FIS

What the FIS-Worldpay deal means for banks; behind the OCC's public rebuke of Wells Fargo; ripple effect feared as Fed mulls lifetime bans for two bankers; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Reports of improper charges by perpetrators who know the victim soared last year. Issuers and card networks are failing to tighten security, clearly label transactions and police chargebacks, critics say.

Dumping passwords in favor of interoperable, flexible identity is an evolution as bumpy as it is necessary. FIS and Worldpay’s combination stands to create tools that can smooth this road.

The FIS-Worldpay merger is the largest international payments deal to date, significantly topping the recent Fiserv-First Data merger that turned heads at the beginning of the year. But the FIS deal’s strategic implications could be more interesting than the raw numbers.

The companies could bring something new, such as merchant acquiring to community banks, but their merger could also cause anxiety about giant vendors.

Bank technology giants FIS and Fiserv are spending nearly $66 billion between them in just the past few weeks to add a broad swath of payments technology — including a few key nuggets that will help them go toe to toe with fintechs.

Given the size of the deal — which includes about $9 billion of Worldpay’s debt on top of a $34 billion bid — the pressure’s on to build a global powerhouse that can counter other major fintech mergers announced in the past weeks. FIS must also emerge as a nimble rival to the startups that threaten the old order.

The $35 billion deal could create "a global payments giant"; with the number of community banks dropping as low as 5,477, it may be time for new ones.

The financial services technology company FIS has agreed to buy Worldpay. The deal is valued at $43 billion and will allow FIS to counter the transaction processing scale Fiserv received when it acquired First Data this year. The merger price is based on a $34 billion bid plus $9 billion of Worldpay's debt.

Gateway Mortgage Group says its launch of a digital-only bank is scheduled for this summer.

One thing that excites Kim Bynan most about her job is seeing firsthand how new payments technology changes our everyday lives.

Fiserv’s $22 billion deal to acquire First Data creates pressure to scale core banking and payment processing that may force further industry consolidation.

American Express’ ambitious multi-merchant rewards program, Plenti, failed last year, but it wasn’t a total loss. FIS took several lessons from Plenti that it’s applying to its own evolving payment card rewards program.

Both sides acknowledge where expectations haven't been met, and are feeling the same market pressures to adapt faster.

Both sides acknowledge where expectations haven't been met, and are feeling the same market pressures to adapt faster.

LVMH Group, makers of Louis Vuitton handbags and other luxury goods, leans heavily on cross-border transactions to distribute its products. To streamline its processes, the company has partnered with FIS.

Customer furor stemmed from troubles FIS had processing payments for MetaBank, the issuer of Netspend and other prepaid debit cards.

Neither the prepaid issuer nor its bank partner can say when cardholders — many living paycheck to paycheck — will receive their funds.

The payments industry is engaged in 40 active real-time payments programs worldwide, but it's not as chaotic as it sounds — except in the U.S.

Digital payments are becoming a critical aspect of nearly every new service for merchants or financial institutions.