Rachel Reeves’ legacy of tinkering with the City is not enough, says Mel Stride July 9, 2026 Sir Mel Stride has branded Rachel Reeves’ legacy in government as mere “tinkering” with City reform as the top Tory predicted her successor will create a “hostile” environment for the banking sector. In an interview with City AM, the shadow Chancellor branded Reeves’ two-years in the Treasury as “managerial incrementalism,” adding it was “not enough”. [...]
How the boss of Zilch became UK fintech’s power broker July 8, 2026 Last year, Zilch founder Philip Belamant sat down with then-boss of Monzo, TS Anil. As the two friends caught up, Belamant was fizzing with ideas to turn his $2bn British fintech into a global powerhouse, according to sources familiar with the matter. Not long ago, Zilch had set up shop across the pond, and Belamant [...]
Canary Wharf’s reinvention is a triumph July 1, 2026 Seven years ago, almost to the day, I found myself leaning backwards over the ledge at the very top of the Barclays tower in Canary Wharf. I exchanged a glance with the then Lord Mayor, Peter Estlin (a former Barclays exec, incidentally) to my left before pushing off like a commando and conducting a flawless, [...]
UK banks’ digital ID bid is a game of optics – and the odds are not in their favour July 1, 2026 A digital ID row has dominated headlines in the last year, and banks are set to join the row. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman takes a look at what they might be in for. Britain’s banks have voluntarily thrown themselves into one of the most toxic culture wars of the decade. Few subjects evoke [...]
Revolut pays compensation for waking customer up with push notifications June 17, 2026 The Treasury might be hoping to ease the Financial Ombudsman Service’s workload but there has been no slowdown in perplexing cases. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman tells the tale of Revolut and a sleep-starved customer. Is there an inappropriate time for a push notification? There is, according to one bank customer. Revolut found itself [...]
Banks woo the wealthy to ace stable income streams June 17, 2026 As the great and the good prepare to gather at Wimbledon, banks are serving up glamorous treatment to woo the wealthy. In this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at the players looking to call game, set, match. If you want the Centre Court treatment from your bank, you’re going to need to arrive with a [...]
Fuse boss attacks planning rules as a ‘self-imposed bottleneck for growth’ June 16, 2026 Alan Chang believes Britain’s energy crisis is largely self-inflicted. The founder of Fuse Energy, the $5bn (£3.72bn) energy supplier and infrastructure developer, argues that the UK already has the ingredients needed to drive investment in the sector. What it lacks, he says, is a planning system capable of turning that potential into projects. “There is [...]
Revolut price tag ‘just a stepping stone’ to a trillion, says Fuse boss June 12, 2026 Revolut will become a trillion dollar company, one of its most high profile alumni has claimed, with any valuation on the road to that a mere “stepping stone”. The London-born fintech giant – which currently boasts a valuation of $75bn – is tipped to launch another secondary share sale in the second half of this [...]
For all their charm, digital banks still leave me tearing my hair out June 10, 2026 I admire London’s digital banks. But three events in the past month have made me realise I’m not parting ways with my high street bank any time soon. The first was dodgy transactions that started showing up on my Revolut account. I was being charged for random TfL tube journeys. I had a feeling this [...]
Revolut faced orders to fix ‘deficiencies’ in product launches in Europe June 10, 2026 Revolut faced a regulatory slap-down from the European Central Bank last year as restrictions were placed on its operations in the continent. Europe’s most valuable fintech company had its permission to release new products across the 27 countries covered in the European Economic Area temporarily suspended last summer. The bank was instructed to rectify “deficiencies” [...]