Fintech

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At a May 19, 2026 Ballard Spahr webinar, “Cutting Out the Middleman: The Surge in FinTech Applications to Charter Banks, Industrial Banks and National Trust Companies,” a distinguished panel of banking, fintech, crypto, and consumer financial services experts explored one of the most important developments currently reshaping the financial services industry: the growing movement by fintech companies, payments firms, lenders, and crypto-native businesses to obtain their own banking charters rather than relying on traditional bank partnerships.… Continue Reading

At a May 19, 2026 Ballard Spahr webinar, “Cutting Out the Middleman: The Surge in FinTech Applications to Charter Banks, Industrial Banks and National Trust Companies,” a distinguished panel of banking, fintech, crypto, and consumer financial services professionals explored one of the most important developments currently reshaping the financial services industry: the growing movement by fintech companies, payments firms, lenders, and crypto-native businesses to obtain their own banking charters rather than relying on traditional bank partnerships.… Continue Reading

The Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program has announced a significant new initiative designed to address what many now view as one of the most pressing consumer protection challenges facing the United States: the explosion of fraud and scams targeting American consumers.

The newly launched Scam Prevention Initiative builds upon the work of the Aspen Institute’s National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention and reflects an increasingly broad consensus that scams can no longer be viewed solely as an issue for consumers or financial institutions to solve on their own.… Continue Reading

In this episode, Adam Maarec sits down with fintech thought leader Simon Taylor for a lively fireside chat focused on the rapidly evolving world of fintech, payments, and banking innovation. Adam, an experienced legal and regulatory advisor in financial services, and Simon, widely recognized for his writing, podcasts, and advisory work with fintechs, banks, VCs, and regulators, delve into some of the most relevant challenges and opportunities shaping the industry today.… Continue Reading

In a significant victory for bank-fintech partnership models, the Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 19, 2026 has now issued its final Statement of Decision granting summary judgment in favor of Opportunity Financial, LLC (“OppFi”) in its long-running litigation with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”). The final opinion follows the court’s February 24, 2026 tentative ruling, which we previously discussed on this blog.… Continue Reading

President Donald Trump issued another significant Executive Order affecting the financial services industry, this time directed at integrating financial technology innovation more directly into the U.S. regulatory framework. The Executive Order, entitled “Integrating Financial Technology Innovation into Regulatory Frameworks,” was signed on May 19, 2026 and appears designed to accelerate the integration of fintech firms, digital asset providers, and other non-bank innovators into the traditional banking and payments system.… Continue Reading

The latest episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast being released today tackles one of the most consequential developments in bank–fintech litigation in recent years: the Los Angeles Superior Court’s tentative decision in Opportunity Financial, LLC v. Hewlett (read more here). This case squarely addresses the long-debated “true lender” doctrine which has for decades bedeviled banks and Fintechs and “bricks and mortar” non-banks that have entered into joint ventures with one another to engage in interstate lending programs which take advantage of interest rate exportation rights afforded to banks.… Continue Reading

In this episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, host Alan Kaplinsky is joined by colleagues Pilar French and Burt Rublin to unpack a rapidly evolving issue at the intersection of bank–FinTech partnerships and interstate lending: the renewed exercise of state opt-out authority under Section 525 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA).… Continue Reading

On March 6, 2026, President Trump issued Executive Order 14390, a sweeping directive aimed at combating cyber-enabled fraud schemes targeting Americans. The Executive Order was published in the Federal Register on March 11, 2026.

The Order reflects growing federal concern about large-scale cyber fraud operations—often referred to as “scam centers”—run by transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that target U.S.… Continue Reading

In a very significant and potentially precedent-setting February 24, 2026 decision, the Los Angeles County Superior Court (Hon. Gary D. Roberts) issued a tentative decision granting summary judgment in favor of Opportunity Financial, LLC (“OppFi”) and against the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”). The ruling rejects the DFPI’s claim that OppFi was the “true lender” of certain loans originated by Utah-chartered FinWise Bank and therefore subject to California’s 36% interest rate cap under the California Financing Law (CFL), as amended by AB 539.… Continue Reading