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

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from Banking Dive

Challenges in banking are as varied as lenders. One Alaska credit union is solving how to serve a vast rural base, while a Chicago bank anticipates the regulatory uptick that accompanies growth.

By Banking Dive staff

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

Solo develops reusable customer-vetting tool for banks, fintechs

The company demonstrated a data sharing model, in coordination with regulators, that could eliminate duplication in the know-your-customer process.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 7, 2026

Chime’s CFO is stepping down

The fintech’s president, Mark Troughton, will serve as interim finance chief while the company conducts an executive search. Chime also reported a 27% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 6, 2026

Augustus gets FDIC nod to launch bank

Among stipulations of the approval, the clearing bank must launch with $73,660,000 or more in capital funds and maintain a 10% or greater leverage ratio throughout its first three years.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 5, 2026

Stablecoin firm Dakota applies for OCC trust banking charter

“For you, that means fewer layers between your product and the financial services underneath it,” Dakota CEO Ryan Bozarth said in a blog post.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 5, 2026

Visa, Mastercard join another stablecoin group

The card networks are keeping their options open with respect to stablecoin communities, locking arms with Circle on its latest effort.

By Lynne Marek • Aug. 5, 2026

Chime to cut 10% of workforce

CEO Chris Britt cited AI innovations but also a switch to smaller teams, faster movement, higher productivity and in-office work.

By Dan Ennis • July 31, 2026

Founder of fintech Increase buys a bank in Washington state

Increase founder Darragh Buckley said the move was a long time coming, as he started the company six years ago with the goal of marrying a bank and technology company.

By Caitlin Mullen • July 30, 2026

Fifth Third lures commercial fintech head from HSBC

Dan Allred previously spent 20-plus years climbing the ranks at Silicon Valley Bank, becoming a senior market manager on its national fintech team.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • July 29, 2026

Rent fintech Flex applies for ILC charter

Jeff Berkson, who until May served as chief risk officer at WebBank, will be the bank’s proposed CEO. The lender will be based in the Salt Lake City area and operate nationally through digital channels.

By Dan Ennis • July 28, 2026

OCC rejects Wise’s trust charter application over ‘deficiencies’

The British fintech said it plans to submit a new application for a U.S. trust charter under a Genius Act framework.

By Caitlin Mullen • July 24, 2026

Nium targets stablecoins, growth

The cross-border payments company bought Cypher this month to roll forward its stablecoin strategy, says CEO Prajit Nanu.

By Lynne Marek • July 23, 2026