Financial Conduct Authority stories
Most firms have expanded customer-facing AI even as a survey found 77% fear their strategies could harm vulnerable customers.
Trust is now a commercial issue for insurers, as Consumer Duty and wary customers push them towards transparent AI and fairer claims handling.
Recurring bank payments could soon replace some cards and direct debits as UK Payments Initiative rolls out a new open banking scheme.
Recurring payments can now be authorised directly from UK bank accounts, with live use already underway for investing and rent.
Businesses using the platform should see simpler access to accounts, cards and foreign exchange as the group unites under one brand.
European merchants will gain a bank-based alternative to card lending as TrueLayer folds Dutch fintech In3 into its checkout network.
London will remain the main hiring hub, with fintech vacancies forecast to rise 14% in 2026 as firms prioritise compliance and infrastructure.
Visitors with disabilities or language barriers can now use text-to-speech and translation tools on Ecommpay's site after its latest accessibility upgrade.
Firms seeking certainty on digital asset rules have been invited to shape how UK wholesale markets adopt tokenised securities, collateral and settlement.
Businesses face tighter reporting and new rules as ministers move to overhaul cyber security, AI oversight and digital identity regulation.
Confidence in agentic AI is rising among UK advisers, but regulation and oversight will decide whether it reaches day-to-day platform use.
A simpler route into the stock market may appeal to UK savers, as most hold cash while fewer than one in six own shares or funds.
A survey shows only 13% of FCA-regulated payments firms are doing daily reconciliations, leaving many exposed to the new safeguarding regime.
Rising missed card payments are straining UK collections teams, as FICO says AI could help lenders manage cases more efficiently and fairly.
Wealth managers face tighter regulatory scrutiny as the platform promises to replace spreadsheet checks with real-time review of all client messages.
Disconnected payments and data systems are slowing claims settlement and trapping capital across insurance finance operations, the paper says.
Firms using Iress software will gain linked surveillance tools as regulators tighten scrutiny of trading transparency, abuse controls and best execution.
Holidaymakers in the UK and Canada can now split cruise fares into instalments, as the buy-now-pay-later model spreads further into travel.
Sustained assaults are disrupting online banking and payments as EMEA becomes the main target for DDoS campaigns against lenders.
Brokers and custodians face pressure to overhaul manual workflows as DTCC’s July 2026 rollout could make tokenised settlement the new market standard.