According to new analysis from the British Business Bank, challenger banks accounted for 60 per cent of SME lending in 2025, unchanged from the previous year. The figure marks only the second time in more than a decade that their market share has not increased, raising questions about whether the post-financial crisis disruption of the SME lending market has reached a plateau.
Perhaps the biggest hint of expansive plans came from Mastercards's president of the Americas, Linda Kirkpatrick, who said: "Innovation on Apple Card has taken the consumer payments experience to the next level, and we look forward to delivering simple, secure, and seamless payments at global scale." More challenging than before The latter statement suggests an intention to make the service available more widely, though it's possible the opportunity has already passed.