This week marks a new era for buy now, pay later (BNPL) products in the U.K. Beginning Wednesday (July 15), these interest-free installment products will be governed by the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the first time, putting a payment option used by roughly 11 million British consumers...
British regulators are calling for tougher AI rules amid the rise of agentic banking services. “AI will reshape consumer financial journeys, with people increasingly delegating to AI applications that act on their behalf,” Sheldon Mills, an executive director for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), wrote in a report published Monday...
The U.K. has introduced new digital asset regulations as part of its ongoing quest to become a cryptocurrency hub. The country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued new rules Tuesday (June 30) for crypto companies, mandating they meet capital and stress testing requirements as well as market integrity rules governing...
Starting next month, new pay later protections go into effect for British consumers. However, companies shouldn’t focus solely on the onset of those regulations, Alison Walters, director of consumer finance for the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said in a speech Thursday (June 25) at...
May 26, 2026
There is a version of the data-sharing debate that sounds reasonable on paper. Dominant firms agree to participate in industry-led data pools. Smaller competitors gain access to the insights they need. Markets open up. Innovation spreads. Everyone benefits. Jens Prüfer and Paul de Bijl, economists at Tilburg University and the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and […]
December 10, 2024
A wave of funding rounds over the past several months is giving challenger banks fresh financial firepower to position themselves as alternatives to traditional banks, mainstays of financial services that...
June 05, 2024
The respective online “walls of shame” that U.S. and U.K. regulators have proposed to erect — spotlighting companies under various investigations — may have a chilling effect on competition and...
February 15, 2023
The U.K. has launched a long-awaited consultation aimed at regulating the BNPL sector. The eight-week consultation, which started Tuesday (Feb. 14) and was announced by the HM Treasury, comes two...
September 30, 2026
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority has begun accepting applications from crypto firms that want to be brought into full FCA regulation when the country’s new crypto framework comes into effect next year, the regulator said in a Wednesday (Sept. 30) press release. Cryptocurrency firms that intend to continue operating in the U.K. should apply […]
July 13, 2026
This week marks a new era for buy now, pay later (BNPL) products in the U.K. Beginning Wednesday (July 15), these interest-free installment products will be governed by the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)...
July 06, 2026
British regulators are calling for tougher AI rules amid the rise of agentic banking services. “AI will reshape consumer financial journeys, with people increasingly delegating to AI applications that act...
June 30, 2026
The U.K. has introduced new digital asset regulations as part of its ongoing quest to become a cryptocurrency hub. The country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued new rules Tuesday (June 30) for crypto companies,...