The merger pairs the fintech's consumer lending platform with Gen Digital's identity-protection services, such as Norton, LifeLock and ReputationDefender.

The bank suggests it's a scapegoat for Synapse's wrongdoing in a case of banking-as-a-service gone awry.

Customers of fintechs affected by Synapse's bankruptcy have been waiting since May for money they had in their accounts, and $65 million to $85 million still appears to be missing.

Unity Bank in Clinton, NJ, now offers EV charging stations in a collaboration with Encore Energy Group; fintech Beneficient announced its agreement to acquire Puerto Rico-based Mercantile Bank; Trump named payments exec Jared Isaacman to run NASA; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The three largest deals had an average round amount of more than $121 million.

The demand for embedded finance is not going away, but the initial rollout of banking as a service relied far too much on middleware providers without expertise in compliance and oversight. BaaS 2.0 must feature a more bank-centric approach.

Banks have been returning some funds to fintech customers affected by the Synapse collapse, but a multimillion-dollar discrepancy between how much Synapse says customers are owed and how much the banks say they have remains.

Items include estimations of President-elect Donald Trump's impact on fintech funding, the fallout from VyStar Credit Union's tech moves and more.

The niche buy now/pay later firm is looking for differentiation in a crowded market with recognizable brands like Klarna, Affirm and Afterpay.

Sen. Mike Rounds, Rep. French Hill and former FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams were among the speakers Tuesday at the American Fintech Council's Policy Summit.