The Conference of State Bank Supervisors abandoned a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that had challenged the San Francisco fintech's effort to become a national bank without deposit insurance. The company recently amended its application to drop that controversial element.

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 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is more than a year away from issuing a proposal on consumers’ right to control the flow of their data between banks and third parties such as fintechs, according to people familiar with the bureau’s thinking. Many previously expected a plan to arrive this spring.

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.

The Change Company, a lender to Black, Hispanic and low-income borrowers, was set to merge with the former quarterback’s blank-check company. Steven Sugarman, a onetime Banc of California chief, says his company is now in talks with other investors and inviting banks to use a new digital marketplace for its loans.

Faster payments would help the economy in general and individuals and small businesses in particular. It's time for banks to step up.

The Los Angeles company, set Thursday to complete a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company and raise more than $3 billion in a stock offering, plans to develop new banking and cryptocurrency-related services this year, CEO Jason Wilk says.

Two co-founders of the company are expected to give depositions this month in a suit brought by an entrepreneur who says one of them stole her idea of providing credit to immigrants and turned it into a multimillion-dollar venture. Petal denies the allegations.

The U.S.-based networks are offering credit cards and other products through financial technology companies that otherwise could allow consumers in the region to bypass bank-issued cards.

Industry leaders in the spotlight this year include Citi's Jane Fraser, TD's Bharat Masrani and several others who are making big moves in cryptocurrency.