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.

More than a third of installment borrowers are delinquent, according to new research. Fintechs and the banks that are following them into the market are willing to tolerate the credit risk — for now — because of BNPL’s rapid growth and the fee income from merchants.

Already in 2021, the nation's largest bank by assets has purchased more than 30 companies, including both fintechs and firms that are more removed from the financial industry. Here's a look at eight of those deals and the thinking behind them.

A long to-do list — from developing mortgage servicing requirements to revisiting payday lending rules — awaits Rohit Chopra, the administration’s choice to lead the consumer bureau. But it's still anyone's guess when the Senate will confirm him.

Executives at JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and U.S. Bancorp all spoke this week about plans to take on upstarts that offer interest-free financing on consumer purchases. The increased competition figures to result in tighter margins across the category.

The Cincinnati bank, which last month closed its purchase of the health care lender Provide, has raised its estimate for the unit’s 2021 loan volume.

Buying the point-of-sale loan provider would give Goldman Sachs access to a network of millions of consumers and thousands of merchants that the bank would have difficulty building on its own, said Stephanie Cohen, its global co-head of consumer and wealth management.

Rodney Hood, a member of the National Credit Union Administration's board, detailed plans, such as the formation of an Office of Innovation and Access, to foster collaboration between credit unions and the tech community.

Truepic, which helps companies like banks and insurers fight fraud by verifying images, raised $26 million in a funding round led by Microsoft’s M12 venture capital arm.

Canapi Ventures — created by former comptroller of the currency Gene Ludwig and banker Chip Mahan — and other venture capital firms say Peach Finance stood out because, unlike so many other startups, it's not focused on loan originations.

Eligible users may trade bitcoin and ether through the company's app and also use bitcoin when completing debit card purchases. More cryptocurrency options will be offered in coming months.