White House Adviser Says Trump Won’t Create ‘FDA for AI’
The Trump administration will not establish formal licensing requirements for artificial intelligence technology. White House AI adviser Sriram Krishnan stated there will not be an "FDA for AI" regulatory structure.
IMF Warns Tokenization Demands Urgent Monetary Policy Adjustments as Risks Continue to Evolve
The International Monetary Fund warns that tokenization's expansion across financial markets requires urgent updates to monetary policy frameworks. The organization emphasizes that policy tools must evolve to address risks from the relocation of financial activity.
Anthropic Explores Partnership with Samsung for Advanced AI Chip Development
Anthropic is in early-stage discussions with Samsung Electronics to explore manufacturing a custom-designed AI processor. The partnership would focus on developing advanced chips specifically for Anthropic's AI operations.
Financial Entities Must Move Beyond Third-Party Oversight to Meet EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) Requirements
# Summary The EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) requires financial entities to go beyond traditional third-party oversight to meet new operational resilience standards. Financial organizations must shift their approach to digital risk management and internal control frameworks to comply with DORA's updated requirements.
ZEN.COM Launches Mastercard Click to Pay Across Europe and Singapore
ZEN.COM integrated Mastercard Click to Pay into its financial platform across Europe and Singapore. The service joins existing features including multicurrency accounts, foreign exchange, instant cashback, and purchase protection available to 1.5 million users.
Klarna Expands App Features With Money Wellness Partnership
Klarna users can access a free financial health check called Money MOT through the app via a partnership with Money Wellness. The tool provides personalized financial assessments and offers advice on budgeting, income optimization, and debt management.
LexisNexis and Promon Help Brands Fight Rising Mobile App Fraud
LexisNexis and Promon combined their technologies to create an integrated mobile app fraud protection system. The alliance merges LexisNexis ThreatMetrix digital identity intelligence with Promon Shield in-app protection and Promon Insight telemetry.
eDO Taps Visa to Allow AI Agents to Purchase Travel
AI agents can now initiate travel purchases directly on eDO's platforms through a Visa integration. The collaboration enables transactions across eDO's four travel brands: eDreams, Opodo, GO Voyages, and Travellink.
Starling Bank Cuts 130 Jobs Amid AI Adoption and Restructuring
Starling Bank is cutting approximately 130 jobs while implementing artificial intelligence across more of its operations and eliminating duplicate roles. The bank completed major projects and restructured its banking and technology operations through automation.
Fintech Adyen Finalizes Acquisitions of Talon.One and Orb
Adyen finalized its acquisitions of loyalty platform Talon.One and billing platform Orb on July 1, 2026. Both deals completed after regulatory approvals were obtained.
36% of Small Businesses Turn to FinTechs for Cross-Border Payments
Small businesses are increasingly adopting fintech companies for cross-border payments, with 36% now choosing them for international transactions. Traditional banks remain the dominant provider, but fintech adoption is growing as businesses seek specialized payment solutions for overseas purchases.
The AI Trade Is Losing One of Its Key Signals
AI inference pricing has declined as markets question whether massive AI investments will generate adequate returns. Computing unit costs are falling at a moment when market uncertainty about AI profitability is increasing.
PayPal Secures EPC Seat to Help Guide Future of European Payments
PayPal joined the European Payments Council to participate in shaping European payment standards and infrastructure. The EPC manages rules for payment systems used across Europe's single market.
Visa launches threat intelligence platform; carries out agentic transactions in Europe
Visa launched a threat intelligence platform to help financial institutions detect and respond to cyber threats. The company also conducted agentic commerce transactions with banks across Europe.
What Payward’s Reap Purchase Says About B2B Stablecoin Cards
Payward, Kraken's parent company, acquired Reap for up to $600 million on July 1. The purchase reflects consolidation in the stablecoin card market as firms compete in a winner-take-most landscape.
Microsoft Spends $2.5 Billion on Customer AI Deployments
Microsoft created a new unit with a $2.5 billion investment to help customers deploy artificial intelligence technology. The unit, called Microsoft Frontier Company, will embed 6,000 industry and engineering experts within customer organizations.
Velera Names 3 Credit Union CEOs to Its Board
Three credit union CEOs joined Velera's board as associate directors. The new members include Kelly Botti from Trumark Credit Union in Pennsylvania and Vic Israni from GreenState Credit Union in Iowa.
UBS Plans to Launch Banking Services For Wealthy Americans
UBS will trial everyday banking services for U.S. employees in the coming months before launching a bank for wealthy Americans. The bank plans to set up accounts for its American staff as part of this initiative.
SpaceX Built the Network an AI Device Needs. Now What?
SpaceX demonstrated a prototype AI device to investors that would integrate its satellite broadband network and direct-to-cell service. The company currently lacks a consumer device connecting these three capabilities together.
Regions Bank Accelerates Capital Markets Push With Frazer Lanier Acquisition
Regions Financial Corp. acquired The Frazer Lanier Company, a Montgomery, Alabama investment banking firm specializing in municipal and corporate securities. The acquisition expands Regions' capital markets capabilities in municipal securities services.
Google Launches Digital ID Partnership With Poland’s Authologic
Google partnered with Polish startup Authologic to enable businesses to accept multiple digital identity credentials through Authologic's OmniID platform. The platform allows acceptance of government-issued credentials, bank credentials, and Google ID Pass stored in Google Wallet on users' phones.
Sygnum Touts Banking + MiCA Approvals Unlike Upstarts, Recently Approved Platforms
Sygnum obtained MiCA licensing approval before the July 1st deadline, allowing the Swiss digital asset bank to continue crypto operations while unapproved platforms must cease activities. The bank holds regulatory approvals across multiple jurisdictions and maintains banking licenses unlike newer cryptocurrency platforms.
Nubank and Amazon Brazil Extend Partnership with Flexible Payments
NuBank and Amazon Brazil expanded their partnership to offer a complete checkout experience using NuPay during Prime Day from July 1-7, 2026. Eligible customers gained access to flexible payment options through the integrated system.
Cross River Extends Stripe Issuing Collaboration for Agentic Commerce
Cross River Bank expanded its partnership with Stripe to enable AI agents to make card payments on behalf of users while keeping account details secure. This agentic commerce framework provides verified AI agents with issuing capabilities designed for this specific use case.
Dive Deposits: The CFPB just redefined 2 weeks’ notice
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau required employees to accept geographic reassignments by July 14, with declining or missing the deadline resulting in separation. The notice gave staff two weeks to decide whether to relocate or leave their positions.
VC Funding Hits All Time High in 2026
Venture capital funding reached $510 billion in the first half of 2026, surpassing the previous $440 billion from the same period in the prior year. This represents a record high for global VC investment according to Crunchbase data.
Why BNPL infrastructure needs to learn a new acronym: KYA (Know Your Agent)
AI agents are beginning to make purchasing and financing decisions autonomously on behalf of consumers, creating a mismatch with BNPL infrastructure designed for human purchasers. BNPL providers now face challenges verifying intent when software agents rather than people initiate transactions.
Real-Time Payments Could Add $19.3 Billion to Argentina’s GDP
Real-time payments could add $19.3 billion to Argentina's GDP. Brazil's Pix platform, launched in 2020, now has more than 150 million users.
Core Banking’s New Mission Is Keeping Up With Instant Expectations
Core banking systems have shifted from invisible infrastructure handling basic transactions to central strategic assets. They now must support instant payment expectations and serve as the primary system of record for customer relationships.