning support, allowing users to send and receive Bitcoin instantly on mobile without managing channels, liquidity, or staying online. The integration leverages the Breez SDK and Spark, keeping funds under user control while offering privacy‑by‑default features....
Santander and Mastercard Pilot Agentic Commerce
Santander and Mastercard completed Europe’s first fully agentic payment when an AI‑driven agent bought a T‑shirt in Spain, marking the inaugural regulated‑bank transaction of its kind. The pilot used Mastercard’s Agent Pay platform, demonstrating that AI agents can transact while...
Nedbank Wins Regulatory Approval To Take Majority Stake In Kenya’s NCBA
Nedbank has secured regulatory clearance to acquire a 66% controlling stake in Kenya’s NCBA for $855.5 million, marking one of the largest cross‑border banking deals in recent African history. The acquisition gives Nedbank access to NCBA’s $5.4 billion in assets, more than...
Crypto Gives Everyone Global Access to Financial Tools
You have zero control over where you're born, yet billions of people in the world are shut out of accessing financial tools because of it. Finally, this is changing with crypto. Getting access to sound money, loans, stocks, etc from your...
Mercury's Paid Personal Account Signals Fintech’s Subscription Shift
Mercury charges for a bank account while others give it away. Immad Akhund explains why Mercury Personal targets the mass affluent—and what that says about fintech’s next fight. (0:00) Why Charge for a Bank Account Now? (0:23) Akhund: Who’s the “Mass Affluent”? (0:56)...
Eye on Crypto: N3XT Partners With YouHodler; Barclays Eyes a Blockchain
N3XT Inc., a blockchain‑powered narrow bank, has teamed up with Web3 lender YouHodler to connect its regulated USD Coin settlement infrastructure with the platform’s crypto‑collateral services. The collaboration will extend instant, programmable stablecoin payments to institutional clients across Europe and Argentina,...
Cliza Lab Launches – Join the Crew Chat Now
My Cliza lab is live. Join my crew in Crew Chat. https://t.co/9jrActgM9q Super new project from @ClizaSystems @basedfk
Earn Fixed Income on Payroll with Rise
Excited for the @Rise_Pay team and especially excited for their customers. Now if you get payroll paid via Rise, you automatically start earning a fixed income % on that balance, putting your money to work for you better.
The Debt Reckoning: Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris
In this IMF podcast, Directors Rodrigo Valdés and Deputy Era Dabla‑Norris discuss the surge in global debt, now approaching 100% of GDP, and the challenges of translating fiscal policy into politically viable actions. They explain how pandemic‑driven spending, prolonged low...
Eltropy Launches Agentic AI Platform for Credit Unions
Eltropy unveiled the industry’s first Agentic AI platform designed specifically for credit unions, offering a secure environment where AI agents can be created, governed, integrated, and deployed. The solution ties together credit unions, FinTech developers, and core system providers through...
Getting Paid Faster in Construction
Payra, a Nashville‑based fintech startup, announced a $15 million growth investment from Edison Partners to accelerate its accounts‑receivable automation platform for construction and building‑materials suppliers. The solution plugs into virtually any legacy ERP, even systems up to 30 years old, allowing contractors...