Fintech

Working with Bumped, TAB Bank is offering customers “cash back” as fractional shares of popular retailers.

The bank technology provider Amount has acquired Linear Financial Technologies to supplement its consumer and buy now/pay later offerings with digital small-business loans.

The retailer is funding a challenger bank called One that would be formed from the combination of several fintech firms. The startup would have a strong product set and cash position but could struggle to stand out in a crowded neobank field.

Goldsmith, the grandson of City National Bank’s co-founder, is set to retire as its chairman. In an interview, he betrayed no regrets about the company’s sale to Royal Bank of Canada, which was propelled by a similar logic about the need for scale that drives many deals today.

Valuations for payment technology companies skyrocketed over the past year, pushed by a wave of public listings and record venture capital investments. Some potential acquirers are waiting for prices to cool.

Challenger banks like Chime and Dave have been helping customers avoid overdraft fees for years. As traditional banks start to do the same, the fintechs say they still offer consumers a better deal.

The companies will use funding obtained from private investors to develop or expand products that help business owners send and receive money more quickly and manage their operations.