U.S.

Cloud-based mainframe provider LzLabs is expanding into the North American market, seeking to help banks, payment companies, insurance providers, telcos and government entities convert legacy mainframes to software-based platforms.

The most recent legislative push to mandate cash is bipartisan at the outset, but there are divisions over how to put this plan into effect.

Three years ago, Alipay began its brick-and-mortar conquest of North America, promoting acceptance of the Alibaba affiliate Ant Group's mobile wallet at shops targeting Chinese tourists, eventually reaching thousands of U.S. and Canadian stores.

The Trump administration is accelerating its restrictions on immigration, including a ban on skilled workers that will make it harder for fintechs to hire people from outside the U.S.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has endured a fairly choppy legal ride since unveiling its idea five years ago to establish a special charter for non-bank fintech companies to access a nationwide financial system for lending services without worrying about being licensed to do so in all 50 states.

The push for a public option to digitize government payments has gotten stronger, and the discussion has moved on from whether it should happen to how it should happen.

In the U.K., many policy researchers predict that the economic fallout of the pandemic in the U.S. could change attitudes toward the idea of basic income on both sides of the Atlantic.

The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers is one of the most troublesome elements of the coronavirus outbreak, though prior work to declutter cross-border supply chain payments provides some hope.

While some big banks have pledged to avoid layoffs this year, hiring freezes and delayed projects are becoming the norm during the pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak has led many banks to close branches, but for those that remain open, it's a new normal.