In a move designed to strengthen its capabilities for integrated payments, processor and technology provider Total System Services has agreed to acquire Cayan for $1.05 billion. The news shortly follows another deal valued in the billions — Thales agreeing to buy the chip maker Gemalto for $5.4 billion.

Readers react to the change in tone at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the launch of voice-command banking on Amazon’s Alexa, how regulation affects financial innovation and more.

Alternative data can be beneficial for individuals locked out of the financial system’s more conventional data types, but such data is open to manipulation or biased interpretation.

During a sit-down interview, Bruce Van Saun, the CEO at Citizens Financial, explained how Washington policy changes could boost lending, why cyber threats keep him up nights and how fintechs and AI are changing the industry for the better.

Virtual assistants at banks in Israel, Canada and Hong Kong are getting smarter thanks to artificial intelligence.

The right platform can detect unusual behaviors and block fraudulent transactions as they occur, while still allowing real customers to make legitimate transactions without interruptions, writes Dave Excell, CTO and co-founder of Featurespace.

The digitally driven retail environment has caused lots of adapt-or-die challenges for payment processors and merchant acquirers, including spotting fraud as it moves from one device and channel to another.

BMO Financial group will invest $2 million into a new artificial intelligence lab in Montreal designed to help startups make the transition from science projects to high-growth companies.

Widespread data breaches have sparked a rise in account-takeover fraud using stolen consumer credentials, prompting merchants to crack down on suspicious purchases. But too many legitimate customers are getting caught in the process.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is centralizing information and updates for global commercial card administrators within an online tool called Card Assistant.