Finance, Banking & Insurance

Munich – September 11, 2026 -- Nearly half of European consumers, 46%, say they frequently abandon a transaction when identity verification is too complex or slow, according to a new IDnow survey released ahead of the EUDI Wallet's mandated December 2026 rollout.

The survey of 2,000 respondents across France and Germany, conducted by Sapio Research in June 2026, found that awareness of the EU Digital Identity Wallet remains low even as EU member states are required to make it available to every citizen by December 2026, with banks obligated to accept it starting December 2027.

Security concerns outweigh speed as the top adoption driver

Forty percent of respondents cited better fraud protection as the decisive factor for accepting the EUDI Wallet, ahead of data control (31%) and transparency over data usage (29%). Faster, simpler processes ranked lower, decisive for only 28% of respondents.

Munich – September 11, 2026 -- Nearly half of consumers in France and Germany, 46%, abandon a transaction when identity verification is too complex or slow, according to a new survey from IDnow published ahead of the EU Digital Identity Wallet's scheduled December 2026 rollout.

The EUDI Wallet Consumer Survey, conducted by Sapio Research in June 2026 among 2,000 adults aged 18-80 (1,000 in France, 1,000 in Germany), found that awareness of the incoming digital identity system remains low while friction in current onboarding processes is already costing financial services providers customers.

Lugano – – September 11, 2026 -- Fuze Finance has secured approval from the Supervisory Organisation for Financial Intermediaries and Trustees (SO-FIT) to operate as a supervised financial intermediary in Switzerland, marking the regulated crypto-assets infrastructure provider's first move into Western Europe. The approval, granted under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, allows Fuze to offer institutional clients crypto-asset infrastructure and stablecoin settlement alongside SWIFT, SEPA and SIC payment rails.

Four in five Swiss banks still lack a regulated crypto offering

Citing IMF data referencing FINMA, Fuze notes that roughly 80% of Swiss banks have yet to establish a regulated crypto-assets service, pointing to a supply gap in one of the world's largest private banking markets. The Swiss entry adds to Fuze's existing regulatory licenses in the Middle East, Turkey and Canada.

Beijing – September 11, 2026 -- Waterdrop Inc. (NYSE: WDH) reported second-quarter 2026 net operating revenue of RMB1,448.2 million (US$213.4 million), up 72.8% year-over-year and 16.6% quarter-over-quarter, as the Beijing-based insurance and healthcare technology platform scaled its AI-driven underwriting tools. Operating profit rose 14.3% year-over-year and 39.2% sequentially to RMB111.3 million (US$16.4 million).

Redmond, Wash. – September 11, 2026 -- Halfpricesoft.com has updated its ezAccounting payroll and business software, offering small businesses a desktop-based alternative to cloud subscription platforms with a flat annual fee of $199.00 per installation.

Small businesses face rising costs from forced monthly cloud subscriptions

Accounting platforms have increasingly shifted toward mandatory monthly fees and remote server storage, squeezing small business owners, contractors, and bookkeepers with escalating overhead and data privacy concerns. Halfpricesoft.com positions ezAccounting as a response, storing financial data on local hard drives without mandatory cloud sync.

Everett, Washington – September 11, 2026 -- Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP has opened a securities fraud investigation into Coastal Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CCB) after the bank's stock plunged 43.5% following disclosure of a massive credit loss tied to its banking-as-a-service partnerships.

Coastal Financial's stock collapsed 43.5% in a single trading session on September 11, 2026

Shares fell $30.75, from a close of $70.66 on September 11, 2026, to $39.91 the following day, after the company released Q2 2026 results.

New York – September 11, 2026 -- UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) faces a securities fraud class action after its stock plunged 34.78% on September 11, 2026, following disclosures about an over-hedged mortgage servicing rights position tied to a collapsed $1.3 billion merger with Two Harbors Investment Corp.

Stock Falls to $1.20 After Hedge Loss Disclosure

Shares dropped $0.64, from a closing price of $1.84 on September 11, 2026, to $1.20 the following day. The decline followed UWM's disclosure that it had deviated from its traditional practice of not hedging mortgage servicing rights, taking on a hedge position to protect against risk from the anticipated acquisition of Two Harbors and its RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing unit.

Frankfurt am Main – September 11, 2026 -- Germany has a realistic chance of restoring potential economic growth to more than 1% annually over the coming decade, according to a new KfW Research study, up from a rate that has slipped to barely above zero after standing near 2% in 2015.

KfW ties growth recovery to labor, capital and productivity gains

The study, titled "Standort Zukunft. Wie Deutschland zu neuer Stärke und Wachstum findet," identifies productivity as the most critical lever for reversing more than a decade of stagnation. KfW CEO Stefan Wintels and Chief Economist Dirk Schumacher presented the findings alongside a twelve-point policy paper in Frankfurt.

Hong Kong – September 11, 2026 -- Hang Feng Technology Innovation Co., Ltd., a Nasdaq-listed company headquartered in Hong Kong, reported a 73% year-on-year revenue decline for the six months ended September 11, 2026, as it redirects resources away from its legacy consulting business toward real-world asset (RWA) initiatives.

Revenue falls to $362,511 as consulting business contracts

Total revenue for the reporting period was $362,511, down from $1,327,707 in the first half of 2025. The company swung to a net loss of $553,033 and a comprehensive loss of $593,754, reversing prior-year net income of $363,524 and comprehensive income of $330,221. Management attributed the decline primarily to reduced business development and marketing activity in its corporate management consulting segment, a deliberate move tied to the reallocation of resources toward RWA development.

Los Angeles – September 11, 2026 -- Schall, Brown & Schwartz LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against Blaize Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BZAI), alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The lawsuit covers investors who purchased BZAI shares between September 11, 2026 and September 11, 2026, with a lead plaintiff filing deadline set for September 11, 2026.

Complaint alleges Blaize recognized revenue from entities lacking meaningful business activity

According to the complaint, Blaize created an appearance of growth by announcing transactions with counterparties that were not capable of meaningful business operations. The company then improperly recognized revenue from these arrangements, rendering its public statements throughout the class period false and materially misleading, the filing states.