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
US Bank: Up to a $1200 Bonus with New Business Checking Account
U.S. Bank is running a promotion that rewards new business checking accounts with a $400 or $1,200 cash bonus, depending on the deposit amount. To qualify, businesses must deposit at least $5,000 (or $25,000 for the larger bonus) within 30 days, keep the balance for 60 days, and complete five qualifying transactions. The offer, accessed with promo code Q2AFL2T6, is available through June 30 2026 in states where U.S. Bank has a footprint, with a $100 minimum opening deposit and a limit of one bonus per business. Platinum checking accounts carry a $30 monthly fee unless a $25,000 average balance is maintained.
CashApp Launches BNPL for Peer‑to‑peer Payments
The @CashApp just shipped BNPL for person-to-person payments Few thoughts 1: A lot of people want to pay back friends, feel guilty, and this unlocks that with better cashflow 2: CashApp FINALLY shipping AfterPay integrations that work 3: There's a BNPL for your drug...
Infinity Funds Refis Midtown East Apartments With $38M Loan
Infinity Funds has provided a $37.5 million loan to refinance Dalan Real Estate’s 164‑unit Midtown East multifamily building, The Centra, at 230 East 44th Street. The 14‑story, 135,315‑square‑foot property sits on a 91‑year ground lease and includes about 5,000 sq ft of commercial space leased to...
Mortgage Defaults Return to Pre‑pandemic Levels, Boosting Inventory
Mortgage defaults in the U.S. are now back to pre-pandemic levels. In Q4 2025, 4.3% of mortgage holders were in default, a level slightly higher than 2019 figures. This return to normalcy in mortgage defaults is actually good news, as it means...
NJ Investor Mordechai Weiss Charged in $13.3M Mortgage Fraud Probe Over East Orange Complex
Mordechai Weiss, a New York‑based real‑estate investor, was indicted on conspiracy to commit wire fraud for allegedly securing a $13.3 million loan on a 44‑unit East Orange building worth far less. The case deepens a federal crackdown on commercial mortgage fraud...
Indian Sensex Gains 1,800 Points as IT and Banking Stocks Lead Rally
The BSE Sensex surged by 1,800 points and the NSE Nifty crossed the 22,700 mark, driven by strong buying in information‑technology and banking stocks. The rebound followed an earlier sell‑off triggered by geopolitical concerns and was amplified by short covering...
Clipper 2.0 Payment Glitches Prompt $20‑plus Rider Losses, Fix Set for May 30
The Bay Area’s upgraded Clipper 2.0 fare system, launched in December, has generated more than 35,000 rider complaints as cards fail to register, passes stop working and balances vanish. Cubic Transportation Systems and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission have set a...
Credit Cards in Russia: Comrade, Watch Your Rubles
Russia’s credit‑card market has been reshaped by the 2022 G‑7 sanctions that forced Visa and Mastercard out, prompting a rapid rollout of the state‑run Mir system. While Mir now handles the bulk of domestic transactions, delinquencies surged 70% between October 2024...
Why AI Can't Replace Strategy, with Jamie Sumner.
In this episode, host Josh Dittar and guest Jamie Sumner discuss how AI can automate data analysis for community financial institutions but cannot replace the strategic conversations that drive decision‑making. They share personal anecdotes about stepping out of comfort zones,...
Card Volume Rises with Digital Boost
U.S. card‑payment volume rose 6.4% to $11.46 trillion in 2025, surpassing the 5.9% increase recorded in 2024. Credit‑card activity grew 6.1% to $6.51 trillion, showing sustained borrowing despite higher interest rates. Visa retained the largest share, handling roughly 31% of debit and...
Revolut's PRAGMA AI: Data Moat Boosts Fraud Detection
Revolut Builds Its Own Foundation Model - PRAGMA Trained on 40 Billion Behavioral Events Revolut is building the AI infrastructure incumbents will struggle to replicate. PRAGMA: trained on 40B behavioral events from 25M users. 20% better fraud detection. Money laundering investigations from...
FX Dos and Don’ts for CFOs Navigating Currency Volatility
U.S. companies with global exposure are confronting a fresh surge in foreign‑exchange volatility as the dollar strengthens amid geopolitical tension and divergent monetary policies. CFOs are being urged to move beyond reactionary hedging and adopt structured risk‑management frameworks that separate...
SpaceX Files for Record $1.75 Trillion IPO, 21 Banks Lead June Offering
SpaceX has confidentially filed with the SEC for a $1.75 trillion initial public offering that could raise up to $50 billion. A 21‑bank underwriting syndicate headed by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup will run the deal,...
Flutterwave Secures Full Banking, Microfinance and Microlending Licences in Nigeria
Flutterwave has been granted a full banking licence, a micro‑finance bank (MFB) licence and a microlender licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The regulatory approvals let the payments giant accept deposits, issue loans and run end‑to‑end financial operations for...
Murex and Quant Partner to Embed Digital Assets Into Core Capital Markets Infrastructure
Financial‑technology firm Murex has partnered with programmable‑money platform Quant to embed Quant’s Flow and Overledger infrastructure into its MX.3 capital‑markets system. The integration brings institutional‑grade tokenized‑asset issuance, settlement and post‑trade processing into existing trading, risk and collateral workflows. By providing...
A Subprime Lender’s Woes Raise Bigger Concerns About Canadian Households
Goeasy, a Canadian sub‑prime lender, disclosed a sharp rise in net charge‑offs stemming from its LendCare unit, which supplies auto‑dealer and powersports loans and represents 43% of its portfolio. The fallout triggered staff cuts, a leadership shuffle and a renewed...
How the U.S. Built Its Faster Payments Ecosystem
A decade after the Federal Reserve outlined a real‑time payments vision, the U.S. now operates two thriving instant‑payment networks—The Clearing House’s RTP and the FedNow service. RTP processes up to 2 million transactions daily, hitting a single‑day value record of $8.36 billion,...
Chime Unveils Chime Prime and Other Digital Transactions News Briefs From 4/3/26
Chime Financial introduced Chime Prime, a rewards platform that offers 5% cash back on select card purchases for customers who maintain at least $3,000 in monthly direct deposits. UnionPay announced an open protocol framework enabling AI agents to initiate payments,...
FNB CEO Bets on Smaller-Bank Innovation
FNB Corp., a $50 billion‑asset regional lender, says smaller banks can out‑innovate the megabanks by deploying AI‑driven tools more nimbly. CEO Vincent Delie Jr. highlighted the bank’s eStore platform, which consolidates about 50 products into a single application, and its upcoming...
Earned Wage Access Programs Are Simply Not Loan Products
Earned wage access (EWA) programs let workers withdraw earned wages before payday without interest, fees, or credit checks. A University of Oregon study found first‑time users increased net monthly income by $334, an 11.5% rise, with no rise in overdraft...
How Fifth Third Grew Embedded Banking Fee Revenue 53% in 2025
Fifth Third’s Newline embedded‑banking platform posted a 53% year‑over‑year increase in fee revenue for 2025, making it the fastest‑growing segment of the bank’s commercial payments business. The growth was driven by new partnerships with Stripe, Trustly, ADP and Corepay, and by...
Suryoday SFB Q4 Updates: Gross Advances Jump 29% YoY, Deposits Surge 32%
Suryoday Small Finance Bank reported a 29% year‑on‑year jump in gross advances to Rs 13,201 crore (≈$1.6 billion) for Q4 FY26. Total deposits climbed 32% to Rs 13,958 crore (≈$1.68 billion), with retail deposits and CASA showing strong growth. Disbursements rose 46% YoY to Rs 3,077 crore (≈$371 million)...
Could that Mortgage Relief Offer Be a Scam?
Homeowners facing payment difficulties are increasingly targeted by mortgage‑relief scams that promise loan modifications or foreclosure avoidance in exchange for upfront fees. Scammers typically demand hard‑to‑recover payment methods such as cashier’s checks, wire transfers, or mobile‑app payments, and may even...
RBI Allows Rupee Exchange at Airport Departure Halls, Boosting Traveler Convenience
The Reserve Bank of India has lifted a long‑standing restriction, allowing both residents and non‑residents to exchange Indian rupee notes at foreign‑exchange counters inside international airport departure halls. The move, announced in a circular, aims to give travelers last‑minute access...
Mortgage Rates Hit 6.48%, Pressuring U.S. Homebuyers and Bank Loan Portfolios
Freddie Mac reported the average 30‑year fixed mortgage rate jumped to 6.48%, its highest level since September 2025. The surge, driven by higher Treasury yields and geopolitical tension, threatens spring home‑buying activity and adds strain to banks' mortgage‑loan books.
Brazil Rejects U.S. Push to Change Pix Instant Payment System
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced the government will not alter the Pix instant‑payment platform after a U.S. report accused it of distorting trade. The stance highlights Brazil’s commitment to a state‑run fintech model that serves over 120 million...
Coinbase Legal Chief Says Senate CLARITY Act Stablecoin Yield Clause Near Passage
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal told Fox Business the Senate Banking Committee is moving toward a markup of the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act’s stablecoin‑yield provision, putting the bill "very close" to a floor vote. The comment marks the...
ANT Scales 300% Revenue, Expands Across Asia
ANT`s performance Hong Kong HQ (since April 2025) → 300+ partners + 10K+ biz customers → 300% revenue growth. Regional momentum: Malaysia (Kenanga Investment Bank wealth Super App, TNG Digital 16M verified users), Indonesia, Philippines, driving growth. ZOLOZ eKYC deployed...
Amazon, U.S. Bank and Mastercard Launch Business Credit Cards for SMBs
Amazon announced a partnership with U.S. Bank and Mastercard to introduce two new small‑business credit cards – a Prime Business Card with 5% back for Prime members and an Amazon Business Card with 3% back for non‑Prime users. The move...
Rocket Leads UWM in 2025 HMDA Loan Count, Trails in Volume
Rocket Mortgage edged United Wholesale Mortgage in loan count for 2025, originating 429,332 loans (6.33% market share) versus UWM’s 422,120 (6.25%). However, UWM kept a clear lead in dollar volume, with $164.32 billion compared with Rocket’s $116.16 billion. The split reflects differing...
The Diginomica Network Podcast - CIO Subhash Chandra Jose Takes EBRD Beyond the Sunset
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was originally built with a 20‑year sunset plan but has now operated for 35 years, prompting a major digital overhaul. CIO Subhash Chandra Jose, who took the helm in 2023, outlined a five‑year transformation...
How Mphasis NeoZeta Is Bringing Banking Back-End Systems Into the AI Era
Mphasis is tackling entrenched banking back‑office systems with its NeoZeta platform, which extracts business logic from legacy COBOL and Assembler code and stores it in a knowledge graph called Ontosphere. By combining domain ontologies with large language models, NeoZeta translates...
Is Financial Deregulation Under Trump Going Too Far?
The Trump administration is accelerating financial deregulation by slashing staff at major supervisory agencies and lowering banks' capital buffers. These moves reverse many post‑2008 safeguards designed to curb excessive risk‑taking. While the intent is to boost credit availability, analysts warn...
Why Gen Z Uses BNPL and Installments Differently
Consumers are no longer choosing payment methods out of habit; they select tools that fit a specific financial objective at checkout. A PYMNTS Intelligence study shows that in January 2026, 31% of shoppers used credit‑card installment plans while only 12%...
FINRA Imposes $450k Fine on Ameriprise Financial Services
FINRA imposed a $450,000 civil fine on Ameriprise Financial Services, accompanied by a $993,950.47 restitution order, for supervisory failures involving variable annuity exchanges with guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) riders between 2015 and 2018. The firm also received a formal...
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/womanopenssavingsaccount-6e699c9ee8984539a2be02166472a02b.jpeg)
Open a High-Yield Savings Account: Boost Your Earnings Today
High‑yield savings accounts now deliver annual percentage yields up to ten‑to‑twelve times the national average, largely driven by online‑only banks that avoid branch overhead. Consumers can boost cash returns by moving funds from traditional accounts to these higher‑rate products, but...
Money only Works in a Trusted, Shared System … Which Is Why Blockchains Don’t Work
The Bank for International Settlements paper argues that money’s value stems from a single, shared network, a principle that blockchain’s fragmented token ecosystems undermine. Each blockchain operates its own validators, incentives and governance, creating coordination challenges and higher transaction costs....
Things Worth Reading: 3rd April 2026
Chris Skinner’s roundup highlights a series of unsettling developments across finance. Goldman Sachs was placed under police surveillance in Paris, underscoring heightened regulatory scrutiny of major banks. Fintech apps were found storing passport images on unprotected servers, while a shadow...
Revolut Fined €13M in Italy, Compliance Gaps Persist
Reuters just reported `Italy fines Revolut over $13 million for alleged unfair commercial practices.` Some will say, the fine is small and is part of doing business. That isn't okay for the leading innovator and especially after a year-on-year increase in...
SoFi's Fintech Façade Hides Risky Unsecured Loan Engine
$SOFI's "fintech" mask hides a massive unsecured lending operation - Bank in disguise: lending ~90% of profits, NII >60% - Growth driven by risky unsecured loans in a saturated market - Aggressive accounting inflates earnings - Re-rate to bank multiples => 60%+ downside https://t.co/ZZ8DRGoMRM
Tokenization Makes Finance More Efficient but Introduces Risks: IMF
The International Monetary Fund warned that while tokenization can cut friction and boost transparency, it also introduces financial‑stability risks. About $27.6 billion of real‑world assets are already tokenized on‑chain, with forecasts ranging from $2 trillion to $16 trillion by 2030. The IMF highlighted...
Revolut's Tiny Fine Masks Looming AML Supervision Costs
Revolut's 2025 profit: $2.3 billion. The Lithuanian AML fine: €3.5 million. Trivial relative to profit. But it may have just put Revolut at the top of AMLA's direct supervision list starting 2028. AMLA supervision isn't a fine. It's a permanent structural overhead. That changes...
Google Pay Speeds up Android P2P Payments
Making money moves smooth since 2013. Also we didn’t forget Android. Google Pay is making your P2P payments faster too ⚡️
Fintechs Chartering Banks Face Traditional Price‑book Valuations
Gonna be interesting to see what happens to all these fintechs that are chartering banks, which are commonly valued on a price/book basis (rather than imaginary startup metrics, like rev multiples or MAUs)
Stablecoins Enable Scalable Agentic Payments and Smart Contracts
If you want to deploy agentic payments and smart contracts at scale, stablecoins are the natural fit. The infrastructure already exists. That’s where innovation is happening. https://t.co/YK1SyELUqQ
Public Chain + ZK Proofs Enable Regulator Transparency, User Privacy
Every bank building tokenized deposits chose a private or permissioned chain. @monument_bank chose a public chain - 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐨’𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 - and solved privacy with zero-knowledge proofs. Regulators see everything. The public sees nothing. This is what convergence looks like in practice. https://t.co/JGUF1elkZI
Crypto Firms, Banks to Review Revised Stablecoin Yield Bill
CLARITY ACT: 🚨 Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks’ revised stablecoin yield proposal is being reviewed by crypto firms and banks (starting April 2–3) to resolve their dispute and advance stalled legislation https://t.co/lh5xkx0lLG
Payments Innovation Accelerates: Two Decades of Digital Insight
Innovation in payments is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. In this re-release of our episode with Rich Clow from @BankofAmerica, he shares insights from more than two decades at the forefront of digital payments transformation. Watch the full episode: https://t.co/nTriooD0iX
Banks Adopt Fractional Investing, Threatening WealthTech Edge
🇸🇬Are banks crashing WealthTech's investing party? Fractional investing helped #WealthTech players like Endowus, Syfe, and StashAway stand out and scale fast in a crowded market. Now banks such as OCBC and DBS are launching similar features, turning a former differentiator into...
Retail CBDC Banned Until 2030, Private Digital Money Grows
In 2021 I said legal tender laws were mostly theatre, a CBDC mandate was unlikely, and private digital money would lead. Five years on, the Fed sits on the sidelines, the Senate bans a retail CBDC through 2030, and digital...