‘Inflection point’: Challenger banks loan growth halved in 2025 May 5, 2026 Challenger banks have reached an “inflection point” after loan growth across the industry halved in the last year, a fresh report has warned. New analysis from Big Four firm EY showed lending growth across UK challenger, specialist and digital banks slowed to 4.5 per cent in 2025, down from 8.9 per cent. This came as [...]
Monzo lost one current account switcher for every two gained in 2025 April 30, 2026 UK fintech darling Monzo lost one current account switcher for every two it gained last year. The neobank registered just over 20,000 new switchers in the final quarter, but over half of this was offset by the 11,000 thousand outflows. The picture for the final few months of the year mirrors the picture for the [...]
Banks brace for potential tax raid if Starmer is ousted April 25, 2026 Banks in the UK are bracing for potential tax raises, as expectations that Keir Starmer could soon be replaced by a more leftwing Labour politician continue to grow. The banking sector narrowly evaded a tax increase in last year’s Autumn Budget after chancellor Rachel Reeves sought reassurance that they would boost lending in the UK [...]
JP Morgan poaches Monzo’s banking officer to head up Chase UK April 17, 2026 JP Morgan has poached a top executive from Monzo to head up Chase UK. The Wall Street giant has hired Kunal Malani, who has served as chief banking officer at Monzo since 2020, to lead its UK-based digital banking service. Malani has had stints at Barclays and HSBC in his retail banking career before heading [...]
Exclusive: Treasury and regulator to hold crunch talks with UK fintech unicorns April 16, 2026 Top fintech bosses will lock horns with Treasury and watchdog officials next week as the industry lobbies for key regulatory reforms, City AM can reveal. Several of the nation’s fastest-growing companies are set to meet City Minister Lucy Rigby on Tuesday as part of a flurry of key summits in UK fintech week. The City [...]
UK’s best bank revealed – and it’s not a bank April 9, 2026 The UK banking sector’s top bank has been crowned – and (spoiler) it’s not a bank. A new report from Forbes and market research firm Statista analysed the global banking system for the world’s top names in the sector. Over 54,000 people were surveyed across 34 countries in 17 different languages between October and November [...]
Revolut follows Starling with AI agent as tech arms race heats up April 9, 2026 Revolut has waded into the AI arms race with the debut of its personal finance assistant as fintech firms race to beef up the tech in their all-in-one super apps. The $75bn digital banking giant has launched AI by Revolut – a financial assistant embedded into its app. The chatbot provides spending insights, investment updates [...]
Barclays’ high street U-turn exposes a divide in British banking April 8, 2026 Bank have ditched the high street over the last decade but is a comeback on the horizon? Samuel Norman explores the changes in this week’s column. In Westminster, the news cycle is never short of drama over U-turns. Subtle tweaks or direct bait-and-switches on policy are batted away by government spokespeople as mere “pivots” as [...]
Monzo ditches US operations after boardroom reshuffle April 1, 2026 UK fintech Monzo has abandoned its ambitions to expand into the US after ailing efforts to crack the market. The digital bank is set to close its accounts for existing customers by June, whilst new customers will stop being on-boarded. The move to shutter US operations will lead to the axing of around 50 employees. [...]
Revolut and Nationwide sharpen swords in battle to bank Britain March 25, 2026 The claws are out in the battle to bank Britain and in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at the latest shots fired from Revolut and Nationwide. If you had ‘Graham Norton sitting on a horse’ on your banking bingo card, congratulations. The BBC chat show host has swapped his famous sofa with [...]