The Federal Reserve‘s FedNow service launched in 2023 as a domestic instant- payment infrastructure, letting participating financial institutions send and receive payments in real time, around the clock.
FedNow Goes Global
Now the Fed is taking the next step: building a framework that could let FedNow support transactions in which the ultimate sender or receiver is located outside the United States.
The proposal has already drawn significant industry backing Stripe, Visa, Wise and major trade groups are among those supporting the Fed’s plan to extend FedNow across borders.
This is potentially a much bigger deal than it sounds.
Cross-border payments remain one of the great frustrations of modern financial services. Consumers and businesses can order almost anything from anywhere in the world in seconds, yet moving money across borders still often means multiple intermediaries, correspondent banks, foreign-exchange conversions, compliance checks and delays.
The appeal of connecting instant-payment infrastructure to international transactions is obvious: faster settlement, potentially lower costs and a more modern foundation for global commerce.
The Fed’s proposal would also let intermediaries beyond Federal Reserve Banks play a role in transferring funds through FedNow. It envisions a phased approach starting with a pilot period before participation requirements potentially expand.
For fintech companies, that creates opportunity. It also creates competition.
If the Federal Reserve becomes part of the infrastructure underlying faster cross-border payments, fintechs will have to differentiate themselves less on the basic ability to move money and more on everything built around the payment: compliance, foreign exchange, user experience, fraud prevention, treasury services and financial products.
In other words, the payment rail itself is becoming a commodity and that could be very good for consumers.
The Bank Charter Door Is Not Wide Open
At the same time payments infrastructure is becoming more accessible, the path to becoming a bank looks anything but easy.
The OCC‘s rejection of Dutch fintech Bunq‘s application for a U.S. national bank charter is the latest reminder that a successful fintech business in one market doesn’t automatically translate into regulatory approval in another.
The OCC cited significant supervisory and compliance concerns. Among other issues, regulators questioned Bunq’s capitalization plans, its management team’s experience, and its ability to show a credible path forward in the U.S. market. Bunq had raised its projected initial capitalization during the application process, but the OCC said the company hadn’t clearly explained how that capital would be provided and supported.
The significance goes beyond Bunq.
For years, fintech has benefited from a model in which technology companies build sophisticated financial products while leaning on licensed banks for the regulated parts of the business. That arrangement let fintechs move fast without taking on the full regulatory burden of becoming a bank themselves.
But eventually, some fintechs want the economics and control that come with a banking charter. That’s where the regulatory bar rises sharply.
Bunq isn’t the only recent example. The OCC also rejected Wise’s U.S. banking charter application, citing concerns around anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing controls, along with the proposed management team’s understanding of and experience with U.S. banking requirements.
The message to international fintechs is becoming clear: entering the U.S. banking market isn’t simply an expansion exercise it’s a test of institutional maturity. A company can have millions of customers, sophisticated technology and a successful business model overseas, and still face hard questions about governance, capital, compliance and management experience.
That may actually be healthy for the industry. The fintech revolution was built partly on the idea that technology could make financial services faster and simpler. But banking isn’t just a technology business it’s a trust business, and regulators are increasingly asking whether fintech companies have built the institutional infrastructure to match their technological ambitions.
Chime and the New Efficiency Equation
Then there’s Chime.
In late July, Chime announced it would cut roughly 10% of its workforce about 150 employees as part of an effort to become more efficient and use artificial intelligence to reorganize how work gets done. Just days later came another headline: longtime CFO Matt Newcomb is stepping down, with Chime President Mark Troughton serving as interim CFO while the company searches for a permanent replacement.
On the surface, these developments could read as signs of pressure. But the financial results tell a more complicated story.
Chime recently raised its 2026 revenue-growth forecast to 25%–26%, up from a prior forecast of 22.7%. Second-quarter revenue rose 27% to $670 million, while payments revenue grew 21%. Active members reached 10.4 million, up 20%, and the company posted $28 million in net income its second consecutive profitable quarter.
So why cut jobs when the business is growing?
Because growth alone is no longer enough and that may be one of the most important shifts taking place across fintech.
For years, the industry rewarded companies for customer acquisition, product launches and market share. The goal was often to grow as fast as possible and worry about operating leverage later. Public markets are increasingly demanding something different: show me how growth becomes profit.
AI is accelerating that shift. If software can automate work once done by large teams, fintech companies will face pressure to redesign their organizations smaller teams, fewer management layers and greater automation are becoming part of the new operating model.
Chime’s restructuring, then, may be less about weakness than about preparing for the company’s next stage. But the timing is revealing: a company can simultaneously be growing rapidly, adding customers, raising its revenue forecast and cutting jobs.
That’s the new fintech reality.
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