AI-assisted shopping starts to go mainstream November 5, 2025 The promised AI revolution in shopping is starting to materialise, with shoppers increasingly trusting agents for personal recommendations ahead of the festive season. Traffic to retail sites from AI tools is expected to surge fivefold year-over-year, with particular boosts on Cyber Monday and Black Friday, according to Adobe. “Traditional models of how consumers react with [...]
Monzo names new chief as London becomes top IPO choice October 30, 2025 Digital banking giant Monzo has tapped an Astrazeneca board member as its new chief executive as the firm lays the ground for a blockbuster public listing. The London-based fintech is set to replace TS Anil, who has led the bank for the last five years, with Diana Layfield. Anil will step down as part of [...]
PayPal teams up with OpenAI to enable payments in ChatGPT October 29, 2025 PayPal has announced a deal with Sam Altman’s OpenAI to embed its digital wallet directly into ChatGPT, allowing its users to shop and pay for products through the AI platform starting in 2026. Under the agreement, PayPal’s global network will be linked to OpenAI, enabling millions of items to be purchased instantly within ChatGPT. This [...]
Britain is at risk of losing young founders to global rivals October 29, 2025 The UK is at risk of an exodus of entrepreneurial talent as young founders find themselves being lured away by global competitors. According to a new report from the Young Entrepreneurs Forum, Britain is losing its edge as a lucrative destination for young people to launch their startups, due to policymakers failing to address challenges [...]
Barclays snaps up US personal loans fintech for $800m October 28, 2025 Barclays is set to take control of a US personal loans fintech in a deal that the lending giant hopes will beef up its loans package for its investment bank clients. The FTSE 100 bank said it would use consumer loan platform Best Egg as an “origination engine” after snapping the firm up for $800m [...]
Rachel Reeves launches ‘Scale-up Unit’ in bid to woo fintechs October 24, 2025 Rachel Reeves will today launch the Treasury’s latest initiative to woo the UK fintech sector with the introduction of a “Scale-Up Unit”. In a visit to Leeds, the Chancellor will pledge to “super charge” UK innovation with the new body, which will be jointly led by the financing and banking watchdogs. The service will first [...]
Waymo founder: ‘I never envisioned a London rollout’ October 22, 2025 As Waymo prepares for its UK launch, founder Sebastian Thrun admitted he “never envisioned” London being home to autonomous cars. The driverless taxis have taken the US by storm, and the company will soon enter Europe, hitting the streets of the capital before the end of the year. The company, owned by Google parent Alphabet, [...]
PayPal-backed UK fintech kicks off legal battle over unpaid fees October 22, 2025 A PayPal-backed UK fintech which provides services to the HMRC is locked in a legal battle with a former client over an accusation of unpaid pre-determined charges. Embedded payments firm Modulr has filed a winding up petition against Paymob Technology, which trades under the moniker Dapio. A Judge will hear the case on Wednesday October [...]
Lord Mayor: Armed Forces should mine London’s fintechs for reserves October 20, 2025 A strong defence and a thriving economy are two sides of the same coin. The Armed Forces should utilise the City's talent.
Fintech industry takes aim at ‘logic-defying’ banking watchdog October 20, 2025 The industry body for UK fintech will today take aim at the banking watchdog in a scathing report that will blast “logic-defying” regulation. A fresh report from Innovate Finance, seen by City AM, will accuse the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) of “excessive” requirements that create an “uneven playing field for UK challenger banks, placing heavy [...]