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Archive · October 15, 2026

October 15, 2026.
Five payments stories that matter.

The 5-minute briefing for payments professionals who need to know what happened, what it means, and what to do about it — before their 9am.

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The Lead

Story 01

Bank of America Faces $1.2116 Billion in AML and Sanctions Penalties

FinCEN assessed a $1.2 billion penalty against Bank of America on October 13 for failures in AML controls, foreign correspondent due diligence and suspicious activity reporting. The OCC’s $750 million assessment counts toward that penalty rather than adding to it; OFAC’s separate $11.6 million settlement brings the combined obligation to $1.2116 billion. The enforcement actions require transaction-monitoring, due-diligence and sanctions-control remediation. Bank compliance teams can benchmark their monitoring and escalation procedures against the enforcement orders’ published remediation requirements.

Source: FinCEN
Also Worth Knowing
№02

Qivalis Secures Dutch EMI Authorization Ahead of Euro Stablecoin Issuance

Qivalis announced on October 14 that De Nederlandsche Bank authorized it as an electronic money institution, making it eligible to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens under ongoing DNB supervision. Backed by 37 European banks across 15 countries, Qivalis plans a fully reserved token distributed through banks, exchanges and payment providers. Authorization does not mean issuance has begun. For treasury platforms and PSPs assessing integration, the remaining milestones include launch timing, supported networks, reserve disclosures and redemption arrangements.

Source: PYMNTS
№03

Kraken Parent Agrees to Buy Saldo Bank for European Banking Expansion

Interest-bearing deposits, lending and card issuance form part of Payward’s planned expansion through its acquisition of Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank and its Finnish holding company. The Kraken parent expects the deal to close in 2027 and has not disclosed financial terms. Saldo’s deposit business covers five European markets, while lending and card capabilities have narrower geographic availability. The proposed acquisition would add banking capabilities to Payward’s electronic-money infrastructure; it does not immediately extend every Saldo product to Kraken customers.

Source: Banking Dive
№04

OCC Reviews Account-Access Decisions at Nine Banks

The OCC’s October 14 findings allege that policies or practices at nine banks influenced service denials or closures based on political or religious views or lawful business activity. Bank of America also features in this review, which concerns account-access decisions—not its separate AML and sanctions enforcement. Banking Dive reports that the review covered nearly 100,000 complaints and 420,000 pages of documents; the CFPB announced further investigation. Merchant onboarding teams and sponsor-bank-dependent fintechs can review denial criteria, documented closure reasons and escalation procedures.

Source: Banking Dive
№05

Fed Finds Consumer Spending Broadly Flat as Nine Districts Report Growth

Nine of 12 Federal Reserve districts reported economic growth in the October 14 Beige Book, but most saw little or no change in consumer spending. More than half reported that high-income households drove spending, while businesses described price resistance and tighter margins. Based on contacts interviewed on or before October 5, the report provides qualitative evidence rather than measured payment volumes. Merchant acquirers, card issuers and BNPL lenders can use those segment differences when comparing transaction counts, nominal payment values and retail-category performance.

Source: Federal Reserve
The Long Memory
“The United States enacted the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974, prohibiting creditors from discriminating in credit decisions on the basis of sex or marital status.

Filed under: Payments History · The Long Memory

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