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This week is sponsored by our friends at Fintel Connect.

Intuit just opened the door to a new kind of financial guidance by bringing its AI platform directly into ChatGPT through a long-term partnership with OpenAI. Klarna secured a $6.5 billion forward-flow deal with Elliott to ramp up its U.S. Fair Financing business, giving it a cheaper, scalable funding pipeline. And JPMorgan locked in paid data-access agreements with Plaid, Yodlee, Morningstar, and Akoya, a shift that could reshape how banks, aggregators, and fintechs negotiate data rights in the year ahead.

Capital One’s Discover migration is testing how much network perception still matters. Amscot and Green Dot are pushing modern banking tools into physical service centers. Credit access is tightening as rejection rates hit highs and auto delinquencies climb to record levels. CFES rolled out new lending standards that aim to bring bank–fintech partnerships onto the same compliance page. And even with the federal shutdown resolved, households and regulators are still working through the fallout.

Experian raised its outlook on steady growth, Klarna posted its strongest quarter to date, and Mastercard, FIS, FICO, Enova, and Bread Financial all reported firm spending trends and improving credit results as fintechs head into the final stretch of the year.

Here’s what’s happening across fintech right now.

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Webinar: LLM Playbook with Profound: How Financial Marketers Can Win in AI-Driven Discovery

Join leaders from Profound and Fintel Connect for an interactive live discussion on how large language models (LLMs) are reshaping digital discovery - and what it means for your acquisition strategy. Unpack what signals drive LLM visibility, the role affiliates and publishers play in this new ecosystem, and the practical steps financial brands can take today to stay discoverable and competitive.

When? Tuesday, December 2 | 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST | Microsoft Teams

You'll learn: 

• How LLMs are transforming digital discovery - and what that means for SEO and acquisition in financial services.

• Practical insights into how banks, fintechs, and affiliates can future-proof their acquisition strategies in the age of LLMs.

• The evolving role of affiliates in supporting visibility, sentiment, and performance in a “no-click” world.

• The fundamentals of achieving LLM visibility and best practices for optimizing financial content for LLM discovery.

Featuring: 

• Josh Blyskal, Answer Engine Optimization Strategy & Research, Profound

• Nicky Senyard, CEO and Co-Founder, Fintel Connect 

• Alana Levine, CRO and Co-Founder, Fintel Connect 

Whether you’re experimenting with generative AI or building your 2026 acquisition roadmap, this session will give you the practical insights-and real-world examples - to help future-proof your growth strategy and win in the age of LLMs.

Intuit and OpenAI Join Forces to Revolutionize Financial Intelligence, Powering Every Person, Business, and Dream with Personalized Experiences

Intuit, the global financial technology platform behind TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, just announced a multi-year, strategic partnership with OpenAI to revolutionize "Financial Intelligence." This collaboration will bring Intuit's AI-driven expert platform to ChatGPT, allowing users to get secure, personalized, and "actionable financial insights and recommendations" through new Intuit-powered apps inside the chat experience. Consumers can look forward to finding the best credit cards or getting personalized tax answers, while businesses will gain access to tools that "increase revenue and profitability". Intuit is deepening its commitment to AI with a new "$100M+ multi-year contract" to utilize OpenAI's frontier models in its proprietary generative AI operating system (GenOS). The goal is to power AI agents that can "understand complex questions, surfacing insights instantly, and helping to complete tasks" like forecasting cash flow or preparing taxes through natural conversation. This major partnership aims to both deepen relationships with Intuit's existing 100 million customers and extend its reach to new audiences. [Intuit]

Klarna Strikes $6.5 Billion Loan Deal With Elliott Funds to Boost US Push

Klarna, the Swedish fintech firm and one of Europe's biggest, just struck a major deal to "boost its U.S. push," agreeing to sell up to "$6.5 billion of loans" to funds managed by Elliott Investment Management over a two-year period. The agreement allows Klarna to sell a portion of its existing Fair Financing portfolio and continually transfer newly originated receivables to Elliott funds starting in October. This strategic "forward flow agreement" provides Klarna with a "capital efficient and highly scalable funding source" to rapidly expand its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) business in the U.S.. Klarna's Fair Financing product, which lets customers spread "large-ticket purchases into fixed monthly installments," has become "significantly popular in the U.S.," seeing gross merchandise value growth of 244% compared to 139% globally. Despite selling the loans, Klarna will retain "all consumer-facing functions, including underwriting and servicing". The company's CFO stated this deal will help them "reach even more Americans who are moving on from traditional credit and choosing fairer ways to pay". [Reuters]

JPMorgan Secures Deals With Fintech Aggregators Over Fees to Access Data, CNBC Reports

JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, successfully secured deals with several major data aggregators, including Plaid, Yodlee, Morningstar, and Akoya, ensuring it will now receive payments for access to its customer bank account data. Data aggregators are intermediaries that link banks with fintech firms, which previously accessed customer data without paying, enabling apps to offer services like budgeting and payments. A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson stated that "The free market worked" and that the agreements make the open banking ecosystem "safer and more sustainable". These deals, which came after weeks of negotiation, involve the bank agreeing to a lower fee than initially proposed, while the intermediaries secured concessions on how the data requests are handled. This move is part of the ongoing debate surrounding "open banking" rules introduced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which sets standards for data sharing. [Reuters]

Capital One Debit-Card Users Aren’t All Happy After the Switch to Discover

Capital One is shaking things up by moving its debit cards from the Mastercard network over to the Discover network following its acquisition of Discover earlier this year. While Capital One is banking on "considerable savings" from using its own network, some customers aren't thrilled, feeling like the switch is a downgrade because of the perception that Discover isn't as "widely accepted." Despite analysts noting that over 99% of U.S. merchants accept Discover cards, customer concerns are cropping up on social media, fueled by sporadic issues and unfamiliarity with the network. For instance, some users can't use the new cards at certain local stores or for "certain monthly subscriptions." Capital One admits that maximizing the network benefit will require investments, especially outside the U.S. where acceptance is lower, and is actively "working to expand the Discover network and address customer concerns." One key customer frustration is that Discover's debit-card network isn't accepted for all "instant transfers" in apps like Venmo, requiring customers to find workarounds. [WSJ]

Amscot Financial Partners with Green Dot to Offer Modern Banking to Customers

Amscot Financial, a financial services company offering solutions through over 230 centers across Florida, announced a new partnership with Green Dot Corporation to expand its product offerings with demand deposit accounts (DDAs). This collaboration, powered by Green Dot's embedded finance platform, Arc, will bring "secure, seamless and affordable banking" services to Amscot’s customers, which includes many of the 19 million underbanked U.S. households. The new solution offers a comprehensive banking package, featuring a DDA, a "built-in secured credit card," and access to a network of "more than 25,000 free in-network ATMs." Amscot aims to enhance accessibility to "modern, affordable banking options" that help its "hardworking Floridians" build "strong financial foundations." Green Dot, which has a "long-standing commitment to supporting low- to moderate-income consumers," is providing tools that will "simplify and enhance their financial lives." [Green Dot]

Rising Rejections and Record Auto Stress Point to a Tougher Credit Cycle

Consumers are running into more closed doors when they look for credit. The New York Fed’s October Credit Access Survey shows overall rejection rates hitting a series high at 24.8%, with more borrowers calling themselves “discouraged.” Card applications nudged up and limit-increase requests matched prior peaks, but approval anxiety is doing real damage. Even households with solid incomes think they’ll be denied, creating a gap between perceived and actual rejection odds.

PYMNTS data reinforces that split. Forty-two percent of consumers doubt they’d get a new card, even though real denial rates for general-purpose cards are closer to fifteen percent for those without active accounts. Instead of taking the risk of a new inquiry, many are leaning on existing cards, asking for larger limits, or shifting toward BNPL. The Fed notes that a growing share of applications now comes from borrowers with sub-680 scores, where rejection sits above sixty percent, which helps explain why overall denials keep climbing even as card approvals hold steadier.

Auto credit tells the other half of the story. Fitch says subprime borrowers at least 60 days late on their car loans climbed to 6.65% in October, the highest level on record. Two subprime-focused auto lenders have already gone under, and more pressure is building as household budgets stretch. Prime borrowers remain mostly untouched, but the widening split highlights where risk is accumulating. For lenders and fintechs, the signals are aligned: demand for credit is firm, access is uneven, and consumer psychology is starting to shape the market as much as underwriting. [Reuters] [PYMNTS] [New York Fed]

CFES Releases Lending Standards to Strengthen Bank–Fintech Alignment and Provide Clarity in Lending Compliance

The Coalition for Financial Ecosystem Standards (CFES), an industry-led organization, just released its new Lending Module and an accompanying Lending Checklist to "strengthen bank–fintech alignment and provide clarity in lending compliance". Developed with industry leaders like FairPlay and Upstart, these standards offer "actionable guidance" across seven critical areas, translating complex lending regulations into clear frameworks for compliance and risk management. The standards are particularly timely as they address the unique challenges of technology-driven lending, providing dedicated guidance on "model risk management, validation processes, and governance frameworks" for AI and machine learning in credit decisioning. The goal is to create a "shared understanding" between bank and nonbank lenders on effective risk management and regulatory compliance. The new module builds on CFES's earlier Core Risk & Compliance Standards by adding more detailed expectations across the entire credit lifecycle, from marketing through servicing and collections, and including eight new standards for "credit model governance" and "AI explainability". This industry-led blueprint aims to create "consistency and accountability" during a time of "shifting regulatory posture". [Business Wire]

Zilch Raises Over $175 Million to Accelerate Growth

Zilch, the London-headquartered "consumer payments platform" and the UK and EMEA’s fastest-growing fintech unicorn, announced it has successfully raised "over USD $175 million" in a mix of debt and equity. This substantial raise included the expansion of its securitization led by Deutsche Bank, with the equity portion led by KKCG and participation from BNF Capital. Zilch intends to invest the new capital into "driving greater brand visibility" through increased "above-the-line (ATL) marketing spend," further product enhancement, and the "exploration of strategic M&A opportunities". The funding follows the recent launch of two major products: Intelligent Commerce, an "AI-powered platform" that has already become one of the business’s fastest-growing revenue streams, and Zilch Pay, a one-click checkout experience set to launch in H1 2026. Since its launch in 2020, the company has amassed "over 5.3 million customers" and has processed "over £5 billion of commerce" on its mission to eliminate high-cost credit. [Business Wire]

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