The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic could lead to the ongoing expansion of workers’ access to early, or earned wages (EWA) through advances and instant payouts, including to new types of users.

Small businesses that took out the loans will soon be applying for forgiveness; U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo and one of HSBC's large investors criticized the bank for buckling to Chinese pressure.

The Department of Financial Services is going live with DFS FastForward, which aims to help innovators in finance, healthcare and insurance consult directly with regulators on specific compliance issues.

Recent steps that would help nonbank lenders enter the traditional banking system, like a proposal clarifying the industrial loan company charter, are needed but face strong opposition.

Restaurants and retailers which saw their physical outlets closed down by the coronavirus pandemic have been scrambling to stay in business with the help of omnichannel retail software vendors.

Former Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting landed a post with Black Knight, which provides technology solutions to mortgage and real estate companies.

The race to provide coronavirus relief for small businesses is opening new routes to fund payments, including underused credit lines.

As merchants are challenged to adapt their business just to survive, and consumers push for greater control over where and how they spend, the payments industry is in a position to align the various needs, says Splitit's Brad Paterson.

The agency sought industry feedback on a host of potential changes to ensure that rules are “sufficiently flexible and clear in light of the technological advances that have transformed the financial industry over the past two decades."

Bankers have become more uncertain about how to serve marijuana businesses owing to confusion about which states deem them essential.

Innovating is tough even in ordinary times, but during the coronavirus pandemic many payments startups had to dig into deeper reserves of creativity and resilience to meet expectations.

The challenges may seem daunting, financial institutions and fintechs must focus on identifying meaningful opportunities based on the financial priorities of consumers and businesses to help them weather these difficult times.

Recent steps that would help nonbank lenders enter the traditional banking system, like a proposal clarifying the industrial loan company charter, are needed but face strong opposition.

Many of the payment innovations of the past decade got an early start in Canada, building a base of users and habits the nation hopes will make the pivot to post-coronavirus commerce easier than other markets.

The new product, which comes as an earlier partnership with the online lender Kabbage is sputtering, figures to appeal to companies with tight cash flows.

New technologies can provide recommendations and proactively engage with customers and members to help them pay their bills or pay friends and proactively manage their financial well-being, says Payrailz's Mickey Goldwasser.

With no way of knowing just how many borrowers will need the mods after the coronavirus forbearance period ends, lenders are deploying artificial intelligence and servicing protocols to tame the ferocious piles of paperwork awaiting them.

While open banking is a fascinating movement poised to benefit consumers and spark significant innovation in financial services, the world must weigh convenience vs. risk and approach the inherent privacy and security concerns with caution, says Imperva's Terry Ray.

By targeting the API rather than scripting a form fill, bad actors are leveraging the same efficiency and flexibility that APIs provide developers, says Cequence Security's Matt Keil.

U.K. fintechs are using their technology to assist British businesses and consumers during the coronavirus pandemic by helping banks disburse emergency business loans, enabling e-commerce merchants to offer installment payments to consumers, and giving employees access to salary advances.