Fintech

With alternative payment methods one app or click away, a short service disruption can lead to a permanent loss of trust.

The retail industry, which wants the Federal Reserve to lower a decade-old price cap, has been complaining that higher prices for consumers mean heftier interchange fees. But banks are pointing out that the $10 billion-asset threshold below which financial institutions are exempt from the cap hasn’t been adjusted for inflation.

It took 100 years, but St. Landry Homestead Federal Savings Bank decided on a drastic name change — to Catalyst Bank — to end confusion with a local rival and signal its loftier aspirations.

After being hard-hit financially by the pandemic and the surging inflation that followed, the generation entering adulthood is meshing their love of late-‘90s nostalgia — think cargo pants, bucket hats and disposable cameras — with a dose of old-fashioned frugality.

A dirty little secret in a $1.2 trillion world of credit is getting exposed as the Wall Street rout deepens: Private debt is now the cheaper financing option for big-ticket leveraged borrowers than the ailing public market — upending industry norms.

Inflation isn't only driving up travel costs — a key category for credit card spending — it's making shoppers more selective about how they earn and redeem loyalty points for products hit hardest by price increases.

Wells Fargo has historically underperformed its competitors in the credit card business. The Autograph card, which offers triple points for travel, dining and gas, is part of CEO Charlie Scharf’s effort to compete more effectively.

A new and larger finance industry is emerging — one in which traditional institutions aren’t nearly as dominant as they used to be.

Contactless payments went mainstream during the pandemic, but now some merchants are giving incentives for cash payments at the point of sale to offset higher fees owed to card networks due to inflation.

Goldman Sachs Group plans to anchor a new office tower in Dallas that would hold thousands of employees, part of the bank’s expansion beyond its Manhattan base.