Good regulation can support growth without increasing risk February 17, 2026 The debate about regulation and growth has become stuck in an Animal Farm world of less regulation good; more regulation bad, or vice versa, depending on political persuasion. The more serious question is about quality, says Omar Salem Dame Meg Hillier MP, chair of the influential Treasury Select Committee, has called for the government to [...]
KPMG partner fined for using AI to cheat on internal training February 16, 2026 A partner at the Big Four firm KPMG has been fined $10,000 (£7,200) for using AI to cheat in an internal training course meant to test knowledge of the technology. KPMG Australia has forced an unnamed audit partner to redo a test after they uploaded training materials to an AI platform to help answer AI-related [...]
Clearpay CEO: I welcome buy now pay later regulations February 13, 2026 New FCA rules for buy now, pay later will strengthen, and legitimise, our industry, writes Clearpay CEO Rich Bayer.
Buy now, pay later providers set for £3bn hit in ‘regulatory reset’ February 11, 2026 Providers of buy now, pay later services are set to feel the crunch as the UK’s financial watchdog tightens its regulatory focus on the fast-growing industry. Merchants and lenders are set to take a combined hit of as much as £3bn following the regulation overhaul by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), according to its own [...]
UK fintech investment hits lowest since pandemic despite Revolut boost February 11, 2026 Investment into the UK’s fintech sector tumbled to a five-year low in 2025 even after a major boost from industry juggernaut Revolut. UK fintech received just shy of $11bn (£8bn) in investment in 2025, falling a fifth from the $13.4bn notched the year prior, according to new figures from KPMG. A hefty chunk of the [...]
Payments watchdog won’t be abolished ‘any earlier than 2027’ February 4, 2026 The boss of the payments watchdog has said he doesn’t expect the regulator to be officially abolished any earlier than the first quarter of 2027 as criticism grows over the slow progress of reforms in the sector. David Geale, managing director at the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), said he had “not seen the outcome” of [...]
Exclusive: Starling’s top investor withdraws support for London IPO February 4, 2026 Starling’s elusive billionaire backer has gone cold on his ambition for the digital bank to list in London, City AM can reveal, in a move that will heighten fears of the fintech heading to New York for its highly-anticipated IPO. Harald McPike had lobbied for the group to launch its initial public offering in London [...]
Bank of England names first fintech cohort for scale-up regulator February 3, 2026 The Bank of England has named the first handful of UK fintech talent which will be overseen by the new regulatory ‘Scale-Up’ unit. Small business lenders OakNorth and Allica Bank – which was named the fastest-growing fintech ever by Deloitte – were listed as two of the firms that had been accepted into the first [...]
UK payments stuck with ‘bolted on’ European regulation, says PSR boss February 2, 2026 The boss of the UK’s payments regulator has said the body’s consolidation with the City watchdog will allow it to ditch overhanging red tape from Europe. David Geale, who heads up the Payments System Regulator (PSR) and leads on payments at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said: “There are bits of payments regulation that have [...]
Billion-dollar regulatory fines fail to dent Big Tech January 29, 2026 For the world’s biggest tech firms, regulatory penalties are no longer a consequential financial event. Alphabet, Apple, Meta and Amazon were fined a combined $7.8bn (£6.2bn) in 2025 for breaches of competition and privacy rules, according to a new Proton report. And while that sounds like a hefty number, in practice, it would have taken [...]