Why PNC joined FedNow

The bank finally joined the Federal Reserve’s instant payments system this year after a significant Treasury Department announcement.

By Lynne Marek • Dec. 18, 2025

Tech-focused Erebor gets FDIC nod for deposit insurance

The proposed bank, backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, received conditional approval from the OCC in October.

By Dan Ennis • Dec. 17, 2025

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial intelligence

The heavily regulated banking sector rarely gets to trailblaze. But with AI, an all-in mentality is fueling both research and adoption.

By Banking Dive staff

Neobank N26 hires UBS exec as next CEO

Mike Dargan, who starts in April, had served as the Swiss bank’s chief operations and technology officer. His hire ends a shuffle that began when N26 co-CEO Valentin Stalf said he would step down.

By Dan Ennis • Dec. 16, 2025

OCC green-lights Circle, Ripple, Paxos for national trust bank charters

Five firms in all received conditional approval from the regulator, though Coinbase and Stripe’s Bridge were not among them.

By Dan Ennis • Dec. 12, 2025

Fintech Enova to buy Grasshopper Bank for $369M

The deal, projected to close in the second half of 2026, would give Enova access to a national bank charter, which it’s been seeking since at least 2020.

By Caitlin Mullen • Dec. 12, 2025

Fifth Third, Brex ink corporate card partnership

Fifth Third’s corporate card program, previously operated in-house, will soon be powered entirely by fintech Brex.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Dec. 10, 2025

3 ex-Signature execs start blockchain bank

N3XT, which opened Thursday, marks Signature founder Scott Shay’s fourth foray into launching a bank.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Dec. 4, 2025

Chime won’t rule out bank charter pursuit, COO says

The fintech, which went public in June, periodically evaluates whether obtaining a bank charter makes more sense than relying on bank partners to offer its services to consumers, COO Mark Troughton said.

By Caitlin Mullen • Dec. 4, 2025

Airwallex raises $330M in new funding

The payment player’s latest capital injection will help fund further U.S. expansion and a second headquarters in San Francisco.

By Justin Bachman • Dec. 4, 2025

Binance names co-founder as co-CEO

Yi He co-founded the firm with Changpeng Zhao, her life partner and Binance’s former CEO, in 2017.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Dec. 3, 2025

Digital wallet use outpaces regulators

Consumers are increasingly turning to these mobile tools for convenience and new features. But are regulators keeping pace?

By Justin Bachman , Shaun Lucas , Julia Himmel • Dec. 3, 2025

Biden admin made ‘coordinated attack’ on crypto: House Republicans

Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss were all, at different points, debanked, a House committee investigation found.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Dec. 2, 2025

Green Dot inks deals splitting bank, fintech business

The company, which had been exploring “strategic alternatives” since March, will sell its fintech business to a private equity firm and its bank to a $840 million-asset lender.

By Caitlin Mullen • Nov. 26, 2025

Revolut valued at $75B

The new valuation comes after the U.K. fintech’s fifth share sale, and just 15 months after Revolut was valued at $45 billion.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Nov. 26, 2025

How the open banking rule skidded

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces a budget crunch or closure in early 2026, clouding the fate of its open banking rule revision.

By Justin Bachman • Nov. 24, 2025

Stripe faces bank charter pushback

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency charter would let Stripe sidestep regulations, and offer the fintech legitimacy it does not deserve, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition said.

By Patrick Cooley • Nov. 24, 2025

Lloyds to buy UK fintech Curve

The deal, rumored to be for £120 million, drew protests from investor IDC Ventures, which said the sale defies shareholder interests. Curve’s CEO once projected a $50 billion valuation by 2029.

By Dan Ennis • Nov. 20, 2025

Senators back open banking rule

Democrats urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to pursue an open banking rule that lets consumers freely shift personal financial data.

By Lynne Marek • Nov. 20, 2025

NY AG’s office scrutinizes SoLo Funds

The fintech was served a subpoena this year by the state attorney general’s office related to usury concerns, the firm’s head of government affairs and strategic partnerships said Nov. 17.

By Caitlin Mullen • Nov. 20, 2025

LevelField gets state approval to buy Chicago bank

The development caps a nearly three-year journey for the digital asset firm. The proposed purchase still requires the Federal Reserve’s sign-off.

By Dan Ennis • Nov. 19, 2025

Michigan State credit union group acquires fintech Tandem

The acquisition of the couples-focused finance app is part of the $8.26 billion-asset credit union’s plan to create “an end-to-end family banking ecosystem.”

By Caitlin Mullen • Nov. 14, 2025

JPMorgan exec warns of stablecoin saturation

A deluge of digital coins threatens to make the cryptocurrency a loyalty program like airline frequent flier miles, the bank’s global co-head of payments said Wednesday.

By Justin Bachman • Nov. 13, 2025

Telcoin Digital Asset Bank nabs final charter approval

Last month, Telcoin said it had raised $25 million to capitalize the bank. It first applied for a charter with the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance in October 2023.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Nov. 12, 2025

Dive Deposits: Was Waller’s ‘skinny’ account clarification a walk-back?

The Federal Reserve governor set out to clarify that only institutions with a banking charter would be eligible for a tailored master account. Does that jibe with the central bank’s “embrace” of disruption?

By Dan Ennis • Nov. 10, 2025

Coinbase fined $24.8M by Irish central bank

The crypto firm found three coding errors in its transaction monitoring system, but that meant the company insufficiently monitored 30 million transfers for AML, fraud and child sex exploitation, the central bank said.

By Dan Ennis • Nov. 10, 2025