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. [...]
Monzo and Revolut take banking battle to the playground April 1, 2026 Banks are turning their attention to the younger generation and in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at the money to be made with Gen Alpha. The Tooth Fairy is losing her magic touch. After centuries of cultural dominance in the under-the-pillow money market, the primary dealer of calcium-for-cash faces a hostile takeover. [...]
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 [...]
Revolut profit booms after poaching record customers from high street banks March 24, 2026 Revolut revealed a major boom in its bottom line on Tuesday morning after the fintech giant poached a record amount of customers from its high street rivals. The $75bn digital banking titan posted a 57 per cent surge in group-wide profit to £1.7bn. It came as retail customers expanded by a record 16m as the [...]
Revolut poised to hit Natwest and Lloyds in deposit war March 20, 2026 Revolut’s long-awaited UK banking licence approval is set to trigger a “deposit war” that could hand a major blow to incumbent giants Natwest and Lloyds. The $75bn fintech juggernaut finally bagged its full-fat UK banking permit earlier this month after a four-year tussle with regulators. Analysts are expecting the move to send ripples across the [...]
Banks keep £100 contactless limit despite new powers March 19, 2026 Britain’s banks will not be lifting the £100 cap on contactless payments despite the regulator giving them the power to do so, citing low demand. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lifted the cap on Thursday, leaving it up to banks to increase their own limits – although none of the UK’s biggest banks have decided [...]
Cash incentives keep Brits sticking with the high-street March 18, 2026 Digital banks are luring a number of Brits away from traditional providers, but cash incentives are leading many to stick with high-street banks. Almost 50 per cent of UK adults have now opened a digital only bank account, a near 10 per cent increase from last year, according to the latest report from comparison site [...]
European fintechs ride the Trump train to Wall Street March 11, 2026 The new set of aspiring American dreamers are landing on the shores of the Atlantic. But these digital-first visionaries printed in venture capital green aren’t looking for a white picket fence. Instead, their sights are locked on a federal banking charter. Last week Europe’s most valuable fintech company Revolut became the latest in a boat-load [...]
Monzo slammed for ‘shaming’ end of year reviews March 7, 2026 Digital bank Monzo has been accused of overstepping the mark by using data it holds on customers to call out their spending habits and lifestlye choices. The bank used data to tell one customer with a past eating disorder that she eats a lot of fast food, spends “more than most” on Just Eat takeaways, [...]