Consumer Finance

Phillip Securities (Thailand) Public Company Limited estimates that Muangthai Capital Public Company Limited, or MTC, will post net profit of about 2 billion baht in the third quarter of 2026, up 18.4% from the same period a year earlier and 7.2% from the previous quarter, marking a record high for a 13th consecutive quarter, driven by interest income growing in line with loan expansion while interest expenses trend lower, even as the company may face higher expenses and provisioning. The research team expects loans in the third quarter of 2026 to expand 3.1% from the previous quarter, accelerating from 2.6% in the second quarter of 2026, bringing loan growth from the end of 2025 to about 5.8% year-to-date. However, that acceleration may come with pressure on asset quality, with non-performing loans expected to continue rising. Phillip Securities maintains its net profit forecast for MTC in 2026 at 7.6 billion baht, up 13.4% from a year earlier, and keeps its 2027 target price at 42 baht per share with a buy recommendation.

Chayo Group Public Company Limited, or CHAYO, is pressing ahead with expanding its personal loan base, focusing on Advance or emergency loans through the Chayo Capital application, targeting an increase of around 5,000 to 10,000 app-based customers this year, up from the current base of around 2,000 to 3,000 such customers. Chief Executive Officer Suksan Yosain opened up that hitting that target will help support revenue from the lending business to expand, from its current share of around 2% of revenue. The main revenue structure still comes from the debt management and debt purchase business at around 90%, followed by debt collection services at around 4-5% and the business of supplying workers to factories at around 3%. As for the earnings outlook for 2026, the company is maintaining its profit target at the parent company level of approximately 300 million baht, after turning a profit of around 201.73 million baht in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, on the partial repayment of principal on all five series of debentures, namely CHAYO25NA, CHAYO263A, CHAYO26OA, CHAYO273A and CHAYO279A, with a combined value of approximately 3.9329 billion baht, the company plans to repay around 10% of the principal across all five series within 2026. It has already repaid four series, leaving the fifth, which falls due in November 2026, and it has prepared liquidity to cover it. The company has an interest-bearing debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97 times, and stands ready to acquire additional new non-performing debt portfolios at appropriate price levels, while continuing to develop its competitiveness by bringing in technology and artificial intelligence systems to help manage costs more efficiently.

SoFi Technologies and Mastercard announced that stablecoin settlement went live across SoFi Bank, N.A.'s debit and credit card program, migrating its entire US$25.00 billion card portfolio to SoFiUSD. SoFiUSD is the first stablecoin issued by a nationally chartered bank on Mastercard's global network, positioning bank-issued stablecoins as an operational bridge between traditional payment rails and blockchain infrastructure. The move connects to SoFi's April 2026 launch of Big Business Banking, which lets enterprises manage fiat and crypto, mint and burn SoFiUSD, and access real time payments in a single bank interface. SoFi's narrative projects $7.7 billion revenue and $1.6 billion earnings by 2029, requiring 21.6% yearly revenue growth and an earnings increase of about $1.0 billion from $636.3 million today, while the most pessimistic analysts saw SoFi reaching only about US$6.0 billion revenue and US$1.0 billion earnings by 2029.

Synchrony Financial is deepening CareCredit's veterinary reach by integrating its financing options directly into Vetspire's AI-enabled practice management platform, bringing payment into the clinical workflow and reducing reliance on separate payment terminals. Vetspire is used by more than 1,000 veterinary hospitals and clinics nationwide, and about 85% of its clinics are already enrolled with CareCredit, leaving the remaining 15% as an opportunity for incremental provider adoption. The companies plan to collect clinic-level performance data to quantify whether the integration improves workflow efficiency and treatment acceptance, and participating practices gain access to CareCredit's marketing resources and business intelligence support. For Synchrony, the deal extends CareCredit into the digital infrastructure surrounding healthcare payments; in the second quarter of 2026, Health & Wellness purchase volume increased 2.1% year over year, primarily on higher Pet spending, while health and wellness loan receivables rose 0.5%.

Tris Rating has affirmed the corporate rating and the rating of senior unsecured debentures of Ratchathani Leasing, or THANI, at A- with a Stable outlook, while upgrading its standalone corporate credit profile, or SACP, to a- from bbb+, reflecting a stronger capital base at the Very Strong level and the company's firmly maintained leadership in the commercial truck and luxury car hire-purchase lending market. Executive Chairman Kowit Rungwattanasophon said Tris Rating views the first-half 2026 operating results as recovering better than expected, with the company reporting net profit of 700 million baht, up 31% from the same period a year earlier, driven by lower credit costs and reduced losses from vehicle repossessions. The net interest margin, or NIM, rose to 3.7%, while the non-performing loan ratio, or NPL Ratio, fell to 2.4% at the end of June 2026 from 2.6% at the end of 2025. New lending in the first half of 2026 increased by about 20% from the same period a year earlier, and new truck sales in the system expanded 24% in the first seven months of 2026. THANI is a strategically important subsidiary of Thanachart Capital, or TCAP, which holds a 66.9% stake, and is a core business unit generating roughly 14% of the Thanachart group's profit. As of the end of June 2026, the company had total credit lines of approximately 7.2 billion baht, of which about 57% remained undrawn.

Tris Rating has affirmed the corporate and senior unsecured debenture ratings of Ratchthani Leasing Public Company Limited, or THANI, at A- with a Stable outlook, and has upgraded the company's standalone credit profile, or SACP, to a- from bbb+, reflecting a stronger capital position at the Very Strong level as well as the company's ability to maintain its market leadership in commercial truck and luxury car hire-purchase lending. Kovit Rungwattanasophon, Chairman of the Executive Board, said that in the final stretch of 2026 the Thai economy is still recovering gradually, so the company is pressing ahead aggressively with its commercial truck hire-purchase lending business. Tris Rating views the first-half 2026 operating results as recovering better than expected, with the company reporting net profit of 700 million baht, up 31% from the same period a year earlier, driven by lower credit expenses and lower losses from vehicle repossessions. The net interest margin, or NIM, improved to 3.7%. Asset quality continued to improve, with the non-performing loan ratio, or NPL Ratio, falling to 2.4% at the end of June 2026 from 2.6% at the end of 2025, while new lending in the first half of 2026 rose about 20% from the same period a year earlier. New truck sales in the system expanded 24% in the first seven months of 2026. THANI is a strategically important subsidiary of Thanachart Capital Public Company Limited, or TCAP, which holds a 66.9% stake, and is a core business unit generating roughly 14% of the Thanachart group's profit as of the end of June 2026. The company has total credit lines of approximately 7.2 billion baht, of which about 57% remains undrawn.

Encore Capital Group raised its full-year 2026 outlook, now expecting portfolio purchases of $1.40-$1.50 billion, collections of $2.80-$2.85 billion, and GAAP EPS of $13.00-$14.00, including a $1 per share impact from refinancing costs. The guidance came as the company's shares have soared 73.8% so far in 2026, against a 16.2% decline for its industry and a 17.2% gain for the S&P 500, outpacing peers Credit Acceptance Corporation, up 19.7%, and PRA Group, up 10.2%. In the first half of 2026, U.S. receivable portfolio purchases reached $688.1 million out of $806.7 million in global purchases, while global collections hit a record $1.46 billion and estimated remaining collections rose 9% year over year to $10.18 billion as of June 30, 2026. In May, the company refinanced approximately $1 billion of debt through two lower-coupon bonds, a move expected to save about $15 million annually, and leverage stood at 2.3x as of June 30, 2026, down from 2.6x a year earlier. The Zacks Consensus Estimate projects earnings per share rising from $10.91 in 2025 to $13.52 in 2026 and $14.64 in 2027, though risks include U.S. concentration, with Midland Credit Management accounting for 85.3% of global portfolio purchasing dollars in the first half, and legal collections expenses that rose 25.8% year over year.

Muangthai Capital Public Company Limited, or MTC, has set a growth target of approximately 8% for its loan portfolio and revenue in 2026, while aiming to expand its customer base from the current 3.7 million to 4 million. Executive Chairman Parithat Patcharachai disclosed that recent flooding affected about 50 of the company's roughly 9,000 branches, mostly in Bangkok and nearby provinces such as Pathum Thani, but the situation was short-lived, lasting only 3 to 4 days, and therefore did not significantly impact third-quarter 2026 earnings. The company has prepared case-by-case assistance measures for affected customers. On asset quality, as of the second quarter of 2026, the company's non-performing loans stood at 2.6%, while its total loan portfolio was approximately 190 billion baht, and its branch network increased to about 9,000 branches from 8,906 in the second quarter of 2026. Regarding loan demand trends, Parithat said it has slowed slightly due to geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, but is expected to recover well in 2027, with the loan rejection rate trending downward. Meanwhile, the agricultural sector is being supported by higher rice prices, which have risen to around 8,000 baht per cart, helping to improve the debt-servicing capacity of farmers, who are the company's main customer group.

American Express is rolling out a new business platform that combines payments, expense management, and agentic AI tools aimed at midsize companies, according to Raymond Joabar, group president of global commercial services at AmEx. The tools are designed for companies with roughly $5 million to $300 million in revenue and about 10 to 500 employees, Joabar told Yahoo Finance. The offering bundles intelligent expense management software, a new cashback card program, and agentic tools on a single platform, with accounts payable capabilities planned. Joabar cited a survey showing 92% of midsize businesses are trying to consolidate their expense tools, and said the platform lets finance teams analyze spending data in real time while automating expense reporting and policy checks. A new mobile app lets employees approve transactions and route receipts in real time.

Phillip Securities estimates that KTC will report third-quarter 2026 profit of 2.2 billion baht, up 0.8% from the previous quarter, and expects profit to keep setting new highs, driven by rising lending that will lift interest income and fee income, even as provisions and expenses increase. Year on year, profit is expected to rise 15% on higher interest and fee income, while interest costs and provisions decline. For the first nine months of 2026, profit is expected at 6.6 billion baht, up 16.3% from a year earlier, helped by lower interest costs and provisions and by holding expenses steady. The research house maintains its 2026 profit forecast at 8.5 billion baht, up 9.4% from a year earlier and a continued record high, and keeps its base price target at 45 baht with a Buy recommendation, viewing KTC as still outperforming peers in both lending and card spending growth.

Asia Plus Securities Company Limited, or ASP, is opening subscriptions for institutional investors and high-net-worth investors to subscribe to the bonds of Money Turbo Public Company Limited, or TURBO, in its 1/2026 issuance, comprising 2 tranches, between 5 and 7 October 2026. The first tranche has a maturity of 2 years, 1 month and 2 days, maturing in 2028, with an interest rate of 5.20% per annum, and the second tranche has a maturity of 3 years, 1 month and 1 day, maturing in 2029, with an interest rate of 5.60% per annum. Interest is paid every 3 months. ASP is one of the underwriters of the bonds, and TURBO will use the proceeds to expand the loan portfolio of the TURBO group. TURBO received a corporate credit rating of BBB- with a Positive outlook from TRIS Rating Company Limited on 28 May 2026. It operates a non-bank financial business covering auto title loans, land title deed loans, nano finance loans, and an insurance brokerage business. For its operating results in the first 6 months of 2026, TURBO had total revenue of 1,676.31 million baht, up from 1,517.55 million baht in the same period last year, and net profit of 329.12 million baht, up from 235.92 million baht, or growth of approximately 39.5% from the same period last year.

KTC has launched a rooftop Solar Subscription service together with BlueRing Energy, becoming the first credit card to run a marketing campaign under this model. Members who pay a monthly service fee of 699 baht or more with their KTC credit card receive 15% cash back plus the option to use KTC FOREVER points under the conditions, from 1 October 2026 to 30 June 2027, and receive system maintenance and care services from BlueRing throughout the contract term. Kiattisak Srisuriyaporn, Head of Business Development at BlueRing Energy Provider Co., Ltd., said the company developed the Solar Subscription model as the first in Thailand to unlock the barrier of initial investment running into the hundreds of thousands of baht, with a Zero Upfront Cost concept designed so that the savings from lower electricity bills outweigh the monthly service fee, and to facilitate government paperwork so that homeowners can sell surplus electricity back to the power authority. Nattasit Suntranu, Chief Marketing Officer for Credit Cards at KTC, or Krungthai Card Public Company Limited, said KTC has more than 31 Solar Rooftop business partners covering installation service providers, equipment and energy solutions, and views energy as one of the key costs for Thai households and increasingly linked to long-term financial planning.

American Express announced the launch of the next generation of Amex Corporate, bringing together the new American Express Corporate Cashback Cards, integrated Expense Management software, and the new Amex Expense mobile app. The new Corporate Cashback Card earns 1.5% cash back as a monthly statement credit on up to $10 million per calendar year across all of the company's Corporate Cashback Cards, then 1% after, and carries a $2,950 annual program membership fee for unlimited Corporate Cashback Cards, waived for the first year. The card also offers 3% Uber Cash on Business Rides and Uber Eats and access to unlimited Virtual Cards. The launch marks the next evolution of Amex Business Membership, which American Express said has served the commercial segment for over 60 years, and the company plans to add new AI agents to the Amex Corporate Expense Management software later this fall, including an expense agent and an insights agent. American Express also plans to further expand Amex Corporate to include Accounts Payable software available to Corporate Cashback Card customers. The company said American Express Cards are now accepted at more than 190 million Merchant locations worldwide, an increase of approximately 20 million locations this year.

KTC, or Krungthai Card Public Company Limited, has announced a partnership with BlueRing Energy Provider Company Limited to launch a solar rooftop installation service on a subscription basis, or Solar Subscription. It is the first credit card in Thailand to run a marketing campaign with BlueRing under this model. Members who use their KTC credit card to pay monthly service fees of 699 baht or more will receive 15% cash back, along with the use of KTC FOREVER points under the conditions, from October 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Mr. Kiattisak Srisuriyaporn, Head of Business Development at BlueRing, said that BlueRing developed the Solar Subscription model as the first in Thailand to unlock the barrier of an initial investment of several hundred thousand baht, with a Zero Upfront Cost concept designed so that the savings on electricity bills are worth more than the monthly service fee, along with a team to care for the system throughout the contract term and to facilitate paperwork with government agencies so that homeowners can sell surplus electricity back to the electricity authority. Mr. Nuttasit Suntranu, Chief Marketing Officer for Credit Cards at KTC, said that KTC has more than 31 Solar Rooftop business partners, covering installation service providers, equipment, and energy solutions, and that consumers can choose to pay in full, in installments, or through the Subscription model according to their electricity usage behavior and their ability to manage expenses.

American Express Company's global merchant network has crossed 190 million locations, adding about 20 million locations in 2026 alone, with acceptance outside the United States more than doubling over the past four years. The company credits partnerships with banks, fintechs, payment facilitators and local acquirers, alongside its own acquiring network, and says expansion has focused on cities and spending categories important to card members. Since 2021, acceptance has doubled in Canada, Japan and Mexico, tripled across Europe and quadrupled in Singapore, while U.S. acceptance has remained at 99% of places taking credit cards since 2019. AmEx says average spending on its U.S. cards is three times that of cards on other networks, so broader acceptance should support higher card spending, transaction volumes and merchant-related revenues, though the financial benefit will depend on how efficiently the company converts new merchant locations into active spending. Peers Visa Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated are already entrenched across more than 200 countries and territories, with Visa's total processed transactions at 71.7 billion for the June quarter, up 10% year over year, and Mastercard's switched transactions up 9% year over year to 47.4 billion in the last reported quarter. Shares of AXP have declined 17.4% year to date, underperforming the broader industry's 10.9% fall, and the stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61X versus the industry average of 15.02X, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate implying a 15.2% rise in 2026 earnings followed by 14.5% growth next year.

Italy's major bank UniCredit is preparing to take control of Germany's Commerzbank as early as January and to overhaul its supervisory board, the Financial Times reported on the 29th, citing people familiar with the matter. UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel plans to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting after obtaining the remaining regulatory approvals needed to take control of Commerzbank. UniCredit expects to secure control of Commerzbank by the end of February. The plan is to replace all ten shareholder representatives on Commerzbank's twenty-member supervisory board, thereby securing a de facto majority.

SoFi Technologies has begun migrating its full debit and credit card program to stablecoin settlement using SoFiUSD across Mastercard's network, a live card program expected to handle more than $25 billion in annualized volume. SoFi Bank has already moved transactions onto blockchain rails, and merchants do not need to hold stablecoins or build new infrastructure to participate. Payward will join the SoFi Exchange Network, list SoFiUSD on Kraken and use SoFi's Big Business Banking capabilities, while SoFi will use Kraken Prime for digital-asset liquidity. In the second quarter, management said roughly $300 million of SoFiUSD was in circulation, and second-quarter adjusted net revenues rose 40% year over year to $1.2 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $358 million at a 30% margin and fee-based revenues of $472 million. Management lifted 2026 adjusted net revenue guidance to $4.75 billion-$4.85 billion while maintaining about $1.6 billion of adjusted EBITDA, and consensus estimates point to 2026 and 2027 EPS increases of 53.85% and 35.91%, respectively. SoFi shares have fallen 36.7% year to date as of Sept. 25, 2026, compared with a 5.7% decline for PayPal and a 17.4% gain for Block, and SOFI trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales multiple of 3.83X versus 1.32X for PayPal and 1.63X for Block; SOFI carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

American Express announced on the 28th that the number of merchants worldwide that accept its cards has surpassed 190 million. Merchant locations outside the United States have more than doubled over the past four years. The number of places where a card can be used is key to growing card spending: the more locations that accept it, the more opportunities customers have to use the card for everyday purchases and travel, which in turn drives growth in spending and revenue. While rivals Visa and Mastercard have built broader merchant networks and greater business scale in many major overseas markets, American Express had long struggled with a shortage of places to use its cards outside the United States. The company is now strengthening relationships with global payment platforms, payment processors, licensing partners and local merchant acquirers, and continuing to expand its large merchant network. In expanding that network, it has focused on regions where card members spend heavily, adding more locations that accept the card in popular travel destinations such as Barcelona in Spain, Hong Kong, Paris and Sicily in Italy. Anna Marrs, president of American Express's Global Merchant and Network Services division, said in an interview with Reuters that the company also prioritizes cities expected to host large events. "We also take into account places that gain popularity through big events, such as sporting events. That is why we have focused on places like Mexico City and Melbourne," she said. Marrs expressed eagerness for further expansion, saying, "We see continued opportunities around the world. In terms of merchant coverage, we have not yet reached the level we are aiming for."

Auttaya Poonwattu, Chief Executive Officer of Tidlor Holdings Public Company Limited, or TIDLOR, disclosed that the Tidlor group of businesses held TIDLOR OPEN BOX 2026, its annual leadership conference for 2026, now in its third consecutive year, under the theme Beyond Execution: Take Ownership. A total of 480 senior executives and organizational leaders from across the country attended, to hear the business direction ahead of the final quarter of the year. At the event, the management team presented the operating results of the past half year, noting that the group continued to deliver quality growth, with the loan business maintaining asset quality at a well-managed level, while the insurance brokerage business grew faster than the overall market, helped especially by the strong response to life insurance products launched in the recent period. This has become a second engine contributing significantly to the overall growth of the Tidlor Holdings group. The company also announced the establishment of a Corporate Strategy and Investment Management Department, and introduced Thianthum Chalermsappayakorn as Senior Assistant Managing Director of the Corporate Strategy and Investment Management Department, who will bring more than 25 years of experience to support strategy, investment, business opportunity development, and the building of partnerships.

SGC Capital Public Company Limited, or SGC, will hold a shareholder meeting on September 29, 2026, to consider a resolution to transfer its legal reserve and share premium on ordinary shares to offset accumulated losses under its separate financial statements, which will leave its shareholders' equity structure with no remaining accumulated losses. Managing Director Anothai Sriteepech said that clearing the accumulated losses will benefit all shareholders, and if the company generates profits, the board will have the authority to consider paying dividends as appropriate, with hopes of returning to dividend payments in 2027 after having paid only once in the early period following its listing on the stock exchange in December 2022. Meanwhile, the sale of the C4C cash-generating auto loan portfolio, which accounts for about 8% of the total loan portfolio, is a small transaction that does not require shareholder meeting approval. For the third-quarter 2026 outlook, new loan origination is expected to grow better than in the second quarter, both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, driven by higher loan demand in the second half of the year than in the first half and by rising mobile phone prices due to higher chipset and memory costs, which increases the credit limit per device. The company has returned to continuous net profits for eight quarters, or about two years, and full-year 2026 results are expected to reach a record high. The Lock Phone new loan origination target for this year remains at 14 billion baht, while Hyper Charge loans and C-CONSOL loans are targeted to originate a combined total of about 500 million baht, which is expected to drive total revenue growth of about 30% this year, plus or minus. The company has sufficient cash on hand and cash inflows to support its new loan origination plan throughout the year, and real transactions from the cash-generating auto loan business are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, or from October onward, after it completes document verification and operational procedures with its existing partner. As for its long-term strategy, the company is applying device-locking technology to loans for electrical appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines to control and reduce its non-performing loan ratio.

SoFi Technologies and Mastercard launched live stablecoin settlement across SoFi Bank's debit and credit card program on September 22, with SoFi migrating its entire $25 billion card program to blockchain-based settlement on Mastercard's global payment network. The settlement is powered by SoFiUSD, the first stablecoin issued by a nationally chartered bank, and the companies say the initiative bridges traditional payment rails and digital asset networks to offer card issuers, acquirers, and merchants optimized liquidity management. SoFi reported record adjusted net revenue of $1.2 billion in Q2 2026, up 40% year-over-year, added 1.1 million members to reach 15.8 million total members, and saw interchange revenue jump 55% year-over-year on $28 billion in annualized card spend. Mastercard posted $2.9 trillion in Q2 gross dollar volume, $1.86 billion in Value-Added Services and Solutions revenue, up 20%, and $4.4 billion in Q2 net income. The article also flags execution risks, noting SoFi's $14.8 billion in Q2 loan originations and $156.6 million in Q2 GAAP net income, and Mastercard's 22% year-over-year rise in payment network rebates and incentives alongside an 11% increase in adjusted operating expenses.

KBRA has assigned preliminary ratings to five classes of notes issued by Upstart Securitization Trust 2026-4, a $400.0 million consumer loan ABS securitization collateralized by unsecured consumer loans and auto secured personal loans. The deal is the 52nd ABS securitization collateralized by loans originated through the online platform operated by Upstart Network, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Upstart Holdings, Inc. The preliminary ratings reflect initial credit enhancement levels of 65.30% for the Class A-1 and Class A-2 notes, 51.60% for the Class B notes, 41.15% for the Class C notes and 20.50% for the Class D notes, consisting of overcollateralization, excess spread, a non-declining cash reserve account and subordination, except for the Class D notes. As of the August 10, 2026 statistical cutoff date, the collateral pool will include approximately $500.0 million of loans, with auto secured personal loans comprising approximately 5.0% of the pool. KBRA applied its Consumer Loan ABS Global Rating Methodology and its Global Structured Finance Counterparty Methodology, and considered its operational reviews of Upstart and periodic update calls with the company; operative agreements and legal opinions will be reviewed prior to closing.

Orion Digital announced Monday that it has received formal written confirmation from Nasdaq that the company has regained compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement. To regain compliance, the company's shares of common stock were required to maintain a minimum closing bid price of $1 or more for at least 10 consecutive business days. The closing bid price of the shares has been at $1.00 per share or greater for the 14 consecutive business days from September 8, 2026, to September 25, 2026. Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff has accordingly notified the company that it has regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rules, and the matter is now closed.

SoFi Technologies has begun migrating its full debit and credit card program to stablecoin settlement using SoFiUSD across Mastercard's network, a live card program expected to handle more than $25 billion in annualized volume. Transactions are already live on blockchain rails, and merchants do not need to hold stablecoins or build new infrastructure to participate; SoFi is also discussing stablecoin-based settlement with large U.S. merchants. Payward will join the SoFi Exchange Network, list SoFiUSD on Kraken and use SoFi's Big Business Banking capabilities, while SoFi will use Kraken Prime for digital-asset liquidity. In the second quarter, management said roughly $300 million of SoFiUSD was in circulation and that its first commercial clients were moving money in real time through the network. The stablecoin push sits atop a strengthening core: second-quarter adjusted net revenues rose 40% year over year to $1.2 billion, adjusted EBITDA reached $358 million at a 30% margin, and fee-based revenues were $472 million, or 39% of adjusted net revenues, while management lifted 2026 adjusted net revenue guidance to $4.75 billion-$4.85 billion. SOFI shares have fallen 36.7% year to date as of Sept. 25, 2026, compared with a 5.7% decline for PayPal and a 17.4% gain for Block, and the stock trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales multiple of 3.83X versus 1.32X for PayPal and 1.63X for Block.

A consortium of six global banks—ASB, Bank of America, Capital One, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ING, and NatWest—released a document titled Building Trust in Agentic Commerce on September 22, 2026, setting out voluntary governance principles for AI-agent-driven transactions ahead of formal regulation. The paper outlines five pillars: Transparency, Safety, Privacy and data, Choice, and Interoperability, and suggests liability should reflect where risks or errors are introduced. The banks are responding to a market where 89% of merchants are preparing for agentic commerce but only 3% of transactions involve AI agents, with consumer trust at 24%. Mark Monaco, Head of Global Payments Solutions at Bank of America, said establishing trust and confidence across the ecosystem will be critical to its long-term success. The principles carry no implementation timetable, and the consortium plans a follow-up paper on implementation while the industry awaits the NIST AI Agent Interoperability Profile, expected in Q4 2026.

American Express said its cards are now accepted at more than 190 million merchant locations worldwide after adding roughly 20 million locations this year. The company said in a statement published on Monday that the number of Amex-accepting merchant locations outside the United States has more than doubled over the past four years.

American Express said its Cards are now accepted at more than 190 million Merchant locations worldwide, an increase of approximately 20 million locations this year, with the number of Amex-accepting Merchant locations outside the U.S. more than doubling over the last four years. The company attributed the growth to key partnerships, targeted expansion in the places Card Members live, work, and travel, and continued innovation in how customers pay. Anna Marrs, Group President of Global Merchant & Network Services, said the milestone reflects decades of investment in expanding the global network, adding that American Express is focused on adding acceptance in the cities and categories where Card Members want to spend. Since 2021, the company has doubled locations in Canada, Japan, and Mexico, tripled locations across Europe including the UK and France, and quadrupled locations in Singapore, while its Cards are now accepted at an estimated 800 or more transit authorities worldwide. American Express also said average annual spending on its Cards in the U.S. is three times that of cards on other networks, and that it has been accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards in the U.S. since the end of 2019.

Krungthai Card Public Company Limited, or KTC, has received the Visa Thailand Champion Security Award 2025 for the third consecutive year, reflecting its standards in managing fraud risk and its collaboration with Visa in raising the security of payment systems. Raiwin Worawongsathit, Chief Operating Officer of the Operations Control Division at KTC, said that KTC continuously develops its risk management across technology, data, work processes, and personnel, using spending behavior data to monitor and detect unusual transactions and expediting checks and alerts to cardmembers when risk signals are found. On the financial crime situation, Raiwin said that scammers have shifted from using money-draining apps to tricking victims into transferring money themselves through social engineering tactics. The Bank of Thailand's 2025 annual report stated that in 2025 there were more than 363,286 fraud cases reported, with total damages of 24.57 billion baht. He said risk management must therefore move beyond reactive prevention toward proactive fraud management that monitors, detects, and responds to anomalies faster, and stressed that three consecutive years of awards is not the finish line but a benchmark that must be maintained and further raised.

Thitikorn Public Company Limited, or TK, expects its operating results in the fourth quarter of 2026 to improve from the third quarter of 2026 as the motorcycle market enters its sales season, or high season, which is the core customer base of its hire-purchase lending business. Mr. Praphol Pornprapha, a director and deputy managing director, disclosed that the company is maintaining its target for its total loan portfolio in 2026 to grow at least 50%, under a strategy of quality growth, supported by liquidity from cash, deposits and investments totaling more than 3 billion baht and a low debt-to-equity ratio of only 0.07 times, sufficient to support portfolio expansion without relying mainly on borrowings. Ms. Patama Pornprapha, managing director, stated that the motorcycle loan portfolio in the first half of 2026 had already expanded by more than 39% from the end of 2025, with motorcycle loans in the second quarter of 2026 rising 39% overall, comprising growth of 77% in Thailand, 22% in Cambodia and 25% in Laos compared with the end of 2025, marking simultaneous growth in all three markets for three consecutive quarters, from the fourth quarter of 2025 through the second quarter of 2026. The company views the oversight by the Bank of Thailand as a positive development, helping to bring order to the lending market and reduce the intensity of competition, especially in the retail borrower segment and Buy Now Pay Later loans.

SGC Capital Public Company Limited, or SGC, expects to begin transferring its C4C car-for-cash loan portfolio to a juristic person that is not a related party starting in October 2026, after the board approved the sale of the portfolio for no more than 1.3 billion baht. The transaction is expected to be completed within the fourth quarter of 2026, with proceeds of approximately 1 billion baht recognised in that quarter. Managing Director Anothai Sriteepech said that strong cash flow, together with the roughly 1 billion baht expected from the loan portfolio sale, gives the company sufficient liquidity to operate throughout the year and allows it to postpone a new bond issuance to next year, from an earlier plan to issue additional bonds in the fourth quarter of 2026. As for the existing bonds maturing in December with a value of approximately 250 million baht, the company is ready to repay them from its existing cash balance. The company expects third-quarter 2026 results to remain positive, and the fourth quarter of 2026 to set a continuous new record high compared with the previous quarter and the same period a year earlier. It is confident that new lending in 2026 will meet its target of around 14 billion baht. The mobile phone loan business under the SG Finance+ platform remains a business with growth potential, especially the Lock Phone model, which has a network of more than 7,000 partner stores and dealers nationwide and helps support sales of leading phone brands such as Samsung to grow at 30 to 40 percent per year. The company also keeps the NPL level of its mobile phone loan business at around 2 percent by requiring down payments of 10 to 50 percent and repayment terms of no more than 24 months, along with a team that can track and repossess about 500 overdue devices per month, all of which are channelled into the second-hand market for resale.

American Express has launched American Express Business Savings Accounts alongside a new integrated Business Banking platform for small and medium-sized businesses. The company is also adding a payroll solution that uses AI-powered tools to help automate tasks for business customers. The three offerings — the savings accounts, the unified Business Banking front end, and the AI payroll tools — extend American Express beyond card processing into broader small and medium-sized business financial services and digital banking. The push aims to capture more of a small-business owner's financial life, including deposits, payments, payroll, and software integrations, rather than card spend alone. Larger rivals such as JPMorgan Chase and Capital One also pair cards with digital banking, leaving open the question of whether American Express can bundle benefits tightly enough to cover higher customer engagement costs with thicker fee and interchange income.

Mastercard has begun settling SoFi Bank card transactions using SoFiUSD, putting a bank-issued stablecoin to work inside an operating card program. SoFi says the program is expected to handle more than $25 billion in annualized card volume, a figure that represents the size of the card program rather than a reported total for stablecoin transactions or new Mastercard revenue. Merchants can receive funds without holding tokens or building blockchain systems, which the companies say improves the arrangement's chances of fitting into everyday payments. Mastercard shares held flat at $565.21 at 11.38am ET on Friday, leaving the stock 17.49% below its $685 GF Value estimate. The company's opportunity lies in keeping its network central as the asset used for settlement changes, with proof to come from faster or cheaper settlement, wider adoption and eventually measurable revenue.

Upstart has expanded its partnership with Commonwealth Credit Union to add home equity lines of credit and indirect auto lending, extending a relationship that began in 2022 with personal lending. The Kentucky-headquartered credit union serves more than 140,000 members, and Commonwealth said the move will help it serve members across more borrowing needs, diversify its consumer lending portfolio and deepen relationships with prime borrowers. The expansion comes as Upstart's secured business scales quickly: in the second quarter of 2026, secured originations reached $589 million, rising 218% year over year and 45% sequentially, with auto originations growing about fourfold year over year and home originations roughly doubling. Upstart's broader business also showed stronger momentum in the second quarter of 2026, with total originations of $4.2 billion, up 50% year over year, revenues up 42% to $365 million, net income of $16.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $76.9 million. More than 100 banks and credit unions already use Upstart's marketplace, and broader adoption of HELOC and auto lending across partners could help diversify its originations mix and underpin continued growth in secured lending.