Starling’s SaaS Business Sees Revenue Lift but Group Profits Dip
Starling Bank posted a 3% drop in pre‑tax profit to £217 m ($276 m) and revenue fell to £887 m ($1.13 bn) for the year to March 2026, mainly because lower interest rates cut interest income. Transaction volume rose to £216.7 bn ($275 bn) and average deposits per customer increased 7.9% to £4,241 ($5,390). Its SaaS subsidiary, Engine, doubled its client base to four and grew revenue 25% to £10.9 m ($13.8 m), securing a 10‑year deal with Tangerine, its first North American client. CEO Raman Bhatia highlighted five years of profitability while investing in UK growth and global tech scaling.
National Bank of Canada Backs Sardine in Fraud Tech Push
National Bank of Canada, through its corporate venture arm NAventures, led a $25 million Series C extension for fraud‑prevention platform Sardine, bringing the startup’s total funding to $170 million. The bank will roll out Sardine’s device intelligence and real‑time risk scoring across its...
What Banks Are Doing with AI
Banks are quietly embedding generative AI into middle‑office functions rather than replacing core systems. Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, IBM watsonx and AWS Bedrock each target specific workflow bottlenecks such as KYC, AML, document processing and operational automation. Real‑world...
Federal Reserve Board Requests Public Comment on a Proposal to Establish a "Payment Account," Which Legally Eligible Financial Institutions Could...
The Federal Reserve Board has opened a public comment period on a proposal to create a “payment account” that eligible financial institutions can use solely for clearing and settling payments. The account would grant direct access to Fed payment services...
CFPB Final Rule Narrows Small Business Lending Data Collection Requirements
On May 1, 2026 the CFPB issued a Final Rule revising its Section 1071 data‑collection mandate. The rule raises the covered‑institution threshold to 1,000 small‑business originations, trims the revenue cap to $1 million, and excludes Farm Credit System lenders, agricultural loans, merchant...
China Bank Savings Earnings Jumped 11.5%
China Bank Savings posted an 11.5% rise in Q1 2026 net income to PHP 631.2 million (≈$11.4 million). Net interest income surged 20.4% to PHP 2.8 billion (≈$51 million) as loan growth accelerated. Total assets reached PHP 217.3 billion (≈$4.0 billion) with deposits up 12% to PHP 191.4 billion (≈$3.5 billion). The bank’s...
BSP Boosts Sustainability Reporting Rules
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will require banks to adopt the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards S1 and S2 for sustainability disclosures, aligning with International Sustainability Standards Board guidelines. A draft circular sets a phased rollout, with publicly listed tier‑1 banks above...
Open Banking to Reshape Retail Payments in Canada
Canada’s retail payments are on the cusp of a rapid transformation as open‑banking frameworks move toward implementation. Interac’s Konek platform, backed by major banks, will let shoppers pay directly from chequing or savings accounts while preserving existing trust. The shift...
RBI Proposes To Let Lenders Restrict Smartphone Functions In Case Of Default
The Reserve Bank of India has issued draft amendments that would let banks and NBFCs disable certain non‑essential functions of a financed smartphone, tablet or similar device when a borrower defaults. Restrictions can only be applied after 90 days of...
JPMorganChase Expands in Germany With Consumer Banking Unit Chase
JPMorgan Chase launched its first digital consumer bank, Chase, in Germany, offering a fee‑free savings account with a 4% annual promotional rate for the first four months before settling at roughly the 2% market average. The service features remote onboarding via...
Bank CEOs’ AI Obsession Collides with Warning From Watchdogs
Bank CEOs across Europe and the U.S. are touting AI as a lever to slash middle‑ and back‑office staff, with Standard Chartered targeting more than a 15% reduction by 2030 and HSBC eyeing roughly 20,000 cuts. Regulators, led by the...
Square Picks up Well-Known Restaurant Chain The Hat; 33% of C-Store Operators Manage Four or More POS Terminals
Square, the POS arm of Block Inc., added the Southern‑California restaurant chain The Hat to its roster, deploying Square for Restaurants, Square Register, and Square Marketing across all 11 locations—including a new Las Vegas site—by March. The rollout follows a...
Singapore Wants Banks to Use AI to Create Jobs
Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong urged banks and financial firms to deploy AI as a tool for creating higher‑value jobs rather than merely cutting staff. The call follows Standard Chartered’s announcement that it will eliminate roughly 8,000 positions...
Plaid’s Payment Assurance and Other Digital Transactions News Briefs From 5/20/26
Plaid introduced Plaid Guaranteed Payments, a real‑time bank payment service that approves transactions in milliseconds and backs settlement, covering losses on failures. Devenex launched a platform to govern AI agents in online commerce, while Fireblocks unveiled an Agentic Payments Suite...
Digital Wallet Infrastructure in the US: What Sits Behind Apple Pay, Google Wallet and the Next Layer of Fintechs
The article dissects the layered infrastructure behind US digital wallets, highlighting tokenisation, secure elements, and network token services as the core security engine. It notes rapid adoption—Apple Pay, Google Wallet and PayPal now dominate point‑of‑sale and e‑commerce transactions, with under‑45...
Ex-CFTC Head Says Digital Dollar Is Inevitable in US
Former CFTC chairman Timothy Massad told CoinDesk at the Digital Money Summit that global market forces make a US digital dollar inevitable, despite President Trump’s public pledge to block any central bank digital currency (CBDC). He highlighted that the Federal...
Rick Wurster Launches (Initially) Unprompted Defense of Schwab's Business Model at Analyst Meeting, and Says AI Won't Threaten Schwab's Cash...
Rick Wurster defended Charles Schwab’s cash‑sweep model, arguing AI won’t erode its core cash‑deposit business. At the same time, RIA‑focused cash managers are thriving; MaxMyInterest offers a 1.71% FDIC‑insured yield while StoneCastle, Flourish and Galileo have cut rates to near‑zero...
SMCR Reforms Arrive, but Compliance Risk Remains
The FCA’s Phase 1 SMCR reforms, rolling out through 2026, simplify the regime’s structure while keeping accountability standards high. Changes include streamlined certification, clearer breach guidance, and more flexible submission formats, with key updates on 24 April, 10 July and 1 September 2026. The...
What Is a Chattel Loan? A Practical Guide for Small Businesses
A chattel loan (or chattel mortgage) lets Australian small businesses own vehicles, machinery or equipment from settlement while the lender registers a security interest on the PPSR. The structure offers fixed repayments, upfront GST credits for registered businesses, and full...
Fundi Tshazibana: Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Sector in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Chief Executive Officer of South Africa's Prudential Authority, Fundi Tshazibana, warned that artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the financial sector, from customer‑facing chatbots to behind‑the‑scenes predictive models. He highlighted five core AI risk categories—third‑party dependence, cyber threats, model shortcomings, market‑wide...
Rewiring Wires: Modernizing CHIPS and Fedwire® for a New Era of Demand
Wire payments underpin trillions of dollars in daily high‑value transactions, but rising client expectations for speed, transparency, and data richness are straining the legacy CHIPS and Fedwire infrastructures. The industry faces added pressure from ISO 20022 migration, higher transaction limits, and...
Trump Orders Review of Fintech Firms' Access to Fed Payment Services
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Federal Reserve to review barriers that limit fintech and crypto firms' access to its payment systems. The Fed must deliver a 120‑day report assessing its legal authority to grant direct connections...
UK Auto ABS and FCA CP 26/6: Reporting, Reloaded
The Financial Conduct Authority issued Consultation Paper CP26/6 in February 2026, proposing a streamlined regulatory framework for UK securitisations, with a focus on auto loan and lease asset‑backed securities. The paper introduces revised reporting templates that add UK‑specific data fields while...
Wall Street Watchdogs Pause Some Cyber Exams After Mythos Shock
U.S. regulators, including the Federal Reserve and OCC, have temporarily paused cyber‑related examinations of the nation’s largest banks to give them time to assess risks from Anthropic’s new Mythos AI model. Anthropic announced limited access to Mythos and launched Project...
Trump Orders Banks to Take a Closer Look at Clients' Citizenship in New Immigration Enforcement Move
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing U.S. bank regulators to increase scrutiny of customers' citizenship status. The order stops short of mandating banks to collect citizenship data, offering only guidance to mitigate credit risk from potential deportations. It...
California Fines Yotta $1M for Deceiving Savers
California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation fined Yotta Technologies $1 million for falsely marketing its prize‑linked savings accounts as fully FDIC‑insured. Internal communications reveal Yotta executives privately doubted the reliability of Synapse, the banking‑as‑a‑service partner that held customer funds, yet...
ECB Updates Good Practices for Climate and Nature-Related Risk Management
On 8 May 2026 the European Central Bank updated its non‑binding compendium of good practices for climate and nature‑related risk management and stress testing. The revision adds detailed guidance on physical and nature‑related risks and offers proportional tools for smaller, less exposed...
Chime CEO: Pursuing Bank Charter Is ‘a when, Not If’
Chime’s CEO Chris Britt told investors that obtaining a U.S. bank charter is a matter of "when," not "if," as the fintech re‑evaluates timing amid a regulator‑friendly climate. The company currently serves about 10.2 million monthly active members and partners with...
Lenders Look at Operational Changes in Credit Score Update
Lenders Guild Mortgage and NewRez are testing the new FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 models alongside the legacy FICO Classic to gauge risk and servicing value. Both firms report significant technology work, such as adding new data fields and updating loan‑origination systems,...
Mahindra, DBS Bank Launch India’s First Green Dealer Financing Scheme
Mahindra & Mahindra and DBS Bank India have signed an MoU to launch India’s first sustainability‑linked dealer financing scheme for automotive sales. The programme offers participating Mahindra dealers preferential loan rates that are tied to performance against ESG metrics such as...
Monzo Profits Soar Amid European Expansion
Monzo announced a record £1 billion (≈$1.27 billion) gross profit, marking its third straight year of profitability. Adjusted profit before tax jumped 20% to £172.6 million (≈$219 million) while revenue rose 39%, with four core streams each topping £300 million (≈$381 million). The bank added 3 million...
PRA Publishes Dear CEO Letter Reaffirming Its Position and Clarifying Expectations on Innovations in the Use of Deposits, E-Money and...
On 18 May 2026 the Prudential Regulation Authority issued a new Dear CEO letter that supersedes its 2023 guidance on deposit‑takers’ use of deposits, e‑money and regulated stablecoins. The PRA stresses that innovations must be offered only to retail customers as deposits, and...
PRA Publishes Dear CEO Letter on the Prudential Treatment of Tokenised Assets, Stablecoins, and Other Cryptoasset Exposures
On 18 May 2026 the Prudential Regulation Authority issued a new Dear CEO letter updating its prudential expectations for tokenised assets, stablecoins and other crypto‑asset exposures. The guidance reaffirms the 2022 risk‑control and Pillar 1/2 frameworks, maintains a 100 % capital charge for unbacked crypto,...
PRA to Ease Ring-Fence Rules to Cut Bank Costs
The Prudential Regulation Authority will launch a summer consultation to loosen ring‑fencing rules on shared operational services for the UK’s biggest banks. The proposal would let institutions with more than £35 billion in core deposits (about $44.5 billion) share IT, data‑processing and...
OJK Urges Prudent Risk Controls Amid Prabowo’s 5% Loan Program
Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) is urging banks to tighten governance and risk management as President Prabowo Subianto rolls out a people‑credit program capped at a 5% annual interest rate. OJK calls for periodic stress tests and adequate loan‑loss reserves...
EU DORA Compliance for Engineering Teams
The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) became enforceable on Jan 17 2025, imposing fines of up to 2 % of global revenue on firms that cannot prove their software systems are documented, monitored and resilient. Financial‑services technology providers must give auditors a live...
Chase Is Boosting Its Cashback to 2% and Expanding Where You Can Earn It – Though You'll Need to Jump...
Chase is doubling its UK cashback rate to 2% this summer, extending the reward to both its debit and credit cards and adding restaurants, cafés and takeaways to the eligible spend categories. The monthly cashback cap rises from £15 to...
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business Card Review: Useful Perks for Delta Flyers Without Elite Status
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card offers a 60,000‑mile welcome bonus after $4,000 spend, a $0 introductory fee and a $150 annual fee thereafter. Cardholders earn 2 X miles on Delta, shipping, advertising and dining purchases, plus enjoy a...
African Fintechs Target the Gulf for Global Growth
African fintechs are establishing bases in Dubai to tap the Gulf‑Africa remittance corridor, with players like MNT‑Halan, Paymob, Innovate1Pay and Flutterwave expanding regionally. Migrant workers in the GCC send roughly $36 billion annually—about a third of the $109 billion total remittances to...
Bank of England Plans Sweeping Overhaul to UK Payments Infrastructure
The Bank of England announced two parallel reforms to modernise the UK payments landscape. It will extend the operating hours of core payment systems to include Sundays and selected bank holidays, aiming for near‑continuous settlement. Simultaneously, the BoE and FCA...
Halifax Could Disappear From UK High Streets as Lloyds Assesses Branding Strategy
Lloyds Banking Group is reviewing its branding strategy and could phase out the Halifax name as early as July 1, consolidating everyday banking under the Lloyds and Bank of Scotland brands. Customers would be transferred to Lloyds apps and branches while...
BoE Consultation – Extending RTGS and CHAPS Settlement Hours – Next Steps Towards Near 24×7 Settlement
On 18 May 2026 the Bank of England released a consultation paper outlining its roadmap to near‑24‑hour RTGS and CHAPS settlement. An early‑morning extension will push CHAPS opening to 01:30 am from September 2027, expanding daily coverage to 16.5 hours. The paper proposes two next‑step...
After Kraken’s “Skinny” Fed Account, What’s Next for Crypto?
In March, Kraken became the first cryptocurrency exchange to obtain a Federal Reserve “skinny” master account, granting it direct access to FedWire and FedNow payment rails. The limited account provides settlement capability without traditional banking privileges such as interest earnings...
Policy Paper: Safeguarding Stability, Enabling Growth: The Ring-Fencing Review
The UK Treasury published a policy paper on 18 May 2026 detailing the conclusions of the Ring‑Fencing Review and outlining reforms to the ring‑fencing regime. The review confirms that separating retail from investment banking still underpins financial stability but highlights opportunities for...
Michelle W Bowman: Opening Remarks - Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City 2026 Future of Banking Conference
Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman addressed the Kansas City Fed’s Future of Banking conference, highlighting the resilience of the 639 community banks in the 10th District and their unique relationship‑driven models. She criticized the one‑size‑fits‑all regulatory regime—particularly CECL and...
Bank of India Raises Fixed Deposit Rates for Medium- and Long-Term Tenures
Bank of India raised its fixed‑deposit rates for tenures of one to three years, effective May 18, 2026. The new slab offers 6.50% p.a. for one‑year, 6.60% for 1‑to‑2‑year and 6.70% for three‑year deposits, with senior citizens receiving an extra 0.50%‑0.75% and...
UK Regulators Sound Alarm over Frontier AI Threat
UK regulators, led by the Bank of England and the FCA, have issued a stark warning about the systemic risks posed by frontier artificial intelligence models. The guidance urges financial institutions to accelerate the triage and remediation of AI‑related vulnerabilities,...
New £5,000 Deposit Mortgage Launches as UK’s Most Affordable Areas Revealed
Lloyds Bank launched a new mortgage that requires only a £5,000 (≈ $6,350) deposit for homes up to £300,000 (≈ $381,000), targeting first‑time buyers. The bank’s analysis identified East Ayrshire, Scotland as the cheapest UK market, with an average first‑time buyer price...
FPC Says Clear Dispute Rules Pave Way for Trusted Instant Payments
The U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC) released a new report outlining 11 guiding principles for fraud dispute resolution in instant payments. The guidance stresses shared responsibility among ecosystem participants, structured dispute workflows, and ISO 20022‑aligned data exchange. Industry data show 16%...
Revolut Adds Employee Incentives to Fuel Business Banking Push
Revolut is offering every employee a £1,000 ($1,330) bonus for referring new business customers as it accelerates its business‑banking expansion. CEO Nik Storonsky outlined plans to launch B2B credit products in 2026 and roll out business banking in new markets...