M&A in 2026 may put more distance between big, small banks

Expect the acceleration in bank M&A to pick up further, especially in advance of this year’s midterm elections.

By Caitlin Mullen • Jan. 15, 2026

Coastal Financial buys ‘climate-friendly’ fintech GreenFi

The Everett, Washington-based bank will take on responsibility for “governance, oversight and long-term brand stewardship,” arguably deepening a partnership in its BaaS stable.

By Daniel Muñoz • Jan. 14, 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

Checkout.com grabs Georgia banking charter

The payments processor received conditional approval for the state's merchant acquirer limited purpose bank charter.

By Patrick Cooley • Jan. 12, 2026

Digital adoption is accelerating across credit unions — but are the systems underneath ready?

Tech adoption is rising fast at small CUs, but infrastructure issues could stall progress.

By Erin Raese • Jan. 12, 2026

Plaid hires ex-FDIC chief Jelena McWilliams

The fintech’s CEO praised the incoming president of corporate and external affairs as a “consistent voice for transparency, consumer protection, and innovation” in a blog post Thursday.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 9, 2026

Marqeta names Stripe, JPMorgan alum as CFO

The Stripe veteran is joining the card issuer as it continues to focus on profitability following a 27% jump in gross profit for its most recent quarter.

By Grace Noto • Jan. 8, 2026

Brazil’s PicPay files for US IPO

The São Paulo-based fintech previously sought a U.S. listing in 2021 but withdrew a year later. Fellow Brazilian challenger Nubank applied for a U.S. banking license in September.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 7, 2026

Bunq re-applies for OCC license

The Dutch neobank sought a U.S. license in 2023 but withdrew after a 301-day wait. It obtained a broker-dealer license in October from FINRA.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 7, 2026

Baltimore sues fintech Dave over cash advance product

“Misleading” marketing and high interest charges were “intentionally designed to trap individuals in cycles of debt,” the city asserted. Baltimore sued another fintech, MoneyLion, in October.

By Daniel Muñoz • Jan. 7, 2026

4 banking trends to watch in 2026

This year is poised to show how far the groundwork laid in 2025 can carry the banking space – with regard to regulation, mergers and acquisitions, artificial intelligence and more.

By Caitlin Mullen , Gabrielle Saulsbery , Dan Ennis • Jan. 7, 2026

Klarna faces investor lawsuit

The buy now, pay later company understated the risks of its consumer loans, the legal action alleges.

By Patrick Cooley • Jan. 5, 2026

4 strategies to retain deposits, attract new account holders and drive growth

Four digital investing strategies banks can use to retain deposits and capture $2T growth.

Jan. 5, 2026

CFPB shifts on EWA policy, again

Certain employer-partnered earned wage access products aren’t subject to U.S. lending laws, the bureau said, formally discarding a 2024 Biden-era rule.

By Justin Bachman • Dec. 23, 2025

Fed seeks comments on ‘skinny’ account

The Federal Reserve Board voted 6-1 on Friday to gather public comment on creating a new special payments account for use by financial institutions.

By Lynne Marek • Dec. 22, 2025

Fintech Mercury applies for OCC bank charter

The company also appointed an alum of SoFi, Green Dot and Goldman Sachs to serve as CEO of the proposed bank. The move comes after the OCC approved five crypto firms for a different type of charter.

By Dan Ennis • Dec. 19, 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

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. 17, 2025

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

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. 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

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