Fintech

An “emergency merger” with troubled Progressive Credit Union gives PenFed – already the nation’s third-largest credit union – the ability to welcome any potential member nationwide.

The accounts — which eschew paper checks and overdraft protection — appeal beyond the low-income customers they were intended for; lenders are embracing artificial intelligence systems to analyze more data to determine creditworthiness.

The payments process isn’t about just checking a box or signing a check anymore; it’s about cultivating genuinely beneficial relationships for all involved that build trust and drive growth, writes Ravi Thakur, senior vice president of business acceleration at Coupa.

Banks, retailers and technology companies have spent years relentlessly working to replace cash with plastic, digital or mobile alternatives. And cash has hit back hard.

The bank will pay over $15 million in restitution and fines to settle claims that it neglected stop-payment requests and reopened deposit accounts without customers' consent.

The credit union rewarded members based on the CU's performance last year and the depth of their relationship with the institution.

Citi wants to attract credit card customers who use its card for staples such as groceries and gas — a pivot from its past of marketing to the social butterflies who would use its cards on dining and entertainment.

Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union returned $22 million to its members.

Leveraging the trust relationship the bank already enjoys with its customers, based on robust security, engagements can go beyond run-of-the-mill transactions, writes Sherif Samy, senior vice president of North America at Entersekt.

Bob Mahoney, CEO of Belmont Savings, called Jack Barnes after People's United agreed to buy a Connecticut bank. The banks announced their own merger agreement five months later.