Compliance

President-elect Joe Biden’s victory has cleared uncertainty over White House policies that impact fintechs and payment firms, revealing clues as to how the regulatory environment will be different in 2021.

As it attempts to craft policy on access to consumers’ financial account information, the agency is wading into a battle between those who want data to flow more freely and those who prioritize security.

EMVCo, the major card brand-supported venture to establish EMV guidelines and specifications, has begun testing a program to determine if consumer mobile devices can securely accept contactless payments — a move that not only hastens the adoption of contactless payments, but renews criticism over which networks control technology and routing decisions.

Regulators were receptive to Republican lawmakers' calls to ease burdens on banks that cross new asset thresholds as a result of their participation in the Paycheck Protection Program.

“We’re going to be looking at … what caused us to not be able to close some of these gaps in the past,” Citigroup's new Chief Administrative Officer Karen Peetz says of the effort to fix shortcomings in internal controls that have plagued the company for years.

Despite tougher privacy regulations, further safeguards are needed that require consumers' clear consent before personal information is exchanged.

The oversight council’s statement on the FHFA’s proposed capital rule raises questions for market participants trying to anticipate a post-conservatorship secondary mortgage market.

Smarsh, which enables banks and other clients to archive employee communications, is buying the AI firm Digital Reasoning as employers increasingly seek surveillance options for personnel working from home.

While national banks have remained strong during the pandemic, they are still navigating risks from a murky credit environment and other potential warnings signs, according to a report by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

In its lawsuit against Visa, the Justice Department alleges the card network's $5.3 billion deal to buy Plaid is meant to neutralize a competitive threat — even though Visa and Plaid do not see themselves as competing with each other.