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Lenders are set to flood the SBA with new PPP applications; long nights and weekends the new normal; Fifth Third rethinks new-branch designs in light of coronavirus; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Square Capital and other online lenders joined the Paycheck Protection Program just before it ran out of money. Now they’re ready and waiting for Congress to reload funds that could be better aimed at the smallest companies.

PayPal, Intuit QuickBooks Capital and Square Capital have been named direct lenders in the Paycheck Protection Program, and more await the go-ahead. They could be crucial to reaching the smallest firms trying to survive the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

It was less than three months ago, though it seems like a lifetime. Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga welcomed progress in the trade dispute between the U.S. and China, but with a caveat. The good news wouldn't last if the coronavirus became a pandemic.

Fintech companies only think they want to be banks. Banking may seem like a natural evolution, but that doesn’t mean fintech firms should become banks, says nbkc bank's Zach Anderson Pettet.

Online platforms and apps can be utilized to quickly support small businesses and consumers facing unexpected financial hardship.

The coronavirus is hitting small businesses hard, slamming one of Square’s core markets just as the payments company got a long-awaited industrial banking license.

Utah bank is expected to launch next year; banks want to hold off regulations that would hamper efforts to keep money flowing during virus crisis.

In signing off on deposit insurance for the payments giant and student loan servicer, the FDIC sanctioned the first new industrial loan companies in over a decade.

Online platforms and apps can be utilized to quickly support small businesses and consumers facing unexpected financial hardship.

On the same day the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it will soon rule on two applications, the agency also proposed benchmarks for all firms that want to own industrial loan companies.

A decision by regulators on how to move forward with the controversial charter could have broad implications for fintech firms that want to enter the banking system.

The growth and monetization of Square’s Cash App boosted the company's quarterly earnings, along with the sale of its food delivery unit Caviar.

Square has buttressed its deep-learning with the purchase of Dessa, a Toronto-based machine learning startup that specializes in advanced risk management.

Square is adding to its menu of services just as long-established competitors embed expanding payments technology into their own product mix.

The rise in food delivery options is affecting restaurants of all kinds. It's a trend driven by consumers' strong appetite for mobile ordering and payments.

Breaking into the POS credit market is nearly impossible for payment companies without cooperation, says Jifiti's Nufar Segal.

Kabbage Inc. is offering tailored loans to small businesses that have unexpected cash flow needs, hoping to grab a wider share of its clients' relationships.

Millennials especially have shunned credit cards in favor of buying even low-ticket items using a system of installment loans, often incurring little to no interest, says Jifiti's Nufar Segal.

The payments industry is a hotbed of innovation, and many of its larger players are eager to claim patents on new developments.