Alex Rolfe

The commodification of identity on the dark web is reshaping the economics of financial crime — and exposing the limits of biometric verification.

Dutch payments processor Mollie has acquired UK fintech GoCardless in what is one of Europe's most consequential private-market payments deals this year.

Agentic AI represents a decisive break from the assistive technologies that have defined the past decade of fintech innovation.

For decades, the Point of Sale was a fixed destination: a counter, a terminal, a moment at the end of the customer journey. That mental model is now obsolete.

Speed has become the defining feature of modern payments. Real-time rails now move money in milliseconds rather than hours, reshaping customer expectations and competitive dynamics across banking and fintech.

Britain's long-anticipated shift towards a cashless economy continues to look overstated.

Barclays has taken its first direct step into the stablecoin ecosystem, investing in US-based clearing and settlement platform

In 2026, global e-commerce passes a symbolic and economic landmark, for the first time.

Bank-related fraud is beginning the new year on an alarming trajectory, with fresh evidence showing that financial crime continues to migrate towards high-value, high-frequency payment channels.

Friendly fraud is not immune to the march of AI, and indeed, the emergence of automated tech as a defence against chargebacks has been embraced in industries with the strictest regulations.