U.K.

Visa and Mastercard have long been in legal battles over payment fees, with out-of-court agreements proving elusive.

Alison Rose stepped down after the British government, the UK lender's largest shareholder, signaled she had lost its confidence after a political dustup.

Nikhil Rathi, CEO of Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, said the recent cryptocurrency market crash has underscored the need for regulation on both sides of the Atlantic.

While pandemic restrictions cloud the sector's outlook, the London-based payment and fintech company is making hotel booking and other services part of its financial super app strategy.

Goldman Sachs Group has begun offering cash management and treasury services in the U.K. as it builds out its new transaction-banking arm.

Rapyd's new venture capital arm seeks companies that can develop or benefit from an international identity verification system.

The U.K.'s central bank says stablecoins should follow the same rules as traditional bank deposits.

Small businesses are upset at Visa and Mastercard's proposal to raise rates on cross-border payments initiated online, now that the European Commission's caps on credit and debit fees no longer apply in the U.K.

Railsbank and Plaid have formed a strategic partnership enabling any company in the U.K. to directly embed open banking-style payments into digital flows.

Central bank digital currencies are moving much faster in China and Latin America, where the financial structures are less complicated than in the U.K. and U.S.

Britain’s Treasury and the Bank of England are weighing the potential creation of a central bank digital currency, joining authorities from China to Sweden exploring the next big step in the future of money.

The shutdown of the U.K. company's Pingit app demonstrates why even the most tech-savvy banks should collaborate with fintechs rather than go it alone.

The nine-year-old service predates the payments-oriented fintechs that have become popular in recent years.

For the U.K. payments industry to be in the best position to succeed, keeping consistent with compliance to both U.K. and EU regulations will be critical, says Ecommpay's Paul Marcantonio.

The country's banks and fintechs are still new to working together, giving Railsbank a chance to become a key player in open banking.

Facing accusations of illegally using client accounts to move money to its U.K. headquarters from a Brazilian bank, Wise (formerly Transferwise) vehemently denied those actions and said it is the target of a smear campaign.

As the lockdown subsided and stores began to re-open, the habits of the British shopper had changed, forcing banks and merchants to adjust.

The U.K. got an earlier start on open banking implementations, prompting European merchants and fintechs to turn to payments-as-a-service providers for rapid deployment.

Small shops are facing more competition online. Combined with the impact of Brexit, this has made it even more important for businesses to sell overseas.

With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic prompting more consumers to use contactless payments, the U.K.’s banks have lobbied for higher contactless payments limits, a move which could benefit the biometrics payments industry.