The week brought significant developments across retailtrading, fintech and financial regulation. Prop Firm Match faced a growingbacklash from prop trading firms over its affiliate tracking practices, whileeToro agreed to acquire an Argentine fintech business as it continued expandingthrough acquisitions. Capital.com also secured a new regulatory licence inSingapore and appointed a former IG executive to lead its local operations.London's trading industry is coming home!Regulatory developments included new UK initiatives coveringquantum computing and financial crime, alongside changes to transactionreporting requirements. South Africa's regulator also made its withdrawal ofMixirite's licence final. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence remained a keyindustry topic, with discussions focusing on how brokers attract customersthrough AI search and whether investment in the technology can deliver alasting competitive advantage.Prop Firm Match Loses Around 21 Partners Over AffiliateRedirect ControversyPropFirm Match has lost around 21 prop trading firm partners afteracknowledging that clicks on firm profiles and promotional codes opened partnerwebsites through its affiliate links. The exits include Apex Trader Funding,Tradeify, Lucid Trading, Goat Funded Trader, FundingPips and Blue Guardian. Theplatform said it disabled the functionality on 29 October and estimated thatthe potential impact on referral attribution represented a low single-digitpercentage of its commissions.Three years ago, Prop Firm Match launched. Two traders saw a gap in the market for a platform providing simplicity and transparency for prop firm traders. We developed new features not seen before: verified reviews, payout tracking across all payment methods, live spreads, rule overviews, simple ways to compare prop firms, and prop firm expos.Three years in, PFM has had over 25M website visits, reached over 370,000 members, and has given out free challenge accounts worth over $1,400,000 to the PFM community. Over 100 firms apply to be listed each year and go through one of the industry’s most rigorous compliance processes.We also got something wrong. Until yesterday, when someone clicked on a firm or a code on our site, a new tab would open the firm’s site through our affiliate link. This should not have happened. We take full responsibility for it. We have reached out to each of our partners to review this together and reconcile any inaccuracies. We respect any decisions firms have made based on this.We truly appreciate the partners and traders who value the relationship we have built together over the years. We promise you that we will learn from this, hold ourselves to the highest standard, and come back stronger and better.— Prop Firm Match (@PropFirmMatch) October 31, 2026However, a source close to the matter saidmisattributed sales could have appeared as ordinary referrals because trackingcookie periods varied between firms. FundingPips' CEO also said his company hadidentified the practice in August. The platform has invited current and formerpartners to review its findings.eToro Agrees to Acquire Argentine Fintech LB FinanzaseToro has agreed to acquire Argentinefinancial app LB Finanzas for an undisclosed amount, marking its fourthacquisition of 2026. The transaction remains subject to customary closingconditions and is intended to establish a stronger local presence in LatinAmerica.LB Finanzas operates an investment platform offering access toequities, cryptocurrencies and payment services. It is regulated by Argentina'sNational Securities Commission and Central Bank. The acquisition adds localoperations and regulatory infrastructure to eToro's regional expansion plans.Earlier this year, the company agreed to acquire crypto wallet provider Zengo,completed its purchase of Israeli exchange Bit2C and announced an agreement toacquire US brokerage TradeZero, which is expected to close in 2027.Capital.com Secures Singapore Licence Capital.comhas received a licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS),allowing its local entity to offer securities, collective investment schemesand over-the-counter derivatives, including contracts for differences (CFDs).The broker plans to begin onboarding clients in early 2027. It has appointedTony Lim as Chief Executive of its Singapore operations. Lim previously spentnine years at IG Group's Singapore division as CEO and Managing Director. Theappointment follows Capital.com's recent regulatory expansion in South Africaand its recruitment of local executives in Brazil and Chile. The broker hasalso been exploring licensing opportunities in markets including Japan andTurkey as it expands its international operations.FCA Invites Financial Firms to Test Quantum Computing The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has invitedfinancial firms, quantum computing providers and research institutions to testwhether quantum technology can improve money laundering and fraud detection.Participants will join its new Quantum Experimentation Group and work with anartificial dataset developed by the regulator. The trials will compare quantummachine learning approaches with conventional techniques to address financialcrime problems identified by the FCA. Registration closes on 31 December, withthe programme scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2027. The initiativefollows the regulator's wider preparations for quantum computing, including aseparate warning about the need to adopt encryption capable of withstandingfuture quantum attacks.South Africa Makes Mixirite Licence Withdrawal Final South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) hasmade the withdrawal of Mixirite'sfinancial services licence final, citing material breaches of financialsector laws and failures in client protection. The decision takes immediateeffect after the regulator concluded that the company no longer meets therequirements to operate as a financial services provider. The investigationfound that Mixirite's agents used aggressive sales techniques, whileunauthorised individuals provided financial advice.The regulator alsoidentified promises of unrealistic or guaranteed returns, inadequatesuitability assessments and governance failures. Mixirite did not oppose thefinal withdrawal but disputed the findings. Separately, the FSCA expanded itsinvestigation to include four other companies: Complyxpert, Start Stream, RaynInvestments and Advice 365.Brokers Face New Challenges as AI Chatbots ChangeCustomer DiscoveryArtificial intelligence chatbots are changing howretail traders discover and compare brokers, with industry experts warningthat strong Google rankings no longer guarantee visibility. Andy Francos,Growth Consultant at Pepperstone, said AI assistants increasingly provideprospective customers with shortlists before they visit individual broker websites.Wordflow founder Zay Yang highlighted that regulators, comparison platforms andindependent media frequently appear ahead of brokers' own websites inAI-generated recommendations. The experts said brokers need accurate,accessible information about licensing, fees and account offerings, preferablypresented in plain text rather than scripts or PDFs. Third-party coverage andcredible industry references are also becoming important as AI search enginesincreasingly determine which brands users consider.AI Investment Could Raise Costs Without Giving RetailBrokers a Lasting AdvantageArtificialintelligence could help retail brokers improve customer acquisition,automate support and provide more sophisticated trading tools, but thetechnology may not create a lasting competitive advantage, according to aFinance Magnates analysis by Paul Golden. Natural language screeners, portfolioanalysis and automated execution are among the features changing the tradingexperience. However, widely available AI models could make these servicesdifficult to differentiate. Brokers also face integration, monitoring andcompliance costs, while increased customer engagement does not necessarilytranslate into better retention or profitability. The analysis highlightsanother challenge: as traders increasingly use independent AI agents to compareplatforms and execute transactions, brokers could lose control of customerrelationships to technology providers.FCA Revises UK Transaction Reporting RulesThe FCA has finalised changes to the UK'sMiFIR transaction reporting framework, aiming to reduce industry costs bymore than £100 million annually. The reforms will cut reportable fields from 65to 52, remove around seven million instruments traded exclusively on EU venuesfrom UK reporting requirements and eliminate duplicate reporting of FXderivatives under MiFIR.The maximum period for correcting historical reportingerrors will also fall from five years to three. The regulator estimates thatfirms currently spend £493 million annually on transaction reporting. However,implementation will require changes to reporting systems, data management and validationprocesses. Quinn Perrott, Co-CEO of TRAction, highlights the operational workfirms will need to undertake to adapt to the revised requirements. The newregime will become fully effective on 3 April 2028, although some changes canbe adopted earlier.This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.