Payments
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Permission granted by SoFi
Personal finance startup SoFi to acquire payments platform Galileo for $1.2B
Because many of Galileo's clients are SoFi competitors, the deal could raise conflict-of-interest questions, one expert says.
By Anna Hrushka • April 08, 2020 -
Plaid pushes payroll sharing as fintechs wait their turn on SBA loans
The product is meant to speed the verification process for banks submitting applications of behalf of small businesses that may not have time to lose.
By Dan Ennis , Kate Patrick • April 07, 2020 -
Colorado bank renamed to reflect Latvian owners' focus on payments
The new name, Transact Bank, is meant to convey "the range of payment processing and card issuing solutions" the bank will be providing, CEO Mark Moskvin said in a press release.
By Dan Ennis • April 02, 2020 -
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Banks, fintechs prepare for flood of SBA loan applications
As small businesses across the country shutter amid the pandemic, many fintech lenders are concerned traditional lenders won't be able to process loans quickly enough to get business owners the cash they need.
By Anna Hrushka • March 31, 2020 -
Green Dot
Green Dot hires former Netspend chief as CEO
The prepaid card provider renewed its most valuable partnership last year but lost hundreds of thousands of customers — and about 60% of its stock price.
By Dan Ennis • March 26, 2020 -
Unbanked would get digital accounts for virus relief under Senate bill
Legislation is aimed at giving more than 8 million U.S. households — and even more underbanked Americans — access to outbreak-related stimulus checks.
By Anna Hrushka • March 25, 2020 -
Report: Banks risk 5% loss in revenue to fintechs if they don't change
Banks' use of hidden fees that leverage consumers' money mismanagement is hurting them on trust, but they have an opportunity to change that, an Accenture report finds.
By Robert Freedman • March 11, 2020 -
Coronavirus could hit fintechs hard as card transactions drop
Fintechs’ reliance on the fees merchants pay when consumers make credit and debit purchases will be tested as people stay home.
By Robert Freedman • March 04, 2020 -
Banks mostly fear payments and money transfer fintechs, survey finds
Less of a concern among banks is competition from online investment and crowdfunding upstarts.
By Robert Freedman • March 03, 2020 -
AmEx's squeeze on small-business owners comes under fire
After its partnership with Costco ended, the card network misrepresented rewards and fees, issued unwanted cards and checked credit reports without consent, people told The Wall Street Journal.
By Dan Ennis • March 02, 2020 -
Curve
UK fintech offers 'over-the-top' banking service in card, mobile app
Curve's eponymous card is designed to unify all existing debit and credit card accounts, but will face heavy payments competition when it attempts to enter U.S. markets.
By Kate Patrick • Feb. 20, 2020 -
Online lender Kabbage rolls out 3-day small-business loans
The company's co-founder and president, Kathryn Petralia, says the new product is a result of customers' tendency to repay early.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 05, 2020 -
Visa, Mastercard delay swipe-fee changes until July
Separately, Visa is considering extending an October deadline for U.S. gas stations to comply with chip card technology. The moves are meant to alleviate the coronavirus crisis's impact on merchants.
By Dan Ennis • UPDATED: March 31, 2020 at 12:20 p.m. -
Majority
Competition intensifies in immigrant banking market
As the digital bank Majority expands nationwide, the remittance company Remitly launches Passbook, a bank aimed at first-generation Americans.
By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 04, 2020 -
Gen Z has more card debt than millennials — and higher credit scores
More lenient underwriting has led nearly double the number of subprime borrowers age 18 to 24 to have credit cards than in 2012, TransUnion found.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 03, 2020 -
Expensify amps up charitable giving with 'Karma Points'
A San Francisco company's corporate card gives a slice of its swipe fees to organizations fighting homelessness, hunger and climate change, depending on the cardholder's spending.
By Kate Patrick • Jan. 31, 2020 -
Zelle reports adding 100 financial institutions last quarter
Year-over-year payment values on the P2P platform increased by 57%, while transaction volume jumped 72%, network operator Early Warning Systems reported Tuesday.
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 28, 2020 -
American Express catches up to Visa, Mastercard in acceptance, it reports
The payment network pushed efforts, including sign-on bonuses, to entice small businesses. Now it looks to alter perception in the market that it's accepted in fewer places because of higher swipe fees.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 24, 2020 -
Morgan Stanley muscles in on traditional bank accounts with CashPlus
The shift in strategy comes after the investment bank announced it's cutting 1,500 jobs and reducing bonuses.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 24, 2020 -
The Clearing House quadruples single real-time payment limit to $100K
The move is meant to boost the network's attractiveness in comparison to those with a $25,000 ceiling operated by ACH or the Federal Reserve.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 23, 2020 -
Fotolia
Banks boost borrowers' card limits without telling them, report finds
Capital One analysis found customers carry the same percentage of debt regardless of their ceiling. Executives tweaked the bank's practices in response to bottom-line pressure, according to Bloomberg.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 23, 2020 -
Vodafone quits Facebook's Libra, doubles down on M-Pesa
The British telecommunications conglomerate wants to expand the mobile payments app beyond its mostly African base to better serve the underbanked.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 22, 2020 -
Rohit Tandon via Unsplash
OpinionMobile wallets let local markets leapfrog card payments
Fintech innovations have enabled many countries to skip over certain payment methods in their financial evolution, writes Steve Villegas, a vice president at PPRO.
By Steve Villegas • Jan. 21, 2020 -
Visa's Plaid deal pushes open banking, third-party security to forefront
The $5.3 billion acquisition may spur more fintech-on-fintech M&A, but the crux may lie in the card network's desire to stay relevant, analysts say.
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 17, 2020 -
Citi narrows gender pay gap to 27% in second yearly report
The nation's third-largest bank is using the gulf between the raw and adjusted pay gap figures to call for more women and minorities to fill management roles.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 16, 2020
