Kate Fitzgerald

After his aggressive cost-cutting raised profits above analysts' expectations, Block's CEO aims to retool several features of Square and Cash App to enable them to operate like a "social bank."

London-based global money-transfer firm TerraPay has hired Ruben Salazar Genovez, the longtime global head of Visa Direct, in a new role as the startup's president; U.K. challenger bank Revolut has added a tool that uses machine learning to flag payments for fraud; and more.

Data, volume and potential regulatory carve-outs are among the benefits Capital One Financial would get upon the completion of its deal to buy Discover Financial Services.

Capital One Financial's proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services would create a credit card behemoth with its own payments network. The deal is likely to draw tough regulatory scrutiny, though analysts say there are many compelling strategic reasons for the combination.

Financially stressed consumers nearing their credit limit use buy now/pay later loans to finance smaller purchases, while wealthier households want to avoid paying interest or carrying a balance on credit cards for bigger-ticket items, according to the New York Fed.

Through a partnership with technology firm ServiceNow, the card network is offering ways to reduce banks' cost and complexity of resolving disputed transactions.

Virgin Money has cut about 150 jobs and 39 branches thus far in 2024, the Central Bank of Nepal has hired ACI Worldwide to build a payment switch to enable interoperable card payments for merchants, and more.

Delinquencies and charge-offs are set to climb over the next several months, as lenders tighten underwriting policies and credit lines while facing downward pressure on late-payment fees.

Taking aim at a market dominated by decades-old private-network fuel card players, the San Francisco-based firm AtoB is teaming with Mastercard to launch an open-loop payments platform for trucking firms and fleet operators.

Visa will be the payment partner for the 2026 World Cup and other events, companies in Canada are teaming up to promote open banking for credit unions, and more.

The card network said that recent weeks' cold snap in key cities had a chilling effect on U.S. spending, and reaffirmed its sunny outlook for the year.

Economic headwinds causing charge-offs and rising delinquencies — along with potential credit card late-fee restrictions — darken the company's 2024 forecast.

Barclays has redesigned the Cambridge Eagle Lab to focus on companies that develop sustainable and other environmentally focused technology, Vodafone expanded its partnership with global fintech MoneyHub to offer its financial wellness app, and more in this week's global news roundup.

In a bid to help phase out passwords, Mastercard is launching an authentication service that enables consumers to confirm their identities with fingerprint and facial recognition technology when signing in to accounts.

Fintechs' venture capital funding began to evaporate last year, while payments startups fared somewhat better by emphasizing quicker pathways to profits. It's a trend experts say is likely to persist this year as investors remain more cautious about costly or long-term plays.

A sharp increase in credit card account write-offs, a slowdown in consumer spending and heavy compliance costs triggered a 62% decline in fourth-quarter earnings.

As merchants push the government for relief from funding consumer card perks, the card network is exploring how to replace cash with digital incentives.

Worldline and Google partner team up for cloud computing; Global Payments works with Commerz in Germany.

The card network is creating a generative AI-powered chatbot to give small-business owners personalized assistance, emphasizing 'inclusive' resources and mentorship for minority entrepreneurs.

In addition to Ant's possible deal to buy MultiSafepay and Adyen's work with Straumur, Visa has partnered with TECH5 on government ID and Mastercard is expanding its virtual-card network through Rawbank.