First Trump, Now Mamdani; politicians stepping into payments
Whether red or blue, leaders share an affinity for battling fintech giants, as the liberal mayor is pressuring regulators to scuttle Western Union’s plan to buy digital transfer Intermex, shortly following PayPal’s ‘DEI settlement’ with the Trump administration.
Why JPMorgan Payments has been ‘pretty quiet’ on agentic commerce
Prashant Sharma, JPMorgan Payments’ executive director of biometrics and identity solutions, spoke with American Banker about agentic commerce and how liability is shifting as a result of large language models.
Trump to swear In Warsh as Fed chair on Friday, White House says
A White House official said that the president will swear in Kevin Warsh, who was confirmed as the next chair of the Federal Reserve last week, in a ceremony Friday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will serve as chair pro tempore until that time.
OCC finalizes rule preempting state escrow interest
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a final rule saying that federal law trumps state mandates on interest in escrow accounts for national banks, wading into an ongoing court battle.
Kraken wants to be a (legally speaking) bank. Why?
Crypto firms are becoming the kinds of trusted third parties bitcoin was created to get around, raising the question of what digital currencies are even for.
MBA adjust forecasts for a 2027 federal rate hike
The Mortgage Bankers Association now predicts a Federal Reserve rate hike to arrive in 2027, as housing price growth also slows over the next two years.
Banks can’t afford to wait for Congress to pass the CLARITY Act
In a perfect world, statutory certainty about the treatment of digital assets would be preferable to regulatory guidance. However, banks that put off their crypto plans while waiting for Congress to act risk falling behind their more aggressive competitors.
Financial regulators need more visibility into private credit markets
Recent news reports about the struggles of Blue Owl Capital raise real concerns about opaque private credit firms and the risks they may pose to the broader financial markets. The government needs the tools to gather more information.
Remote, purposeful work distinguish top fintech workplaces
An analysis of American Banker’s 2026 Best Places to Work in Fintech finds that workers appreciate flexibility, as well as “meaningful” work.
Best Places to Work in Fintech 2026
The 33 companies that made it to this year’s Best Places to Work in Fintech list are actively preserving remote work options and non-salary benefit packages.