Monzo Board Pushed CEO Out After IPO Dispute, Reports Say
Monzo’s board has asked CEO TS Anil to step down after months of friction over the company’s IPO timetable. Anil advocated an earlier public listing, while several directors preferred delaying to expand overseas and improve valuation. The board has installed former Google executive Diana Layfield as the new chief executive. Under Anil, Monzo grew to 13 million customers and posted £60.5 million pre‑tax profit on £1.2 billion revenue.
“MENA’s Digital Banking Challenge Isn’t Demand; It’s the Restrictive Infrastructure,” Jas Shah at FMLS:25
Fintech strategist Jas Shah highlighted that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s digital banking slowdown stems from restrictive payments infrastructure rather than lack of consumer demand. Banks are racing to upgrade legacy internet‑banking platforms to mobile‑first experiences to...
U.S. Bank’s Prageeth Sandakalum to Speak at FinAi Banking Summit
U.S. Bank’s Vice President and Principal Product Manager for Digital, Data and AI, Prageeth Sandakalum, will join a panel at the FinAi Banking Summit in Denver to discuss "AI strategy at scale: Lessons from global banks." The conversation will focus...
Closing the Gap Between Trust and Proof
The 2024 collapse of Synapse left $85 million in consumer deposits frozen, exposing the fragility of pooled For‑Benefit‑Of (FBO) accounts. The incident highlighted how legacy account structures cannot keep pace with today’s multi‑party, B2B money flows. Virtual Account Management (VAM) is...
Banks Reclaim Commercial Lending Through Technology and Strategic Partnerships
Traditional banks are accelerating technology investments and forging strategic partnerships to reclaim commercial lending from fast‑growing private‑credit markets and AI‑driven fintech rivals. They are shifting resources toward complex loan products, adopting originate‑to‑distribute models, and deploying unified platforms that span front‑...
Goldman Sachs Moves Into Predictable Growth with Innovator Acquisition
Goldman Sachs announced on Dec. 1 that it will acquire Innovator Capital Management, adding 159 defined‑outcome ETFs and roughly $28 billion in assets under management. The acquisition gives Goldman a foothold in the fast‑growing buffered‑ETF niche, which uses options to limit downside...
“Regulators Are Being Asked to Slow Down the Pace”: Muinmos Founder on AI and ESMA Guidance
At the Finance Magnates London Summit, Muinmos founder Remonda Z. Kirketerp Møller warned that financial firms are rushing AI into compliance without grasping its operational and regulatory ramifications. She distinguished true AI from mere automation, emphasizing that ultimate decision‑making must...
Beeks Lands Fifth Exchange Client of 2025 With Latin American Multi-Market Deal
Beeks Financial has secured its fifth exchange client of 2025 by signing a revenue‑sharing agreement with nuam, the holding company operating the Santiago, Lima and Bogotá exchanges. The Exchange Cloud platform will enable nuam to onboard local and international participants...
Mesa Shuts Down Credit Card that Rewarded Cardholders for Paying Their Mortgages
Fintech startup Mesa announced the shutdown of its Homeowners Card on December 12, deactivating all accounts and ending the ability to earn Mesa Points. The card, launched in November 2024 with $9.2 million in equity and debt financing, rewarded spending tied to home...
Identity and Money: A Case Study
The episode examines Ireland’s 1966‑1976 bank strikes, showing how the economy survived without cash by relying on cheques, IOUs and locally‑issued substitutes backed by strong social capital. It highlights that reputation‑based identity networks—often mediated through pubs and community figures—enabled informal...
The Power of One: How Citizens’ New Open Banking API Framework Came to Life
Citizens Bank unveiled a unified open‑banking API in mid‑2024, earning the Best New Embedded Finance Platform award at Tearsheet’s Big Bank Theory Awards 2025. The platform, built on FDX standards with a multiplexing engine, serves consumers, small businesses, and large...
One-Third of eToro Trades Now Happen in 24/5 Extended Market Hours
eToro reports that roughly one‑third of its stock trades now happen outside regular market hours, following the recent rollout of 24/5 access to every S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 constituent. The extended‑hours window runs from Sunday 8:05 p.m. to Friday 4:00 p.m. ET, letting...
FinTech Plum Follows Klarna in Securing E-Money Licence
The episode reviews recent fintech developments, highlighting Plum’s acquisition of an e‑money licence—allowing it to offer banking‑like services such as transfers, prepaid cards and digital wallets to its 2 million users—alongside other notable moves like Flatpay’s door‑to‑door sales push, Worldline’s divestment...
Revolut Offers Ex-Staffers Chance to Cash Out Shares at 30% Discount
Revolut, Europe’s largest neobank valued at $75 bn, has opened a share‑buy‑back for former employees. The program offers ex‑staff $966.74 per share, a 30% discount to the $1,381.06 price paid in the latest secondary sale. Despite the discount, the price is...