Nationwide hit with fine after failing to flag Covid furlough fraud December 12, 2025 Nationwide had been slapped with a £44m fine by the City watchdog for failures in its financial crime controls. The building society giant has been blasted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for missing opportunities to identify fraudulent Covid furlough payments. The FCA said one customer received 24 payments, totalling north of £27m, over 13 [...]
FCA launches ‘safe space’ for AI as City firms rush to deploy new tech December 3, 2025 The City’s top regulator has opened the doors to its first-ever ‘AI live testing‘ scheme, giving major financial firms a controlled environment to trial AI without fear of tripping regulatory wires. NatWest, Monzo, Santander, Scottish Widows, Gain Credit, Homeprotect and fintech Snorkl are among those in the inaugural cohort. The FCA says the scheme is [...]
Revolut and LSEG join growing list of OpenAI customers December 3, 2025 Fintech juggernaut Revolut has joined a host of banking giants in leveraging OpenAI tech to beef up their financial crime protections. The digital bank is one of the latest to partner with the ChatGPT maker as it seeks to enhance its fincrime agent and customer services. The $75bn fintech is also using OpenAI’s large language [...]
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 [...]
Nik Storonsky-backed Robin AI seeks rescue buyer after fundraise falls short October 28, 2025 An AI business backed by the likes of Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky is seeking a rescue buyer after its fundraising ambitions fell short, City AM can reveal. London-based legal firm Robin AI has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace – meaning its future could be in doubt if a buyer is not [...]
UK outperforms US in creating unicorns from early stage VC investment October 9, 2025 The UK has created nearly three times as many unicorns than the US per dollar in early stage venture capital (VC) investment in the past decade, highlighting its attractiveness as an investment destination. According to analysis from venture-building firm IMS Digital Ventures, the UK has converted $18.5bn (£13.8bn) of early stage investment into 57 successful [...]
Revolut, Barclays and Monzo top fraud complaints ranking October 1, 2025 Challenger banks Revolut and Monzo have topped the rankings for fraud and scam complaints filed to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as Brits flock towards digital offerings. Fintech juggernaut Revolut received the most amount of APP fraud complaints referred to the FOS at 1,875. Monzo scored third at 1,063. It comes as the pair continue [...]
Merge London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to save City market, says fintech boss September 26, 2025 The boss of a UK-born fintech unicorn has called for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to merge with New York’s Nasdaq in a bid to save the City market’s future prospects. “It’s completely broken,” Barney Hussey-Yeo, founder of AI fintech Cleo, told City AM when asked about the recent string of delistings. Hussey-Yeo, a data [...]
UK fintechs send rallying cry as industry slips in global ranking September 25, 2025 UK fintech leaders have sent a rallying call to policymakers after the sector slipped in global rankings. A host of industry bigwigs have told City AM the government must be bolder in growth-orientated reforms to bolster the sector’s standing against rivals. It comes after Z/Yen’s 38th Global Financial Centres Index showed the UK’s fintech sector [...]
Stalling Starling revs up Engine in rebrand September 24, 2025 Veteran of the UK fintech industry Starling has overhauled its brand with a fresh colour palette, a new slogan and even a new name. The digital lender announced last week it would drop the word “Bank” from its banking arm’s name in a move analysts have described as a “significant” step in its evolution. The [...]