Fintech

Cash is being used in fewer transactions than ever before, and the pandemic has only accelerated the trend. Yet the U.S. is far behind some European and Asian countries in embracing digital payments and significant hurdles remain to its becoming completely cashless.

Esusu, a financial technology company that aims to help bridge the racial wealth gap by reporting rent payments to credit agencies, has become one of only a few Black-owned startups to reach a valuation of $1 billion after closing a Series B round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was ready to raise interest rates in March and didn’t rule out moving at every meeting to tackle the highest inflation in a generation.

The expenses jumped 33% last quarter, which was generally in line with trends elsewhere in the credit card industry. The battle for new customers is “intense,” CEO Richard Fairbank told analysts.

Switching from a horizontal layout — a relic of embossed account numbers — is an attempt by issuers like HSBC, Starling Bank and Bank of America to address accessibility challenges faced by customers with dementia, visual impairments and other conditions.

A new service speeds payments by using artificial intelligence to predict which buyers are most likely to pay.

Bank of America revamped leadership across its wealth management business, placing more responsibilities on current heads Andy Sieg and Katy Knox.

The Tennessee bank reported an uptick in commercial lending during the fourth quarter. Executives pointed to the impact of a 2020 acquisition that allowed First Horizon to bulk up in in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana.

JPMorgan Chase will introduce a credit card with Instacart this year, the first foray into grocery for the country’s largest co-brand credit card issuer.

A coalition of trade associations representing some of the world's largest retailers called on U.S. antitrust regulators to examine the fees charged by credit card companies after Amazon.com threatened to ban Visa cards in the U.K.