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banking & fintech

Market news, guides and reports on business banking, payments and compliance, for founders, finance teams and investors

We are launching BankStore on Product Hunt

Standfirst. On 29-th of September BankStore goes live on Product Hunt. One KYB profile, routed to the banks, EMIs and acquirers that actually accept companies like yours, with every application...

#Product Hunt#BankStore#Launch#Bank Matching#KYB#Business Bank Account#Cross-border Payments

Sep 28, 20267 min read

Bank Index: every score with a reason and a source

Standfirst. We built a free public index of 110,000+ financial institutions and scored them on what a business actually needs. Every score carries one sentence of reasoning and a link to the document...

#Bank Index#Bank Ratings#Business Bank Account#Non-resident Owners#Bank Comparison#KYB#BankStore

Sep 25, 20268 min read

De-risking: how to read the signs before your bank exits your industry, why the letter always arrives last, and what the 2026 rules do and do not give you

Overview When a bank leaves an industry, I find out last. So does every other customer. The decision is taken at portfolio level months before any letter, and by the time a notice arrives the exit is...

#De-risking#Debanking#Account Closure#Correspondent Banking#FATF#Risk Appetite#KYC Refresh#Business Banking

Sep 23, 202615 min read

Your business account is frozen: what happens to payroll in the first 48 hours, the two clocks that decide how long it lasts, and what the law still expects you to pay

Overview An account freeze does not pause payroll. I wish it did. Wages stay due on the contractual date, late payment is a breach in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and no statute...

#Frozen Bank Account#Payroll#DAML#POCA 2002#SAR#Moratorium#Employment Law#Business Banking

Sep 21, 202614 min read

Business bank account rejected with no reason: the statute that makes the silence mandatory, the rule that arrived in April and does not cover you, and how to find out what actually failed

Overview Your business account application was refused and the bank will not say why. That silence is usually not rudeness and not a policy choice. In the United States a bank must decline to produce...

#Business Bank Account#De-risking#SAR Confidentiality#Tipping Off#KYB#Account Closures#Correspondent Banking#Debanking

Sep 18, 202613 min read

Fintech lawyer vs attorney: why no rule anywhere separates the two words, what bar admission and privilege actually cost you, and the citations in the standard answer that do not exist

Overview Founders keep asking whether they need a fintech lawyer or a fintech attorney. No bar rule in the United States separates those two words, and the National Conference of Bar Examiners says...

#Fintech Legal#Bar Admission#Attorney Client Privilege#Unauthorized Practice#Money Transmitter Licensing#CFPB#Startup Legal Costs#In House Counsel

Sep 16, 202612 min read