Tagged: united kingdom

July 17, 2026 @ 12:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, the UK government published its strategy for wholesale financial markets and its digital asset strategy. HM Treasury outlined a path to remove barriers and acknowledged the need to update regulations. The goal is to seek greater efficiency, lower costs, improved liquidity/resilience, better support… Read More

July 16, 2026 @ 5:21 pm By James Simcox  |  

The digital euro is a promising step forward for Europe, with the potential to transform how money moves across the continent. So far, much of the debate has centred on payments sovereignty and consumer wallets, and both certainly matter. A trusted form of central bank… Read More

July 16, 2026 @ 5:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) has designated the country as its primary testing ground for an advanced “agentic AI” sandbox environment. This initiative reflects the payments giant’s commitment to responsibly developing next-generation artificial intelligence systems capable of independent decision-making and complex task execution within regulated financial ecosystems.Agentic AI… Read More

July 15, 2026 @ 6:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Kingdom has implemented significant new oversight for Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, marking a major shift in how these popular payment options are managed. As of July 15, 2026, providers of deferred payment credit—commonly referred to as BNPL—must adhere to stricter standards… Read More

July 14, 2026 @ 9:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Stablecoin enablement firm Velocity has raised $38 million in Series A funding, according to a note from the firm. The funding round was led by FirstMark and Dragonfly. Other investors include Activant Capital, Capital One Ventures, QED Investors, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures and Ripple. Based… Read More

July 14, 2026 @ 10:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdcube’s new business of managing secondary transactions, specifically for employee tenders, will soon top £100 million in volume. This is Crowdcube’s third secondary transaction, in collaboration with the London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market under PISCES. Recently, Crowdcube managed Wayve secondary transactions, which totaled approximately $85 million…. Read More

July 14, 2026 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

A new report appears to indicate that crypto firms are not quite ready for the looming regulation they must comply with to provide services to  UK customers. According to Zumo and their UK Regulatory Preparedness Assessment survey, only one in ten platforms believes they are… Read More

July 14, 2026 @ 8:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) is reportedly exploring the sale of a controlling interest in its subsidiary Vocalink, a key player in Britain’s domestic payments ecosystem. This move comes amid growing sensitivities around foreign ownership of critical national infrastructure, particularly an asset deeply embedded in everyday banking operations… Read More

July 13, 2026 @ 11:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to the latest joint report from KPMG and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), the UK jobs market in June 2026 reflected ongoing economic caution amid geopolitical tensions. Compiled by S&P Global from surveys of approximately 400 recruitment agencies, the data highlights a notable… Read More

July 13, 2026 @ 2:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdcube recently served as the exclusive platform for the sell-side of its proprietary secondary platform for the Wayve employee tender. Wayve, an autonomous driving firm, completed a sale of employee-held shares of the private firm totaling $85 million. The transaction was enabled under the new PISCES… Read More

July 13, 2026 @ 8:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Wayve has executed its inaugural trade on the London Stock Exchange’s newly established Private Securities Market (PISCES). The AI firm offers embodied artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicle technology and successfully facilitated liquidity for its employees holding vested shares through a controlled auction process. The transaction,… Read More

July 13, 2026 @ 3:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The British Business Bank has announced a £10 million allocation to SFC Capital through its Regional Angels Program. This latest injection brings the bank’s overall support for the firm to £35 million, underscoring sustained confidence in SFC’s capacity to bridge funding gaps in underserved areas…. Read More

July 12, 2026 @ 6:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Kingdom’s financial authorities are set to implement a landmark supervisory framework starting next week, marking the first direct regulatory scrutiny of major technology and service suppliers that form the backbone of the country’s financial infrastructure. The Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA),… Read More

July 8, 2026 @ 4:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Cambridge Digital Innovation and Regulation Initiative (C:>DIR) will host was is described as the “first of its kind” Agentic Regulator hackathon. While the financial industry is quite keen on Fintech and artificial intelligence (AI) to support its services and drive efficiency, the regulatory side… Read More

July 8, 2026 @ 7:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) announced that it has received authorization from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide investment services. This approval, commonly described in the industry as a MiFID license, marks an important expansion for the cryptocurrency exchange in one of its major international… Read More

July 7, 2026 @ 9:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK digital bank Starling has outlined plans to cut around 130 positions as it undertakes a restructuring of its banking and technology teams. The initiative, described by the company as an efficiency measure, seeks to simplify internal processes, eliminate overlapping responsibilities, and accelerate the rollout… Read More

July 7, 2026 @ 10:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The Global Equity Crowdfunding Alliance (GECA), an advocacy group based in the UK but working with global online capital formation platforms, says it has just launched the GECA AI Governance Task Force. Andy Field, GECA Steering Committee Lead, said there is a need for discussion… Read More

July 7, 2026 @ 6:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Kingdom’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has announced that its mandatory reimbursement rules for authorised push payment (APP) fraud are producing clear overall benefits for consumers and the wider payments sector. Authorized push payment scams occur when individuals are tricked into authorizing transfers directly… Read More

July 6, 2026 @ 1:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a report on artificial intelligence (AI) called the Mills Review, named after Sheldon Mills, the Executive Director of Competition at the FCA who Chaired the initiative. The FCA claims this is the first type of review by… Read More

July 6, 2026 @ 1:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A recent investigation has alleged that Reform UK leader and Clacton MP Nigel Farage received significant practical support from a longtime associate in the cryptocurrency sector without making the required declarations under parliamentary rules. The report, published in early July 2026, centers on benefits provided… Read More