PAYMENTS BRIEF | Saturday, September 19, 2026

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TODAY'S TOP STORIES

1. ONLINE LENDING PLATFORM AVANT FILES FOR A BANK CHARTER

Avant's de novo bank charter application signals the fintech lender's shift toward deposit funding to lower its cost of capital after 12 years relying on WebBank as its originator. The move positions the near-prime lending platform, which has served 4.8 million middle-income customers, to compete directly with traditional banks on funding efficiency.

So what? Avant is following Upstart's playbook (conditional OCC approval in July) rather than the buy-a-bank route Enova just abandoned, so the OCC's handling of Avant's de novo application is a live test of whether AI/ML-underwriting fintechs can get charters versus acquisition-based ones, with fair-lending model explainability the likely sticking point. Also covered by: PYMNTS → Source: American Banker

2. BNP PARIBAS EXPANDS WERO ROLLOUT FOR MERCHANTS - FRANCE

BNP Paribas has activated merchant acceptance for Wero across France with major retailers including Air France and Decathlon, expanding the European instant-payment wallet beyond its peer-to-peer foundation. The rollout spans five markets and positions Wero to challenge traditional card networks at checkout as adoption nears 57 million users.

So what? A founding EPI bank is pushing Wero from P2P into ecommerce checkout with named national retailers live or committed, giving Europe's bank-backed instant-payment wallet its first real card-rail challenge with actual merchant names attached rather than just wallet-download numbers. → Source: Europesays

3. RAMP ENTERS UK MARKET WITH REGULATED PAYMENTS

Ramp has launched its integrated corporate finance platform across the UK following a $44B valuation in June, bringing cards, bill pay, and procurement tools to early adopters like ElevenLabs and Attio. The fintech's entry into regulated payments leverages its Billhop acquisition, enabling the company to process over $200B in annual purchases while expanding internationally beyond Canada.

So what? Ramp is using an acquired e-money license (Billhop) rather than applying for UK/EU authorization itself, a faster template other US fintechs may copy to get regulated payments capability into Europe without a from-scratch license process. → Source: The Paypers

4. CFTC FILES CRYPTO REGULATION PROPOSAL AFTER CLARITY ACT FAILS

After Congress blocked the Clarity Act, the CFTC is bypassing lawmakers to impose crypto rules through existing powers, forcing the industry to adapt to regulations that lack statutory permanence. → Source: PYMNTS

5. FDIC PROPOSES FAST TRACK FOR BANK MERGER REVIEWS

The FDIC unanimously approved a streamlined merger review process that could greenlight small bank deals in as few as 5 days, accelerating a trend that has already cut approval times by nearly half since 2023. → Source: PYMNTS