Americas

In the tug-of-war over merchants refusing either cash or cards embroiling local governments in New Jersey, New York City and Philadelphia, the Iowa State Fair is taking the middle ground. Beginning next year, all fair vendors will be required to accept cash, cards and contactless payments through First Data’s Clover devices.

A field of membership expansion will allow the credit union to serve as many as 400,000 additional consumers.

Greg Hilbert will step down as CEO and president of the Appleton, Wis.-based institution in April 2020.

Even as the movement grows through charter changes and field of membership expansions, some observers say many boards don’t yet reflect this dynamic.

The company has agreed to buy Preferred Bancshares in a deal set to close by mid-2019.

"You can't meet customers at the headquarters," CEO Kevin Cummings tells his senior executives.

HomeStreet Bank will attempt to sell its stand-alone mortgage business and portfolio of servicing rights, a move that comes amid growing pressure from an activist investor to exit home lending and concerns about declining demand and regulatory challenges.

Katrina Skinner is set to take the helm permanently at Safe Harbor Services, a credit union service organization for financial institutions serving the legal marijuana industry.

While payments firms must navigate political and regulatory waters, consumers and merchants are best served by a competitive free market free of politics, with minimalist regulators playing the role of the night watchman, writes Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures.

A Senate confirmation hearing for Todd Harper and Rodney Hood focused on a recent scandal at the National Credit Union Administration, a controversial appraisal rule, regulatory consistency and more.