John Adams

Backups at ports have created inventory and cash-flow challenges for many businesses. Bank of the West, Swift, SAP and others are offering customers faster payments services, short-term loans and virtual cards to ease liquidity pressures.

The data aggregator is recruiting partners such as Railsbank, Silicon Valley Bank and Marqeta for a project designed to make certain digital transactions easier to complete.

The bank is partnering with Anthemis to match investors with female entrepreneurs, who according to Findexable research attract just 1.5% of investment in the sector.

The institution joins a small but growing list of large banks that allow businesses like utilities and mobile carriers to instantly accept consumer transactions.

Citigroup, BNY Mellon, JPMorgan Chase and PNC are each working to enable wireless providers, public utilities and other companies to instantly receive funds from the consumers they bill.

Jack Dorsey's payments company wants to reach a younger demographic while also giving adults more reasons to use its peer-to-peer service.

As installment lending becomes more popular, regulators in the U.S., Europe and Australia are considering new restrictions or taking action against lenders.

Digital upstarts like Square, Stripe and PayPal are invading community banks' turf by appealing to local merchants with a mix of electronic payments and lending. Small banks are fighting back by leaning into digital services while maintaining their personal touch.

The Indiana-based online banking pioneer is purchasing First Century, a similarly tech-savvy company, for $80 million. The deal would diversify its revenue and improve its prepaid card offerings for small businesses.

Fintechs have begun offering consumers installment-lending options to pay for airfare, putting competitive pressure on banks and credit unions that rely on travelers for significant credit card volume.