The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau resumes examinations in the spring after the Trump administration suspended most of the agency's work when it took office last year.

Most companies reviewed earlier this year receive a largely clean bill of health, signaling a shift in how the watchdog oversees consumer finance firms.

Highlights

• Over half of CFPB examinations completed earlier this year used expedited reviews, identifying only minor lapses and rarely escalating cases, per sources.
• The CFPB selected about 70 companies for examination in 2024, roughly half the usual number, and paused plans to cut two thirds of its workforce pending new leadership.
• Former CFPB officials warn the surge in expedited reviews and reduced nonbank oversight may leave significant consumer risks unaddressed in the financial sector.

Read more at Traders Union

Bank of America turns to AI to improve treasury payments

Bank of America is using AI to give corporate treasury teams greater visibility into payment performance, cross-border activity and working capital through a new analytics tool within its CashPro platform.

The bank’s Payments Insights capability is designed to help corporate and commercial clients identify where their payment processes may be underperforming and compare their results against industry benchmarks based on the bank’s own peer data.

Read more at FintechGlobal

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The 3 next big things in fintech, crypto, and blockchain for 2026

Crypto payment infrastructure, portable AI fraud detection, and more.

Fintech and blockchain technology has seen its fair share of boom and bust cycles in the past decade, from the cryptocurrency explosion during the COVID pandemic to the AI era launched by ChatGPT. But the tech has continued to evolve in step with it all, and the work being done in this space is exciting—from companies that are challenging social norms to those that are betting on futuristic visions.

Mesh

For connecting crypto’s fragmented payment ecosystem

Even as cryptocurrency matures, a pain point for consumers remains: The system is fragmented by design. 

Read more at Fast Company

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Trump’s AI Accord: Can Voluntary Self-Regulation and Independent Audits Protect Against Frontier AI Risks? by Alan S. Kaplinsky  

On September 29, President Trump brought together many of the leading executives in artificial intelligence for a White House meeting focused on the risks associated with increasingly powerful “frontier” AI systems. The meeting produced a one-page document entitled the “White House Accord on Super Intelligence, Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities.”

The accord was signed by Trump and executives from Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI, Nvidia, and xAI. It establishes what the participants describe as a four-layer system of controls and audits designed to make sure that frontier AI systems operate as intended and that safety problems are identified and addressed.

Read more at Ballard Spahr L.L.P. 

THE LEADERS IN ONLINE LENDING ARE AT LEND360

If you are in fintech lending, then you need to be in Austin for LEND360 this 

October 12-14. The Innovation Hall is sold out and packed with companies 

offering cutting-edge business solutions. 900+ attendees will be onsite networking 

and making the connections to move their businesses forward. Dozens of content sessions will cover the critical issues facing the industry. Confirmed speakers include:

• Sherrie Rees – Chief Executive Officer – First Electronic Bank
• Wade Arnold – Co-Founder and CEO – Moov
• Naftali Harris – Co-Founder and CEO – SentiLink

Join the leading consumer lenders, small business lenders, service partners,

investors, bank representatives, and more for three days of high-impact networking, industry insights, and strategic collaboration. Whether you’re looking 

to connect with current customers or prospect for new ones, LEND360 is the premier opportunity to showcase your brand and solidify your credibility in the industry.  

Visit our website to learn more and register.

Fintech District Data Reveals 75% of Fintechs Now Serve Non-Financial Sectors

Fintech District reports that 75% of its community now provides solutions to non-financial sectors, marking a significant expansion of the fintech ecosystem into the real economy.

Community Size: 307 companies

Non-Financial Reach: 75% of companies

Top Sector: Retail & GDO (138 companies)

International Members: France (17), UK (16), Germany (12)

Read more at Fintech Finance News

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E-Complish, LLC Launches: IntellAgent™, a 24/7

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From the Web: Rising BNPL Adoption Creates Underwriting Blind Spot

Federal Reserve data shows 16% of consumers used BNPL in 2025, leaving traditional lenders with an incomplete financial picture. States like New York and Illinois are stepping in with new oversight frameworks as lenders and debt collection agencies adapt to shifting consumer risk profiles.

Rising adoption of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans is creating a significant underwriting blind spot for traditional financial institutions, according to a recent American Banker report analyzing Federal Reserve data.

About 16% of consumers used BNPL products in 2025. Usage was driven largely by lower-income households, younger consumers, and borrowers with thin credit files, who turned to short-term installment loans for everyday expenses like groceries, according to the report.

Read more at ACA International

While You Debate Policy, Your Customers Are Busy Connecting Accounts to AI

While banks and credit unions debate whether customer or member data can be entered into Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or other GenAI tools, consumers have already done it. They have tools that are more powerful than your bankers’ ability to provide financial advice, or your online or mobile solution’s ability to provide real planning and answers. While you debate what’s next, consumers are already doing it.

In this two-part series, I am going to explore what’s available to consumers right now and what impact this could have on how you provide financial guidance.

In this part, I’ll explore this changing dynamic from the perspective of the consumer. Consumers can connect ChatGPT, through Plaid, to your bank or credit union data. Consumers can now receive detailed account insight with the aid of GenAI.

Read more at The Financial Brand

PayYield lifts net portfolio yield on every consumer repayment: clearing available funds on debits that

decline today, and cutting what you pay to accept

the dollars that do clear.

Holiday spending expected to rise despite consumer gloom

Holiday shopping forecasts point to a bright season for retailers, despite gloomy consumer sentiment.

A forecast released by Adobe this week called for 6.7% year-over-year growth in online sales over the holidays, beginning Nov. 1. Adobe is projecting total online sales to top $275 billion, with nearly a fifth of that spent over the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.

And last week, Mastercard projected holiday spending growth of 5.5%, including 11% growth in online sales. Mastercard said it expects the strongest holiday season in four years.

Read more at ABC7 NEWS

Experian examines subprime growth through first 6 months of year

Auto lenders are absorbing more risk so far this year, based on what Experian said through its Q3 2026 Lending Conditions Chartbook released on Tuesday.

Through the first half of 2026, subprime originations are up 24% year-over-year, and near-prime originations are 18% higher, based on the same comparison.

But lenders are also booking higher-quality paper, too, since Experian found that origination volume in the super-prime category is up by 15% year-over-year.

Read more at AutoRemarketing

Sitting on the Sidelines Until After the Midterms?

You’re not alone. Many business owners and executives are waiting for greater clarity from the November elections before committing to their

next phase of growth.

But waiting to make the decision doesn’t mean you

should wait to prepare for it.

If additional capital will be part of your growth strategy once the political

and economic environment becomes clearer, now may be the right time

to begin the conversation.

Nasdaq’s Fintech focused Business Now Experiencing Recurring-Revenue Growth

Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is positioning its financial technology arm as a central engine of longer-term expansion, as banks, brokers, and other institutions step up spending on cloud-based market infrastructure, compliance tools, and systems that detect financial crime.

The unit mixes recurring and subscription-style income, which can give the company clearer revenue visibility and lessen its dependence on businesses that rise and fall with trading volumes.

In the second quarter of 2026, financial technology revenue rose 16 percent from a year earlier to $539 million, with organic growth of 15 percent.

Read more at Crowd Fund Insider

AI in Fintech: Trends, Advantages, and Applications

Most fintech decisions are made under pressure—approve or deny a transaction, escalate or clear an account, answer a customer’s request now or later, choose which new features to prioritize before a competitor owns the space. In the past, employees had to sift through spreadsheets and follow static rules before signing off on any of those decisions. Meanwhile, overworked teams could buckle under the pressure of savvier fraudsters, higher transaction volumes, faster competitors, and rising customer expectations.

AI changes what fintech teams can do a single moment. It draws on more data than a person could review alone to deliver detailed analyses or, in some cases, handle the task itself. But a rushed deployment creates real risk, so fintech companies should first understand what these tools can do, where they deliver the clearest advantages, where they can fall short, and how to best prepare for future advancements.

Read more at NetSuite

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Supreme Court Takes Next Step Toward Resolving National Bank Act Preemption Split, Inviting Solicitor General’s Views in Cantero, Conti and Kivett

By John L. Culhane, Jr. & Alan S. Kaplinsky 

The Supreme Court yesterday took an important step toward resolving the growing uncertainty over the scope of National Bank Act preemption. In an order issued October 5, the Court invited the Solicitor General to file briefs expressing the views of the United States in three cases involving state laws requiring national banks to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts: Cantero v. Bank of America, N.A., No. 25-1313; Citizens Bank, N.A. v. Conti, No. 25-1004; and Flagstar Bank, N.A. v. Kivett, No. 25-1350. The Court’s order does not mean that it has granted certiorari. But asking the Solicitor General for the views of the United States in all three cases is a strong indication that the Court is seriously considering whether to revisit the important preemption issue it addressed just two years ago in Cantero.

Read more at Ballard Spahr L.L.P.

41-State, $709.5 Million Settlement with Auto Finance Lender: What Companies Need to Know

On September 17, 2026, New Jersey and 40 other state attorneys general announced a $709.5 million settlement with Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), one of the nation’s largest subprime auto lenders, resolving allegations that CAC:

(i) originated loans it knew borrowers could not afford and

(ii) failed to prevent dealers from packing loan contracts with unwanted add-on products.

The settlement arrives after the CFPB permanently dropped its own case against CAC in 2025. For auto finance companies, it signals a potential new era of state-led enforcement and establishes underwriting and dealer-oversight standards expected by the states that every indirect lender should understand.

Read more at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

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How Technology Is Becoming a Strategic Part of Fintech

The fintech industry has always been driven by speed, innovation, and the ability to adapt quickly. But as the industry grows, the role of technology is expanding far beyond simply building and maintaining systems.

Today, technology decisions can affect almost every part of a financial business - from customer experience and security to daily operations and future growth. As a result, technology is becoming much more closely connected to business strategy and decision-making.

Read more at FINEXTRA

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Wall Street Warns "Easy Money From Riding AI Is Ending".

BofA Calls for Selective Pivot

Bank of America's strategy team has advised a selective directional shift, arguing that the strategy of buying AI capital expenditure beneficiaries while selling consumer-related stocks can no longer generate excess returns. 

Active funds' exposure to AI-damaged sectors is at an all-time low, while positioning in industrials relative to consumer discretionary is near record highs—evidence of extreme crowding. Over the past 12 months, the S&P 500 consumer staples index rose 4.6% while consumer discretionary fell 3.3%, with Lululemon and Nike shares each plunging roughly 50%. 

While maintaining the broad framework of its "capex over consumer spending" thesis introduced last November, BofA now believes the strategy has become market consensus and is already priced in.

Read more at Big Go Finance

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