Crypto.com gets OCC’s conditional nod for charter

The green light, which came roughly four months after Crypto.com applied, follows conditional approval for trust charters at Circle, Ripple, Paxos and, most recently, Bridge.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Feb. 24, 2026

Why banks are struggling to deliver ROI on AI investments

95% of organizations see zero return on AI investments. Learn how banks are responding.

Feb. 23, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial intelligence

Banks’ focus on AI has shifted from a “cool-toys” mentality to one that sees the technology as a foundational pillar underlying finance and society itself.

By Banking Dive staff

Klarna pursues more banking customers

The company is targeting more long-term loan and debit card customers as an avenue for growth as sees its second consecutive quarterly loss.

By Patrick Cooley • Feb. 20, 2026

Remitly hires Santander alum as its next CEO

Sebastian Gunningham served as vice chair of Santander’s Openbank platform. He replaces Remitly co-founder Matt Oppenheimer, who will move into a board chair role.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 19, 2026

Singapore super-app Grab to acquire US fintech Stash

The deal is set to close in the third quarter, when Grab will pay $425 million to acquire a majority interest in the fintech, then buy the rest at market value over the next three years.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 18, 2026

Gemini loses 3 C-suite executives

The crypto exchange's CFO, chief operating officer and legal chief are leaving the company five months after its IPO. Gemini this month announced layoffs and a strategic pivot.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • Feb. 18, 2026

How stablecoins are finding a foothold

The digital currency’s earliest use cases are focused mostly on cross-border payments and peer-to-peer remittances.

By Justin Bachman • Feb. 18, 2026

OCC conditionally approves Stripe subsidiary Bridge for trust charter

The nod comes roughly two months after digital-asset firms Circle, Ripple and Paxos received a similar green light.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 18, 2026

Capital One’s commercial bank zeroes in on middle market

The lender aims to give that “underserved” segment a steady focus amid big banks’ inconsistency, an executive said. But CapOne faces competition from regional banks stepping up to serve the middle market, too.

By Caitlin Mullen • Feb. 17, 2026

New Robinhood CFO takes seat amid ‘crypto winter’

The trading platform’s newly appointed CFO Shiv Verma assured shareholders the company is “long-term bullish” on crypto, while stressing ongoing product diversification.

By Grace Noto • Feb. 17, 2026

The new forces shaping for financial trust

How financial services CIOs should harness powerful forces to protect trust and enable growth.

Feb. 17, 2026

Upstart makes CEO switch

Paul Gu, the chief technology officer who co-founded the AI lender in 2012, will succeed Dave Girouard as CEO on May 1. Girouard will remain executive chair.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Feb. 12, 2026

BlockFills temporarily suspends withdrawals, deposits

The institution-focused crypto lender has also restricted trading but has not given a timeline for when normal activity will resume. Nor has it given a reason for the precaution beyond market volatility.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 11, 2026

MrBeast acquires youth-focused fintech Step

“Nobody taught me about investing, building credit or managing money when I was growing up,” the YouTube star said on X. “I want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.”

By Daniel Muñoz • Feb. 11, 2026

Erebor Bank receives national bank charter

The bank, founded by tech billionaire Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel, is the first recipient of a national bank charter under the current presidential administration.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Feb. 9, 2026

Gemini to cut 200 jobs, close in UK and Europe

The crypto firm’s founders, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, said those “foreign markets have proven hard to win in” but expressed confidence in a pivot to prediction markets.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 9, 2026

Fed ‘skinny’ account idea draws criticism

A prototype payment account carries undue restrictions, fintech groups said in response to a Fed proposal that offers expanded real-time payments access.

By Justin Bachman • Feb. 9, 2026

Payoneer CFO eyes stablecoin, AI innovation amid ‘stop-start’ economy

Bea Ordonez said the New York City-based payments company is focusing on expanding its core ecosystem, strengthening partnerships, and building out strategies for stablecoin and AI.

By Grace Noto • Feb. 4, 2026

Varo raises $123.9M, adds 2 board members

Morgan Stanley’s former marketing chief and an 18-year veteran of JPMorgan Chase have joined the digital bank’s board, which also counts Coliseum Capital Management among its new investors.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 3, 2026

Why some payments companies want to be banks

Banking charters let those companies streamline their services and save money by not partnering with banks.

By Patrick Cooley • Feb. 3, 2026

Nubank gets conditional OCC approval for charter

The Brazilian digital challenger “will focus on fully capitalizing the institution within 12 months and opening the bank within 18 months” as it awaits green lights from the Fed and FDIC.

By Caitlin Mullen • Jan. 30, 2026

Nomura spinoff Laser Digital applies for OCC charter

The digital-asset firm is vying for a national trust banking charter, the same license for which Circle, Ripple and Paxos were conditionally approved.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 28, 2026

Brex CFO Erica Dorfman’s take on the Capital One deal

In a rare look inside a major fintech transaction, Dorfman describes the speed, scale and boardroom logic that led Brex to Capital One.

By Adam Zaki • Jan. 27, 2026

Why voice-based scams are a growing threat to banks

Voice scams can cost banks and customers millions in seconds -- why phone lines remain one of finance's biggest blind spots.

By Mike Pappas, CEO & Co-founder, Modulate • Jan. 26, 2026

Capital One nabs Brex for $5.15B

The deal, expected to close in mid-2026, lets the bank absorb a fintech player that specializes in corporate cards, payments and expense-management tools.

By Justin Bachman • Jan. 23, 2026