#firstrand

#firstrand

It's obviously welcome to see savings rates go up. Albeit from a low enough base. Several new providers such as Moco, Monzo, and Bankinter are all now quite active in the savings space in Ireland, so this is perhaps a response to increased competition.

"I now take lunch early and at my desk. This is a big cultural change because French meals can be long. This has been one of my adjustments."

I moved from Israel to New York because I saw it as the centre of global real estate. It's one of the most competitive markets in the world. If you can succeed there, you can succeed anywhere. I wanted to be in that environment early on.

Leading US banks are not just going digital; they are realizing that digital savings and loans alone do not ensure sustained engagement or profitability. These services must connect to the banks' core strengths: trust, scale, and long-term financial relationships.

Several Nigerian financial institutions are significantly expanding their UK presence, with the banking sector expected to be a major driver of new employment. Zenith Bank has opened a new branch in Manchester, creating up to 30 direct jobs and providing a boost to the North West economy. The bank is also exploring a potential listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2027 as it seeks to deepen its presence in British financial markets and strengthen investment flows between the UK and Africa.

According to new analysis from the British Business Bank, challenger banks accounted for 60 per cent of SME lending in 2025, unchanged from the previous year. The figure marks only the second time in more than a decade that their market share has not increased, raising questions about whether the post-financial crisis disruption of the SME lending market has reached a plateau.

Just one month after raising $11.75 million in a round led by Joe Lonsdale's 8VC, African defensetech Terra Industries announced that it's raised an additional $22 million in funding, led by Lux Capital. Nathan Nwachuku, 22, and Maxwell Maduka, 24, launched Terra Industries in 2024 to design infrastructure and autonomous systems to help African nations monitor and respond to threats.

Expanding your startup into Africa is one of the most ambitious and potentially rewarding moves you can make as a founder. With a rapidly digitalising economy and a booming young population, the continent offers a growth trajectory that is hard to find elsewhere. However, as you begin to scale, you will quickly realise that the financial landscape is not a monolith. Navigating 54 different countries means managing dozens of volatile currencies and banking systems.

UK bank bosses will hold their first meeting to establish a national alternative to Visa and Mastercard, amid growing fears over Donald Trump's ability to turn off US-owned payment systems. The meeting, chaired by Barclays' UK chief executive, Vim Maru, will take place this Thursday and bring together a group of City funders that will front the costs of a new payments company to keep the UK economy running if problems were to occur.

Launching our UK bank has been a long-term strategic priority for Revolut and marks a significant moment in our journey. The UK is our home market and central to our growth. We look forward to introducing a full suite of banking services to our millions of UK customers, bringing the same innovative experience we already provide across the rest of Europe.

The founder of Starling Bank has reduced her shareholding in the fintech, as new filings reveal that Anne Boden has cut her stake during a secondary share sale that valued the business at up to £4 billion. Boden, who launched Starling in 2014 after senior roles at Allied Irish Banks and Lloyds, has lowered her holding to around 2.7 per cent from a previous 4.3 per cent, according to the disclosures.

For Missouri-based community bank OMB Bank, finding the right fintech partner used to be a slow, manual process. Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Jessica Sims recalls working from static PDFs of the bank's preferences, followed by endless back-and-forth emails whenever a fintech expressed interest. The process worked, but painfully slowly, and promising opportunities often slipped through the cracks.

The new entity, Revolut Bank UK Ltd, will gradually begin rolling out current accounts to customers, starting with a limited group before expanding to the company's 13 million UK users over the coming weeks. The approval allows Revolut to move out of the "mobilisation" phase of its banking licence, the period during which a company prepares operational systems and governance before offering full banking services.

Beast Industries, owned by YouTuber Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson, announced on Monday that it has acquired Step, a banking app designed for teens and young adults. The move comes a couple of months after Donaldson announced plans to start a new YouTube channel centered on personal finance and investing. His main channel has 466 million subscribers and has long been one of the most popular on YouTube, frequently featuring videos where Donaldson gives away huge sums of money.

The new battleground in banking is intelligent operations and scalable execution. In 2026, banking is about moving money smarter, faster, and with fewer humans in the middle. Across corporate finance and global retail operations, banks are experimenting with technology and operational design in ways that challenge long-held assumptions about scale, speed, and control. Three recent developments exemplify what's happening in money movement: Goldman Sachs deploying AI agents, Truist automating corporate receivables, and Nubank expanding abroad with a lean digital model.

Denmark-based Danske Bank will now allow customers to invest in cryptocurrency-linked products tied to Bitcoin, marking a shift for Denmark's largest lender after years of resistance to the asset class. The bank said customers using Danske eBanking and Danske Mobile Banking can now gain exposure through exchange traded products, or ETPs, that track the performance of Bitcoin or Ethereum. The offering includes three products at launch, with two linked to Bitcoin and one linked to Ethereum.