Chime outgrew bank partner model, CEO says

“There's no question that we haven't been able to move as fast as we would like” with product launches, Chris Britt said Wednesday. Acquiring Stride Bank will give the fintech “complete control of our destiny.”

By Caitlin Mullen • Sept. 10, 2026

Circle to buy Tazapay for $400M

Tazapay and Circle first forged a partnership last year, and according to CEO Jeremy Allaire, they “share a deep alignment.” Circle was the lead investor in Tazapay’s Series B funding last year.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 9, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial intelligence

Banks must decide whether to forge AI tools in-house or partner with outside firms. AI’s importance can’t be understated, but legacy tech may also constrain the budget for banks looking to innovate.

By Banking Dive staff

Block seeks OCC bank charter

Cash App’s parent is joining a parade of fintechs seeking to become national banks as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency allows more leeway for such licenses.

By Justin Bachman • Sept. 9, 2026

Chime to buy Stride Bank for $590M

Acquiring one of its longtime bank partners offers the fintech “a faster and more proven path to full-stack ownership,” compared to pursuing its own charter, Chime said Tuesday.

By Caitlin Mullen • Updated Sept. 9, 2026

Revolut nabs conditional OCC charter

The neobank has long eyed a U.S. banking charter, seeing it as “a seat at the table” with regulators.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 4, 2026

TabaPay eyes OCC charter with Denver bank deal

The money movement platform, which once sought to buy Synapse’s assets, received a $155 million investment to pursue Transact Bank.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 2, 2026

Stablecoins lose ground to tokenized deposits

While the digital currencies have gained some acceptance, there is a growing interest by financial institutions in tokenized deposits as an alternative.

By Lynne Marek • Sept. 2, 2026

Wells, BofA, Citi back upcoming stablecoin

Goldman Sachs, PNC and Capital One are also among 21 financial institutions partnering on an asset expected to go to market early next year.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 1, 2026

BitGo acquires NYDIG’s institutional trading business

The transaction allows NYDIG to focus on power generation, bitcoin mining and data center development, the company said.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 31, 2026

RTP gears up for international reach

BNY and other banks are preparing for a pilot next year that will stretch the real-time payments network across borders.

By Lynne Marek • Aug. 26, 2026

Treasury to help financial firms transition to quantum-resistant encryption

The government is concerned that hackers could someday decrypt financial information and other secrets using code-breaking quantum computers.

By Eric Geller • Aug. 26, 2026

Dive Deposits: 4 takeaways from Jonathan Gould’s Wyoming appearance

The OCC chief made crypto-inclusive remarks at a blockchain symposium, adding that protecting traditional banks is not his job.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 20, 2026

CFTC bans ex-FTX execs from trading

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang are prohibited from trading for five years from the date of their initial consent orders.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Aug. 20, 2026

Stripe, OpenRouter finally strike a deal

The payments behemoth’s acquisition of the AI spend management firm has been in the works for weeks. The reported price tag: $7.5 billion.

By Justin Bachman • Aug. 20, 2026

Klarna CFO, CMO to leave early next year

The Swedish fintech has begun a search for a New York-based finance chief. Meanwhile, the company adjusted its 2026 financial outlook downward.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 19, 2026

Bakkt names new CFO in stablecoin growth push

Equifax alum Matthew White is taking the CFO reins as Bakkt looks to execute on its ongoing pivot to becoming a stablecoin infrastructure provider.

By Grace Noto • Aug. 17, 2026

OCC returns Zerohash’s charter application

The regulator did not give a reason for the action, although there may be confusion over who will act as the company’s compliance chief. Zerohash indicated it would refile this month.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 17, 2026

World Liberty nabs conditional OCC charter

The Trump family-backed crypto firm gained conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish its national trust bank.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Aug. 17, 2026

Monzo’s chair to exit next month

Longtime Barclays alum Gary Hoffman cited health concerns as his reason for leaving the fintech before his term ends. His departure comes after a year of contentious change.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 17, 2026

Custodia gets a hand from lawmakers, trade groups at high court

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-WY; former Sen. Pat Toomey, R-PA; the Digital Chamber and the Blockchain Association all argued for a resolution to the digital lender’s long-running master account fight.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 14, 2026

Sezzle pivots to national bank charter

With states imposing tighter rules on buy now, pay later companies, Sezzle CEO Charlie Youakim views a federal charter as “the most robust solution.”

By Justin Bachman • Aug. 13, 2026

eToro aims to boost US profile in $231M TradeZero deal

The Israeli platform wants to harness TradeZero’s “highly engaged” community to forge “a faster path to launching new products” stateside.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 12, 2026

Goldman Sachs to buy ETF provider NEOS for up to $2.25B

Expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, the deal is the bank’s second multibillion-dollar ETF-related acquisition of the past nine months.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 12, 2026

Bunq rejected for OCC bank charter

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency argued the Dutch fintech’s U.S. operations would be inadequately capitalized, its management inexperienced and its road to profit “unrealistic.”

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 10, 2026

FedNow extension wins support

Stripe, Visa, Wise and industry trade groups back the Federal Reserve’s plan to expand its instant payment system for cross-border use.

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 10, 2026