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 labels for the same service—causing confusion at checkout. Legacy payment names like BACS remain recognized by 77 percent of shoppers, underscoring the power of consistent branding. Industry leaders warn that without a unified consumer‑facing term, the full potential of open‑banking will remain untapped.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 Capgemini’s survey shows only 29% of budgets target transformative tech while 43% fund maintenance of outdated infrastructure.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...
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...
Fraud Rising in Auto Finance as Lenders Question Effectiveness of AI Tools
Fraud in auto finance is accelerating, with lenders reporting a sharp uptick in sophisticated schemes. A recent InformedIQ survey of over 2,500 industry executives revealed growing skepticism about the ability of current AI‑driven detection tools to keep pace. While many...
UK Banks Wary as Contactless Payment Limits Are Lifted
The UK is scrapping the £100 ceiling on contactless card payments, theoretically allowing unlimited tap‑to‑pay transactions. However, many banks are signaling they will retain their own limits due to heightened fraud exposure. Contactless already dominates UK in‑store spending, with 94.6%...
UPI Tightens Grip on Global Instant Payments Market
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) now processes more than four‑fifths of all real‑time transactions worldwide, accounting for 81% of global instant payments. Transaction volume surged from ₹7,176.9 crore in FY22 to ₹22,167.9 crore in FY25, a 35% year‑over‑year increase. The system’s expansion...
Regional Banks Are Lending on Hotels Again: What Middle-Market Borrowers Need to Know
Regional banks are re‑entering hotel financing, offering mid‑6% coupons and up to 70% loan‑to‑value on stabilized middle‑market assets. Deposit growth of roughly $900 billion since 2023 has restored banks' funding capacity, prompting a selective but aggressive lending approach. Compared with CMBS...
Close Brothers Shares Sink as Infamous Short-Seller Warns of Motor Finance ‘Wipeout’
Close Brothers' shares fell up to 12% after short‑seller Viceroy Research accused the FTSE 250 bank of systematically misrepresenting its exposure to the FCA’s motor‑finance redress scheme. Viceroy warned that provisions may need to double, potentially eroding the bank’s CET1...
Inside Trump’s Economic Strategy, with EXIM Bank’s John Jovanovic
In a March 2026 Atlantic Council podcast, EXIM Bank chairman John Jovanovic outlined how the Trump administration’s economic strategy hinges on resilient, "free, fair, and functioning" supply chains. He highlighted the bank’s role in financing U.S. exporters amid heightened geopolitical...
Bank of England: We Can’t Eliminate Bias in AI
Bank of England compliance chief Jem Davis warned that artificial‑intelligence systems will never be completely bias‑free, urging firms to adopt a bias‑aware approach. He highlighted the need for robust governance, diverse data testing and continuous monitoring across organisational units. At...
US Treasury Publishes AI Risk Guidebook for Financial Institutions
The U.S. Treasury has released a Financial Services AI Risk Management Framework (FS AI RMF) guidebook, created with input from over 100 financial institutions and regulators. The guidebook adapts the NIST AI Risk Management Framework with 230 sector‑specific control objectives organized into...
Iran Conflict Sparks Risk, And Opportunity, For Egypt: CIB CEO Hisham Ezz Al-Arab
The Iran‑Israel conflict has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil above $100 per barrel and unsettling regional markets. In Egypt, the turmoil has sparked capital outflows, weakening the pound to a historic low of about 53 EGP per dollar....
Fintechs Push 36% State Rate Caps
Fintech firms are urging state legislatures to adopt a uniform 36% interest‑rate cap on consumer loans, echoing the long‑standing ceiling used by traditional credit‑card issuers. The American Fintech Council, representing buy‑now‑pay‑later and earned‑wage‑access companies, is actively lobbying in states such...
Shift4 Adds AI Ordering to Its SkyTab POS System
Shift4 Payments has partnered with Maple AI to embed the startup’s AI‑driven phone‑ordering system into its SkyTab POS platform. The integration pulls live menu data from SkyTab, routes orders directly to kitchen displays and receipt printers, and supports payments, reservations...
Nayax Scores Another EV Payment Processing Win
Israel‑based payments firm Nayax announced a new partnership with E‑Plug to handle payment processing at an estimated 2,200 charging stations across the United States. The deal follows recent collaborations, including a January agreement with Autel Energy to embed Nayax technology...
Stress Test on SRTs Could Help Shed Light on Risks, BIS Says
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recommends that synthetic risk transfers (SRTs) be incorporated into system‑wide stress tests to expose hidden vulnerabilities. SRT usage has expanded fivefold since 2016, covering roughly €800 billion of loan portfolios and delivering about 43 basis...
Broker’s Call: Federal Bank (Buy)
Axis Securities has upgraded Federal Bank to a Buy, setting a target price of ₹290 against a current market price of ₹260.85. The broker highlights the bank's focus on net interest margin (NIM) improvement through a shift toward higher‑yielding loan...
South Korea’s Hana Financial Partners with Standard Chartered on Digital Assets
Hana Financial Group has signed a strategic agreement with Standard Chartered to cooperate across global finance and digital‑asset services, including investment banking, money markets, foreign exchange and crypto‑related offerings. The deal builds on Hana’s recent collaborations with Circle and Crypto.com...
Fino Payments Bank Shares Slump Over 17% On Report Of Potential ED Probe
Fino Payments Bank’s shares tumbled 17% to a 52‑week low after a report that the Directorate General of GST Intelligence may recommend an Enforcement Directorate probe into online‑gaming related transactions. The bank refuted the claim, labeling it speculative, while its...
UK Financial Regulation Faces Overhaul Calls in APPG Report
The All‑Party Parliamentary Group on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services released a 250‑page report declaring the UK’s financial‑conduct regulatory framework fundamentally broken. Drawing on a decade of parliamentary debate, a nationwide consumer survey and testimony from victims and whistle‑blowers,...
Visa and Fiserv Expand European Payments Partnership
Visa and Fiserv have broadened their European partnership by integrating the Visa Acceptance Platform into Fiserv’s merchant acquiring and processing solutions. The API‑first, cloud‑based acceptance layer consolidates multiple connections into a single integration, aiming to boost authorization rates, cut fraud...
The Consent Deficit: RBI’s Draft RBC Directions Turn Mis-Selling Into A Proof Problem
India’s RBI is set to tighten Responsible Business Conduct rules, requiring banks to prove product‑by‑product consent rather than merely collecting signatures. The draft, effective July 1 2026, bans compulsory bundling, bans dark‑pattern UI tricks, and mandates refunds when mis‑selling is proven. It...
Fed Inquiry Into Checks Has Bankers Fearing 'Disaster'
Community bankers are warning that the Federal Reserve’s request for information on the future of its check‑clearing services could lead to an abrupt shutdown of the system, harming elderly, rural customers and small businesses that still rely on paper checks....
APRA to Consult on Enhancements to Bank Capital and Liquidity Frameworks
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has launched a public consultation on a suite of reforms aimed at tightening capital adequacy and liquidity standards for authorised deposit‑taking institutions (ADIs). The proposals introduce a new Pillar 2 liquidity framework for the largest...
Why English-Only AML Monitoring Misses Critical Risks
Many AML monitoring programs rely solely on English-language sources, missing critical risk signals that appear in local media. Real‑world examples from Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America show adverse media alerts being overlooked because they are published only in...
Fintech Startup Chaseit.ai Launches AI Agents for Call Centre Loan Servicing
Lithuanian fintech Chaseit.ai has entered live production with AI agents that automate loan‑servicing calls. The agents manage inbound and outbound interactions, verifying identities, reminding borrowers, negotiating repayment plans, and escalating complex issues to human staff. Within seven months of founding,...
NatWest: We're Raising Our Fair Value Estimate as We See Bank's Franchise Value Strengthening
Morningstar lifted NatWest Group's fair‑value estimate to GBX 710 per share, up from GBX 550, after a strong fourth‑quarter 2025 showing 18% return on tangible equity and expanding deposit margins. The firm raised its mid‑cycle profitability assumptions, citing a durable structural hedge...
The Real Cost of Payment Downtime No One Talks About
The article highlights that payment system downtime costs extend far beyond immediate lost sales, affecting customer trust, brand reputation, cash flow, and employee productivity. It details how outages force teams into crisis mode, create communication gaps, and expose operational weaknesses...
Senate Bill Protecting OFW Remittances Gets 3rd Reading Nod
The Philippine Senate approved Senate Bill No. 1917, the Overseas Filipino Workers’ Remittance Protection Act, on its third and final reading. The law mandates remittance providers to disclose fees and foreign‑exchange rates, and it caps unreasonable charges. It also introduces...
Visa Sees Check Fraud Spilling Into Faster Payment Scams
Visa warns that check fraud now accounts for roughly 30% of U.S. fraud losses in 2024, with checks being 31 times more likely to be fraudulent than real‑time transactions. Criminals are leveraging both traditional methods such as check washing and...
Strong 2025 Results Support Portuguese Banks as They Face a More Uncertain 2026
Portuguese banks posted resilient F2025 results, with profitability bolstered by sizable provision releases, strong fee generation and higher other income that offset declining net interest margins. Asset quality improved, reflected in lower non‑performing loan ratios and higher coverage, while capital...
PawaPay and Deriv Join Forces to Scale Mobile Money Deposits Across Africa
PawaPay has partnered with online trading platform Deriv to enable mobile‑money deposits in eight African countries, with plans to broaden coverage across the continent. The integration gives Deriv users a single, compliant connection to local mobile operators, allowing instant funding...
85% of Banks’ Corporate Clients Plan to Engage with a Non-Bank Financial Institution Within the Next Year as Competition with...
Capgemini’s 2026 World Corporate and Investment Banking Report finds that 85% of banks’ corporate clients intend to work with non‑bank financial institutions within the next twelve months, seeking faster, more transparent services. Only 23% of clients feel current CIBs meet...
Credit Firms Report Risk Management Gaps Among Hong Kong SMEs
CollectForU Expert and Debt Hunter released a joint report revealing that over 70% of Hong Kong SMEs lack basic credit defense mechanisms, exposing them to severe liquidity risk as supply‑chain payment cycles lengthen. The study highlights a growing gap between...
FinVolution Group (FINV) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
FinVolution Group reported fourth‑quarter net income of $3.9 million, a 26% year‑over‑year rise, driven by $1.6 billion in loan originations that beat guidance. Credit‑enhanced loan balances climbed to $118 million, lifting net interest margin to 11.42% and boosting non‑interest income. The quarter saw...
Small Firms Face High Finance Costs
The Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee warned that micro‑SMEs are facing soaring finance costs as nano‑finance loans jumped 56% year‑on‑year to 94.5 billion baht, with interest rates hovering near the 28‑33% regulatory ceiling. Although traditional bank rates have fallen following...
Malaysia: New Risk Policy Ensures Digital Payment Resilience
Bank Negara Malaysia has issued a new Technology Risk Management Policy for payment service providers, consolidating existing tech‑related requirements into a single framework. The policy introduces a tiered, proportional approach that aligns security and resilience obligations with the size and...
BSP on Guard as Digital Banks Face Profit Strain
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reports that most of the six licensed digital banks are still unprofitable, with only Maya Bank and OF Bank posting net income. Despite early losses, the sector shows strong asset growth, with deposits reaching...
The Six Senators Who Voted Against the March Digital Dollar Ban: Johnson, Lee, Murphy, Scott, Tuberville, and Van Hollen
On March 2 the Senate invoked cloture 84‑6 to advance H.R. 6644, a broad housing and banking bill that embeds a provision barring the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency until the end of 2030. Only six...
UBS Set to Face Swiss Government Decision on Capital in April
The Swiss Federal Council will decide in April how much additional capital UBS must hold, with proposals ranging up to US$26 billion. New regulations will require the bank to fully deduct software and deferred‑tax assets from its regulatory capital, a move...
Schwab Says You Don’t Have to Buy CDs From Your Bank
Schwab’s research highlights that brokered certificates of deposit (CDs) can deliver higher yields than traditional bank CDs by aggregating offers from dozens of FDIC‑insured banks. As of March 2026, brokered CD rates range from 3.5% to 4.3% APY, outpacing many...
Stablecoin Uncertainty Could Hurt Banks More than Crypto Firms: Expert
Colin Butler, EVP of capital markets at Mega Matrix, warns that regulatory uncertainty surrounding stablecoins could disadvantage traditional banks more than crypto firms. While banks such as JPMorgan, BNY Mellon and Citi have invested in blockchain and custody infrastructure, they...
KCB Identifies Entity for 2026 Ethiopia Entry
KCB Group aims to enter Ethiopia by the end of 2026, planning to acquire control of a local bank that fits its cultural and strategic objectives. The deal must navigate Ethiopia’s 49% foreign‑shareholding ceiling, though the regulator can grant exceptions...
The Finanser’s Week: 9th March – 15th March 2026
The week’s highlights cover Coinbase’s x402 payment protocol, AWS’s banking‑on‑the‑cloud report, the U.S. Treasury’s smart‑regulation guidance for digital assets, the industry’s shift toward branchless, cashless banking, and the use of crypto to evade sanctions. x402 promises internet‑speed, open payments that...
Switzerland’s PostFinance Reports Latest Financial Results, Expands Digital Assets Offering
Swiss Post’s 2024 results showed a resilient operating profit of CHF 332 million despite a CHF 20 million drop in group profit, with PostFinance contributing CHF 290 million. Parcel volumes rose 3.7% to a record 186.6 million, while digital services surged, adding 360 000 new...
Capital One Venture X Card: The Ultimate Guide to Features, Benefits, and Rewards
Capital One introduced the Venture X Rewards Credit Card, a premium travel product with a $395 annual fee. The card features a 75,000‑mile welcome bonus after $4,000 spend in three months, a $300 annual travel credit, and a 10,000‑mile anniversary...