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NatWest is taking investing education deeper into British workplaces nationwide. The bank says new workshops and extra facilitators will help extend Financial Foundations to 50,000 people across workplaces and communities in 2026.
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BlackLine has widened its AI finance push into receivables workflows. Its London launch ties agentic tools to governance, auditability, and invoice-to-cash operations rather than standalone assistants.
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Ebury says headline borrowing rates can mask bigger financing risks. As geopolitical tensions unsettle markets, the lender is urging SMEs to scrutinise fees, repayment terms, and currency flexibility before judging the real cost of finance.
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UK SMEs are losing revenue to payment failures and churn. Access PaySuite says the average annual hit is £159,500, as finance teams spend hours each week chasing preventable failures, abandoned checkouts, and customer losses.
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Sole traders are increasingly asking AI for support with tax. Starling’s research suggests speed is driving adoption as new HMRC digital reporting rules push sole traders towards faster, simpler, and more integrated financial workflows.
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Access PaySuite says SMEs are leaking revenue through payments friction. New research puts average annual losses at £159,500 per business across the UK.
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Conflict has made quarterly earnings harder to read this year. Shell and Exxon have shown how hedges, cargo delays, and working-capital swings can leave reported performance out of step with underlying operations.
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SMEs are prioritising safety over returns on reserve cash balances. Flagstone says many still favour high street banks, despite lower rates and uneven FSCS coverage.
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Strong ESG performance can materially reduce tourism companies’ failure risk. New research links stronger ESG scores to lower earnings volatility and better survival odds across the sector.
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TreviPay says friction and AI expectations are reshaping buyer loyalty. A survey of 550 buyers across Europe and the UK points to invoice accuracy, onboarding speed, ERP integration, and payment flexibility as competitive requirements in supplier selection.