Square buys BNPL player Afterpay for $29B

The acquisition of the Australian company is Square's biggest ever, and underscores CEO Jack Dorsey's ambitious plans to build his merchant and banking empire in new retail directions and across the globe.

By Lynne Marek • Aug. 2, 2021

Inside MoneyLion's quest to become a financial 'super app'

The neobank is diversifying its revenue sources and aiming to boost engagement frequency to transcend beyond finance to "life transactions."

By Suman Bhattacharyya • Aug. 2, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Data-driven disruption

More often than not, an innovator may see disruption as an enhancement to be embraced. And sometimes the innovators are the establishment.

By Banking Dive staff

7 big banks sign on for SWIFT's low-value cross-border offering

The product lets small businesses and individuals send payments of less than $10,000 internationally, giving the network a potential foothold in a fintech-filled remittance space.

By Robin Bradley • July 30, 2021

Clearing House urges caution on CBDCs

A Federal Reserve-backed digital currency could "destabilize both the domestic and foreign banking and financial services sectors," the payments system operator said.

By Lynne Marek • July 30, 2021

Fiserv, Goldman strike pact on cross-border payments

The move follows more than a month after the investment bank and card network Visa partnered to bolster corporate and commercial clients' ability to send payments to businesses and consumers worldwide.

By Lynne Marek • July 27, 2021

Failed payments cost North American banks $33.7B in 2020: report

Respondents ranked the reduction of manual processes as the top challenge they face during payment processing, followed by regulation and balancing accuracy with speed, the report found.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • July 20, 2021

Square launches business banking, savings products

Banking will allow Square to strengthen client relationships and drive higher customer lifetime value as it targets sellers who use the company's payment devices and inventory-management products, analysts said.

By Suman Bhattacharyya • July 20, 2021

Wells Fargo shuts down personal lines of credit

The product was positioned as a means for customers to consolidate credit card debt. Its termination comes as the bank is boosting its card profile and reevaluating business units it sees as non-core. 

By Dan Ennis • July 9, 2021

Clash over debit card routing persists in comments to Fed

Merchants have long argued that having more than one available network holds down costs for consumers. But card networks and banks have said that's not necessarily the case.

By Lynne Marek • July 8, 2021

Mastercard CEO, FDIC chair press fintechs on financial inclusion

Michael Miebach and Jelena McWilliams acknowledged the importance of tapping innovative companies to draw in unbanked and underserved people.

By Lynne Marek , Vaidik Trivedi • July 1, 2021

Walmart, Green Dot switch MoneyCard to demand deposit account

Consumers who convert their accounts can access perks such as overdraft protection and no monthly fee for a qualifying direct deposit of $500.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • June 28, 2021

BIS report shows growing divide on crypto

Central banks strike a second blow against digital tokens. Stablecoins, too, this time. The dissonance between market and government may come down to timing, or an age-old pattern concerning risk.

By Dan Ennis • June 24, 2021

Fiserv partners with NYDIG to offer Bitcoin services

The deal comes a month after NYDIG inked a Bitcoin services agreement with fellow payments processor FIS, and as big banks broaden their offerings surrounding cryptocurrency.

By Vaidik Trivedi • June 23, 2021

Deutsche Bank, Fiserv team up in German market

The move gives Germany's largest lender a route back into payments processing for the first time since 2012, and helps the fifth-largest U.S. merchant payment acquirer enter Europe's largest economy.

By Lynne Marek • June 22, 2021

Goldman Sachs expands transaction banking services to UK

The bank said last year it wants to move more money around the world for large companies — a more stable revenue stream than trading. Goldman says its technology platform can open accounts in minutes instead of months.

By Dan Ennis • June 22, 2021

Discover makes a crypto move with new hire

With the hiring of a new manager for blockchain and digital currency, Discover Financial is planting a flag in the card company race to grab a share of money increasingly flowing through cryptocurrencies.

By Lynne Marek • June 22, 2021

Mastercard faces pushback over ex-CEO's $27.7M pay package

About one-quarter of shareholders voted Tuesday to oppose the card network's compensation proposal. Former CEO Ajay Banga's 2020 pay package tops chief executive pay at four of the six largest U.S. banks.

By Lynne Marek • Updated June 24, 2021

Citi's new 5% cash-back card adapts to users' changing spending habits

Days after Wells Fargo launched a product to compete with the world's top card issuer, Citi rolled out its own offering in a signal that the card space is ready to rebound from a relatively muted 2020.

By Anna Hrushka • June 11, 2021

AmEx, Synchrony bid to wrest Amazon card portfolio from JPMorgan Chase

The nation's largest bank reportedly could get a 15% premium on top of the balance, which is north of $15 billion in loans.

By Dan Ennis • June 9, 2021

Wells Fargo to launch 2% cash-back offer, ax stagecoach logo on card

The bank intends to triple its spending on a marketing campaign that includes pitches in the opening and closing ceremonies of this summer's Olympics.

By Dan Ennis • June 8, 2021

Walmart partners with PayNearMe, Green Dot to launch faster cash bill-pay in August

Consumers can expect to face a fee of $2.99 per bill, but that amount can vary by company and industry — from zero if the biller absorbs the cost, to as high as $5.99, a PayNearMe executive said.

By Lynne Marek • June 8, 2021

Goldman Sachs taps Visa for cross-border payment upgrade

The investment bank is signing onto existing Visa programs, including a business-to-business network that reaches 97 countries.

By Lynne Marek • June 7, 2021

Mastercard bets on matchmaker of small banks, fintechs

Six-month-old Synctera drew $33 million from investors, including the card network. Synctera aims to make money by smoothing the way for fintechs to offer services using community banks' banking licenses.

By Lynne Marek • June 4, 2021

Fintechs attack cross-border business payments as banks, legacy players rush to innovate

Nonbanks are gaining ground, mainly with small-company customers, but target larger ones, even as competition gives way to symbiotic "coopetition" with banks.

By Suman Bhattacharyya • May 26, 2021

Square may soon offer small-business checking and savings accounts, app code shows

The code indicates the company will not charge monthly service fees, minimum balance fees or overdrafts on its checking account, and will offer a 0.5% interest rate on its savings account through 2021, Bloomberg reported.

By Dan Ennis • May 25, 2021