Rather than targeting the masses, the founders of these neobanks are narrowing their focus to serve people who may benefit from specialized products and services. The latest example: Nerve, a banking app for musicians.

Traditional financial institutions face pressure to imitate fintechs that have brought many consumers into the mainstream. Yet cash must be a key part of efforts to expand access, since it's still crucial for many low-income families, the elderly, migrants and others.

Small merchants will be able to send customers directly to online stores from videos, advertisements or shopping sites using a new product created by the two companies.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may investigate cryptocurrency providers for mistreating customers, but the agency’s supposed interest in the burgeoning sector is reviving a debate about the CFPB’s authority.

Companies like Ally are mimicking the approach of fintechs by curbing overdraft charges and instituting other changes. It is a sign that startups’ efforts to improve customer experience were successful and that competition in digital-first banking will intensify.

At a House Financial Services Committee hearing, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle questioned the widespread practice of screen scraping and agreed that consumers should have a more direct say over how their financial data is handled.

The company's new app bundles banking services such as payments, buy now/pay later and direct deposit. But the company plans to add features that could include stock trading, a popular offering from tech startups.

JPMorgan Chase bought the college financial-planning platform Frank, the latest in a string of acquisitions the largest U.S. bank has made this year to compete with both big technology firms and fintech upstarts. 

The companies each recently rolled out new contactless checkout technology as they attempt to turn Amazon Prime and Square Cash into platforms that let consumers pay for goods, save money, take out loans at the point of sale and conduct other financial services all in one place.

Vendors including Akoya, Plaid and MX are trying to help banks manage and view their application programming interfaces through data portals as an alternative to scraping consumers’ login credentials.