John Adams

The debut of new mobile wallets ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing is an impetus for the Federal Reserve to bring its own central bank digital currency project up to speed.

The credit bureaus plan to add repayment data for installment loans, a move that can inform credit decisions and help answer regulators' questions about how such borrowing affects consumers' financial health.

The inquiry looks into the tech company's requirement that developers use its in-app payment system, which has also faced scrutiny in the U.S. and elsewhere.

As the adoption of real-time payments grows, companies like Mastercard, ACI Worldwide and The Clearing House are bringing together data from banks, credit unions and merchants to catch scammers.

Card networks are poised to connect to nonfungible tokens, issuers are revamping rewards, and regulators are taking greater interest in installment loans. These developments and more bear watching in the year ahead.

Consumers are pushing card networks and issuers to develop programs that reward them for spending on sustainable products and other initiatives to mitigate climate change.

The social network, now called Meta Platforms, is buying the South Dakota bank's name for $60 million.

The tax preparation company, which is building out its own financial services business, says Square's new brand "would improperly capitalize on the goodwill and consumer trust cultivated by [H&R] Block since 1955."

Kabbage and other firms are extending credit to fund higher salaries at the small merchants that are struggling to hire new employees.

Now that JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Capital One and others offer the alternative credit option, the startups that created this market are adding products to cement their hold on consumers and merchants.