Amazon

The online giant has succeeded in disrupting every area of retail, but in banking it faces a high barrier to entry and fierce determination from banks like Citizens Financial and Bank of the West to keep upping their games.

Amazon.com is planning to offer a credit card to U.S. small-business customers, furthering its push to supply companies with everything from reams of paper to factory parts, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Democratic infighting over a bill to curb the reach of the Dodd-Frank Act dominated discussion this past week, but Amazon still made waves in its disruptor role. Also: Our 'Best Fintechs to Work For' debuted.

The tech giant is reportedly in talks with JP Morgan Chase and Capital One about creating a checking account product, and two analysts say that could create major challenges for credit unions.

With a foray into financial services, Amazon.com could disrupt the decades-old card payments system, a move that some say could save the retailer $250 million a year in swipe fees.

Readers opine on the possibility of an Amazon-JPMorgan Chase checking partnership, weigh in on the Crapo bill, applaud plans that would make the CFPB more of a backup regulator and more.

Disruptors would get a powerful new competitor if Amazon began offering checking accounts, but such a move would also validate the notion that fintechs are the future.

The online retailer wants to offer customers checking accounts but won’t become a bank; Quarles says the rule is too complex and “not working well.”

The negotiations between Amazon and big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Capital One to offer a checking-account-like product pose significant questions for regulators about the e-commerce giant pushing further into the banking space.

News that Amazon is courting banks to help it offer its own branded checking account raises major questions about which banks could be helped or hurt, who would control the relationship and how Amazon's partner(s) would make money.