Lloyds taps $160bn fintech giant to boost small business tech June 9, 2026 Lloyds Bank has sealed a partnership with a $160bn (£119bn) fintech giant to ramp up its payments tech for small-business clients. The blue-chip banking giant has agreed a tie-up with Stripe that will see Lloyds leverage the fintech’s payment infrastructure to provide a suite of tools for its small-business customers. The new offering, named Lloyds Accept, [...]
Banks ‘not ready’ for motor finance scheme, says City watchdog June 9, 2026 The City watchdog has warned that motor finance lenders are “not as ready as we would expect” for the introduction of its long-awaited redress scheme. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has written to the Treasury Committee following inquiries around the legal challenges to its car mis-selling scheme. The regulator published [...]
Soaring petrol prices and Devil Wears Prada 2 help consumer spending return to growth June 9, 2026 Soaring fuel prices and box office hits helped consumer spending return to growth in May, according to fresh data from Barclays. Consumer card spending was up 0.8 per cent year-on-year last month, following a 0.1 per cent dip in April. The rise came as essential spending jumped 0.7 per cent, led by a near 12 [...]
Nationwide boss Debbie Crosbie banks £4.7m payday after Virgin Money deal June 8, 2026 The boss of Nationwide has seen her pay almost double since the building society’s blockbuster takeover of Virgin Money. Debbie Crosbie, who has steered the mutual since 2022, bagged a £4.7m pay packet in the last financial year, up from £2.5m the year prior. The mammoth uplift was driven by the cash and bonuses from [...]
Banks call for ‘political mandate’ to bolster European defence June 8, 2026 The banking industry has issued a rallying call for a “political mandate” from the UK and EU in a bid to get regulators to open the taps to a fresh flood of defence financing. A new report from UK Finance – which represents the nation’s financial services giants from Lloyds to Revolut – has called [...]
Natwest to pump £50m into branches after shuttering over a thousand June 5, 2026 Natwest is planning to beef up its branch network after being one of the leading banks to take the axe to its physical presence over the last decade. The blue-chip banking giant will pump £50m into its network over the next 18 months and has pledged not to close any branches until at least 2029. [...]
Bunq: Revolut rival eyeing up UK banking licence bid June 4, 2026 Europe’s second largest digital bank is gearing up for a bid for a UK banking licence, Morning Wire can reveal, as the firm puts its hat in the ring in the fight to claw market share from fintech leader Revolut. Bunq – which reached 20 million users in just a decade – is understood to [...]
This is why the City’s fintech IPO boom hasn’t happened yet June 3, 2026 Hopes remain high for a flurry of fintech listings, in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at whether this could come to fruition and what could be holding it up. City officials have pinned a hefty portion of their hopes for a London Stock Market revival on the nation’s fintech stars. Rachel Reeves [...]
Losses widen at UK fintech Monese in eight month delayed accounts June 2, 2026 UK fintech Monese suffered a major widening of losses as its bottom line was hit by restructuring costs amidst its takeover by pseudo-bank peer Pockit. The London-based firm – which provides mobile-only current accounts, multi-currency wallets, and money transfer services – booked a pre-tax loss of £15.9m in the 2024 financial year. Fresh accounts – [...]
UK has ‘lost control’ of its international narrative, says Barclays June 2, 2026 Barclays has laid bare the investment barriers facing the UK in a new report that states the nation has “lost control of its international narrative” leading to an impact on foreign capital. The banking giant has called for a drastic shake-up of how the UK attracts international capital, following its share narrowing to seven per [...]