The Distillery #12: Texas Cracks Down on SMS & UK Banks Bet £1.8bn on GenAI

September 2025

Fintech & Payments

Juniper Research

Analyst House

Nominations for the Future Digital Awards for Telco Innovation 2026 are officially open!

You now have until October 24th to submit your free entry (or entries). Don’t miss the chance to be recognised as a leader — whether you’re pushing the boundaries of roaming, unlocking new opportunities in IoT, or pioneering the future of network transformation. Good luck!

Also in this edition:

• Wyoming corrals the first state-backed stablecoin — now it has to prove its worth
• Texas has redrawn the rules on business messaging; pulling SMS and MMS under telemarketing law
• UK banks are set to pour £1.8 billion into GenAI by 2030 — but with efficiency gains come tough questions on jobs and reskilling
• Our latest insights on cellular IoT, direct-to-cell, MVNOs, and conversational messaging

FINTECH & PAYMENTS

Wyoming Saddles Up to Launch Its Own Stablecoin

Wyoming has become the first US state to launch its own stablecoin. The Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) will go live publicly in September 2025 across seven blockchains, including Ethereum and Solana. Each token is backed by dollars and short-term treasuries, with an extra 2% overcollateralisation to strengthen reserves.

The move cements Wyoming’s pro-crypto stance. But beyond signalling innovation, the question is whether FRNT has genuine utility.

Distilled…

🟣 Payments without intermediaries sound slick, but safeguards matter. FRNT promises instant, low-cost transfers. Yet with no middlemen, fraud protection and refunds become tricky. US consumers already have PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle for fast, trusted payments; leaving FRNT to fight for relevance in an already crowded space.

🟣 A unique public funding mechanism could resonate locally. Unlike other stablecoins, interest from FRNT reserves will flow into Wyoming’s School Foundation Fund. That direct link between adoption and community benefit sets FRNT apart, particularly for state citizens.

🟣 Government-to-citizen payouts are the strongest use case. In trials, FRNT’s prototype (WYST) reduced vendor payment times from 45 days to seconds. Applied to tax refunds, benefits and contracts, the token could make government processes leaner and more efficient.

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TELECOMS & CONNECTIVITY

Business Messaging Faces a Compliance Reset in Texas

Texas has redrawn the rules for business messaging. As of September 1, 2025, SB 140 classifies SMS and MMS as 'telephone solicitation, bringing them under the same restrictions as telemarketing. Violations now fall under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act; significantly raising the stakes for non-compliance.

The law requires brands and messaging platforms to register, respect quiet hours based on recipients’ local time, and keep detailed consent and opt-out records. Similar laws are spreading: Oregon’s HB 3865A takes effect January 1, 2026, while Michigan’s SB 351 is moving through the pipeline.

Distilled…

🟣 Registration brings bureaucracy. SB 140 pulls business messaging into the telemarketing regime; requiring state registration, licensing, and meticulous record-keeping. For many digital-first brands, that means navigating unfamiliar red tape before campaigns can even launch.

🟣 What’s compliant in Texas may not pass muster in Oregon or Michigan. Oregon’s HB 3865A adds frequency caps to quiet hours, while Michigan is independently preparing its own standards. Marketers will need state-aware scheduling systems and consent tracking that can stand up to scrutiny across jurisdictions.

🟣 Compliance becomes a competitive differentiator. Businesses leaning on outdated consent language, broad outreach lists, or sloppy time-zone handling won’t just face regulatory fines — they risk campaign disruption and reputational damage. Providers that invest in airtight processes and documentation will be better positioned to win trust and scale safely.

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FINTECH & PAYMENTS

UK Banks Set to Pour £1.8 Billion into GenAI by 2030

UK banks are gearing up to spend big on generative AI. A new study from Zopa Bank and Juniper Research projects more than £1.8 billion in investment by 2030; aimed at boosting productivity, reducing costs and reshaping customer experiences.

Distilled…

🟣 GenAI delivers measurable upside. By 2030, the technology could save 187 million labour hours across the UK banking sector. Those efficiency gains translate into cost reductions equivalent to the full £1.8 billion investment — effectively a 100% ROI — with additional value compounding beyond 2030 as adoption deepens.

🟣 Efficiency gains hit hardest in the back office. The biggest benefits will be realised in high street banks, where large branch networks mean heavy administrative and operational workloads. GenAI’s ability to automate documentation, compliance checks and routine processing positions it as a lever for meaningful cost and time savings in these areas.

🟣 Workforce disruption is inevitable. Up to 10% of UK banking roles could be displaced as GenAI reshapes workflows. That challenge has pushed reskilling higher up the agenda, with initiatives such as Zopa Bank’s Jobs 2030 aiming to retrain 100,000 staff in AI disciplines. Preparing employees for new roles will be essential if banks want to capture GenAI’s upside without fuelling long-term skills shortages.

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ICYMI

The Last Drop

We can’t fit all our work from the last fortnight in one issue, so here’s a hand-picked selection of blogs, infographics, and insights that deserve your attention.

🌐 Cellular IoT is going global — operators will generate $30 billion from cellular IoT connectivity by 2030; up from $18 billion in 2025.

🚀 KDDI has become the first operator to launch direct-to-cell data. But with high costs, limited use cases, and near-universal mobile broadband coverage, is this just hype?

📱 eSIM-based MVNO-in-a-Box solutions enable any business to launch mobile services with ease. But without strong differentiation, is becoming a provider really profitable?

💬 Conversational messaging is booming — global business messaging will climb from 2 trillion messages in 2025 to nearly 3 trillion by 2030, across SMS, RCS, and OTT channels.

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